LONDON TO AMSTERDAM

Click on the map or a photo to see an enlargement

LOCATION: AMSTERDAM - This post covers the time from my arrival in London on May 16 until I met Jos in Amsterdam on May 28.

The bike and panier arrived safe and sound in London. Thanks to British Airways.

The official start: May 16, 2009 at Buckingham Palace.

SCHEDULE:
So far I am on schedule, although the couple of days getting to Amsterdam were very long. Fortunately the flat Dutch landscape is conducive to making good time on a bike, even if the wind is not.

This is a performance of Romeo and Juliet in the reconstructed Globe Theatre.

DISTANCE: 913 kilometres from London to Amsterdam, although that does include the extra cycling that I have done on "off" days or at the end of some days to do sightseeing, shopping, etc.

AVERAGE DISTANCE PER DAY: 76 km

This fellow had a sign that said he had cycled 40,000 km in 4 years. If that is what cycling that far does to you, I think I will stop well before I have gone that far.

AVERAGE SPEED:

Average speed on most days is about 15-17 kph. Speed depends on the wind, whether there is rain and the terrain.

MAXIMUM SPEED: 49.5 kph going down one of the big hills between Canterbury and Dover.

LONGEST DISTANCE ON ANY DAY: 128 km from Lier (Belgium) to near Kinderdyk in Holland.

FLAT TIRES: None

The white cliffs of Dover.

WEATHER: Rain of some account on 8 of 14 days. Temperature has been between 16 and 20. On most days it has been very windy. One night there was a BIG storm, but fortunately I had finished cycling for the day.

Although there were cycling lanes in England, things continued to improve for cyclists as I got closer to The Netherlands. Sometimes, the cycling lanes were even a different colour.

TERRAIN: Southwest England between Canterbury and Dover was very hard - lots of long and/or steep hills. Calais to the Belgian border was as flat as a pancake. From Ypres in Belgium to Brugges the hills were very gentle. Holland is once again very flat.


FLAT TIRES: None

Each of the bronze blocks in this German WWI cemetary is covered with the names of soldiers burried in the mass grave near Poelkapelle, Belgium.

The dark brooding character of the German WWI Cemetary at Poelkapelle, Belgium (near Passendale) contrast significantly with the bright, flowered Commonwealth cemetaries such as the one here at Tyne Cot near Passendale, Belgium.

ACCOMMODATIONS: I will provide an update on this in a later blog. However, I do want to thank Michiel and Petra de Ruyter who gave me a wonderful place to stay when I was unable to find any accommodation near Kinderdyk. Their generosity to a stranger was wonderful. Although most people in this world are very good, it is rare to meet such kind people who sense another's need and make an offer of help on their own initiative.

Michiel and Petra de Ruyter in front of their home.

On Ascension Day, it was a holiday in Poekapaele, Belgium and part of the celebrations included a bicycle race

Evening in central Ghent, Belgium

Here I am joined by Rit and Jan at the back of their home in Kessel, Belgium. Josh stayed with Rit and Jan for several months in 1996. Rit and Jan were very generous to Josh and it was great to be able to meet them after so many years. Meeting Jan and Rit was the most emotional part of the trip to date.

At the World Heritage Site at Kinderdyk where you can see a concentration of 16 historic mills.

CHALLENGES:

• 
  
  
  getting my bike onto the airplane in a manner that is acceptable to the airline. The single mattres bag from U-Haul for $5 fit the bill perfectly.
• 
  
  
  getting in and out of cities on a bicycle.
• 
  
  
  finding your way in a foreign country
• 
  
  
  finding a place to stay when you are on a bicycle and can cover a limited distance

NEXT UPDATE: Jos and I met as scheduled, on Thursday, May 28. We will be heading east to meet some of his friends and family and then procede up the Rhine River valley. Next update will be about June 13 or 14.

ITINERARY

Click on a photo to see an enlargement

This blog describes the bicycle tour that Jos, Joe and I are making from London to Istanbul during the summers of 2009 and 2010.


On Saturday (May 16, 2009) I will get off a plane in London, get on my bicycle and head for Budapest, 2,500 km., 8 countries and 58 days away. In Amsterdam I will meet my good friend Jos Hulshof and together we will complete the first part of a two-summer tour that Joe Lehmann and I will complete next summer.


In general our route goes from London to Dover, across the English Channel, through the low countries to Amsterdam where I will meet Jos, who has arranged for us to tour a little with one of his friends and to visit his family farm. From the Netherlands, we head up the Rhine River valley until we are almost to Switzerland. Near Frieburg, Germany we will cross over the height of land to the source of the Danube River. Except for a diversion to Munich to visit another friend, Gerd Mischler, we will follow the Danube River toward the Black Sea, passing through Vienna before reaching Budapest.


Next year, Joe and I will pick up the route in Budapest and cycle to Belgrade, Serbia and then on to Bucharest, Romania. From there we will leave the Danube River valley and head south to the Black Sea and into Turkey, reaching Istanbul on or around August 20, 2010.


Each of us has his own reasons for taking part in this adventure. Although a test of our endurance, we also hope to go at a pace that will enable us to enjoy the sights, the sounds, the smells and the tastes of the regions we will travel through. We plan to stay in hostels and small local hotels/pensions, and to picnic as much as we can. Wish us luck, I hope we can do it.!


Part I: LONDON TO BUDAPEST (2009)
Start: London, England, May 19, 2009
Finish:Budapest, Hungary, July 12, 2009
Distance: 3,400 kilometres
Cycling days: 45
Rest days: 11
Number of countries: 7
Average distance per cycling day: 75 km

Part II: VIENNA TO ISTANBUL (2010)
Start: Vienna, Hungary, July 19, 2010
Finish: Istanbul, Turkey, August 25, 2010
Distance: 2,500 kilometres
Cycling days: 29
Rest days: 7
Number of countries:  8
Average distance per cycling day: 85 km

I CAN BE CONTACTED AT dr.w.richardson@gmail.com