It's Been a Long Time

Well that took a while...
This blog was originally set up so that my dad could follow my first cycling adventure abroad ( well ok anywhere ) That was all nearly 5 years ago and much cycling has happened since with the mileage increasing ( Sadly dad no longer here to follow the posts), children have left home and time is more relaxed (mostly).
Planning another adventure this year on the bike .. Belgium and Holland we think although much less fixed than the first trip, we are more able (that means I am more able) to take things as they come and go a bit further if I need to. However another bike less adventure is in the offing and that was what really prompted me to look at blogging again.
I have been making paper diaries of all of our trips and will keep doing so but thought I might add in an online Journal, then remembered my bloody days and thought... what the hell let's try again... so here goes

Spread your wings we are set for an adventure

2015 and we're off....

The season has started again after a slow wind down at the end of last year and the beginning of this one.

Autumn sun at the end of last year..

We made it out on Christmas day but it was pretty cold.

This was inside the porch window  Too cold to venture out.

Since then, apart from a couple of very tiny rides to try out new bikes or adjustments, I have been a couch potato. NO longer...... Time to get going....

Harrogate will always remember the Tour...

As ever I need a challenge but this needn't involve sponsorship although I have an idea which might be a goer... Chapeau!!!!

Captain cute... Paddington in Hyde Park.

Home Again

Quite a lot has happened since I posted last. We did not always have internet access and so thought I should do a catch up with the rest of the trip.

We left Arnhem and cycled through some stunning forrest on our way to Utrecht.

Through the Forrest

Utrecht is exceptionally beautiful, very students and arty. The streets like many in Holland are paved not with gold but with bricks, many of which are not cemented in making going a bit tough on the road bike. 

This was also my chance to try out a Dutch bike which our host said that we could use to get into town in the evening. It was not a success. There are no brake levers! You have to GENTLY pedal backwards to brake. It was not a skill I mastered on the try out in the local school playground and so it was the bus for us.

In town we spotted the adverts for the Tour de France Grand Depart 2015, Very arty....

Grand Depart 2015

There was also an amount of statues throughout the town centre..

The Thinker

Utrecht however let us down in one small way... We decided to have curry. The one thing about cycling so far is that you really can afford to eat well... Curry it was. The meal itself was not bad but not nearly as good as we get from the local restaurant at home. The service was truly terrible, we were on the point of leaving when our meal eventually arrived. This was the only time throughout our whole week that we had any problem at all...

On the way back to our B and B we spotted these two

The next day saw us leaving Utrecht on the way to Amsterdam. As this was in reality quite a short trip we decided to take an extended route. It was during this that we met up with the Dutch Midgie....

Now I can honestly say that individually the Dutch Midge cannot compete in ferocity with its Scottish counterpart. However if you happen to cycle over a very narrow spit of land between two stretches of water then sheer numbers will make life .... hell. Luckily this lasted only a mile or so and therefore my attempts to keep them at bay did not have to last long. The path will from now on be known as Beastie Lane... Sorry there are no pictures I couldn't stop.....

Amsterdam.. The hoe of canals, Bicycles and Cats....

Bicycle cat

Not sure if the cat belonged to the bike or the bike to the cat....

Before setting off for the ferry and home we decided to have a look around Edam... You've got to keep your cheeses balanced you know. Edam is really pretty but a bit touristy as well ...

Old cheese carriers

We cycled to the end (so to speak) of Edam and reached the Markermeer which although it looks as if it should be part of the sea has been separated by a Dyke ( Houtribdijk) and is actually fresh water...

Yoav testing the water...

Is this a sea I see?

After this it was time to get our skates on and head to Ijmuiden to get the ferry home...

Back to industrial Holland...

In the morning as we were waiting to disembark ( all the right words) we met a really nice French couple who were starting out on a tour around Scotland. We went with them as far as Newcastle and I really hope they have a very long holiday as the lady got off her bike at least 3 times going up the wee slopes into Newcastle.... They were heading for Glen Coe!

In the end WE MADE IT  410 miles. No arguments. A Brilliant Holiday....

And on to Arnhem

We left the city in the brilliant sunshine but ran into a really heavy downpour before coffee time. A couple of lycra'd up old blokes were a bit off declining to share the bit of shelter they' d found and I made their day even better when I got my first puncture just around the corner. Y is pretty quick at fixing such things though, he might even be able to do a team mechanic job and we were soon underway to the nearest coffee stop and bakery. Cake and dry socks cured everything and we were soon on the first ferry of the day....


Later in the day we stopped off at arsenic spot to eat the picnic made from breakfast extras...


Dad would love it,, vista of pig farm. There are loads here but apart from the tell tale slurry smell you would never know as everywhere is extremely neat and tidy..


We made it to Arnhem to stay in a house boat. Above is on of the views from the deck. Lots of ducks which we were told at least twice not to feed.
Otherwise we have spotted heron swans moorhens geese by the thousands and two deer running across our path on the first day.

Delft to S'Hortogenbosch

First century ok, ok it was Kilometres so possibly doesn't count but it sounds good.. We had the wind in our sails ( behind us) so progress was good.
We cycled through the Kinderdyke area where all the old windmills have been kept restored and lived in. Now a National site of interest it was stunning .....






We chose a route that took us along the waterways and used ferries to cross in 3 places....





One even had it's own coat of armour though don't ask me why...



The weather has been kind although I think we missed a huge shower in Rotterdam on the way through as the puddles were enormous and the locals were wearing rain capes. We arrived at a stunning B and B, welcomed by a bottle of beer before heading to town for a fabulous meal whilst watching the Dutch get very excited about Holland winning their football game against Mexico. Happy faces all round..

Posted on the move

Delft to Gouda

This was our quiet day. We had a bit of a wander around Delft in the morning looking at all of the market offerings. Mostly Brocante to use the French expression that best describes nearly junk. A bit better than a car boot sale, not really antiques. We decided then to cycle to Gouda and back. ( this turned out to be one of Y's short routes. 85 Kilometres later we arrived back at the B and B very ready for something to eat. However we did see the cheese.....


And of course had to try some of the cake... It would be rude not to....


Along the way we came across the Wild Rooster...... cattle grids


And a massive blue heart to signal our return to town...

Abroad

We made it to the ferry hampered by a puncture for Y about a mile from the port.
Brilliant cabin although we were to discover later that the HEN Party was next door. Well deserved steak meal and early rest. Can't say sleep due to hen party. On the upside I saw the sunrise from the window or should I say porthole?


Usual DFDS breakfast before watching all the lorries being unloaded... Then it was off to pastures new.




Lots of different landscapes today. Dunes, forests canals ( but not many) and millions of bicycles...


Have arrived in Delft at possibly best B and B I have ever seen... More tomorrow

Posted on the move

Location:Delft