How I planned my first solo cycle tour

So what do you do when you have decided that you will go on your first solo cycle tour in a foreign country? You freak out! Just for one second. And then you sit down and start considering what you need for the trip.

A bike. 
Duh! I do not own a bike suitable for touring, plus I was planning to fly to London after the cycle tour was over. Plus I'm not keen on packing and unpacking bulky stuff. So I looked at rental options. I googled bike rental and found several bike tour operators that provide bike rentals. Since I would be needing panniers, I shortlisted those that rented out panniers too. Then I emailed then to make inquiries. I finally decided on using Wheely Dutch Bike Tours. Rebecca, the owner, was so responsive with emails and even helped me with recommendations on my route, giving me info about the weather and flower fields during my planned tour. The bike came with luggage rack, front and back lights, 2 locks, repair kit and pump - all necessary for touring.

Accommodation. 
Europe can be expensive. But it need not be. I found a website with info about cycling in the Netherlands, and some recommendations on accommodation. Some websites are in Dutch, and some have English options. I looked through all options and used google translate where needed. Hey, I'm cheap okay. Camping is the cheapest option, but I was not keen on lugging around camping gear. I wanted to cycle as light as possible. Youth hostel is also a cheap option, but I'm not a big fan of sleeping in a room full of strangers. Ok I'm cheap and fussy.

And then I came across Vrienden op de Fiets (Friends of the Bicycle). It's a foundation that offers a network of overnight addresses for people on cycling and walking trips. Your host guarantees a bed, safe place for your bike, and breakfast, and all this for 19 Euros. You need to pay an annual membership of 10 Euro, but for this small amount, they mail you a map of Netherlands and a book containing all hosts' addresses. The huge plus point I love about Vrienden op de Fiets is the availability of addresses - practically everywhere in the country and even at the borders. Signing up is easy, everything is done online, and I just had to send a payment of 10 Euro via Paypal. Arrangement with the hosts can be done nearer to the trip date, actually preferably so, in case your hosts have other last minute plans, or they could not see too far into the future. I selected hosts that could be contacted via email to make arrangements. Language is not a big issue.

Route
So now I have booked a bike, and I know where to find accommodation. Next, where to cycle? Netherlands, although not a huge country, everything looks bigger when you are attempting to cover by bike. I realised this on the first day I started my cycle tour later on. I already had some recommendations from Rebecca on which places I should be passing by. But what about the actual route I should be taking? Netherlands has so many cycle routes!

More time spent with google turned up some interesting options. My favourite, and eventually became my best friend on the tour, is the Fietsersbond Routeplanner. It has a mobile app version. It lets you select if you want a circular route, or point to point, and you can add points you want to pass in between, and you can select if you want a quick route or something scenic. It really is a great tool for planning your route in the Netherlands.

Packing List
As light as possible! Like it or not, I definitely needed to be doing laundry every few days.

• 3 tops, preferably quick-dry material
• 3 bottoms, preferably quick-dry material
• 1 jacket (it would be cold in May in the morning and at night)
• rain jacket and rain pants (I would not stop cycling even during rain)
• small micro-fibre towel
• underwear, of course
• toiletries - I packed everything into tiny plastic bottles - only what I needed
• Dutch SIM card - purchased at airport
• a hat, my ears get cold easily in the wind
• Vaseline - helps with dryness
• baby diaper rash cream - you would understand why after sitting on the saddle for hours
• detergent powder - small pack

You do not need a helmet for cycling in the Netherlands, but if you want to wear one, you could bring one or rent one.

And that's basically how I prepared for my first solo cycle tour. It involved some searching and reading, but it was a lot of fun and I learned a lot from that experience.

Planning my next cycling adventure for 2017

2016 is considered quiet, compared to hectic travels in 2015. But it's all good, I'm spending 2016 doing some hard work at work, so that I can take a LOOONG vacation in 2017 to go for another cycling adventure, and maybe I'll try a walking adventure too.

Where to go.. what to do... decisions, decisions..

Day 14

Day 14 Rutten-Harderwijk 120km

This morning I decided to take the long route - weather conditions forecasted to be favourable. The morning was overcast, cold and no wind - perfect for cycling along the dikes while listening to Les Mis. Reached Urk mid-morning and found haring (yippee! ). In the afternoon, the sun came out and so did the wind. And so did the humans. Did not realise it's a 'Sunday' here, so people are not working and shops are closed. In Elburg found more haring, but too many people. Reached Harderwijk in good time, as in the sun had not set 😅

Day 13

Day 13 Adorp-Groningen-Leeuwarden-Rutten 67km ride

It was easy to find my way in the morning from Adorp to Groningen - just follow the stream of cyclists. One last ride around town before taking the train to Leeuwarden, and then cycled down to Sneek and Rutten. The Friesland is famous for their cows, and some mooed at me while I was taking their picture. The day was sunny but cold, just a bit windy. I can't believe only two more days to reach Amsterdam.

Days 3-12

Oops I have been quite bad at updating the blog. Right now I am in Adorp, and cycled a total of 803km. 3 days left, and it has been quite an adventure so far. 

I spent a good deal of Day 3 at Keukenhof. Cycled to Leiden and took the train to Rotterdam, and cycled to Rottekade where I spent the night.

On the way to Rottekade.

Day 4 I made my way to Gorinchem, passing by beautiful Dordrecht. 

Bike on ferry crossing, one of many that I took during my trip. 

Day 5 was from Gorinchem to Eindhoven. It was very windy and raining. Midway at 's-Hertogenbosch, my tendon was swollen and it was raining pretty heavy. So I took the train to Eindhoven - good thing I did as later I heard it was quite a thunderstorm that afternoon. 

Resting at park in Eindhoven.

This has to be my most memorable day - day 6 from Eindhoven to Lanaken, Belgie. It was a long ride, mostly against strong winds. And I only reached my destination at 11pm!

Day 7 I cycled to Maastricht and around the town. Then took the train to Nijmegen, and cycled to Bemmel. 

Day 8 went from Bemmel to Deventer. I made some changes to my route after getting some recommendations from my hosts. Deventer is a pretty town, small and walkable, but I just cycled around it.

Day 9 I took the river route from Deventer to Zwolle, then made my way to Giethoorn. Lovely picturesque town, too many tourists in the day though.

Day 10 was spent cycling around Giethoorn and neighbouring areas, around 30km.

Day 11 cycled from Giethoorn up to Nietap, where I stayed by this big beautiful lake. 

Day 12 was spent cycling to Groningen and decided to park my bicycle and explore the town on foot. Good call - there was a funfair! Finally in the evening made my way to Adorp for a quiet night. 

Day 2 Schardam-Lisse

Got so lost that I overshot to Noordwijk. Did about 135km in all. Amazing changing scenery all the way.

First glimpse of the flower fields and more of that later during the ride. 

Day 1 - Amsterdam-Schardam 60-70km

Day 1 was full of wrong turns. Finally learned to read the signs, but even then missed it sometimes. The views were lovely though. No regrets in taking this adventure.