Bikes and ferries – Less Car, More Life

Wales to Brittany by bike. With a Stena Lines ferry boost.

The approach to the Fishguard Ferry terminal.

One of the only riddles I can always remember is “How do you get two whales in a Mini?” Answer: Over the Severn Bridge. Doesn’t work written down (to Wales in a Mini), and rarely works for an American audience- the Severn Bridge? Wales? What?

Our riddle was how to get us and two bikes quickly and efficiently from Wales to France. Big touring bikes that do not fit easily in the bike closets provided on many UK trains. We could have ridden all the way to Portsmouth or another southern England port, but to be honest bike touring in a lot of the UK is not fantastic. And we wanted to get back to France to tour while the weather was still good, not spend more time crossing Britain. The answer to our riddle? Stena Lines Ferry.

For the first leg of our trip our friends in Tenby generously drove us and our bikes to Fishguard, Wales, for our 24 hour fun journey to France.

Rich waiting with our ferry behind him. This ferry will take us to Ireland.

Let’s get this show on the road! Lunch and snacks in the bag.

I love traveling by ferry. It’s a fantastic way to get between the continent and the UK or Ireland without flying. Flying not only has a bigger carbon footprint than the ferry, but it’s also a pain with bicycles. Ferries and bikes are quite easy. At Fishguard the bikes wait with foot passengers, who are driven onto the ferry by a bus, but we bikes get to wheel on with our own escort.

Rich in the bike nook, cars loading on behind him.

The bikes are secured with a rope, provided by the helpful staff person you see securing a motorcycle behind Rich. The motos are strapped down to recessed hooks in the floor.

Secure and ready to go. For this 3 hour journey we leave the bags on the bikes.

I always snap a photo of our deck number and stairwell color. Just in case we both forget.

Then it’s a cup of tea, a coconut macaroon from Loafly Bakery in Tenby, and a sheltered spot on the sun deck.

We were the only two people with bikes on this ferry trip, but there were quite a few motorcycles. We all wait to unload together.

I’m still fascinated by the huge car and truck decks on these ferries. It’s a bit intimidating to be a little cyclist surrounded by trucks and cars as you exit.

I don’t take pictures while disembarking, I’m too busy trying to keep up with the flow and not skid on the steel plates of the ramp. It looks more dodgy than it is, but I prefer both hands on my handlebars for this part of the trip.

Our next ferry, from Rosslare Harbour, County Wexford, would take us to Cherbourg, France. This was a long ferry ride, 16 hours. You have to purchase a cabin, no sleeping in the chairs. While in line for this ferry we chatted with a nice Irish cyclist named David, headed to France for a Rugby World Cup game and to meet up with his brother. Also traveling by bike.

Motorcycles and bikes loading from lane 12.

The bikes on this ferry were stashed next to a conveyor belt, and lashed to it by a staff person.

We were a bit mystified and annoyed by the fact that this ferry seemed to allow only four bikes on. When Rich was making reservations the website told him at first that there was only 1 bike space left. He was able to get both bikes on the next day, it seems that when his initial attempt to reserve and pay hung up in the payment phase, it locked down the 2 bike spots and they needed some time to reset and release. David agreed with us that it was ridiculous to allow only four bikes on a massive ferry loaded with cars and trucks, he said he would probably just show up and talk his way on, if he had been denied a bike reservation. We’re not that confident in our gift of gab, not being Irish, but we all agreed to send sternly worded emails to the Stena Line Ferry company. (We otherwise really like this ferry company.)

Behind this door, Premium Class Cabins. That was us! We went Premium Class.

A very comfortable cabin. You can see one of the upper bunks above Rich, this cabin could sleep four.

The cabin had a kettle, tea and coffee, some snacks, outlets with continental plugs – two pin – and a very decent sized bathroom. More later on morning amenities. First, off to the bar!

White wine and Guinness. Rich couldn’t be in Ireland, however briefly, without having a Guinness. Dance floor available, pop music blaring from the sound system.

The view from the Metropolitan Bar. We imagine that during busy summer holidays the dance floor gets some use.

We decided on this trip to just eat from the restaurant instead of bringing on our own dinner or breakfast. You could certainly save money by taking on your own picnic meals, but the food got pretty good reviews so we made our lives easier and went to the buffet restaurant for dinner and breakfast.

The buffet and a guy who gets his money’s worth from a buffet.

My first plate, noodle salad, Greek salad, and veggies. All quite good.

Dinner at the buffet was a success. There was a bar in the restaurant, drinks not included except water and tea/coffee, we opted for water.

We went for an after dinner walk on deck and then it was off to bed in our comfortable cabin.

Another benefit of Premium Class was the morning coffee and milk from the coffee machine in the hallway, and croissants and raisin rolls, and oddly, magazines. Good Housekeeping and Men’s Health, and the duty free magazine.

Coffee, pastries, and water in the fridge.

Yes, I was out in the hallway in my jammies, this was just outside our door.

And then I was tucked up back in bed with tea made with the room kettle, with fresh
milk from the machine, a croissant, and a magazine.

Since we had a ride planned from when the ferry docked at 2pm to our first night in Normandy at Port-Bail-sur-Mer, we went and enjoyed the breakfast buffet to make sure we were fueled for our 46 km hilly ride.

Breakfast buffet was served from 8 to 10 am.

Another walk on the deck, watching for land.

The flag has the silhouette of Cyprus, where this boat is registered.

Lifeboats. Which you hope no one ever has to use. They hold 114 people each.

Finally allowed back to our bikes, we found the trucks were parked right next to our bikes and the floor had puddles of sea water. David, Rich, and a nice nomadic French cyclist whose name I didn’t get. Chatting with other cyclists is a fun bonus of ferry travel.

Ten years nomadic cycling. He said he’s off to the US next. Nice guy.

Traveling with bikes on the Stena Line or Brittany Ferries is becoming our regular way of getting to and from the UK from the continent or Ireland. This was our 12th ferry trip, seventh with bikes, since going nomadic just over two years ago. Eight have been long crossings, and four were shorter hops, Germany to Sweden, Denmark, etc. On this trip our Stena lines reward number got a work out as we bought so many meals – not inexpensive – but now we have points for future discounts. As I mentioned above, you could certainly make this journey less expensive by getting a standard cabin, and either bringing your own picnic meals or opting for a non buffet dinner and breakfast. The premium cabins vary ship to ship, on one from Hook of Holland to Harwich we had a full sized bed in the cabin and no upper bunks. Both were very comfortable and we slept well.

The happy travelers headed from Wales to Ireland.

We’re now in France, cycle touring in Normandy and Brittany. And guess what? That heat wave in Wales may have been our last summer heat, the weather has taken a decidedly autumnal turn.

Three Borders and an Infection…the Low Countries

Sometimes you are really in the groove of bike touring. The daily physical challenge, the rhythm of plotting our route, checking the weather, procuring food and lodging, and working in some fun and history along the way.

Trois Bornes: where Germany, Belgium, and the Netherlands meet. It also happens to be the highest point in the Netherlands at 322m.

Morning saddle-up at our little garden apartment in Miltenberg; a long travel day ahead.

You also tend to get a few bumps and bruises along the way; maybe bang your leg on a pedal or kickstand, maybe some chain ring grease, and always a few achy spots.

Our second train from Mainz to Bonn was a long local run and crowded from the get go, but we were able to wrangle our bikes against the wall…but way too late for proper seats.

Then even more bikes, including these two friendly German bikepackers heading out for a month ride to Nord Cap, Norway. Impressive!

You assume any minor nicks, scrapes, or pains will be eventually go away. And summer bike touring in the forests and fields always means nettles, bugs, and bug bites. So, as we headed out of our two day stay in Miltenberg, I still thought the growing red spot on my right leg would probably just go away…

Off the Train and headed towards Eifel NP.

Oh sure I was feeling a bit funky, but again, your body goes through ups and downs bike touring, so thought maybe this too would pass like an off day in the Tour de France. Plus we had an ambitious agenda to get us across Germany to a point where we could ride into unexplored regions of Belgium and Holland.

Cooling our feet in the Roer River near Heimbach, Germany

The 40k ride up the Main river to Aschaffensburg was fine and we had plenty of time to pre-board a local train to Mainz with our bikes. I had planned our route using local (RB/RE) trains that were covered by our €49 monthly tickets, and only boarding at the beginning of routes to ensure there was a spot for us and our bikes.

Bug bite infection now bandaged and first antibiotics in my system…still feeling apprehensive about a hot tough ride out of Eifel NP, but the doctor said it was ok to ride.

Wind turbines all over the Three Border Area as it’s ridges are windy!

Peanut butter and apples were our Sunday savior in Germany, when most everything is closed.

The Ravel bike route has great rest areas.

The rotating 24 hour pharmacy schedule in the Aachen area allowed us to fill our prescriptions on the weekend after a second visit to an urgent care and second opinion on antibiotics.

A rare and new bright urban bike lane in Germany. Happy to be heading out of Aachen…now doped up on two antibiotics!

After crossing into Belgium on Eurovelo 3, we appreciated the smooth pavement and well marked bikeway crossings and transitions.

The rail-trail Ravel route straddles the Flemish-Wallone border and is like sailing through the sky…highly recommended.

A small defensive bunker from WWII. This almost classifies as a “pillbox”, which are smaller square or cylindrical defensive structures still found in the area.

A memorial to the soldiers who died defending the Vaals region from the Nazis in 1940.

The fragility of borders and freedom haunts us again in this region.

Feeling confident after our first easy train transfer to Mainz, we waited strategically on the platform for our next key leg to Bonn. As the platform got more crowded, we knew this might be a challenge, and unfortunately the empty train rolled in further up the platform than expected. Doh! As mobs converged, we quickly passed the first car marked with some bike space to find a better car. Big mistake.

Heading into Liege, a city in transition with new streetcar and brownfield development construction engulfing it for a few tough years. Visit in 2025!

However, it turned out to only have two bike cars; and by the time we got in the door of the second car way down the platform, it was crowded. People were already on the pop down seats in the bike area with large luggage. So after some fairly aggressive negotiating, we managed to squeeze in with our bikes and 8 panniers scattered about above and below seats and on top of our bikes. Poor Cheryl was standing almost the whole 3 hour endurance test of 22 stops; while I managed to find a seat for some of the ride in the main area, after asking two young men to move over and move their bags off the seats.

Heading down the Mass (Meuse) River. Goodbye to Liege and Wallonia.

So here is the thing about the €49 tickets; many trains are busier, but the long distance local runs covered by the tickets are especially popular. Next time we’d spring for the €100 intercity train with bike reservation on a trip this long…and you probably should too.

A water tap! Welcome to the Netherlands, there are almost no public water sources in Belgium or Germany.

Delightful Maastricht, Netherlands…we dipped into the Netherlands just for a night.

Mount Saint Peter just south of Maastricht is perched on a limestone hill; a quarry on one side and views of the Maas on the other.

Bikes everywhere around Maastricht University, home to more than 22,000 students.

But the upside of these adventures is that I ended up chatting to the two young men for an hour or so, after they offered me some cookies. It turns out they were both relatively recent refuges to Germany from Iraq and Syria and had fascinating (and somewhat heartbreaking) stories of their families’ trips via Greece and Turkey, where some of their family was still “stuck”. Again, they both said that they would love to go to the U.S. someday, but were ok in Germany, but not thriving. Germany has been overly generous in accepting refuges and should rightly be proud, but it’s a fairly rigid culture to assimilate into or even find your own community within the traditional Anglo-Saxon framework. Heck, we even find Germany a bit hard to assimilate into, so we can only imagine.

Even more toast chocolate sprinkles at the Coop to peruse…amazing how breakfast customs vary just a few miles over the border.

Survived the end of a heat wave with just a fan at the lovely and historic Hotel au Quartier in central Maastricht. Still cool compared to India and Sri Lanka!

So after a difficult exit in Bonn with less than helpful commuters plowing into the train before we could get off completely and refusing to move, we headed out to ride 25k up the plateau to a little B&B room at the edge of Rheinbach. We were mentally and physically shattered, but managed to buy some groceries for an easy dinner at our room and our hosts helped us out by cooking the frozen pizza for us in their big oven.

More familiar flags and some pride and appreciation for the sacrifice the US made in the mutual defense and liberation of Europe.

Great bike infrastructure continued as we
crossed back into Flanders.

Howdy train riders…this new Flemish bikeway is amazing!

So we headed out the next morning and I did sort of notice that the spot on my leg had continued to grow and was now over 4” x3”…hmmm? We made it to our next Guesthouse in Hasenfeld and decided, despite the heat; we’d walk down to try to see the lake. As we returned, we both realized my leg was brighter, redder, and the spot had a bullseye center. Yup, I needed to get this looked at ASAP, so asked the innkeeper about a taxi to a hospital about 30 minutes away. When I pointed to the red spot on my leg; she exclaimed in horror “Scheiste!” or some hybrid of shock in her German-Polish vernacular.

Reward for an 85k day goal reached; a short walk to a neighborhood brasserie for wine and a luscious Belgian beer near Mols, Belgium.

The next day, a 75k meander to Antwerp primarily along the rural Kempenroute in Northern Flanders.

Her panic did not help. It was now Friday evening, but she was as able to get us a taxi to the urgent care clinic of the local hospital, and I was seen in less than an hour. The doctor spoke English and was pretty sure it was an infected bug bite (but not a tick) and prescribed an antibiotic course and ibuprofen. He recommended I get it looked at again in the bigger city of Aachen; where we planned to cycle the next day.

Feeling mentally better with the antibiotics, we headed to Aachen on a scenic route along the Rursee, one of the largest reservoirs in Germany, and then up and over the next ridge, and finally a blissful coast down the Ravel rail route to Aachen. In Aachen, we visited another (more crowded) urgent care on Saturday evening and the Doctor seemed to have a different opinion on which antibiotic was best, so started me on another course, as well as some prednisone, to quell a possible allergic reaction to the bite. Given our (rushed/efficient?) 7 minute visit and her lack of spoken English (and super fast German), we are still not entirely sure of her opinion, but I did have a new prescription and was able to start on her advice the next morning. The amazing thing about antibiotics is how fast they work as I was already feeling better by day 2, and by day 3 the redness had dulled, and dissipated completely within the week. Not sure which antibiotic did the trick, but have been re-boosting on yogurt and other pro-biotic foods ever since.

Streets are for people in central Antwerp. It was bustling in the center…just not in this morning photo -;)

So thank you again German health care system for your kindness to foreigners. And by the way, the TOTAL walk in costs, €70 (two urgent care visits), €40 (4 prescriptions), and €140 for taxis. No insurance needed. Yes, the taxis were more expensive than two urgent care visits and drugs.

The recently renovated and highly recommend Royal Museum of Fine Arts in Antwerp puts the Dutch Masters in context with modern works and a great audio guide App.

The port area of Antwerp… with two ships on the horizon? Nope, on the right is the stunning Port House designed by the late Zaha Hadid. On our list to visit next time!

So after a Sunday rest day in Aachen, we headed out on our journey towards the Belgium border and had a great ride to Liege, in the Wallonia region of Belgium. Liege has a lot of potential and we didn’t get to explore much in one night, as the whole city is pretty much torn up for a massive streetcar and streetscape redo well into 2024. From there we had an easy ramble down the Maas river to Maastricht, dipping into the dogleg of the Netherlands for a night.

This “bikeways first” rural road layout makes car drivers work it out in the center while bikes get two wide lanes.

And bridges AND tunnels designed with separate bikeways.

Crossing the Oude Maas River near Dordrecht.

Maastricht is a lively Dutch city dominated by a young (est. 1976) but highly respected state university. The vibe is very international, especially as over half the students are foreign. Feeling 100% now, I next plotted a 160k two day route to Antwerp across northern Flanders. We noticed that the bike infrastructure in Flanders is nearly equal to that of the Netherlands, as there has been a huge push to catch up to that high standard the past 20 years. Belgium also felt a bit more sophisticated and gourmet than many of the smaller places of Germany and Czechia we had spent the last month.

Enjoying the culinary diversity of Rotterdam at Restaurant De Smaak van Afrika.

And more traditional, but delicious fare at Cafe Pierre; Dutch bitterballen, mushroom risotto, and a goat cheese and fennel tarte tartin (frites and bier a given…)

Rotterdam is the largest port in Europe, so bridges, tunnels, ferries, and these typical water taxis provide key links.

I think Antwerp is one of the underrated and overlooked gems of Europe. It’s bustling, has amazing architecture, great international food, pleasant neighborhoods, and fantastic museums, such as the KMSKA and Red Line. From there, we rode two days to Rotterdam, another interesting city, although more focussed on the future and modern architecture as it was completely rebuilt after the devastation of WWII. Yes, we love the “B cities” of Europe, especially in peak tourist season. You get a more genuine experience with fewer crowds. And you can you usually get a seat, even at the most popular cafes.

Time for a quick sightseeing ride around Delft on the way to our night ferry.

Our rest day in Rotterdam was well timed as heavy rain came through, perfect for exploring the Harbour areas and fantastic Dutch Photography Museum. The next day, we finally set out for our last destination on the continent, the Hook of Holland, for our overnight ferry to the UK.

Water on all sides; about a quarter of the Netherlands is below sea level, yet somehow seems closer to the sky.

This is our favorite crossing to the UK as the Stena line is well run and bike friendly. You check in with the cars and ride onto the main car deck to park your bike, and then plenty of time to enjoy a drink in the bar, have dinner, and catch sunset as the ship sets out about 10pm. Then up to your cozy cabin to sleep. And then cycling off the ferry to our next adventures. Stay cool and note our next post will be soon!

Enjoying the late sunset with my favorite traveler as we pull out of Hoek Van Holland.

London to Brighton by Bicycle! Hove, actually.

Welcome back and sorry for the delay! After our wonderful 6+ weeks of exploring Ireland, we left Dublin under the threat of rain to catch an early boat to Holyhead, Wales. Our ultimate destination was a house and cat sit stay in Hove, on England’s historic south coast, and part of the lively Brighton and Hove municipality.

Cruising South Downs National Park towards the water and Brighton

Riding to the Port of Dublin, which is really a work in progress.

Luckily the rain managed to hold off while we rode to the massive Dublin port and terminal area, and the Irish Sea was thankfully calmer than predicted. We also decided to try out Irish Ferries instead of Stena Line, but we’ll fill you in on all the nuances of our year of ferry, train and bike travel in an upcoming post. Stay tuned.

Posing with our new friend waiting to board the Ferry in Dublin

Successfully off the train at London Euston, at a very quiet spot at the end of a platform and 10 car Avanti West train! One other intrepid cycle tourist with us.

Central London rush hour cycling was a breeze, even in a bit of rain.

Since we didn’t have time to ride all the way from Wales to Hove, we decided to train from Holyhead to London and then spend 3 relatively short days cycling to Hove via scenic back routes and footpaths. So we boarded the train in Holyhead, and after one transfer arrived in London.

Further along the Thames towards Wimbledon the roads got a lot more hectic

But unlike our last ride across London, which was on a quiet Saturday morning, we had 17km of pure evening rush hour riding from Euston Station to Wimbledon. I had found a nice guest house in Wimbledon that was bike friendly, walkable to dinner, and much cheaper than any part of Central London. It also got us a bit on our way towards Hove, and allowed a bit of the stretching of the legs after the ferry and train time.

Loved the Marple Cottage Guest House in Wimbledon

The irony of our ride was that Central London was still easy peasy due to light traffic, great bikeways, and smooth pavement. But as soon as we left the core and headed southwest into SW3, 11, and 18, the roads got a lot busier and the bike accommodation was less. The reimagined cores of global cities are now often ahead of their more suburban car oriented neighbors. Regardless, we made it to Wimbledon just fine, and were pleased to have a long 13-hour travel day over! It was then an easy walk to a great pub (The Alexandra) for dinner and some libations. We liked that the Alexandra had a sports side, non sports area, and upstairs loft, so you could choose your setting based on your mood. (Or passion for Arsenal or Liverpool!)

Finally, a bench atop Farthing Downs to have some lunch!

Unsuitable for trucks means more suitable for bikes!

We had been to Wimbledon a few times when staying in London, as the area is nice, and walking though Richmond Park via Wimbledon Common is lovely. With easy train connections to central London, it’s a good alternative neighborhood to stay in if you want a bit less hubbub and cost than central London too.

The breakfast at the Godstone Inn was fantastic; Gourmet Full English and Avocado Toast with Scrambled Eggs.

There is no single “route” from London to Brighton and no National cycle network route that gets you there directly unless you divert fairly far east or west. You can head west via the NCR4 and 223 (rail trail-flat!) or east via the Avenue Verte, which is a good route to Paris via the Newhaven-Dieppe DFDS Ferry. We still went fairly directly and used Komoot, and a route on the Cycle.Travel site. I then tweaked each daily route to try to avoid busier roads, take in some sights, and hit sections of quiet lanes tagged by Komoot users. The big advantage of cycle touring on a leisurely schedule is that it is always easier to lengthen a journey and day as desired, but not the opposite. If you’re more time pressed, then you often have fewer choices and can be forced to take busier roads and ride through the worst of the weather.

The main roads south of London and in Sussex are all pretty busy, so we were happy to have the time to explore via smaller routes. It was also supposed to be rainy, and rain it did, so our schedule allowed us to duck under cover for showers, and not fret about excessively long days out in the wet. About 40-50k a day, but it did feel much longer on wet hilly roads, muddy paths, and stops at little sights along the way. Slow travel for sure.

Cheryl trying not to shred her legs through the briars…mostly successful.

Heading down into the green abyss near Ardingly via some very steep hollows.

One challenge of routing via Komoot or OS maps is knowing what the real condition of a footpath or bridleway will be. They vary widely! Smooth forest floor, decomposed rock or grass can be easy. Roots, mud, briars, and kissing gates or stiles can be a real challenge….your best bet is to look at notes/markers people have tagged in Komoot and be ready to turn around and divert back to paved roads as needed.

A memorable night at the Ardingly Inn, sharing in the shock of the Queens passing with the locals.

Even with our planning; we inevitably were on some busy stretches of A and B roads to connect up the quiet lanes, but they were not too bad for short stretches, but not recommended for longer distances, with large trucks and often mixed/no shoulders. Some A roads have bike lanes indicated on Google (light green solid lines), but these can consist of 2-3 foot shoulders, and with grit, wet roads, and high speed traffic, are not really anywhere you WANT to be. There is still a lot of work to do in the UK to make safe cycling networks complete and practical for those other than hard core sporty types. Or those with a lot of time (like us-:).

The other variable on footpaths is how they are maintained, as clearly some landowners don’t really seem to want to accommodate the rightful access. But don’t get me wrong, the public footpath and bridleway network in the UK is an amazing thing and really allows unfettered and peaceful walking almost anywhere you want to go. We really missed this in Ireland. So as we build our perfect country, we’d take the footpath system from the UK, and the cycling access from the Netherlands.

Ready for our final short day via the Ditchling Beacon from Ardingly

Cheryl’s final assault on the Ditchling Beacon! And about to cross the South Downs Way long distance walking path.

Atop the Ditchling Beacon looking back towards London

Hove’s iconic beach cabins on a Saturday morning as a local triathlon finishes up.

All in all, the three days were very nice despite the rain. Sussex countryside is beautiful and the rains of the past few weeks had regreened the landscape from the late summer drought. (But not enough to fill the reservoirs again!)

The English Channel….France in the far distance!

Brighton’s waterfront quay has been reimagined with eateries and art galleries….but this day required some clean up after much needed rains.

It was a dramatic change from Summer to Fall over our two weeks in Hove

Great old timey rides on the Brighton Pleasure Pier

Steel pilings and railings take a beating on the English Channel

The skeleton frame in the distance is all that remains of the West Pleasure Pier; which hosted up to 2 million people a year in its heyday in the early 1900s.

People were a bit more friendly and laid back in Brighton and Hove

Day hike via the Thameslink to Balcombe…great place to start walking right into the woods.

Another engineering marvel, the 1,500 foot long Ouse Valley Viaduct. Designed by John Rastrick and opened in 1841. It still serves the main Brighton to London line today!

Cheryl with our morning pastries on the Undercliff walk near the Brighton Marina. (The Marina is bit of a 1970s design nightmare)

We arrived a bit early for our house sit, so decided to head to Hove Park, which is a very nice central park with a great cafe. Immediately we were greeted by a friendly cyclist who inquired about our travels and told us that would love Hove. Which we did.

Brighton and Hove have a temperate and pleasant oceanside climate, long established LGBTQ community, art scene, good restaurants , a walkable grid, and connectivity by bus and train. It’s hilly with both broad slopes and steep valleys that frequently reward you with views. It’s also flush with parks and borders the large South Downs National Park. It really reminded me of San Francisco and is a place we would consider staying awhile.

Sunset on the Regent’s Canal during a day trip to London.

The Camden Canal on one of our easy day trips to London. The narrow boaters yelled to us that it was only their second day on their new boat- they were very excited!

The rail connectivity means you can be at Gatwick airport in 30 minutes, and London in less than an hour. And you can even go all the way through London to Cambridge in 2 hours without a transfer. Getting to France is easy via Eurostar (from St. Pancras) and ferries from Portsmouth and Newhaven to the Normandy Coast.

Lots of space on the South Downs for cows and walking.

That’s Cheryl at the bottom of the fascinating formation known as the Devils Dyke

So, with such great connectivity, we met friends from London on the Thameslink to hike, a friend in London for the day, and other friends in Worthing, an easy train ride west. It was also fairly bike friendly, especially along the coast. It was wonderful to get so much social time with friends.

Another engineer bucket list item? Thanks Joe and Justina for the ride!

The great waking and SDNP adjacency came in handy as we mostly parked our bikes and walked and hiked from our house sit in every direction (except the ocean). The comfy double decker bus system, with USB ports at every seat and easy contactless payment via credit card or Apple Pay (capped day fares!), was the most fun, especially along the coast.

Couldn’t miss a ride on Volk’s Railway along the waterfront. Some dedicated folks (ok train nerds!) keep this running.

We loved the extremely walkable streets of Hove and Brighton…Street party around the corner from us in the Wilbury Villas neighborhood.

Independent neighborhood organic store and coffee….dense and car free living means more to discover around each corner.

The two weeks flew by, and we had to pack up, clean the apartment, and say goodbye to the sweet cat we had bonded with over two weeks. So we caught a train to Portsmouth and a ferry to Caen and another 3 day journey via train and bike to the Valleé Verte.

Our sweet house sit cat…mostly blind and deaf, but incredibly affectionate.

Hove Station at night with a huge new high rise neighborhood being built beyond; a great place for housing given walkability, transit, and weather.

But where to next you ask? Let’s just say we’ll need all the walking fitness we can muster. But another update from Cheryl is coming soon. Bon Voyage!

The happy travelers in Hove…ready to move onto France and our next adventure

Our race across the Netherlands – by bike.

The best kind of photobombing. A happy cyclist behind a happy cyclist. The gorgeous bike parking garage in downtown Groningen evokes these feelings.

This was our second time cycle touring in the Netherlands, our first was in 2017. This felt different because we were on a longer cycle trip, and we had just come from countries widely considered to be cycling heavens – Germany, Sweden, and Denmark.

The all green for cyclists signal phase in Groningen. Fun to ride.

We were quickly reminded of why the Netherlands is still the gold standard for cyclists around the world. We needed to run a few errands while in Groningen for two nights, and those errands took us out to big box store land (A big cycling store, of course.). It was a breeze, a joy, to cycle there on wonderful protected cycle tracks. Almost no stop signs and maybe one or two traffic signals. The traffic flow was controlled with yield symbols which allowed for such seamless cycling. It was so fun to note that people on bikes are separated from people driving cars by space in so many situations. Underpasses for bikes. Bridges for bikes. Wide wide lanes where we could ride two abreast and chat and other people on bikes could easily pass us. If you’ve ever tried to cycle to big box store territory in the US you will understand our delight.

Enjoying a Groningen evening with drinks and the parade of people on bikes.

But our ferry reservation to the UK from the Hook of Holland (Hoek Van Holland) beckoned. We needed to get on our bikes and enjoy the riding. Quite a bit of riding to make the ferry. We could have taken a train hop, but the riding was so nice. And it’s flat in the Netherlands we said, right?

Flat is nice, and easy in theory. And usually in reality. But with headwinds and crosswinds the flat kilometers start to hurt. 115 kilometers from Groningen to Zwolle, on loaded bikes, was a long day. I realized why I don’t have many photos from Zwolle. Too tired. And it was pretty warm weather so that takes it out of you too. Flat kilometers mean you stay in the same riding position a lot, and don’t get the hill climbing up and coasting down break for your legs. And as Rich’s cycling buddies is SF will attest, he is much happier on hills!

Warm enough that I switched to my hat from my helmet. I love that it feels so safe in the Netherlands that I can do that.

Signage along the National route we took.

So much of the route was completely car free. And a lot was asphalt free as well.

Way finding is still necessary though. Rich mixes in some Komoot routing. Shaded spots to stop were very welcome.

When you get to your destination, you check in to the hotel, shower, and then head back out to get dinner. With a tight time line this was a one night stop, so the walk to and from dinner is your chance to sightsee in town.

Up at 7:00, hotel breakfast, pack up, and back on the bikes! Next stop, Amersfoort, 92 kilometers away. It’s not fair to say we don’t get a chance to sightsee since we are sightseeing all day as we ride. And riding from town to town lets you appreciate what distances felt like pre automobile. You understand how separated places were in the days when walking, horse drawn conveyances, and canal boats ruled the landscape.

Leaving Zwolle, another physical separation of bikes and other modes.

A ferry just for bikes and pedestrians across the river IJssel.

On a long hot day sometimes the only thing that sounds good is cold chocolate milk!

Amersfoort was a logical place to stop for a night. It’s unlikely I could have gone much further in a day. It’s also a beautiful place to stop. There is a lot to be said for intensive travel planning, but the surprise of not knowing much about where you’re stopping, and finding it to be so beautiful, is like an unexpected gift. Instead of looking for the city you saw depicted in your research, you have a surprise around every turn.

Where are we? This is beautiful. Is what I said as we walked into the old part of the city.

Although we were both tired after supper we had to keep walking around.

Up again, breakfast again, on the bikes again. Today would take us through Utrecht and on to The Hague. Only 82 kilometers. In most countries the idea of riding through a major city and out the other side would be daunting. But this is the Netherlands.

Even animals get their own safe pathways across the roads. This is one of two wildlife overpasses we rode under while crossing the Panbos National Forest.

A quick stop to pick up lunch in Utrecht.

And across and out of Utrecht we go. With many other people on bikes.

Infrastructure like this makes cycling such a popular and valid way to travel. You truly feel seen and cared for as a person on a bike.

Although we only slept one night in The Hague, our ferry didn’t start boarding until 7pm for a 10pm departure. So we had a full day for a museum visit and buying replacement panniers for me, my old ones having failed and no chance of getting them repaired before we left town. I left them at a bike shop who said they would repair and put them to good use and we pulled out of town around 4pm to ride the 28 kilometers to the ferry terminal. A good travel tip for transition days is to stay at a nice hotel, if you can. The staff at the Mövenpick Hotel were super helpful and we left our bikes and bags after checkout, visited the Mauritshuis Museum, and then picked up just the bikes and set out to get a new set of Ortlieb panniers for me. Back to the hotel, unpack and pack panniers, drop off old panniers and head out to the ferry.

The lovely cycle track heading to the ferry.

Seriously nice infrastructure all the way to the ship, which you can see to the left of the happy travel planner. We made it! And no one had an emotional breakdown by the side of the cycle track (that would have been me.).

Very smart ferry company. Sure, get on hours before we set out and enjoy a few drinks and dinner!

Watch for an all ferry post in the future, we have three more bike/ferry trips planned – it’s not only how we avoid flying, but also so much easier with bicycles. And for parents with small children it appears. Load the car with kids and your gear and then have fun on the ship while you cross to the UK.

The happy travelers on the ferry boat to Harwich.

This concludes our self imposed race across the Netherlands. We’re glad we didn’t miss a single kilometer of this over 300km ride in cycling nirvana.