IaninSheffield
Veteran
- Location
- Sheffield, UK
Firstly I must tender my apologies for absence. The last year and half have been somewhat ... testing! My touring and travelling have had to be curtailed somewhat and it's taken a while to find ways around some of the constraints. At least I'm now <ahem> back in the saddle.
I'll try to post a day or two at a time over the next few days.
Prologue
Despite having to cut it slightly short, I enjoyed a recent brief tour cycling home from Edinburgh. And my week's cycling with a buddy, centred in Galashiels, was simply outstanding. And the handful of short trips away in my microcampervan also provided some excellent pedalling. But I was missing a slightly longer trip and was also seeking something a little different.
Inspired by accounts I've read on blogs or watched on YouTube, I've been inexorably drawn towards the Netherlands. Although I've visited a handful of times in the past, I've never had the chance to take to two wheels and bask in the infrastructure that Dutch cyclists enjoy … or should that be 'take for granted'? I was also attracted by the country and the people - those I met in the past were thoughtful, generous, kind and nothing if not straightforward, plain-spoken and forthright. I'd like to meet more of them and experience more of the culture, even if for only a week or so. I'd also like to explore the country and see it more intimately than from the seat of a coach or train.
I'm pretty sure I'll be fascinated with the provision for cycling, I might enjoy wheeling alongside the many waterways, but I'm less sure how I'll take to the lack of topographical variety. I've never found much to enjoy in the flat, monotonous landscape of the Lincolnshire fens, so I'm hoping that despite some similarities with the Netherlands, I'll find something fresh simply from being in a different country. Since I've decided to make this a single-centre 'tour', I'm not planning on massive mileages and have instead chosen day rides which visit historic cities or interesting locations; places I've not been before.
As the title suggested, I'll be based in The Hague, or more appropriately Den Haag - stretch the a's and sound the g like you have phlegm in your throat. I've tried to learn a little Dutch, at least the minimum needed to be polite. The last time I tried my Dutch on a native speaker, they told me I sounded like a German, speaking Dutch! Let's see if I can do better this time.
I'll try to post a day or two at a time over the next few days.
Prologue
Despite having to cut it slightly short, I enjoyed a recent brief tour cycling home from Edinburgh. And my week's cycling with a buddy, centred in Galashiels, was simply outstanding. And the handful of short trips away in my microcampervan also provided some excellent pedalling. But I was missing a slightly longer trip and was also seeking something a little different.
Inspired by accounts I've read on blogs or watched on YouTube, I've been inexorably drawn towards the Netherlands. Although I've visited a handful of times in the past, I've never had the chance to take to two wheels and bask in the infrastructure that Dutch cyclists enjoy … or should that be 'take for granted'? I was also attracted by the country and the people - those I met in the past were thoughtful, generous, kind and nothing if not straightforward, plain-spoken and forthright. I'd like to meet more of them and experience more of the culture, even if for only a week or so. I'd also like to explore the country and see it more intimately than from the seat of a coach or train.
I'm pretty sure I'll be fascinated with the provision for cycling, I might enjoy wheeling alongside the many waterways, but I'm less sure how I'll take to the lack of topographical variety. I've never found much to enjoy in the flat, monotonous landscape of the Lincolnshire fens, so I'm hoping that despite some similarities with the Netherlands, I'll find something fresh simply from being in a different country. Since I've decided to make this a single-centre 'tour', I'm not planning on massive mileages and have instead chosen day rides which visit historic cities or interesting locations; places I've not been before.
As the title suggested, I'll be based in The Hague, or more appropriately Den Haag - stretch the a's and sound the g like you have phlegm in your throat. I've tried to learn a little Dutch, at least the minimum needed to be polite. The last time I tried my Dutch on a native speaker, they told me I sounded like a German, speaking Dutch! Let's see if I can do better this time.