FNRttC The (not the) Fridays Tour of the Low Countries 2015

[StuAff]

One question: do people have an aversion to putting their bike in a plastic bag and putting it on a plane? I've done it many times and, while it's always a slight concern, I've never had any major problems (and I've never taken a really expensive / fragile bike). TBH I found Eurostar more hassle.

I, for one, do. I know that plenty of people like yourself, Simon & Susie, to name three, had no issues with the CTC clear bag or equivalents, bits of piping etc as packing material...but plenty of people have horror stories about flying with bikes too, and I'm not entirely convinced by the 'if they see it's a bike they'll look after it' argument. It only takes one person who doesn't to ruin the holiday, and I can't help thinking I'd be one of those to come a cropper. I just wouldn't risk any of my bikes. Chutney the Dahon could go in a suitcase with some packing or a custom case, those are about £150. For the other three, that would be £250 plus for a case with decent protection that doesn't require a lot of dismantling, then I'd have to get it to and from the airports.....

 

[redfalo]

The trick would be hire van in london, bikes in van, drive to bordeaux, Riders fly to bordeaux with luggage (sharps and liquids in van with bikes) then in bordeaux bikes out luggage in. Go to the Med. Dip bikes and bodies in Med. cheer and drink fizz.
luggage out of van and bikes in. Van drives home, riders fly. Route can be tweaked to suit. But could be flat, Weather likely to be good.

Sounds very convenient for the participants, and like a logistical nightmare for the organiser

 

[StuAff]

Just to restate the idea I had: starting from Hook of Holland, or perhaps Brussels, then back to Normandy. For example Hook-Antwerp-Ghent-Roubaix-Abbeville-Rouen-Caen-Saint Lô-Cherbourg would be 526 miles, fairly flat, plenty of hotel options, plenty of scope for joining late/leaving early for those who need to do so. SNCF strikes would not throw a spanner in the works.

Andrew's pics are making me see the attraction of going to the Med though...

 

[mmmmartin]

a logistical nightmare for the organiser

Nah. A nghtmare for riders to get their bikes to the van 24 hours bfore they fly. And to store the bikes until they can be picked up.

 

[Andrew Br]

The trick would be hire van in london, bikes in van, drive to bordeaux, Riders fly to bordeaux with luggage (sharps and liquids in van with bikes) then in bordeaux bikes out luggage in. Go to the Med. Dip bikes and bodies in Med. cheer and drink fizz.
luggage out of van and bikes in. Van drives home, riders fly. Route can be tweaked to suit. But could be flat, Weather likely to be good.

Chances are Helen and I would make our own way to the start and back from the finish as we've done in previous years.
In mmmmartin's parlance that would be, for him, "SEP" and for me, "MP", possibly "TP" .

.

 

[srw]

OK. Here's my take

(on the first cycle tour of my life down the river Rhine in 1990, I almost got killed by a roofing tile falling from the youth hostel in Bacher

Moral 1: Youth Hostels are dangerous
Moral 2: Smoking is dangerous
Moral 3: A helmet would have saved your life

 

[srw]

It appears that w/c 11 Sep is one where I have no unbreakable commitments - and my main committee meeting the following Monday, so that's papers out before I go.

 

[redfalo]

Back in the initial discussion about a 2014 tour, I fleshed out a tentative itinerary for London to Berlin, prices are late 2013 level. One could of course also waive the night ride to Harwich, take the train to the night ferry and then start with a full day of cycling in Holland.

This is how the route could look like. http://goo.gl/maps/8rglg

All cities for overnight stays have youth hostels, where a bed (in a 6 to 8 beeded room) costs about 30/35 Euros (=26-31 Pounds) including breadfast. Youth hostels also offer rooms with 2 to 4 beds these days, and all cities are big enough to have real hotels as well. Some days might appear a bit long, but it's mostly flat.



Day 1 - Friday
night ride to Harwich

Day 2 - Saturday
get on the morning ferry in Harwich, which leaves at 9am, and arrives at Hoek of Holland ferry port at 5pm
Hoek of Holland to central Rotterdam - 20 miles ( a lovely traffic free ride btw)

Day 3 - Sunday:
Rotterdam to Kleve – 81 miles

Day 4 - Monday:
Kleve – Lünen – 70 miles

Day 5 - Tuesday:
Lünen – Paderborn via Soest – 60 miles

Day 6 - Wednesday:
Paderborn – Goslar 88 miles

Day 7 - Thursday:
Goslar to Magdeburg – 60 miles

Day 8 - Friday
Magdeburg – Berlin – 88 miles

 

[mmmmartin]

Yebbut.... TMN, those days are as flat as a pancake, like riding on the sea floor. 10mph is a very easy average. When I was in northern Germany in September it was the easiest cycling I've ever done.

 

[mmmmartin]

get on the morning ferry in Harwich, which leaves at 9am

I'd suggest getting the very comfy and civilised night ferry on the Friday evening, arriving about 8am after an excellent breakfast. We did it in September and were riding at 8am. This gives us an extra day of riding rather than sitting looking at the sea.

 

[mmmmartin]

Germany is level with the "don't care" vote at the moment. Early days though.

 

[frank9755]

Agree with TMN on that. A group moves much more slowly. Lunch stops take longer. There are more punctures, etc, etc.
And 'flat' doesn't always mean 'quick' if there are lanes and cyclepaths.
100km per day is the most I'd aim for.

 

[StuAff]

Agree with TMN on that. A group moves much more slowly. Lunch stops take longer. There are more punctures, etc, etc.
And 'flat' doesn't always mean 'quick' if there are lanes and cyclepaths.
100km per day is the most I'd aim for.

+1 on those counts. Seventy/eighty/ninety/tons day after day is perfectly OK for lots of us, but bigger groups of riders of differing strengths and abilities...nope, just doesn't work, assuming you want a tour and not route march on a bike. Much easier for the less slow riders to ease up than for less fast ones to try and keep up. Faffage increases exponentially with numbers, even before allowing for slow restaurant service (those on the Normandy tour will remember our 'escapades' in Carentan...) and such like.

 

[velovoice]

In my experience, flat = windy. Is this the case in northern Germany?

 

[Haitch]

In my experience, flat = windy. Is this the case in northern Germany?

Prevailing wind is from the west.