What was supposed to be a gentle start in the worlds most cycle friendly country did not go to plan as the main route from the ferry out of Europort was foiled by the cycle lane being closed so I had to make a back track to head to the next bridge. Google Maps was guiding me on the detour but then to my horror it assumed I was on the road 20 ft above me so when advised me to turn left over the waterway I was lacking in both altitude and tarmac!
Another diversion was required and two and a half hours later I had moved 11 miles from the ferry I could have walked faster!
The next issue was that my thick socks had not dried overnight, maybe should have bought more, so I had short trainer socks on and my feet were freezing! Trip to supermarket was required and at 12 noon I set off to try and cover the rest of the 60 miles I had planned for the day.
Getting free of Rotterdam was hard work negotiating the urban sprawl on the south of the river but finally I crossed the Rhine and felt like I was making progress.
I then took a back road through lovely a residential area where the houses were built on little islands I guess it must have been an up market district as some of the houses were very nice.
Finally I hit the open road but was down on fuel but then up popped a cycle cafe well I couldn't ride passed so a quick coffee and Giro sandwich later I was back on the road with still lots of miles to do that day.
After my late lunch I was able to power on following a canal to Utrecht passing through some lovely towns on the way but just time to take a quick photo and go.
I passed through Utrecht is an heavy rain shower and managed to sneak into a nature reserve next to the university and some gastro camp grub
The next day was a nightmare! I started out with high hopes having made my target yesterday despite the setbacks, today should be a breeze but I was proved wrong.
My first issue was that the mapping software I was using (Strava) shows the most popular routes which was OK first thing with some lovely tracks through the forest.
Then we went mountain biking and up dirt tracks which with my HGV bike I was unable to ride so had to push or try and reroute.
My thoughts of a day smashing miles on smooth tarmac were disappearing so started to try and stick to the roads on my map but this didn't go to plan as I was was pulled over and advised by the Dutch police that the bicycle in the red circle meant no cycling on the main roads....more diversions required.
I was getting the hang of where I could and couldn't cycle when I came to a blind spot on my map but was directed by Google maps, Strava and the road signs to a ferry but reaching the river it did not exist and looks to have been decommissioned years ago!
Another major diversion was required and 70 miles on the road produced only 60 miles advancement on the map.
The next morning I had 10 miles left to the German border and managed to get on another canal route which took me to the border town but from there it became a bit of a rat run. I noticed a change in the buildings (spot the surveyor) and licence plates but didn't see a border crossing but was in Germany.
