This is a recap of my journey with my farourite images and videos.
Final days ride 😕
A great day. Very strong headwind all day but no rain.
This video gives an idea of the wind.
It was great to spend a night on the yacht with Wim and his dog Patu. Wim has sailed this yacht all over the world and has some amazing stories to tell.
Some photos of the day:
And finally made it back to Calais.
Stats
Total time including stops: 7:56
Tomorrow I take the ferry back to Dover and then the train home.
Thanks for following along!!!
I leave The Netherlands today 😥and have one day in Belgium. I’ll be going through Bruges again so hoping for less 🌧️
Unfortunately it was still raining in Bruges. Today was a difficult ride because of a strong headwind all day.
There was a ferry crossing of about 4 miles in the morning. Those were the only easy miles!
Home for tonight.
Stats
Total time including stops: 7:32
Tomorrow is my final ride: from Nieuwpoort to Calais.
A great day’s ride. Not as windy as yesterday. A bit overcast but good light for some atmospheric shots.
These storm surge barriers are impressive. They are about 9km long. Built between 1976 and 1986, they are the largest in The Netherlands.
The barrier was constructed in response to the North Sea flood of 1953, which devastated large parts of Zeeland, South Holland and North Brabant, much of which lies below sea level.
Stats.
Total time including stops: 9:02.
Today was my longest ride (it was actually 63 miles but the Garmin gave up 2.5 miles from the end)
A short ride today but against a 10 mph constant breeze made it harder going.
Lots of windmills today but none in use. Apparently the old ones are for heritage preservation, educational tours, and cultural events.
There are so many water birds and most seem to be raising chicks.
I’m not a big fan of busy cities but I really liked The Hague. Efficient, clean and friendly – much like everywhere in The Netherlands it seems.
Some other highlights:
Stats:
The average speed lower due to wind 😉
Total time including stops: 7:41
A saddle free day wondering around Amsterdam.
I visited the Van Rijk museum. Amazing art and artefacts but one of the highlights for me was the lock and key section!
Tomorrow it’s a short ride from Amsterdam to The Hague (35 miles).
Looks like a repeat of yesterday weather wise 🌧️⛅🌧️
Looking forward to a rest day in Amsterdam tomorrow. No 🚴
I’m becoming a cargo boat spotter! This is a fairly small one. Spot the two cars and boat on the back.
Use this link if you can’t see the video above: Inland cargo boat Amsterdam
I can’t work out if this is to slow the bike down, or clean the wheels. It seemed to do a good job of both.
Observation
I’m in a full cafe and I’m the only one on my phone.
It tells you how long you have to “wacht” for
Third ferry crossing of the day.
Is it a boat or a ship?
Impressive brickwork. I wonder if they just twisted the whole structure before the mortar set.
Grey herons along the canals.
The weather ending up being 🌧️⛅⛅⛅⛅⛅⛅, which was perfect.
Stats:
Total time including stops: 7:48
The program this far today (3 hours in) has been rinse-dry-repeat.
Leaving Antwerp after picking up a new chain, following another broken link (note to self – put a new chain on your bike before going on a long trip).
The rinse-dry-repeat cycle continued all day but still managed to stop during the dry bits.
Not the best name for a trainer store!
Dortrecht in the evening…
These inland cargo vessels move with impressive speed along the rivers. A lot of them have a car on them, which I assume is for use when docked. There is a website that you can look up the details of each vessel by name. This one is 172 meters long:
Stats:
Total time including stops 8:14
Fewer stops today as I decided to get most of the miles behind me to beat the rain.
Antwerp has quite an industrial feel to it, particularly around the outskirts and to the north heading towards the sea. Lots of shipping.
However, it’s all so organised and clean. Fascinating to see. What amazes me is how many bicycles there are. There are cycle lanes everywhere and everyone obeys the rules including stopping at red lights even when there’s no traffic!
Did I mention the cycle lanes are amazing?
Stats:
Total time including stops 7:43.
I might just take the shortcut!
Broken chain. Good thing I brought a spare 👍
Somehow the cigarette in his mouth completes the picture.
A drop of oil on the chain and some air in the tyres and she’ll be good to go.
Bruges is very picturesque. Pity it was raining a lot so I was not able to linger.
Lots of wildlife today.
The cycle paths are superb. These tree lined paths next to the canals go on for miles.
It was a harder day, mainly because of the drenching rain later in the day.
Total time including stops was 7:40.
I had to take the bunny detour in the end because the towpath was closed.
Tomorrow is the first day of proper cycling.
In Belgium they have an interesting take on the “park and ride”
Belgium on the left, France on right. The grass is greener on the other side.
Very cycle friendly, and with road signs easily understandable by a South African!
The breeze helped a lot yesterday. Fifty miles on flat surfaces with a good tailwind is (no pun intended) a breeze.
Total time with all the stops was 8.5 hours.
Highlights
Seeing my first wild Kingfisher fly past whilst having lunch on a bridge.
Hearing Cuckoos in a woodland.
Calais
For real this time!
