In the morning I set off on my bike to find Ruud & Marleen’s boat and have a look around. The boat was an old cargo boat and they had a plan to convert it slowly over two years into a house boat, so far they were 6 months into the plan. Had a really great time with the pair of them and enjoyed their company. When it was time for me to go I found it hard to get away as Ruud kept finding things in the boat that he thought I ought to have in my bags for the rest of my journey.
The final thing that they told me was to look out for the Dutch mountains as I headed for the German border. The mountains turned out to be about 40 metres high and hardly noticeable.
During my afternoons cycle I was joined by a 60 year old lady with very good English for about 5 kilometres with me. She had caught me up and when she had enough conversation she took off at a speed far in excess of mine. The conversation was interesting and she was quite an inspiration for me.
I had spotted a campsite on the map near a village called Enter which was my target for the day. When I got there, they refused to let me camp as the guy in change told me that his brother in law needed to be there to me where to go. I told him this was all silly and that I could just pitch my tent where I found a space. Once I had done so he came to find me and I was a bit worried that he was going to turf me off the site, but instead he gave me €5 and told me he was sorry that he had over charged me.
Campsite near Enter
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Campsite near Enter52.294990, 6.592827
This post is part of series looking back 10 years after my trip in 2003, you can browse all the posts or look at the overview map.
I have nothing in my diary about the places on my journey this day, all I have are notes about the actual day. The 30th April in The Netherlands has always been a holiday to celebrate the Queen’s birthday – Queens Day* and it is basically a national party.
Every village or town I went through was having street parties, parades and other celebrations. I had no idea what was going on.
I spent less time cycling during the day as I kept stopping to watch the festivities.
I ended up in Zwolle where there were many stages setup around the city and again parades and more going on – it was brilliant. I found a hotel and headed out for the evening to enjoy the party.
Hotel in Zwolle
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Hotel in Zwolle52.509659, 6.095502
During the partying I met a couple called Ruud and Marleen who told me more about the festival and invited me to come over the next day and visit them on their house boat.
I have vague memories of singing along to lots of English and Dutch songs and Ruud told me some of the performers where quite famous in The Netherlands.
* (until today the 30th April 2013 from now on it will be celebrated on the 27th April and be called Kings Day).
This post is part of series looking back 10 years after my trip in 2003, you can browse all the posts or look at the overview map.
Joost and Ilona\'s flat, Tilburg51.553794, 5.094695
First job of the morning after leaving my hosts house was to find somewhere to buy them some wine which I left on their front door step before carrying on my journey.
I aimed north with a rough plan to head towards Arnhem and reached the outskirts about 15:30 after getting a bit lost on the way. I found a campsite just outside Oosterbeck and was downhearted to find the office closed. However some other campers phoned up the owner and negotiated with him for me to get a place. Was a fantastic campsite and had a personal shower and toilet as part of my plot – cost was €20.
Campsite outside Arnhem
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Campsite outside Arnhem51.989532, 5.805588
Was in bed by 9 after a I’d cooked my tea.
This post is part of series looking back 10 years after my trip in 2003, you can browse all the posts or look at the overview map.
My diary has a few notes about the things I did in Leuvern that weekend, but not much about my trip from Belgium into The Netherlands, so this entry might be brief.
I do clearly remember crossing the border into The Netherlands so for that I don’t need my diary. The border was marked by a farmers track and a row of trees, but that was all there was to it. There was also a convenient bench that straddled the border that I used to eat my lunch. While I was sat there an old man on a scooter appeared on the road int the distance he came humming down the road towards me, stopped his scooter got off and came and sat next me. Unfortunately his English was as good as my Dutch so we communicated mostly with hands and gestures, he smoked a cigar through most of the exchange and then decided to leave and went off again on his scooter back in the direction he came from. I have no idea why he came to that bench to smoke that cigar, or what he talked to me about, but I like to think I had passed the test and was allowed to continue on my journey.
My next visitor in the border bench was a woman who was walking along the border track by the trees. She stood out because she had a metal harness strapped to her belt which was pulling a plastic barrel that was rolling along behind her. She also stopped to have a sit on the border bench, but thankfully spoke some English. It turned out. She had been walking for two days and was on her to Spain to Santiago de Compestella, which was going to take her another 6 weeks or so. Te barrel contained her clothes as her back was too weak to hold a rucksack.
After lunch I continued on my way north with a plan to camp on the edge of Tilburg, but I also needed to visit the centre to buy some maps, as my cut up low detail maps were beginning to frustrate me. I went into the centre and decided to find a hotel to stay in then head for the shops. My budget for a hotel was €50 but I phoned around a couple from the phone book but could not find one for this price. I then headed into the centre to find a map shop with a vague aim of finding a camping pace later.
As I was stood in the centre near some shops, looking vaguely lost and probably a bit confused, a chap came up to me and asked first in Dutch and then English if he could help. It turned out his father had recently cycled to Santiago de Compistella and he could not see someone stood on a bike and not help, because he was grateful to all the people who had helped his father on his journey.
Joost was with his girlfriend Ilona and they both helped me find a map shop and also tried to help me find a hotel, calling around most of the places I had tried. In the end Joost decided that I was trust worthy and offered for me to stay in their spare room, commenting that even if I did steal the TV I would not get far with it on my bike. I didn’t immediately jump on the offer because of y normal British attitude to politely refuse help, but eventually decided that I should take him up on his very kind offer.
Joost and Ilona's flat, Tilburg
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Joost and Ilona\'s flat, Tilburg51.553794, 5.094695
Had a great evening with Joost and Ilona, she cooked some great food and we all watched the Ice Age DVD together. They refused to let me pay for anything even some wine to go with the food.
OK so it wasn’t that brief! ;-)
This post is part of series looking back 10 years after my trip in 2003, you can browse all the posts or look at the overview map.
Nice uneventful cycle from Bruges to Gent in the morning. I remember my arrival in Gent very well though, the place just looked like a fairy tale. (I must find the picture I took). Cobbled streets, a cobbled bridge and lots of medieval houses and 3 huge gothic churches.
Lunch was in a park in Aalst, after which I ran out of flat Belgium and found hilly Belgium, which although nothing like Kent it was still a shock after the previous two days.
Faced a challenge breaking through the motorway into Brussels, the cycle track I was on just stopped and after 30 mins trying to find a way under or over the motorway I gave up and just cycled up a slip road on to the motorway and hoped the next down ramp would also have a way to the other side of the motorway.
The hills slowly increased in magnitude as I approached Brussels and I at one point I felt I could understand the plight of a cyclist in San Fransicso. I got lost a bit in Brussels due to the lack of detail on my map – I just kept going in the direction I thought was correct and eventually broke through to the side I needed to be.
Amazingly after the 70 mile cycle and getting lost etc I managed to get to the place I was supposed to meet a friend only 5 minutes late at 17:05. I met Andrew at the British School in Tervuren where he took me to his flat in Leuverne where I was due to stay for the weekend, leaving my bike at the school.
In the evening Zsuzsa flew in from England, she was a colleague from my company in the UK, and we talked until not very late as we were both knackered.
The British School, Tervuren
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The British School, Tervuren50.832505, 4.523621
I stayed in Leuverne for the weekend, visiting Brussels with Zsuzsa and getting lost on the wrong train and getting quite drunk with Zsuzsa on strong Belgium beers.
This post is part of series looking back 10 years after my trip in 2003, you can browse all the posts or look at the overview map.
Distance: 53 miles Start 11:20 (after Ferry) Finish 17:30
Dover
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Dover51.125775, 1.314583
Wake up early to cycle down to the port. I have a ticket for a ferry going to Dunkerque which is a slower crossing, but takes me further north in France and will limit my time in France to 2 hours. To get on to the boat I have to cycle along with lots of lorries, which is a strange experience and makes me feel very small.
The sea is very foggy as I leave England, and the reality of my decision to just get on my bike and see where I end up is beginning to dawn on me. My diary states that I spent a lot of the trip thinking about how long a year was and wondering whatever drove me to do this. Excitement and deep trepidation would sum up my emotions on the ferry.
Cycling down the massive ramp off the boat is a hoot and I loved doing it – free wheeling into France and the rest of my year.
I quickly find that I don’t actually have a map of where I am. I have cut the map up about 2 inches too short and will have to cycle in a rough northerly direction until I can find something on the map. The sun is baking and within 20 minutes as I cycle through the bleak industry around the port of Dunkerque I have to stop and apply sun cream.
At the border I stop at a cafe and put my bike up next to a long list of bikes and create one of those domino moments you see in films as 14 bikes come crashing down on top of each other. It takes me 20 minutes or so to get them all standing up again, I am not in a good mood for lunch especially as not one person offered to help.
My first Belgium town is De Panne which seems lovely, great weather and lovely long sea front.
Belgium is flat – this is great after the hills of Kent. I hope it continues.
At 3pm I stop in Niewpoort for a snack and a rest, read a bit of war and peace and the park keeper of the park I am sat in comes over for a chat about cycling. He tells me that I will stay very cheaply in Youth Hostels in Belgium as a cyclist – is a good tip and I use it to find a Youth Hostel in Bruges that evening.
Youth Hostel in Bruges
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Youth Hostel in Bruges51.210836, 3.224869
Spend the evening wondering the streets and canals of Bruges and end up eating a massive bowl of pasta in a restaurant to build my carbs.
This post is part of series looking back 10 years after my trip in 2003, you can browse all the posts or look at the overview map.
Herne Bay Caravan and Camping site51.341631, 1.003704
Was a great nights sleep, and found I could eat breakfast and pack tent and all up in about an hour.
Cycling started halfway up a hill, and the day seemed to involve going up and down every single hill in Kent. Canterbury for a brief stop and then on again to Dover.
Had a lazy afternoon in Dover and stayed the night in a guest house close to the port ready for my early start the next day.
Dover
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Dover51.125775, 1.314583
I remember thinking in Dover that this would be my last night in England for who knows how long, as I enjoyed a very nice (and fresh) fish and chip supper.
This post is part of series looking back 10 years after my trip in 2003, you can browse all the posts or look at the overview map.
Martin & Shel\'s Flat51.441704, -0.166168Martin & Shel\'s Flat, London
Day starts with a visit from Rich, which was a nice surprise, he took lots of photos of me, (must grab a copy some day). This lead to a late start at 10:30. Also decided to ditch some stuff with Martin to reduce my weight, seems silly now, but left behind a hat a pair of shoes and tore up war and peace to only carry volume I and also ditched the cantebury tales.
Got lost on way out of London was regretting having such large scale maps, but all turned out ok in the end, I just headed east whenever I could and used the sun when in doubt. Went through Greenwich and past the Thames flood barrier, under the QE II bridge at Dartford and few places I had only heard of before, Rochester, Gravesend and more…
Ended the day just outside Whitstable, but struggled to find a campsite, when I did I realised I had no cash, so set up my tent and cycled off to find food and cash.
Herne Bay Caravan and Camping site
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Herne Bay Caravan and Camping site51.341631, 1.003704
Tent pitch was on top of a hill and I have a vivid memory of sitting there after I had eat my pasta tea and phoning Andy Harris who was out with Kevin in a London pub.
Bed at 10 and slept like a log.
This post is part of series looking back 10 years after my trip in 2003, you can browse all the posts or look at the overview map.
Leaving Milton Keynes52.016720, -0.693983My house in Milton Keynes
Day starts with sad goodbyes but the start of an adventure, within 5 miles of Milton Keynes (Great Brickhill) my chain had snapped. Chain repairing took 40 minutes and then I was off again and onwards to London.
My route through London for some reason took me up Harrow on the Hill and then Notting Hill and I really struggled in Harrow, the first hill I had to walk up with my full bike.
I ended up travelling through Chelsea on a match day, which meant there were no cars and at one point I came across a line of policemen completely across the road looking like they were expecting a riot. Luckily the didn’t consider me to be a one man riot and opened up the chain for me to get through.
Martin & Shel's Flat
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Martin & Shel\'s Flat51.441704, -0.166168Martin & Shel\'s Flat, London
Great evening out in London with Martin & Shel and despite my attempts to avoid too many beers Marty kept persuading me that beer was a good source of carbs (plus the inevitable curry).
Went to bed only at 1 but to sleep in a bed was luxury as I had been sleeping on floor of house for a week because my stuff was now in storage.
This post is part of series looking back 10 years after my trip in 2003, you can browse all the posts or look at the overview map.
