This week’s Travelsonabike2 bicycle touring on this day post comes from The Netherlands on the 17th-May-2010, and I’m in Holland on my way to Italy, having a nightmare trying to navigate the cycle paths.
There is a more embellished version of this post, along with all the posts from my ride to Italy, in my “Travels on a Bike 2 Italy” tour book available to buy from Amazon.
Monday 17th May 2010. De Haan, Belgium to The Hook of Holland, Holland. 118 Miles.
It rained overnight, which kept me awake for a while. But when it was time to get up, it had stopped, and the sun was shining.
I crossed the border into Holland this morning, not that I would have known it! I only realised when I caught sight of a ridiculously small sign. That was more fitting to a sign you’d see entering a small village.
There are even more cycle paths here. Unfortunately, they don’t follow the roads, which is a big problem for me. The signs on the cycle routes tend to give you the name of the next village, which would be fine if I knew where that village was. Villages aren’t marked on my maps. According to my map, there’s only a handful of towns between De Haan and the Hook of Holland. So telling me that so and so is only 3kms away is no good. I need to know where the next big town is.
I cycled on a few of these routes but found it all too frustrating. Not knowing where I was or if I was even going in the right direction. I had to keep stopping and asking for directions. Thankfully, most people speak good English.
Eventually, I gave up on the cycle routes and went back to cycling on the road, where I knew where I was going. That didn’t go too well, either. I’ve never had so much abuse from motorists or anybody else. They were shouting, they were beeping. And I was a little surprised, considering they’re such a cycle-friendly nation. But with such a good cycle network, there’s no need to be on the road as long as you know where you’re going. I think I’d just as well throw my map away!
Because I’ve had to stick to cycle paths, It’s been a long day, zig-zagging between towns, and I didn’t finish until nearly 8 p.m. Hopefully, tomorrow will be better.
Subscribe to my blog and follow me as I travel around on my bike. Plus, 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, X, Instagram, YouTube and Pinterest. I’m also on Flickr, where photographs from all my tours are.
If you want to find out if Garry’s away touring at the moment and check his location, visit the Where’s Garry web page.
