I've now updated the main thread to include the mileage from our wee mini break to the Netherlands earlier this week. We had a great time over there, and couldn't believe the infrastructure there for cyclists or the attitude of all the drivers who always check for cyclists, before turning into any junction, regardless of who has priority. Anyone who has cycled over there will already know this, but it never failed to amaze me.
Day 1 was the longest day in the saddle, which is how I planned it and it turned out to be the right decision as it just got hotter and hotter until cycling any distance became really difficult even in the pan flat country like Netherlands. We got off the boat at Ijmuiden and immediately noticed a stiff breeze, and all I could hope for was it was a tailwind, which surprisingly, it was. We did turn straight into it on one particular stretch just as we passed a windfarm, which immediately explained why they erected the windfarm there in the first place as the wind felt like it was channelled straight down this valley where the turbines waited patiently for it to arrive. From there, it was a reasonably straightforward affair into Amsterdam and we arrived in great time, so we took a tour of the city, taking in the canals and the museum district where we stopped for lunch. Mrs Slick was keen to visit the Van Gogh museum but the que was of a size rarely seen at home, so we decided to give it a miss. We made our way on to Utrecht following one of the many cycle paths which turned into something more like a motorway for bikes for a few miles before it came to a complete close due to the fact it was still being built. It sent us round some diversions which took us through housing estates and under and through public buildings and we got lost more than once but we shouldn't have really as the signposting was excellent. We finally got back on track just as the temperature began to rise quite significantly and we were more than grateful to finally arrive at our hotel.
Day 2 started with quite a bit of envy as I stood in awe at the sheer amount of people on bikes of all descriptions on their way to work, enjoying the sun but I did wonder if they maintained that number during the winter months. The run from there to Gouda was probably a bit bland compared to being in the city as the cycle path pretty much runs along side the motorway and there wasn't much to see in the flatlands, but maybe that's because I'm more used to the highlands where the payback for hills is some of the best views in the world. Similar story on the way out to the Hague, with the only real issue was following the signs until we came to a crossroad that wasn't signposted so we chose the route that continued the direction of travel. We probably cycled a further 8k or more before we came across a sign that told us we should be going the other way, which we did, only to come across another sign that told us to go back the way we originally chose. I thought Mrs Slick was going to hit the roof at this point as she was starting to feel the heat but we did have a laugh at the thought of some wee scroat killing themselves watching us go back and forth. Again, we were grateful to arrive at the hotel and we did head straight to the bar at that one.
Day 3 was to be a fairly straightforward quick 50k or so upto Haarlem but again the main cycling route was closed due to upgrading works, which was a bit of a pain as the alternative route wasn't immediately obvious to us but we did eventually manage to work it out which was more urban than any other route we had taken which meant progress was slow as the paths were really busy but it was interesting to see how the Dutch live their lives. This ride will be remembered for the immense heat, which everyone even at home got but I would never normally choose to ride in the middle of the day in temperatures like that and again we were delighted to reach our hotel which turned out to be the best of the lot.
Apologies for the long post, but that is very much the shortened version.
