lilolee
Guru
- Location
- Maidenhead
We will pass plenty of places of interest, so lots of photo ops.
On the other hand I'll see if I can come up with ones around 100km a day
FNRttC The (not the) Fridays Tour of the Low Countries 2015
- Thread starter mmmmartin
- Start date
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On the other hand I'll see if I can come up with ones around 100km a day
lilolee
Guru
- Location
- Maidenhead
If we don't do Gouda, how about http://tinyurl.com/nqlx3bz
Sat : Dieppe - Amiens 113km
Sun : Amines - Saint Quentin 86km
Mon : Saint Quentin - Arras 86km
Tue : Arras - Ypres 85km
Wed : Ypres - Bruges 83km
Thu : Bruges - Goes 75km
Fri : Goes - Breda 80km
Sat : Breda - Hoek 88km
I don't know the roads specifically, but know the area from Dieppe to Bruges, and would be willing to recce this route up to Bruges in June (from Bruges I'd head back to Dunkirk or Dieppe). The Northern part in The Netherlands is completely unknown to me so would need somebody to advise.
Sat : Dieppe - Amiens 113km
Sun : Amines - Saint Quentin 86km
Mon : Saint Quentin - Arras 86km
Tue : Arras - Ypres 85km
Wed : Ypres - Bruges 83km
Thu : Bruges - Goes 75km
Fri : Goes - Breda 80km
Sat : Breda - Hoek 88km
I don't know the roads specifically, but know the area from Dieppe to Bruges, and would be willing to recce this route up to Bruges in June (from Bruges I'd head back to Dunkirk or Dieppe). The Northern part in The Netherlands is completely unknown to me so would need somebody to advise.
frank9755
Cyclist
- Location
- West London
This is the route that we (Jenny, Stuart, Els and I) did in 2011.
Hoek-Brugge http://ridewithgps.com/routes/796546
Brugge-Westvleteren http://ridewithgps.com/routes/796406
We then went back via Dunkirk.
I'd certainly recommend these routes. The run up the coast over the bridges is spectacular. The views have a gradeur that a photograph cannot capture. Would be even better with a tailwind.
Rather than doing that loop into France, I'd save the mileage to do a loop up, via the Kinderdijk windmills and Gouda, towards Amsterdam, and back via Haarlem, Leiden and the Hague. The Netherlands is cycle-touring heaven and it would be cruel to take people there when there was too little time to see a bit more! There are plenty of moderately-priced hotels in the main towns (apart from Gouda which, inexplicably, only seems to have one).
Hoek-Brugge http://ridewithgps.com/routes/796546
Brugge-Westvleteren http://ridewithgps.com/routes/796406
We then went back via Dunkirk.
I'd certainly recommend these routes. The run up the coast over the bridges is spectacular. The views have a gradeur that a photograph cannot capture. Would be even better with a tailwind.
Rather than doing that loop into France, I'd save the mileage to do a loop up, via the Kinderdijk windmills and Gouda, towards Amsterdam, and back via Haarlem, Leiden and the Hague. The Netherlands is cycle-touring heaven and it would be cruel to take people there when there was too little time to see a bit more! There are plenty of moderately-priced hotels in the main towns (apart from Gouda which, inexplicably, only seems to have one).
frank9755
Cyclist
- Location
- West London
If not more.
In my experience, on a Saturday morning, there's four hour's riding off that ferry before you can expect to find anywhere open.
IMHO the overnight boat is more testing than the overnight ride to Newhaven. The road is fairly flat after Turner's Hill (apart from the short sharp bend in the middle of Lewes) making it a relatively easy ride even if tired. You have one of the finest breakfast's to look forward to. And then gently onto boat to drink and/or snooze. Arrive early afternoon and if you are being soft you can do a 10 minute ride to a hotel and have a great afternoon/evening on the delightful town with a bit of team building and start fully refreshed the following day.
Whereas if you do the overnight boat then its arrival in Newhaven is fraught by the lack of decent restaurants to while the hours to departure. Then, because its only 4 hours you are not going to get more than 3 hours fitful sleep, lose an hour on the timeshift, be launched into an early morning ride which will be as dark as a night ride with, as Frank says, no food/drink above what you are carrying. If the weather is not good its a pretty poor start to the tour. Any road up it is going to be a very long day riding from, say, 4am to 4pm.
Day boat for me please.
Whereas if you do the overnight boat then its arrival in Newhaven is fraught by the lack of decent restaurants to while the hours to departure. Then, because its only 4 hours you are not going to get more than 3 hours fitful sleep, lose an hour on the timeshift, be launched into an early morning ride which will be as dark as a night ride with, as Frank says, no food/drink above what you are carrying. If the weather is not good its a pretty poor start to the tour. Any road up it is going to be a very long day riding from, say, 4am to 4pm.
Day boat for me please.
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frank9755
Cyclist
- Location
- West London
The reasons to take the night boat, though, are that it, almost by magic, it saves you not just 12 hours, but more like 36 hours, and it gives you, in my opinion, a better ride at either end.
You can leave after work on a Friday and still catch it, and you get those extra, rather magical, 4 hours of riding on utterly deserted roads before sunrise and breakfast. You then do a bit more on the Saturday during the daytime and, even with an early finish, you are rather magically 120+ km down the road by the time the Saturday day-time boat has steamed in to Dieppe.
It's also a very pleasant ride down to Newhaven in the evening, and that last section of road after Lewes is a lot less busy than it is in the morning.
Stuart is right in that it is a bit harder than the day boat but, for people who are up for trading off a bit of sleep-deprivation for a special experience, it is worth thinking about!
You can leave after work on a Friday and still catch it, and you get those extra, rather magical, 4 hours of riding on utterly deserted roads before sunrise and breakfast. You then do a bit more on the Saturday during the daytime and, even with an early finish, you are rather magically 120+ km down the road by the time the Saturday day-time boat has steamed in to Dieppe.
It's also a very pleasant ride down to Newhaven in the evening, and that last section of road after Lewes is a lot less busy than it is in the morning.
Stuart is right in that it is a bit harder than the day boat but, for people who are up for trading off a bit of sleep-deprivation for a special experience, it is worth thinking about!
OP
OP
mmmmartin
Random geezer
This is very true. In the past I have used the B road to the west of the river, and crossed the river at Southease. The nasty road between there and the roundabout to the north is quite short and much of that can be done on the "pavement". On the other hand there is always the train from Lewes to Newhaven, but not a group of bikes, obvs.
OP
OP
mmmmartin
Random geezer
But surely, a club of the calibre of The Fridays will contain A Grand Routing Officer capable of arranging an early morning, rather decent breakfast about an hour or two south of Dieppe for the whole group?
And after a night on a boat surely the following day will be short and easy? Is this not possible?
Just sayin'.
lilolee
Guru
- Location
- Maidenhead
frank9755
Cyclist
- Location
- West London
Yes, that kind of thing.
But stay South of Rotterdam to go through Kinderdijk (windmills before crossing the Lek). Then up to Gouda. Utrecht is a bit big so not essential to detour to get there (Zeist is a good place to stay), but follow the river Vecht to Weesp - it is very pretty.
From there it's worth going to the centre of Amsterdam as it is the one big city that is dead easy to get into (and out of) by bike. Further north would be nice (not been up there but it's meant to be pretty up towards Edam and onwards, or that might be enough distance and time to head over to Haarlem, via Zaandam (more windmills).
From Haarlem it might be best to stay inland on to Leiden and the The Hague, to avoid the normal headwinds on the dunes, but there would be a chance to do some of them between the Hauge and Hoek.
But stay South of Rotterdam to go through Kinderdijk (windmills before crossing the Lek). Then up to Gouda. Utrecht is a bit big so not essential to detour to get there (Zeist is a good place to stay), but follow the river Vecht to Weesp - it is very pretty.
From there it's worth going to the centre of Amsterdam as it is the one big city that is dead easy to get into (and out of) by bike. Further north would be nice (not been up there but it's meant to be pretty up towards Edam and onwards, or that might be enough distance and time to head over to Haarlem, via Zaandam (more windmills).
From Haarlem it might be best to stay inland on to Leiden and the The Hague, to avoid the normal headwinds on the dunes, but there would be a chance to do some of them between the Hauge and Hoek.
Haitch
Flim Flormally
- Location
- Netherlands
If I could speak out of turn for a moment, should you do this tour, instead of going from Utrecht to Amsterdam, head north for Huizen, over the bridge into Flevoland and then to Leliestad and take the Markermeer Dyke to Enkhuizen then turn left to pick up the route at Hoorn. It´s a bit further but doable on a longish day.
OP
OP
mmmmartin
Random geezer
A glance at the voting figures and several conversations suggest to me that the Low Countries are the favourite.
A half-formed thought that could hardly merit the word "plan" is forming. It would involve Dieppe to the Hook of Holland, carrying luggage* on the bikes, and going near Calais - or at least providing some people the chance to leave the trip early and cross to Dover. This might allow people to take part even if they could not take a whole week of holiday. Eurostar and Lille are words that have also cropped up.
* All plans will assume carrying own luggage. This will not be onerous unless you bring too much....... there are not many hills, it is fairly flat all the way. However, if we get a couple of dozen riders willing, as in Caen-Bordeaux, to chip in £100 each, a van becomes a possibility. Remember that, as on the Caen-Bordeaux ride, any monies surplus to requirements is given back to you.
There will be a recce, obvs. So just be aware that, just like the apocryphal swan travelling gracefully upstream, under the water the little legs are paddling away like billy-o.
A half-formed thought that could hardly merit the word "plan" is forming. It would involve Dieppe to the Hook of Holland, carrying luggage* on the bikes, and going near Calais - or at least providing some people the chance to leave the trip early and cross to Dover. This might allow people to take part even if they could not take a whole week of holiday. Eurostar and Lille are words that have also cropped up.
* All plans will assume carrying own luggage. This will not be onerous unless you bring too much....... there are not many hills, it is fairly flat all the way. However, if we get a couple of dozen riders willing, as in Caen-Bordeaux, to chip in £100 each, a van becomes a possibility. Remember that, as on the Caen-Bordeaux ride, any monies surplus to requirements is given back to you.
There will be a recce, obvs. So just be aware that, just like the apocryphal swan travelling gracefully upstream, under the water the little legs are paddling away like billy-o.
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