Day 29, Epilogue

After a good night's sleep in our own beds and a bacon roll breakfast, and in full Lycra cycle kit, we brandished our bus passes and caught the bus back into Aberdeen. A coffee break was taken with Anne and Alec before retrieving our bikes from their garage and heading home ahead of the forecast rain. After a shopping stop in Westhill we continued for a short while before the rain started and rain capes were donned. It continued to rain all the way home, but at least the stiffening wind was a tailwind. Another journey milestone occurred on the way as we passed the 1000 mile mark for the whole holiday. We also had to get used to cycling in hilly terrain once more!
33.9 km; 18.3 kph avg; 1:51 moving time; 385m ascent

So there we have it, another holiday over. 6 countries (+UK) over 30 days, riding 1612.3 km ( just over 1000 miles), in snow, thunderstorms, stifling heat, floods, fresh winds, but mostly warm, sunny and still air. Brilliant. We've seen quadracycles, unicycles, recumbent bikes, trikes & tandems and even (the most bonkers bike of all) a back-to-back recumbent tandem, hand cycles, wheelchair adapted cycles, e-bikes by the hundred, a Pederson, utility cargo bikes, bikes carrying kids both onboard and in trailers, and bikes carrying dogs. We've travelled with our bikes on British Airways, Swiss trains, German trains, Virgin East Coast trains and DFDS ferry all without a hitch (OK, virgin train was late but only because someone threw themselves under a train); the only problem being a Scotrail strike that cancelled our last leg of the journey. The only time I had to use the bicycle pump was at the pleading of a group of students on our approach to Amsterdam to pump up a girl's back tyre. And despite all the food we've tucked away and beer and wine consumed, we've both lost weight! Who could ask for more.

The quote of the trip? Try this: as we arrived at Amsterdam hostel Anne went to check in and an American in his late 20s, sitting outside with a beer, quizzed me on how far we'd cycled. I gave him the full story as his mouth slowly fell open in amazement. His younger brother came out to join him and he repeated the story adding at the end " ... with his wife!!" After a reflective pause he mused:
"Man, that's the kinda chick I want!"

Quite.

Day 28, Newcastle to Inverurie

Had a breakfast of yesterday's left-overs in grumpy mood because our ticket said we docked at 09:00 but instead we docked at 10:00. We disembarked at 10:30 and felt the pressure of a deadline because the train home was booked for 12:50 and we were unsure how easy it would be to find the Cycleway from the port, and because we know what British cycle paths are like (a slalom ride of dog muck and broken glass) and a puncture was the last thing we needed! As it happened, the path was easy to find, there were some nice new sections, and despite the prediction of much shattered glass being proven correct, no punctures occurred. We made good progress, stopped for photos on the riverside, and arrived at the station 11:30. Then we found that the train was delayed 38 minutes. Having sat around drinking coffee we moved on to the platform in good time to discover ... our watches were still set to European time!!! So another hour to wait! No need for any stress after all; we could have dawdled along in the sun after all. Train arrived, bikes were loaded, and we collapsed into our seats on a busy train to Aberdeen. Arriving Aberdeen 38 minutes late, we confirmed that due to a Scotrail strike there were no trains to Inverurie so we loaded up and cycled out to friends for tea (thanks Anne & Alec). With our bikes safely stored in their garage, we lugged the panniers over to ARI and caught the bus home. So, tomorrow we get the bus back in to pick up the bikes and cycle home. It's not exactly the way we planned the last leg of the trip!
18.2 km;

Day 27, Amsterdam to Newcastle

Alarm set at 06:30 (Anne says to point out that this was my decision, for once); first into breakfast; packed and checked out by 08:00; arrived ferry port 12:30; boarded 15:30. Phew, just in time! We actually knew the journey time estimate was well sandbagged, but missing the ferry was not an option. Navigating was not a problem as Anne ignored the route she'd insisted I lay into the Garmin yesterday and followed the signs instead. These took us a different, but probably no worse route slap through the middle of Amsterdam's cycle rush hour, and boy, do you need to keep your wits about you! As 9 o'clock passed and we hit the outskirts the other 2-wheel traffic abated and we had a relaxed ride, in fine but cool conditions, taking the scenic route to Ijmuiden. This was broken only by a coffee-and-cake stop after Haarlem. We looped into Ijmuiden through the coastal sand dune area and then whiled away the first hour of our early arrival in a beer garden. We spent a while chatting with another cycle-touring couple before eventually boarding the ferry (that charges for carrying bikes but has absolutely no facilities to restrain or even park them!). So now we have a sunny and calm crossing and a dash to the railway station in Newcastle to look forward to.
49.1 km; 16.1 kph avg; 3:02 moving time; 116m

Day 26, Amsterdam to Edam and return

Unable to face another day trudging round Amsterdam, we did what all Tour de France riders do on their rest days and went for a bike ride. The forecast threatened thunderstorms but it looked pretty good after breakfast so we decided to risk it. Just 20 minutes from the bustle of Amsterdam and we were in beautiful countryside and bombing along in the sun with a brisk tailwind. We were cycling in an area called, for pretty obvious reasons, Waterland, with drainage canals everywhere at various levels (we were at a elevation of -1m). So many houses were surrounded on 2 or 3 sides by water. A coffee and cake stop was made at Monnickendam then we continued to the tourist magnets of Volendam and Edam where we were back trying to dodge Chinese coach parties and their selfie sticks. A beer stop in Edam was briskly followed by a ride to the ferry at Volendam where we bought a ticket to the 'island' village of Marken. As we approached we could see a brooding thunderstorm, and the boat was illuminated with lightning, so we donned rain gear in anticipation. Happily we only caught the edge of it as we cycled back to Amsterdam along the causeway and sea dykes against a lessening headwind. It was certainly a pleasure to ride without the full luggage weight on the rack. We ate in tonight as we couldn't be bothered to walk anywhere, and because we need to repack the panniers for our mixed-media travels over the next 2 days. The next big challenge looks like the final leg of our journey home as, after nearly a month of hitch-free travel, Scotrail is on strike and it looks like our final train to Inverurie is cancelled! Britain welcomes us home!
63.6 km; 16.7 kph avg; 3:47 moving time; 128m ascent

Day 25, Amsterdam

Today is a rest day, if you can call walking nearly 17km a rest! Took the tram into Amsterdam to walk the sights of the city and to buy a cycling map to cover the ride to the ferry on Wednesday. When we booked this tour I told Anne it was about 10km to the ferry so no worries. That estimate has been revised up several times and currently sits at 40km because (a) the first figure was a wild uneducated guess, (b) we are in the east of the city and Ijmuiden is to the west, and (c) because we want to stick to the signed cycle route which meanders round in a leisurely no-hurry-to-get-there sort of manner. So the pressure will be on and fingers crossed there are no *u******s to interrupt the journey!! We are now close to UK so the weather is getting like home. Very, very windy today, not that we felt it during the canal boat tour, but it sure blew us around whilst walking round. Maybe we are getting a bit jaded with cities, or maybe we've visited so many to compare this trip, but Amsterdam is way down the list of best cities as far as we are concerned. It's a bit grubby, very crowded and manic, and expensive without the quality of service to compensate. For the first time ever, Anne was nearly refused a glass of tap water with her lunch because there was no money in it for the cafe; the waitress had to 'clear it with the boss' before the water materialised. We were shocked. Beer is almost at Swiss prices for a worse product. AND they don't seem to grasp the fact that if you pay that much for 50cl of tasteless fizz you'd actually like 50cl of liquid and not a massive foam head that goes waaay lower than the graduated mark. Rant over. We are now watching to see how tomorrow's weather pans out as there's a chance we might just go for a cycle ride!

Day 24, Utrecht to Amsterdam

After an uninspiring breakfast we headed off in a direction planned to intercept the main cycle route north. It did. But we took a turning too early and meandered round a pretty Utrecht park, dodging Sunday morning fitness groups, for 15 minutes before identifying the error. Back on track, we left the city on one of the most beautiful cycle rides we've ever done. It was all canals, fancy houses, beautiful gardens, windmills, and hydrangeas everywhere in every colour, and the smell of flowers filled our nostrils as we rode along. It was sunny and very warm with a soft breeze that didn't hinder progress. Navigation was pretty simple again with few differences of opinion on which way to go. A coffee-and-cake stop, a beer stop, and a pause to eat our blagged cheese rolls were the main interruptions to today's progress so it was a fabulous relaxed ride. We thought there were a lot of cycle club groups out yesterday, but that was nothing compared with today. The chain gangs were everywhere, both blokes and girls, most in matching kit, all mixing it with normally dressed folks on big bikes out for a Sunday pedal. We came into Amsterdam crossing the Rhine Canal on an absolutely enormous bridge constructed purely for cyclists and pedestrians. Cycling here is taken really seriously! We have 3 nights booked here at the Stayokay Hostel (a converted school from c.1900) which is fine quality but, as you'd expect, basic compared with some of our previous hotels. We shall save exploring the city until tomorrow, but meanwhile we have a huge Thai curry to digest!

55.1 km; 17.2 kph avg; 3:12 moving time; 72m ascent

Day 23, Arnhem to Utrecht

A good breakfast fuelled us well, as you'd expect of a 4* Best Western hotel. Navigation today was pretty straightforward on two accounts. Firstly, since entering our 6th country yesterday, Netherlands, the Garmin has started displaying detailed maps again (which leads me to think that it was an error on my part transferring maps across from the laptop to the device in the first place). Secondly, the Dutch cycle network is brilliant with every junction of the many long distance cycle paths being numbered, and signed, and displayed on a cyclists' map! The route out of Arnhem passed through pleasant wooded and agricultural areas and the big shock was that it was hilly! Not hilly like Aberdeenshire, but hilly like, say, Hampshire. We actually climbed to the dizzying height of 72m at one point, and beasting it up a 7% was quite a welcome change. We are now in the region where the Rhine splits into several estuarine channels and we have followed the Nederijn, although we haven't had much sight of it. Being a Saturday, the roads and cycle tracks have been full of cycle club chain gangs out for a blast, as well as the everyday folk out on their Dutch style comedy bikes enjoying the good weather. It's been warm and extremely humid all day, with quite a breeze to contend with. A lunch stop at a lively establishment in Amerongen was a relief and had quite a buzz about it as it was clearly a popular spot for every sort of 2-wheel rider. It was crowded! And so we continued into Utrecht with a brief stop to oil chains (I think they are nearly worn out) and later to consume our breakfast cheese rolls! After checking in and changing we walked into the town centre for a meal. Beer here is nearly twice the price it was in Germany, and nowhere near as good. Hope it improves in Amsterdam! Bikes are everywhere, chained to every metre of railing everywhere you look. And the terraced eating places on the edge of the canals are quite unique. It's a very lively (and young) place on a Saturday evening, probably due to its being a university town.
78.0 km; 16.8 kph avg; 4:38 moving time; 252m ascent.

Day 22, Xanten to Arnhem

So, no one spotted that I had two Day 13s, hence we've skipped to real Day 22; only 2 days left! After a good breakfast (bacon butties again, fantastic) we loaded up and headed out via another ancient town gate we never spotted yesterday and past a large archaeological park (Xanten was once the second largest Roman settlement after Cologne in Roman Germania and home to the 30th Legion. You learn something new every day!). Today was consistently overcast but quite warm and no rain, forecast. We stopped at the first bakery/corner shop that we spotted and loaded up with pies and fruit for lunch and snacks. A ride-by of Wunderland in Kalkar revealed a theme park built in an old nuclear power station (!) then a coffee stop at Grieth (25km) came as a relief due to the wind being quite a challenge. I guess this is to be expected as we get nearer to Netherlands, but it was still pretty draining. A picnic lunch followed a few kilometres later by the historic iron railway bridge at Griethausen (now barriered off). Then the journey continued over pan-flat and, to be honest, pretty boring terrain where the only pints of interest were a couple of mega-dairies. And the worst part was that it was into a fairly strong and steady headwind. We finally reached the ferry at Milingen and chose to miss the first sailing in favour of a welcome coffee-&-cake stop at the ferry point. A brief rain scare saw the waterproofs donned ... and then removed 5 minutes later, then it was on to the next ferry point at Huisen and a final grind into Arnhem itself where the first point of call was Tourist Information for a Dutch Cycling map. The hotel was a 4-star job next to the railway station where, even though we'd got a good price to start with, we got a room upgrade ... very fancy. We were pretty well bushed by now, so ate in the hotel, watched the end of the Murray semi-final, and only wandered out to check out the amazing new railway station described as a photographer's delight. Oh, and the adjacent Spar to buy a beer and cashews to enjoy back in our fancy room.
67.5 km; 16.2 kph avg; 4:08 moving time; 115m ascent

Day 20, Dusseldorf to Xanten

Listen very carefully: if you happen to have a visit to Duisburg on your bucket list, delete it right now!
We slept well last night and awoke reluctantly. Fuelled with breakfast I oiled the chains and we weaved our way out of Düsseldorf in fine and sunny, but fresh conditions. A perfect cycling day. We cleared the waterfront, then outskirts, then aimed towards Duisburg following the river. The industrialisation of the area hit home as massive factories loomed on the skyline including the mighty Krupp and Thyssen steel works. Then everything slowed down as we entered the city. Roadworks hampered progress, signage virtually disappeared and where signs were seen they were unhelpful and ambiguous. The place was a dump and not like any other German city we've seen. In fact it's like a Turkish enclave in parts, with such a high proportion of ethnic Turks making up the local population. To think that we were originally planning on stopping here! The best part about Duisburg is definitely the road out! In fact that's not quite right; the best bit we found was on the waterfront on the very edge of town as we were leaving : the first place for a coffee and cake we'd seen in 40km! Topped up, we continued the journey gradually leaving the industry behind but seeing precious little places to stop. A breakfast cheese roll, a nectarine, biscuits, and a banana sustained us at various stops until a beer garden beckoned 2km short of our destination. Cycling was easy today as its dead flat and the day was wonderfully warm, but because it's flat, and because little of today's moving time is walking round town pushing bikes, it means that we've been pedalling relentlessly for 5.1/4 hours. But the hotel here is a good one (should be at €119) and we had a fine meal sitting out in the town square. We have also worked out the route for our unplanned Arnhem to Utrecht day and downloaded maps to cover it on the iPhone (ViewRanger app). It's a good job we did too, because the Garmin has now stopped displaying even the Europe base map!!
86.0 km; 16.3 kph avg; 5:15 moving time; 164m ascent

Day 19, Cologne to Düsseldorf

Well, it was s typical A&O Hostel breakfast: adequate; especially with a cheese roll each liberated for later. Exiting Koln was easy (past the cathedral and down to the river). There was then a long stretch of industrialisation, a huge container port, and a massive Ford car plant to negotiate before hitting open country again where we found a bench to consume our rolls. Then it was on to the ferry at Zons with a brief and unintended diversion down a dead-end that led to a gasthof coffee shop. Coffee drunk, we hit the magic little fortified town of Zons where, after a circuit, we found a table at an almost deserted restaurant beer garden. With beer and flammkuchen ordered (Anne went for a ridiculously sized fruit ice cream sundae thingy) the place suddenly filled to bursting with walkers and cyclists. From here we caught the ferry to the other side and cycled on to Düsseldorf which we entered over a suspension bridge with wide views of the tower and amazing waterfront. After checking in it was off for another city exploration and we have to say we like Düsseldorf! The altstadt was rebuilt like pre-war in the 50/60s and the waterfront area, where we ate and sampled the local Alt beer, has an amazing vibe. We watched fascinated as an African bottle collector checked the bins and relieved imbibers of their empties as they were finished, all under the watchful eyes of his self-important minder. We also noticed that the Rhine cruise ships are getting bigger as we go downstream. Will this continue into Netherlands or will they peter out? Tomorrow we are combining two stages to give us a decent distance to ride ... and also so we don't have to stop in Duisberg about which we can find nothing to excite us. Even Sir Arthur had it in for Duisberg: it was hit with 299 raids!
57.6 km; 15.8 kph avg; 3:38 moving time 190m ascent

Day 18, Bonn to Koln

I just wish I'd been hungrier at breakfast as this was the biggest selection of stuff seen yet, AND it included bacon for a bacon roll! Appetites sated, we free-wheeled back down to the river and rode off under threatening skies with quite a brisk breeze to contend with. This was a shock as we have become used to having no wind to slow progress, but I suppose compared with home this was tame stuff. This section of the Rhine is becoming much more built up and industrialised so we weaved round container ports, chemical plants, and oil refineries with bits of woodland and village perimeters thrown into the mix. Nowhere presented itself for a coffee stop so we found a bench and shared a banana. The kilometre markers are counting higher as we passed the devil's own milestone today. The clouds never did deliver the threatened rain, though the temperature fluctuated enough to keep us switching layer combinations. We reached the outskirts of Koln before stopping for a caffeine hit on the rather impressive dockside redevelopment area. Then we rolled into town to check in to the A&O hostel next to the cathedral just after lunchtime (today was an embarrassingly short ride). Now, even as cathedrals go, this one is big. Really big. Whilst again it lacks the elaborate wood carving inside that a British cathedral exhibits, the carved stonework outside is awesome. A big trudge around the shops followed as there's not much old town to see, having been remodelled by Lancasters 70 years ago. A traditional Kolsch beer hall was next on the agenda before an evening wander found somewhere to eat by the river. During the day the cathedral area was school-trip central, but in the evening we uneasily noted a heavy ethnic and police presence. Then we remembered that this is exactly the area where all those migrant sexual assault offences happened last New Year's Eve.
37.2 km; 16.1 kph avg; 2:18 moving time; 70m ascent

Day 17, Andernach to Bonn

We meandered, arguing, trying to find our way out of this small town via a supermarket to buy batteries for the mapless Garmin. If I'd just followed Anne, or if Anne had just followed me, then it would have been simple, but life's not like that! Whatever; the cycleway was finally regained and off we rode with a mediocre weather forecast and the conditions of a typical Scottish Summer's day ... without the wind. In fact the wind did pick up but as a tailwind so we sped along the riverside to our first coffee and (cherry) cake stop on the promenade at Bad Breisig (just £5 total). Refuelled, we continued briskly along the path past the ruins of an important bridge destroyed during the allied advance towards the end of WW2 at Remagen. We were paced by the Koln-Dusseldorfer river 'bus' for a while and I fancied a race, but Anne, noting it was a big catamaran, wasn't up for it. Not long afterwards the clouds thickened and rain started to spit so we diverted off the path to find a magnificent (and surprisingly cheap) bakery in the village of Mehlem for lunch until the rain cleared. Then it was on to Bonn, with a brief stop to relube noisy chains. After an early check-in and kit wash we set about exploring the city (and it's rather too many shoe shops, in my view). No altstadt here, just a bit of old tower and an ornate Rathaus; it's a much more modern city. After a beer and snack we found somewhere to eat. Now, neither of us were very hungry, so I went for an omelette and side salad (because at just 8 quid, even at post-Brexit exchange rates, it wouldn't be very big, would it?) and Anne went for a bit of pickled herring at the same price. I leave you to take a view on the cost of eating out here based on the picture. Needless to say, neither of us cleaned our plates. Switzerland, this is not! It was a bit of a short day today, and will be again tomorrow so we shall have plenty of time to see Cologne/Koln
47.9 km; 17.4 kph avg; 2:45 moving time; 154m ascent

Day 16, St Goar to Andernach

After the best night's sleep in a few days, and an excellent breakfast, we saddled up and rode off into a fresh morning with sleeves and socks worn against the unaccustomed chill. The path followed the river, road and railway as you'd expect in a 'gorge' so no navigational challenges presented themselves. This was a good thing because just 4km north of St Goar, to my absolute dismay, the Garmin stopped displaying detailed mapping having defaulted to the Europe base map which is about as much use as an ashtray on a motorbike! Happily, I can still display a Eurovelo 15 track to follow, but without mapping. And I preloaded mapping and routing on my iPhone. And I have the same mapping and routing on my iPad mini. And a guidebook. And anyway, every cycleway is signposted, with distances, because this is Germany. So the only irritation is not understanding why the maps have stopped displaying!! An early coffee stop in the sun at Boppard was soon afterwards followed by the rain starting. Socks off and waterproofs on, we continued through the deluge, as others sheltered, until we reached Koblenz and visited the massive statue at the Deutsches Eck which is the headland at the confluence of the Rhine and the Mosel. A clear coach party destination! We found a place to eat ahead of the crowds and shared yet another flammkuchen. We set off again and just at the point we started overheating and were about to take the rain gear off, the rain started again! A coffee stop on the outskirts of Andernach enabled us to finally strip rain gear and we arrived into the medieval walled town in the middle of a town fiesta. The centre was absolutely rammed! We eventually managed to weave our way through the crowds pushing the bikes and found our cheapest hotel yet, an excellent bijou establishment in a residential (hopefully quiet) part of town. Then it was off to eat and check the maps for tomorrow - horror: some bits are missing from the phone so now I need to fix that ... ! btw, we passed the 1000km mark today.
64.6 km; 16.8 kph avg; 3:49 moving time; 146m

Day 15, Mainz to St Goar (Loreley)

No chimes to wake us this morning, just a bunch of blokes under our window in the courtyard talking loudly at 01:30, 03:30 and then the staff emptying bins at 07:00! The weather has flipped again and it's quite chilly this morning. After crossing the river by the Mainz road bridge and cycling a few kilometres, it started to rain. Waterproofs donned, we continued until coming across our least favourite German words: Hoch Wasser, umleitung'. High Water, diversion! So we moved sideways up the hill a bit and cycled parallel to the Rhine for quite a distance until deemed safe to return to the riverside track. A brief coffee stop at a campsite coffee shop broke the journey until we reached Rudesheim where we caught the ferry back to the west (south) side of the river at Bingen. The rain continued, to a greater or lesser extent, and we were glad to keep the waterproofs on as it was still only c.16C. As we reached Bingen centre the rain increased and a lunch stop was called. Yet another flamkuchen was consumed (salad for Anne) and we continued when the heavy rain eased. By 14:00 the clouds cleared and the sun returned to build the temperature to something more pleasant and we rode to Bacharach for a beer stop (and a long chat with another German cycle-tourist on a lone 5-week tour). The scenery has changed dramatically as we leave the flood planes behind and enter the Rhine Gorge section with its characteristic super-steep vineyard-cloaked slopes. Then it was on to our destination at St Goar where the famous Loreley Rock dominates the skyline of this pretty tourist village and the cruise boats and freighters ply their trade up and down the river. For the first time this holiday it was cool enough to eat inside, which means that this is the first meal we have had without inhaling smoke from an adjacent table; boy, do they know how to smoke over here!
64.8 km; 16.3 kph avg; 3:57 moving time; 159m ascent

Day 14, Worms to Mainz

Another early wake-up call at 07:00 courtesy of the church outside our window : first the chime, then the 7 bongs, then two minutes of continuous bell-ringing then, just when we thought it safe to collapse back on the pillow, two verses of 'Morning Has Broken'! Fantastic! You don't get this at home. Another great breakfast started the day and we were off again ignoring the riverside option which is 'muddy and not suited to road bikes' at the best of times, and is probably under water at present. Instead we took the more westerly Rhein Terrasse route through the wine growing region. We passed from village to village along good cycle track or farm/vineyard roads making rather rapid progress with a warm tailwind broken only by a coffee stop in Mettenheim. The next break, following many photo stops, was for a long lunch at a perfect wine restaurant in the town of Nierstein (which is, unsurprisingly, the centre of the Niersteiner wine region). After lingering awhile with the food and wine we set off again and rejoined the Rhine on a rougher gravel track. As we entered the outskirts of Mainz we had a Paris-Roubaix experience with a stretch of serious cobbles past railway sidings. Then we were there, the old part of Mainz where we found a superb bike shop where Anne bought a new seat pack and the man in the shop modified her rack to accommodate it. Having eaten well at lunchtime, our walkabout, after checking in, involved only a shared flamkuchen and a beer/wine. We certainly haven't deserved the calories today. So, today went from vineyards to shunting yards, blacktop and gravel to cobbles, and ended up with another massive cathedral. One thing all cathedrals have in common: they all have large parts covered in scaffold!
p.s. What can we see from our window? Answer: twin church towers. Roll on 07:00!
57.2 km; 15.2 kph avg; 3:44 moving time; 202m ascent

Day 13 photos

1) Altrip ferry with power station in background!
2) Coffee stop Ludwigshaven with Mannheim bridge in background.
3) Worms cathedral.