Tag: BicycleTouringBenelux

Garry McGivern (Travelsonabike2) bicycle touring Benelux on his trusty bike, Passepartout

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Low Countries Bicycle Tour: England, Harwich To Bognor Regis | Travelsonabike2

Castle

Cycling England: Harwich to London, Victoria

My final Low Countries bicycle touring update: cycling in England, Harwich to London by bike, then train to Bognor Regis. 62 miles cycled according to Google, which I’m pretty sure is wrong! I’m surprised I got moving today after the breakfast I had. It’s always the same when it’s an eat as much as you like. I always abuse it, as do most people.

First, I had a continental breakfast of croissants, pan au chocolate and muffins. After all, I have just come from there! Then I went for the full English. Eggs, bacon, sausages, hash browns, black pudding, mushrooms and baked beans. Plus copious amounts of coffee. I certainly felt full up. And I haven’t had anything else to eat all day. But then it’s not surprising really if I’ve only cycled 62 miles.

The ride to London was hard going; there was a strong wind blowing against me, along with the odd shower or two. Just as I hit the outskirts of London, those showers turned into heavy rain. And I had to put my waterproof jacket on and put the phone away in my bar bag. (as I explained before, smartphones are useless in the rain) And just when I needed my phone the most for navigation purposes. But with a little luck and sneaking a quick look at my phone, I made it. Mind you, by the time I’d reached central London, the rain had stopped, which was typical. I knew my way around then.

Westminster Cathedral, which I never knew existed

I wasn’t too sure if I’d make it to London or not, and was quite surprised with myself when I did. After taking a couple of photos, I made my way to Victoria railway station. I knew that I wouldn’t be allowed on a train as it was rush hour. Bikes aren’t allowed on the trains during rush hour. But I thought I’d try. Haha, not a chance. I then had a two-hour wait before there was a train I could get on.

Some Thoughts On This Trip

It’s been a great little tour, and I’ve thoroughly enjoyed it. Although there’s always the odd moment that’s hard going and makes you think why am I doing this? But it’s always good once the day is over and there’s a sense of achievement. I’m not sure when I’ll be going away next. A lot depends on what’s going to happen with my neck.

Tour Information

It’s been years since I undertook this tour, but the memories (and the data) are all archived:

Follow & Support

If you’re enjoying the ride and want to fuel my next mile, you can always support me by buying me a beer. Or subscribe to my blog and follow me as I travel around on my bike. As a subscriber, you’ll be among the first to receive news and updates on future tours. And, of course, you can always follow me on social media: Facebook, Bluesky, Threads, X, Instagram, YouTube and Pinterest. I’m also on Flickr, where you’ll find pictures from all my tours, along with regular photo updates that I generally publish each month.

If you want to find out if I’m away touring at the moment and check my location, visit the Where’s Garry page. And for an insight into the gear and logistics that keep me on the road, see my Life at 10mph Guide.

Follow Garry on his travels

Subscribe to my email and follow me on my travels

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Low Countries Bicycle Tour: Hook of Holland, Netherlands To Harwich, England | Travelsonabike2

Ferry

Cycling Benelux, England: Hook of Holland to Harwich

My latest Low Countries bicycle tour update: Hook of Holland, Netherlands, to Harwich, England. By ferry. What a boring waste of a day. Although it was quite nice talking to some of the other cyclists at the campsite. Who had also tried to get on last night’s ferry.

All my dithering about yesterday annoyed me even more today, when I realised I don’t have to be home as early as I thought! It’s only a day later. But maybe I could have cycled down to Calais. Which is easily said afterwards when I’m out of the wind, sitting in a bar. That wind today was pretty strong, and after Amsterdam, I would have been cycling directly into it.

I like the way they load bikes on this ferry

Now that I’ve got an extra day, I’m debating whether I should cycle directly home or go on a detour. Although I was looking at the map this morning, nowhere sprang to mind. And the weather doesn’t look particularly good either.

Getting back into England was a nightmare; border patrol is so slow these days. I was fifth in line, yet it still took over half an hour to get through. And then, of course, while waiting, it started to rain.

Tour Information

It’s been years since I undertook this tour, but the memories (and the data) are all archived:

Follow & Support

If you’re enjoying the ride and want to fuel my next mile, you can always support me by buying me a beer. Or subscribe to my blog and follow me as I travel around on my bike. As a subscriber, you’ll be among the first to receive news and updates on future tours. And, of course, you can always follow me on social media: Facebook, Bluesky, Threads, X, Instagram, YouTube and Pinterest. I’m also on Flickr, where you’ll find pictures from all my tours, along with regular photo updates that I generally publish each month.

If you want to find out if I’m away touring at the moment and check my location, visit the Where’s Garry page. And for an insight into the gear and logistics that keep me on the road, see my Life at 10mph Guide.

Follow Garry on his travels

Subscribe to my email and follow me on my travels

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Low Countries Bicycle Tour: The Netherlands, Aalsmeerderbrug To Hook of Holland | Travelsonabike2

Crooked houses

Cycling the Netherlands: Aalsmeerderbrug to Hook of Holland

My latest Low Countries bicycle tour update: cycling in the Netherlands, Aalsmeerderbrug to the Hook of Holland. 61 miles, Google’s playing ball today. I was up nice and early today, I wanted to get the tent down and packed away before it started to rain. I was also hopeful of getting into Amsterdam before the rain came in. And on both accounts, mission accomplished. It just started to spit with rain as I left Amsterdam.

It’s been tough going today; I’ve had a strong headwind all day, which I knew I would get when I cycled up to Amsterdam. And although it’s been raining on and off all day, I was lucky enough to miss most of the showers. That was until this afternoon. Thinking it would only be another brief shower, I continued cycling. But the rain just got heavier and heavier. I took shelter under a tree, but that proved to be useless. It was fine to start with, but the wind and rain was so strong, the tree offered no shelter at all. And I was completely soaked. Even the cars on the road next to me came to a standstill, the rain was so hard.

Now there’s something you don’t see every day, a plane crossing on a bridge overhead

You’re Not As Useless As You Thought

I wasn’t expecting to get as far as I have today. But when I realised, I kept umming and ahhing what to do. Should I stay another night and go in to Rotterdam tomorrow? Or should I get the ferry back to England? I cycled past several campsites and dithered at each one. Should I stay or should I go? In the end, the deciding factor was the weather. It’s looking awful for tomorrow, and I think there’s also a weather warning out.

I arrived at the ferry terminal and went to book tonight’s crossing. No chance they were fully booked. And it was the same for tomorrow night. I suppose it’s to be expected, after all, it is peak season. I think I’ve got used to travelling off-season and just turning up and getting a crossing. It just never occurred to me that they’d be full. So reluctantly, I’m booked on tomorrow afternoon’s crossing, which gets into Harwich at 8 p.m. tomorrow. An awful time to arrive anywhere, so I’ve booked a hotel.

Tour Information

It’s been years since I undertook this tour, but the memories (and the data) are all archived:

Follow & Support

If you’re enjoying the ride and want to fuel my next mile, you can always support me by buying me a beer. Or subscribe to my blog and follow me as I travel around on my bike. As a subscriber, you’ll be among the first to receive news and updates on future tours. And, of course, you can always follow me on social media: Facebook, Bluesky, Threads, X, Instagram, YouTube and Pinterest. I’m also on Flickr, where you’ll find pictures from all my tours, along with regular photo updates that I generally publish each month.

If you want to find out if I’m away touring at the moment and check my location, visit the Where’s Garry page. And for an insight into the gear and logistics that keep me on the road, see my Life at 10mph Guide.

Follow Garry on his travels

Subscribe to my email and follow me on my travels

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Low Countries Bicycle Tour: The Netherlands, Achtmaal To Aalsmeerderbrug | Travelsonabike2

Windmill and bridge

Cycling Benelux, the Netherlands: Achtmaal to Aalsmeerderbrug

My latest Low Countries bicycle tour update: cycling in the Netherlands, Achtmaal to Aalsmeerderbrug. Google’s playing hard to get again today and won’t give me today’s mileage. But I’d say around the 60 to 70 mark.

Things didn’t get off to the best of starts. Every morning starts with a cup of coffee, and today was no different. I got my coffee out, grabbed a spoonful and was just about to put it in the cup when I spotted something brown in the bottom. I initially thought it was mould (it’d have to have grown quickly, I only used the cup yesterday), but on closer examination, I saw it was a slug. He’d obviously decided to bed down there for the night. So glad I spotted it.

I must have slept really well last night. I didn’t wake up until 5.30. Normally, I’m awake an hour before that. But whether I slept well or not, I’ve felt pretty tired all day. And I’m struggling to stay awake to write today’s blog. And I don’t think I’ll sleep too well tonight. Schiphol Airport is only down the road, and we’re right on its flight path. There’s a plane taking off nearly every minute!

Church in Etten-Leur

No rain this morning, so I packed up and hit the road. It looked as if it was going to rain all day. But it stayed dry. I’ve been cycling next to busy motorways or canals for the majority of the day. And could have made Amsterdam easily. But then I’d have the trouble of finding a hotel. So it was easier to stop where I have. I think Amsterdam is about another 10 miles, which I’ll do early tomorrow while it’s quiet. Although I think rain is due again.

I’ve been surprised by the number of thatched houses there have been today. There have been plenty on my route, as well as windmills.

Tour Information

It’s been years since I undertook this tour, but the memories (and the data) are all archived:

Follow & Support

If you’re enjoying the ride and want to fuel my next mile, you can always support me by buying me a beer. Or subscribe to my blog and follow me as I travel around on my bike. As a subscriber, you’ll be among the first to receive news and updates on future tours. And, of course, you can always follow me on social media: Facebook, Bluesky, Threads, X, Instagram, YouTube and Pinterest. I’m also on Flickr, where you’ll find pictures from all my tours, along with regular photo updates that I generally publish each month.

If you want to find out if I’m away touring at the moment and check my location, visit the Where’s Garry page. And for an insight into the gear and logistics that keep me on the road, see my Life at 10mph Guide.

Follow Garry on his travels

Subscribe to my email and follow me on my travels