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.