Day 23 Leersum to Utrecht 34 kms

Short ride this morning from Leersum to Utrecht where we caught the train to Rotterdam. This means we miss the industrial parts of Holland and can get Gill to Hook by tomorrow to catch the ferry to Harwich.

The most   amazing thing happened yesterday after we went through a small town called Wageningen and stopped at a really nice  coffee shop. Now I dont normally write on toilet walls but this one had a blackboard and chalk in the toilet which was blank so I wrote my initials and that I had cycled from Andermatt. Anyway Frank the cyclist and Leslie who I first met at the first Hotel in Andermat, Switzerland happen to go into the same coffee shop and saw my note. They emailed and we met up again at our campsite.
Frank who origionally was a native of Holland before going to the States in the 50's told us all about Utrecht and where to go. Anyway we visited the canals and saw the restaurants on the sides of the canals.

The ride to Utrecht was pleasant going past very posh houses in huge grounds as well as some wooded areas. Unfortunately did rain abit and the tent was wet to fold up.
Got the train to Rotterdam and had a quick look round. Very modern city with some impressive buildings. Again the roads are busy with cyclists everywhere.

I will accompany Gill to the Hook on the train tomorrow and she will catch the night sailing to Harwich. I will return to Rotterdam before heading to Amsterdam the next day for the Rhinology conference.
My clothes are a right mess after 4 weeks camping so have been to a C& A store to get a business shirt and tie. The Europeans tend to wear suits for conferences so I will have to hide or pretend to be Australian. (Sorry James)

This is probably the end of the trip. I dont know how many Kilometers I have done but will work it out when I get home. Havent quite done as much as I hoped but the effort of carrying all the gear made it hard. A video may have to be done too.

Thanks to all those who have read the recent blog. Hope it wasnt too boring.

The good and the bad of the whole trip.
The good. Realising that it can be done and overcoming all the worries about food, finding somewhere to sleep and having no disasters. More importantly having the company of Sue and Gill. Thanks.

The bad, Probably the extremes of temperature. From 0 degrees in Andermatt to 39 degrees in Germany, and of course realising that camping is hard as you get older.

A special thaks to the makers of Brompton Bikes. They worked flawlessly.

Day 22 Oosterbeek to Leersum 36kms

Just a short day. Coldish this morning but nice ride. Who said there were no hills in Holland. We had more hills today that the whole of the Rhine in Germany. The bike trails are great but don't follow the Rhine exactly so that why we are going up hills.

Was worried today that we were in Holland and hadn't seen either tulips or a windmill. Glad to say we saw our first windmill mid morning just after a lovely stop for coffee. Nice new restaurant with friendly staff and good food. (Late breakfast). The dutch also speak great English as neither of us can speak a word.
Passed quite a few war memorials and cemetries today as I know this area was fought over alot during the last war.
Found a pleasant campsite as part of a farm with nice hot showers. Lots of fruity farm smells but should be quiet. We were warned that Holland was playing in the world cup tonight so there might be raucous youths about.
We have walked to the nearest town today as I wasnt going to accept biscuits again for dinner tonight.

The good and the bad
Electronics
The good. The solar panels have been great and a days sunshine will charge the cellphone, GPS and Bluetooth walkie talkie.
The bad. The dynamo basically has not worked well at all. Also had 2 spare batteries that have been dud and had to throw away. Bought some new ones that can be charged with solar and mains.

Day 21 Kalkar to Oosterbeek 64 kms

Good steady day. Couple of small showers and we dodged most of the black clouds. Last campsite really quiet so we slept well but was pretty basic. Eg no loo paper.
We cycled more in a straight line today and did not hug the Rhine. So went through some smallish villages and then Arnhem.
Difficult to know exactly which country you are in but start to notice peoples houses are decorated with flags for the football world cup. And now we see Dutch flags. And then we saw one smallish sign saying Netherlands 1 km. Nothing else. (Europe is football mad at the moment)

Arnhem is a cyclist city with bike paths taking presidence to roads but the cyclist dont seem to have any rules and come at you from all directions. The cycle paths have central dotted lines, their own traffic lights and  cars give way to all cycle paths.
Found a rather isolated but pleasant campsite by the river. Nice showers and loos. Has a cafe but is closed on Mondays!!! So biscuits and water again tonight. No WIFI again.

Forgot about the good and bad yesterday. Navigation
The good-- having a GPS so that you know where you are.
The bad-- Having 2 GPS's which each tell you to go in a different direction.

Day 20 Duisberg to Kalkar 72 kms

Fairly good day of riding. Got a train out of Cologne and got off at Duisborg. Hoped to get past most of the industrial part of Germany but still past vast factories with huge cooling towers. We didnt think much of Cologne as we were in a fairly grotty part overnight. Got a glimpse of the famous cathedral but didnt get a good picture.

Followed the Rhine trail fairly closely today and the only real complaint was the wind. As usual it always seems you are gong into it. The fact that there were a large number of huge wind generators suggests it would be windy. It has got pretty flat as we approach Holland.
Lots out cycling today with family riding every concievable type of cycle with lots of electric powered ones. But all ages are out there on a Sunday afternoon.

The first campsite we found was for static campers only so had to go on further. Stopped at a pleasant quiet one, but has limited fascilities so once again only some buscuits to eat since breakfast. Must be better prepared for tomorrow.
Probably only three more days of full cycling so certainly underestimated the distances that we could travel pulling rather heavy trailers.

Day 19 Another rest day. Bonn to Cologne by Ferry

Planned rest day with a boat trip from Bonn to Cologne. Only ferry was at 4pm so we had all day in Bonn. Had a look again at all the sites. Nice city with good pedestrian streets and market squares. Found a huge bookshop which was a converted cinema. They had left the stage area, ceiling and some seating for people to read. Got maps for the rest of the journey so happy.
As we were boarding the ferry with bikes and trailers bumped into the American couple I had meet on my first day of the trip in Andermatt. Very hospitable couple. He is a very fit 75 year old and they got up the first mountain pass out of Andermatt when I had taken train. They also found the heat unbearable so have had some rest days and train sections. They have been staying in Hotels rather than camping and have sent a lot of their excess gear back by post, so not carrying as much as we are.
The scenary between Bonn and Driesberg is very industrial so we may get an early train and bypass that and get back to cycling mid morning tomorrow. Hope to get out into some countryside as cities are hard to ride through.
Arrived at Hotel in cologne about 7 pm, got a room and when we opened the door found peoples clothes and luggage in the room and realise we were double booked. Luckily had a spare twin room for us.
Look forward to a good ride tomorrow as legs have just about stopped hurting.

Day18 Koblenz to Bonn --Rest day. Ride to train Station!

Couldnt ride today as both of us have legs that wont work. The groans and creaks as we get up can be heard down the street. So we decided to catch up on distance, as we have got a bit behind so got a train from Koblenz to Bonn. We had a very good look round Koblenz in the morning and saw all the sites. It is the confluence of the Rhine and the Mosel so very important place in History. Had a great cable car ride up to the castle which was Roman and a Prussian stronghold.

By mid afternoon we were in Bonn and had a wander around the central city. Beethoven memerobilia everywhere.

Tomorrow we plan to take the boat from Bonn to Cologne, although it doesnt leave until the late afternoon.

The Good and the Bad
Cycling surface.
The good- newly laid tarmac
The Bad- old cobble stones. Terrible on hands and bottom!

Day 17 Geisenheim to Koblenz 74kms

Another good day in spite of legs complaining about yesterday. Good weather and perfect cycle tracks.

This is probably the prettiest part of the German Rhine with castles and vineyards on both sides of the Rhine gorge. Lots of tourists boats plying up and down.
We started from Geisenheim fairly early after a reasonable night in the tent. Temperature down to acceptable levels. Crossed the rhine almost immediately to Bingen. Made good progress along the southern bank although as would be expected the wind was fresh up the valley and through the gorge.
Had lunch- a plain roll and coffee at a lovely village called Bacharach. Real classic old German village. Castles on every hill!!
Legs really started to complain as the day went on and got to Kablenz as planned. Good campsite with new fascilities but cold showers. Gill can handle that but took me a while to wash with lots of gasps and groans.
We are behind on schedule so may do some of the industrial central part of the Rhine by boat or train.

OK now the good and bad. Accommadation
The good- finding a nice campsite with a restaurant and good hot showers.
The bad- worrying all day if we can find somewhere to stay!

PS look on Gills timeline on Facebook. See Gill Ralphs