EuroVello 15, Rhine Route?

[Slick]

Now that camping is off the table and with some time in advance you can check out vrienden op the fiets. My understanding is that it's a network of hosts, normally into cycling, who offer accommodation at a set cost. It's a chance to meet locals, mine some local knowledge and cheaper than hotel/B&B equivalents.
I have never done it but often seen it references here - unfortunately they always seem to be fully booked so advance planning is required.

Another alternative is Warmshowers, a kind of couchsurfing for touring cyclists. Certainly not the organisation it once was.

It's not for me to poke into marital affairs but I took to camping out of necessity in my mid forties, sure I would hate it, but it has turned into one of the things I love most about bike adventures. More surprisingly, an old girlfriend took to bike adventures and camping (in NL) like a duck to water. Facilities are so good and so frequent they remove a load of doubt and anxiety and offer up a tremendous sense of freedom.

Best of luck to the two of you!

Brilliant, thanks again for all your tips, I will definitely give that a look.

Mrs Slick probably would enjoy camping the odd night but I don't want to risk spoiling her enjoyment of the trip as she doesn't ask for much and is happy to tag along with whatever hair brained scheme I come up with as long as there's a nice hotel and restaurant at the end of it.

 

[Sallar55]

Another option is ride and stay on a river cruise boat, other half might just decide to take the cruise option without cycling during the day.
https://www.activeonholiday.com/en/...MI0ZDyvMSygwMVJIlQBh2cmQApEAAYASAAEgJkofD_BwE

 

[Slick]

Another option is ride and stay on a river cruise boat, other half might just decide to take the cruise option without cycling during the day.
https://www.activeonholiday.com/en/...MI0ZDyvMSygwMVJIlQBh2cmQApEAAYASAAEgJkofD_BwE

Ooo, that looks like something she would enjoy.

Thanks for that.

 

[Farmer Sue Tickles]

Newbie here. I am looking at getting a ferry from Harwich to the Hook of Holland in the Summer and cycling across Holland using EV 15. I would like to head into Germany, but not too far. I have googled it from Hook of Holland to Kleve but that is only 170 km.

Is it easy enough to navigate along EV 15 and are there many ferry crossings involved?

I am looking to cover about 50 km a day for about a week, I could do a loop back to the ferry of get a train back.

Any places I should be looking to visit along the way or travelling through, hotels and eateries recommended?

I will be using my touring bike with panniers.

I will be most grateful for any suggestions and would like to ride about 300 km overall.

 

[Slick]

I bought this, loads of good info in there.

 

[Farmer Sue Tickles]

Am I right in thinking by going west to east it should help combat the westerly winds? Or am I overthinking that?

 

[Andy in Germany]

Am I right in thinking by going west to east it should help combat the westerly winds? Or am I overthinking that?

Probably. When I cycled from Amsterdam to Utrecht I was travelling south east and I was nearly blown into the canal.

 

[Slick]

Probably. When I cycled from Amsterdam to Utrecht I was travelling south east and I was nearly blown into the canal.

Lol, there was a stretch where I thought I was going to be as well, and I'm a big unit.

 

[Slick]

Am I right in thinking by going west to east it should help combat the westerly winds? Or am I overthinking that?

The book recommends from source to sea to take of the slight downhill almost all the way.

 

[dimrub]

Newbie here. I am looking at getting a ferry from Harwich to the Hook of Holland in the Summer and cycling across Holland using EV 15. I would like to head into Germany, but not too far. I have googled it from Hook of Holland to Kleve but that is only 170 km.

Is there a reason you are going for this particular stretch? I've ridden only a small part of this route, Basel to Radolfzell, and it was great, but closer to the sea it's supposed to pass through lots and lots of industrial zones - which might be less exciting. If I were to choose a 300-km chunk out of this route, I think I'd choose the first part, till Strassbourg say. I was actually thinking of doing this route this year, starting from Andermatt but stopping somewhere close to the border with the Netherlands. But then, I haven't researched this in any depth, so I may be mistaken.

 

[Farmer Sue Tickles]

Is there a reason you are going for this particular stretch? I've ridden only a small part of this route, Basel to Radolfzell, and it was great, but closer to the sea it's supposed to pass through lots and lots of industrial zones - which might be less exciting. If I were to choose a 300-km chunk out of this route, I think I'd choose the first part, till Strassbourg say. I was actually thinking of doing this route this year, starting from Andermatt but stopping somewhere close to the border with the Netherlands. But then, I haven't researched this in any depth, so I may be mistaken.

I guess i just wanted to get off the ferry and start riding. This just seemed the most straight forward route and the reviews i have read never said much about the industrial zones. It probably would makes sense to get a train and ride the 300 km back to the Hook of Holland as i never gave much thought of the river flowing slightly downhill all the way to the North Sea.

I am very open to suggestions and don't have to stick rigidly the the EV 15 all the way. Just looking for a leisurely ride of 300 km taking on the windmills and some nice scenery, towns, cities etc.

 

[alpine fenlander]

I guess i just wanted to get off the ferry and start riding

I pretty much did this last year. Hopped off the ferry at Hook and then just went without a plan for a few days. It really is cycling heaven, no need to worry if there are cycle routes/ paths because they are everywhere!
I only did a few sections of the Rhine (I find river routes get a bit monotonous after a few hours), pretty sure you don't have to worry about going downhill along the Rhine as the difference in elevation is probably only a few inches from one side of the country to the other
The only industrial bits I saw were the Rotterdam port area. Not exactly a thing of beauty, but I found it interesting enough. It's probably more so on the German Rhineland side which is famous for it's industry (I don't know any natives who'd go there for their holidays).

In case you need some inspiration, this was my route:
Day1- Head north along the coast. Lots of rinding in sand dunes, which was great:

Day2 - East - across a long Deich (30km headwind across the sea) to Lelystadt and bit beyond.

Day3 - South through Veluwe National Park - Lovely in autumn!

Day4 - West through the Rotterdam area back to the ferry

Btw- all of the above are cycle paths - not roads! And of course I went the wrong way round and had a headwind all the way...

 

[Richard Fairhurst]

Newbie here. I am looking at getting a ferry from Harwich to the Hook of Holland in the Summer and cycling across Holland using EV 15. I would like to head into Germany, but not too far. I have googled it from Hook of Holland to Kleve but that is only 170 km.

In October I rode from Hook of Holland to Dusseldorf, which is 220mi (or thereabouts) following the EuroVelo route. It's a great route, though don't expect to rely entirely on the signage - the cycle network in the Netherlands is dense, and EuroVelo routes aren't given any particular priority and are absent from many signs.

Accommodation was harder to come by than I expected. In the UK or France I'm happy booking the night's stay at lunchtime that day, but that didn't work in the Netherlands: it needed to be a day in advance.

Everywhere in the Netherlands takes contactless card payment. Everywhere in Germany doesn't. Finding lunch without cash is an interesting challenge.

Scenery got a bit less rewarding approaching Dusseldorf. But the Netherlands were fascinating.

 

[Andy in Germany]

I cycled from Amsterdam, joined the 15 and followed it as far as Koblenz. It's fair to say that there are a few industrial bits on that section, although I personally found them quite interesting. German cities are fairly compact compared to the UK, so it won't take all day to cross them; we found a pattern of entering suburbs, followed by an industrial zone, then a city centre with old buildings, museums, et c, another industrial zone, and some suburbs, then we'd pop out the other side into fields and forests. I well remember riding through a tiny village and seeing a blast furnace in the distance, looking for all the world like an ornament in the village square, or riding across the end of a steelworks, turning a corner and finding myself in the middle of fields.

I've always lived in the south of the country so it was fascinating to see the differences in the north and the gradual change to the buildings and culture in the south.

 

[HobbesOnTour]

Newbie here.

Hola & welcome. Being a Newbie is great - it's all out in front of you!

Is it easy enough to navigate along EV 15 and are there many ferry crossings involved?

As @Richard Fairhurst suggests, the signage may be difficult to follow but that's not really a problem. In summer there'll be no problems with ferries - and there's always a diversion.

I am looking to cover about 50 km a day for about a week, I could do a loop back to the ferry of get a train back.

Very sensible and a loop back reduces the stress of catching the ferry by public transport, especially cross border.
Don't forget that in NL it is very easy to hop on a train with a bike in case of emergency.

Any places I should be looking to visit along the way or travelling through, hotels and eateries recommended?

That's very hard to say without knowing what you like and enjoy. It's NL, not outer Mongolia

Am I right in thinking by going west to east it should help combat the westerly winds? Or am I overthinking that?

I think you're overthinking!

I guess i just wanted to get off the ferry and start riding.

That's the best way.
Honestly, NL is one of the best places for anyone to roll off the ferry, point their bike in any direction and set off to explore. Lots and lots of bike paths and infrastructure, lots of interesting places and lots of campsites, if that's your thing. A huge advantage is the fact that just about everyone speaks English and wants to speak English.
If you can get your head around the idea, arriving with no plan can be extremely liberating!

For example, here's a map of NL with the Rhine route highlighted:

Now, here's that same route but on a map with all the bike paths highlighted

It's cycling Nirvana!

I don't normally offer suggestions but I threw this together over my coffee based on your specs: https://cycle.travel/map/journey/535491

Cycle from Hoek to Rotterdam city centre. An interesting place, especially in the sun, a good exploration can be done in an hour or two on the bike (be careful parking it!)
Water Bus from Rotterdam to Dordrecht to miss some boring countryside, experience top-notch public transport and see a full size replica of Noah's Ark!
On to Den Bosch (charming little city) via a National Park of Sand Dunes. Beautiful! (If the end of July, divert to Tilburg for Europe's largest city Funfair - it's slap bang in the city centre!).
Up to Nijmegen, a beautiful river city, on to Arnhem (and some hills!). This is probably where you head into Germany but honestly, this part can be a little dull, in my opinion.
Follow the Rhine (or at least one version) through Wageningen - unpronounceable but charming.
Utrecht. Charming city with lots of interesting bridges
Then back to Rotterdam and the Hook as you please, maybe catching a bit of the coast.
A bit over 350km with a glimpse of what NL has to offer - historically, culturally, naturally.

Next year, arrive in Hoek as a seasoned adventurer, catch a train to Cologne (fabulous city) and head south for the "real" river experience.

Good luck!

so it was fascinating to see the differences in the north and the gradual change to the buildings and culture in the south.

For me, this is one of the great things about bike travel - anywhere. We have the time, the slow speed (or at least I do!) to really experience the subtle, gradual changes in landscape, food, accent, language, people. It's fabulously interesting. Made better by reading about where we're travelling as we do it

Edit: Ooops! just realised I posted the purple map twice. Oh well, the cycling is so good it deserves to be posted at least twice