Dublin // Liverpool - Manchester - Sheffield - Nottingham - Leicester - Bedford - Luton - London // Amsterdam - Rotterdam - Antwerp - Brussels - Enghien
Bike: 579 mi / 926 km
Showing posts with label netherlands. Show all posts
Showing posts with label netherlands. Show all posts
Monday, June 2, 2008
Sunday, May 25, 2008
Wayyy more mileage than necessary
Rotterdam to Antwerp
Well let's see. What should have been a 60 mile ride turns into a 90 mile ride. Am I really surprised. Not really.
Getting out of the Netherlands was relatively easy. There were bike path signs leading all the way to Belgium. Even to Breda, which is a city a little before Belgium in the Netherlands.
Oh, and it definitely started pouring basically once I got into Belgium. I didn't want to be as wet and cold as I was during my ride to Luton in England, so I decided to give my poncho a try. And it actually worked out well. I wasn't sure what it'd be like wearing a pancho while riding, so I didn't use it during my ride to Luton. But now that I know it really doesn't interfere with riding (besides minimal wind resistance), I will not hesistate to use my poncho in the future!
Anyway, so the hard rain lasted for about an hour (actually I have no idea because I have no sense of time when I'm riding... or ever haha), and then it let up and the sun came out.
So I made it to Breda, and there, as far as I could tell, the bike path signs that were so helpful abruptly disappeared. Oh! And I came across a street named after JFK--how random! Anyway, so in Breda, I started using my compass. Unlike when I used my compass to get to Rotterdam, the roads to Antwerp didn't always go in the direction I wanted it to. So I ended up going too far east, and then figured out a road that went southwest (or maybe just west, I don't remember) to get me on a road that went straight down south to Antwerp... or something like that. That probably didn't make sense anyway haha. Oh, and I passed through a street carnival (in a city I shouldn't have even been going through). One of the rides was called "American bump cars." With an American flag. But I liked how they distinguished bumper cars as being American haha.
Anyway, so eventually I found my way to Antwerp.
Route (Rotterdam to Antwerp): followed bike paths signs to Breda, then used compass
Bike: 91 miles
Well let's see. What should have been a 60 mile ride turns into a 90 mile ride. Am I really surprised. Not really.
Getting out of the Netherlands was relatively easy. There were bike path signs leading all the way to Belgium. Even to Breda, which is a city a little before Belgium in the Netherlands.
Oh, and it definitely started pouring basically once I got into Belgium. I didn't want to be as wet and cold as I was during my ride to Luton in England, so I decided to give my poncho a try. And it actually worked out well. I wasn't sure what it'd be like wearing a pancho while riding, so I didn't use it during my ride to Luton. But now that I know it really doesn't interfere with riding (besides minimal wind resistance), I will not hesistate to use my poncho in the future!
Anyway, so the hard rain lasted for about an hour (actually I have no idea because I have no sense of time when I'm riding... or ever haha), and then it let up and the sun came out.
So I made it to Breda, and there, as far as I could tell, the bike path signs that were so helpful abruptly disappeared. Oh! And I came across a street named after JFK--how random! Anyway, so in Breda, I started using my compass. Unlike when I used my compass to get to Rotterdam, the roads to Antwerp didn't always go in the direction I wanted it to. So I ended up going too far east, and then figured out a road that went southwest (or maybe just west, I don't remember) to get me on a road that went straight down south to Antwerp... or something like that. That probably didn't make sense anyway haha. Oh, and I passed through a street carnival (in a city I shouldn't have even been going through). One of the rides was called "American bump cars." With an American flag. But I liked how they distinguished bumper cars as being American haha.
Anyway, so eventually I found my way to Antwerp.
Route (Rotterdam to Antwerp): followed bike paths signs to Breda, then used compass
Bike: 91 miles
Friday, May 23, 2008
Only a compass to guide my way
I did a rail and sail thing. Rail to Harwich (east England), sail to Hook of Holland via overnight ferry, rail again to Amsterdam in the morning. Stayed in Amsterdam for a couple of days.
Amsterdam to Rotterdam
It took me over an hour to get out of Amsterdam. Of course I started using my google map directions, but when that failed, I resorted to plan B, which was to just start heading south using my compass. There were occasionally signs pointing to different cities, and had I known what cities were between Amsterdam and Rotterdam, the signs may have been a little bit of a help. (I really need to replace my lost map.) But instead, I just kept heading south and southwest, in (what I thought was) the general direction of Rotterdam.
I came across a sign pointing to Utrecht, and started going in that direction because I thought maybe somehow it could work out going that way... but then texted Dinja to have her confirm my suspicion that Utrecht is much further east than I want to be. Rotterdam is more southwest of Amsterdam. East would be in a completely wrong direction. So then at the next possible intersection, I started heading in a different direction. This took me to more of the countryside and back roads.
I just kept looking at my compass and riding either south or southwest, just hoping I would end up in the right general direction.
Eventally, I found out what city I was in by asking someone on the street and went into a bookstore to look at a map. I was going in the right direction, YAY! After that all I had to do was follow bike path signs to Gouda and Rotterdam! Yes, it was wonderful, there are signs specific to bike paths leading to various cities.
So I was able to make it to Rotterdam!
Amsterdam to Rotterdam
It took me over an hour to get out of Amsterdam. Of course I started using my google map directions, but when that failed, I resorted to plan B, which was to just start heading south using my compass. There were occasionally signs pointing to different cities, and had I known what cities were between Amsterdam and Rotterdam, the signs may have been a little bit of a help. (I really need to replace my lost map.) But instead, I just kept heading south and southwest, in (what I thought was) the general direction of Rotterdam.
I came across a sign pointing to Utrecht, and started going in that direction because I thought maybe somehow it could work out going that way... but then texted Dinja to have her confirm my suspicion that Utrecht is much further east than I want to be. Rotterdam is more southwest of Amsterdam. East would be in a completely wrong direction. So then at the next possible intersection, I started heading in a different direction. This took me to more of the countryside and back roads.
I just kept looking at my compass and riding either south or southwest, just hoping I would end up in the right general direction.
Eventally, I found out what city I was in by asking someone on the street and went into a bookstore to look at a map. I was going in the right direction, YAY! After that all I had to do was follow bike path signs to Gouda and Rotterdam! Yes, it was wonderful, there are signs specific to bike paths leading to various cities.
So I was able to make it to Rotterdam!
It actually turned out to be a good thing I didn't follow my directions. Or else I wouldn't have had as scenic of a route as I did. Lots of open fields, lots of canals, lots of residential areas I passed through.
Oh, and I had my first incident of a bug flying into my mouth while riding. And I swallowed it. SICK!!!!!
Route (Amsterdam to Rotterdam): following bike paths going south/southwest
Bike: 59 miles
Bike around Amsterdam throughout stay: 17 miles
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