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.