I must admit the day did not start with the best of intentions. Yesterday was a bit of a struggle possibly because of the wind and today was going to be a long day with an opposing wind and plenty of rain. Last night I even looked and planned to simply go Hoofddorp take the train to Den Haag and then cycle remaining distance rather than to cycle the full 75 km.
In the morning the forecast was for the rain to maybe stop about 11 o’clock so I thought what the heck I’ll give it a go and put on all my rain gear, knowing I could bail at various points along the way and take the train. I’m glad I didn’t bail as, by noon, the rain had given awa to intermittent drizzle something I could deal with quite easily and the wind, in a remarkable turn of events, started to come in behind me, gently pushing me along.
Bicycle Ferry
This ride really was a showcase for how beautiful Holland can be for cycling. Throughout the trip I was surrounded by canals of all sizes, pretty little areas, small cafes and bars. I’ve noticed a couple of Bike Barge Touring Companies along the way. There were even windmills quite frequently along the way that made a pleasant change from the large massive wind turbines that dominate much of the countryside nowadays. I could easily see doing an e-bike (sacrilege, I know) tour around this area.
Well I have now reached the Hoek van Holland and so the continental part of my journey is over it’s been roughly 1,600 or so. There have been a number of days of rain and the wind has not been always compliant, but it has been a surprisingly fast journey taking just three weeks since I arrived in Sweden. Tonight is the ferry to England and the next part of the journey.
Next Ferry