What next year?
http://www.eurovelo15.blogspot.co.uk
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Saturday 27 June 2015
Wednesday 10 June 2015
Day 20
Day 20
Ouddorp - Hoek van Holland 38 miles
Our last day and it started off very cold and windy again. Wrapped up well. We had a stop in Hellevoetsluis where we had a lunch date with my two nieces and Benoit, who was 3 last Saturday. It was lovely to meet again and we talked for 3 hours non stop! Then we started on the very last stretch of our Dutch Round. It wasn't far but we had to go over the Maasvlakte and that left us wide open again to the wind. We made the fast ferry from the Maasvlakte to the Hoek with 1 second to spare. It was about 100 metres to go and we saw the ferry ready to cast off again. What did we do...? We did a 'Cavendish' sprint, we really put all our energy in those last metres. The ropes had already been cast off, the gangway had already been raised. As we sprinted we waved and shouted Wait, wait and they did, let us get on board and we were off. We would have to wait for another hour to catch the next one. That was a great way to finish our total 915 miles round tour! Now waiting for our green jersey........
We are now on board the Harwich-Hoek ferry in our cabin and shall go to sleep soon as we are truly exhausted from all that wind. I mentioned wind force 4/5 yesterday but was told it was actually force 7. When cycling in this wind and a cyclist comes towards you it is as if an arrow just passed your face. They went that fast. Today was a little less and we luckily cycled through the sheltered dunes quite a bit. It was lovely. Now that it is all over we are quite sad as it has been such a wonderful journey and we will miss the excitement and the parts of the Netherlands you just wouldn't see other than on a bike and with the help of the person who actually wrote this tour in such fine detail. All credit to him or her.
We feel very blessed.
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Ouddorp - Hoek van Holland 38 miles
Our last day and it started off very cold and windy again. Wrapped up well. We had a stop in Hellevoetsluis where we had a lunch date with my two nieces and Benoit, who was 3 last Saturday. It was lovely to meet again and we talked for 3 hours non stop! Then we started on the very last stretch of our Dutch Round. It wasn't far but we had to go over the Maasvlakte and that left us wide open again to the wind. We made the fast ferry from the Maasvlakte to the Hoek with 1 second to spare. It was about 100 metres to go and we saw the ferry ready to cast off again. What did we do...? We did a 'Cavendish' sprint, we really put all our energy in those last metres. The ropes had already been cast off, the gangway had already been raised. As we sprinted we waved and shouted Wait, wait and they did, let us get on board and we were off. We would have to wait for another hour to catch the next one. That was a great way to finish our total 915 miles round tour! Now waiting for our green jersey........
We are now on board the Harwich-Hoek ferry in our cabin and shall go to sleep soon as we are truly exhausted from all that wind. I mentioned wind force 4/5 yesterday but was told it was actually force 7. When cycling in this wind and a cyclist comes towards you it is as if an arrow just passed your face. They went that fast. Today was a little less and we luckily cycled through the sheltered dunes quite a bit. It was lovely. Now that it is all over we are quite sad as it has been such a wonderful journey and we will miss the excitement and the parts of the Netherlands you just wouldn't see other than on a bike and with the help of the person who actually wrote this tour in such fine detail. All credit to him or her.
We feel very blessed.
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Monday 8 June 2015
Day 19
Day 19
Oost Souburg - Ouddorp 58.37 miles
For a long time we have looked very much forward to this stretch of cycling. The prevailing wind for this time of year is S.W. and cycling on the dikes with this wind is magic. You just sail over it on smooth asphalt paths. But no.....not today. We had a N.E. Force 4/5 and it became extremely hard going. We were only doing 4 miles p/h.!
But we got there. It was cold and we had to put extra jackets on, even these proved to be difficult to put on.
Now Lionel wears cycling shorts and I wear 3/4 trousers. When we passed some men doing some outside gardening, one of them shouted: 'well I can see, who's wearing the trousers here' ! We both laughed, it was funny the way he said it -in Dutch of course- and of course Lionel understood what he said.
As we cycled today -all the time along the coast -, much is displayed in several places about the liberation. At one point, there was a tank and landing craft on display and they had also made the place into a war museum. Vlissingen or Flushing is a lovely coastal town and much goes on here on the water. We started this morning by moving up on to the island of Noord-Beveland. From there on to Schouwen Duiveland, then on to the island of Goeree Overflakkee and tomorrow on to the island of Voorne Putten. All these islands are connected with dikes, water everywhere and open to the elements. And that is where a S.W. wind would have been a real treat. We have had this experience some years ago and it is just awesome.
Tomorrow will be our last day and we will travel back by ferry tomorrow night. First we will visit more family members.
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Oost Souburg - Ouddorp 58.37 miles
For a long time we have looked very much forward to this stretch of cycling. The prevailing wind for this time of year is S.W. and cycling on the dikes with this wind is magic. You just sail over it on smooth asphalt paths. But no.....not today. We had a N.E. Force 4/5 and it became extremely hard going. We were only doing 4 miles p/h.!
But we got there. It was cold and we had to put extra jackets on, even these proved to be difficult to put on.
Now Lionel wears cycling shorts and I wear 3/4 trousers. When we passed some men doing some outside gardening, one of them shouted: 'well I can see, who's wearing the trousers here' ! We both laughed, it was funny the way he said it -in Dutch of course- and of course Lionel understood what he said.
As we cycled today -all the time along the coast -, much is displayed in several places about the liberation. At one point, there was a tank and landing craft on display and they had also made the place into a war museum. Vlissingen or Flushing is a lovely coastal town and much goes on here on the water. We started this morning by moving up on to the island of Noord-Beveland. From there on to Schouwen Duiveland, then on to the island of Goeree Overflakkee and tomorrow on to the island of Voorne Putten. All these islands are connected with dikes, water everywhere and open to the elements. And that is where a S.W. wind would have been a real treat. We have had this experience some years ago and it is just awesome.
Tomorrow will be our last day and we will travel back by ferry tomorrow night. First we will visit more family members.
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Sunday 7 June 2015
Day 18
Day 18
Hoogerheide - Oost Souburg 50.34 miles
Started off in glorious sunshine and after leaving this very nice B&B we felt very content. We have now entered the Province of Zeeland. As there are many islands here there is plenty of water to see. Once we had crossed the Schelde-Rijnkanaal, yes that means 2, we were on the island called Zuid-Beveland. We had on our left the Westerschelde. On the other side of the island, the Oosterschelde. All along we cycled on the southern dike. It was quite windy, but we were ok about it. We looked forward to stop for coffee in the village of Kruiningen. But, oh no. This is a very religious village (Dutch Reformed Church) and everything was closed. People were just leaving church and everyone we saw was dressed in dark cloths and all the ladies were wearing a dark hat. The young girls were all wearing stockings and the boys also were very smartly dressed. So.....we had some water instead. Didn't see a place for coffee for miles and miles. The same applied for lunch, but we found one in the end in 's-Heerenhoek (The Lords Corner). We reached our intended stop at about 5 and feel we had another very good day. (We are in window 17).
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Hoogerheide - Oost Souburg 50.34 miles
Started off in glorious sunshine and after leaving this very nice B&B we felt very content. We have now entered the Province of Zeeland. As there are many islands here there is plenty of water to see. Once we had crossed the Schelde-Rijnkanaal, yes that means 2, we were on the island called Zuid-Beveland. We had on our left the Westerschelde. On the other side of the island, the Oosterschelde. All along we cycled on the southern dike. It was quite windy, but we were ok about it. We looked forward to stop for coffee in the village of Kruiningen. But, oh no. This is a very religious village (Dutch Reformed Church) and everything was closed. People were just leaving church and everyone we saw was dressed in dark cloths and all the ladies were wearing a dark hat. The young girls were all wearing stockings and the boys also were very smartly dressed. So.....we had some water instead. Didn't see a place for coffee for miles and miles. The same applied for lunch, but we found one in the end in 's-Heerenhoek (The Lords Corner). We reached our intended stop at about 5 and feel we had another very good day. (We are in window 17).
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Saturday 6 June 2015
Day 17
Day 17
Baarle-Nassau - Hoogerheide 53.01 miles
Nearly all day long we cycled through wooded areas occasionally interrupted by very smart looking villages. We had sunshine and in the afternoon the wind increased quite a bit, but by cycling through the woods we were shielded.
It looks a few more days now and our Dutch Round will be finished. We feel quite sorry when that day arrives because this has been one super cycling experience.
We had lot of stops today, usually for cups of tea, sharing the terrace with many cyclists, being a Saturday everyone was out. Many older folk have electric bikes, it is amazing how many elderly people cycle on these. Well done to them!
We came across something interesting on the road. What at first was thought to be another man-made pole for storks to make their nest on, was in fact nothing of the sort. Many, many years ago a man was severely punished, beheaded, bound and put on top of this place. Crows and other vultures would then do the rest. So in fact, it is a warning to all mankind to be good! Isn't that cruel!
We arrived at a super B&B, only opened 3 weeks ago. Lovely views.
(We are in window 14)
Sent from my iPad
Baarle-Nassau - Hoogerheide 53.01 miles
Nearly all day long we cycled through wooded areas occasionally interrupted by very smart looking villages. We had sunshine and in the afternoon the wind increased quite a bit, but by cycling through the woods we were shielded.
It looks a few more days now and our Dutch Round will be finished. We feel quite sorry when that day arrives because this has been one super cycling experience.
We had lot of stops today, usually for cups of tea, sharing the terrace with many cyclists, being a Saturday everyone was out. Many older folk have electric bikes, it is amazing how many elderly people cycle on these. Well done to them!
We came across something interesting on the road. What at first was thought to be another man-made pole for storks to make their nest on, was in fact nothing of the sort. Many, many years ago a man was severely punished, beheaded, bound and put on top of this place. Crows and other vultures would then do the rest. So in fact, it is a warning to all mankind to be good! Isn't that cruel!
We arrived at a super B&B, only opened 3 weeks ago. Lovely views.
(We are in window 14)
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Friday 5 June 2015
Day 16
Day 16
Someren Heide - Baarle-Nassau 58.91 miles
High mileage, but we had to go a bit further for a B&B tonight. All was full on the route.
We left this morning in extreme heat. Fantastic B&B - so friendly and helpful. We left at about 9 and it was far too warm to cycle comfortably. Fortunately we soon disappeared in the forest, called de Somerensche and Strabrechtse Heide. That shaded us from that intense heat. But we also were in open fields. Cycled alongside Eindhovensch Kanaal into Eindhoven. Went ok. Eindhoven is a big industry-town. Philips started in 1891 with the production of electric lamps. In 1928 the van Doorne brothers started DAF, the most important trucks and car industry for the Netherlands. I remember the cars well. They had quite a different sound, due to the Variomatic bands they had installed. We then cycled into a delightful place called Oirschot. Very upmarket with many places to eat - all with terraces. Very colourful and very chique. From Oirschot we cycled alongside the Wilhelminakanaal and then branched off for Hilvarenbeek through wooded area's. At Alphen we branched off for Baarle- Nassau where we had booked accommodation for the night. 15 minutes after we arrived we had a cloudburst and it's still pouring 2 hours later. We did not get wet! In spite of the unbearable heat we had a lovely day with fantastic scenery.
(We are now in window 12).
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Someren Heide - Baarle-Nassau 58.91 miles
High mileage, but we had to go a bit further for a B&B tonight. All was full on the route.
We left this morning in extreme heat. Fantastic B&B - so friendly and helpful. We left at about 9 and it was far too warm to cycle comfortably. Fortunately we soon disappeared in the forest, called de Somerensche and Strabrechtse Heide. That shaded us from that intense heat. But we also were in open fields. Cycled alongside Eindhovensch Kanaal into Eindhoven. Went ok. Eindhoven is a big industry-town. Philips started in 1891 with the production of electric lamps. In 1928 the van Doorne brothers started DAF, the most important trucks and car industry for the Netherlands. I remember the cars well. They had quite a different sound, due to the Variomatic bands they had installed. We then cycled into a delightful place called Oirschot. Very upmarket with many places to eat - all with terraces. Very colourful and very chique. From Oirschot we cycled alongside the Wilhelminakanaal and then branched off for Hilvarenbeek through wooded area's. At Alphen we branched off for Baarle- Nassau where we had booked accommodation for the night. 15 minutes after we arrived we had a cloudburst and it's still pouring 2 hours later. We did not get wet! In spite of the unbearable heat we had a lovely day with fantastic scenery.
(We are now in window 12).
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Thursday 4 June 2015
Day 15
Day 15
Roermond -Someren Heide 42 miles
Having stayed with my sister Gerty yesterday we took the train back to Roermond and went back in the saddle. Getting out of Roermond was a little confusing first thing but once we got that little struggle out of the way we went through with the wind in the back this time and......the sun was shining!
It was lovely. Roermond is dominated with water. Since about 1930 And especially in middle Limburg the wider surroundings of the river Maas gradually changed into a big holy cheese. Sand and gravel from previous centuries was taken out for the cement industry. The lakes were being used for water sport. It has become quite an industry.
(We are in window 9.)
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Roermond -Someren Heide 42 miles
Having stayed with my sister Gerty yesterday we took the train back to Roermond and went back in the saddle. Getting out of Roermond was a little confusing first thing but once we got that little struggle out of the way we went through with the wind in the back this time and......the sun was shining!
It was lovely. Roermond is dominated with water. Since about 1930 And especially in middle Limburg the wider surroundings of the river Maas gradually changed into a big holy cheese. Sand and gravel from previous centuries was taken out for the cement industry. The lakes were being used for water sport. It has become quite an industry.
(We are in window 9.)
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Wednesday 3 June 2015
Day 14
Day 14
Nieuw Bergen - Roermond 50.12 miles
We left a fabulous Bed & Breakfast and could compere that to Southfork in Dallas!
Lionel said, the only thing missing was Sue-Ellen!
Leaving with a strong headwind and a little rain we crossed the river Maas on a very small foot/cyclist ferry. Met some folk who were just starting their cycle trip to Italy. A lot of dike cycling again, which left us wide open to the strong wind and rain. But we conquered that and soon reached the city of Venlo. Sailed through without loosing the way and we then cycled through wooded area's which sheltered us from the elements. Then it was back to dike cycling and it was really hard going. Through some lovely villages untill we finally reached the city of Roermond. We put the bike in safe bike parking, took the train to Heerlen where my dear sister Gerty collected us from the station. We will spend Wednesday with her and continue cycling on Thursday. We are now in window 7.
Sent from my iPad
Nieuw Bergen - Roermond 50.12 miles
We left a fabulous Bed & Breakfast and could compere that to Southfork in Dallas!
Lionel said, the only thing missing was Sue-Ellen!
Leaving with a strong headwind and a little rain we crossed the river Maas on a very small foot/cyclist ferry. Met some folk who were just starting their cycle trip to Italy. A lot of dike cycling again, which left us wide open to the strong wind and rain. But we conquered that and soon reached the city of Venlo. Sailed through without loosing the way and we then cycled through wooded area's which sheltered us from the elements. Then it was back to dike cycling and it was really hard going. Through some lovely villages untill we finally reached the city of Roermond. We put the bike in safe bike parking, took the train to Heerlen where my dear sister Gerty collected us from the station. We will spend Wednesday with her and continue cycling on Thursday. We are now in window 7.
Sent from my iPad
Monday 1 June 2015
Day13
Day13
Millingen aan de Rijn - Nieuw Bergen near Gennep. 42.52 miles
We left our B&B with sunshine! Straight away on the dike, where in this elevated position we had panoramic views of the river de Waal on our right and farming scenes on our left. Both were stunning. This went on for about 13 miles and just before we entered Nijmegen we came through a village called Tiengeboden, which translated means Ten Commandments. We were extremely careful cycling through busy Nijmegen for fear of losing a sign, but again we sailed through. Then is was through forest and is well known for its beautiful surroundings (Mookerheide). About 20 miles of that and we then were not far from where the river Waal and the river Maas meet. We continued along the Maas. The sun kept shining and it became a little warmer too. We reached our B&B about 4, quite early. Tomorrow we have to do about 50 miles as we want to reach the city of Roermond. We shall park the tandem in a safe-parking place at the station and take the train to visit my sister Gerty. It has been a great day once again and we are well pleased. (Window 4 now).
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Millingen aan de Rijn - Nieuw Bergen near Gennep. 42.52 miles
We left our B&B with sunshine! Straight away on the dike, where in this elevated position we had panoramic views of the river de Waal on our right and farming scenes on our left. Both were stunning. This went on for about 13 miles and just before we entered Nijmegen we came through a village called Tiengeboden, which translated means Ten Commandments. We were extremely careful cycling through busy Nijmegen for fear of losing a sign, but again we sailed through. Then is was through forest and is well known for its beautiful surroundings (Mookerheide). About 20 miles of that and we then were not far from where the river Waal and the river Maas meet. We continued along the Maas. The sun kept shining and it became a little warmer too. We reached our B&B about 4, quite early. Tomorrow we have to do about 50 miles as we want to reach the city of Roermond. We shall park the tandem in a safe-parking place at the station and take the train to visit my sister Gerty. It has been a great day once again and we are well pleased. (Window 4 now).
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