touring virgin planning to ride to germany

[galaxy1]

Hi All,

I'm pretty new to touring but I've been commutting between 16-20 mile a day for the last 10 years so I'm fairly fit. This year I've got a family reunion in germany (in Detmold) and I was thinking about riding there. Summer is coming up and I've really got to get started with preparing and planning if it's going to happen.
I was thinking about riding to hull from york then getting a ferry to rotterdam and from there riding through holland to detmold in germany. I've had a look on google maps and it reckons its about 228 miles from rotterdam which isn't too bad.
So ,I was wondering if any of you had done something similar and what did you do in terms of maps and planning routes/places to camp or b&b?
any information would be greatfully received
thanks

 

[mcr]

There are plenty of local cycle route resources online if you google them - I think most of your route would be through North Rhine-Westphalia, which has a route-planning website here. Another useful site, with mapping, is Radweit, with suggested routing between cities. For accommodation there's the Bett und Bike site, run by the German equivalent of the CTC and listing cycle-friendly places to say (not always that cheap, though, especially if you're travelling solo).

 

[snorri]

Loads of options regarding routes. I like rivers so after leaving Europort would join the Rhine Radweg and follow it upstream to Nijmegen or Emmerich before cutting over to Doetinchem and Vreden to join the Europaradweg 1 which passes close to Detmold.
You should not have any problems finding campsites once clear of Rotterdam and its surrounding towns.
Apply for an EHIC (Health Insce.) card if you don't have one already.
http://www.cycletourer.co.uk/cycletouring/holland.shtml

 

[galaxy1]

Thank you for those links and the info. I'll have a proper look at them this evening

 

[Bodhbh]

Have you thought about taking the Hull - Zeebrugge ferry? Guess it will add a day or two, but orentation is a bit easier immediately off the ferry and you'll get to ride over the Zeeland sea defenses.

 

[stephenjubb]

Hull to Amsterdam Ferry will be very expensive, unless you get some kind of offer, it is daft but you have to pay £216 for a return as you have to have a cabin.
If you want to save £116, cheap train to London for £20 (Can be done with hull trains if you book far enough in advance ie 5 weeks) cycle to Harwich (88 miles from Kings cross) and ferry to Hook of Holland cost £80 (check they will take bicycles when you want to go, I have read at some times they perhaps don't due to giving priorities to cars).

Hull Ferries annoy me that for 1 person you have for a 12 hour journey got to get a cabin. On a 12 hour ferry to the shetlands from aberdeen you could just go as a foot passenger for £60 return and sleep on ones thermarest.

Its a bit of a workaround to save £100 but if you have the time it is quite a saving.

 

[stephenjubb]

york to london kings cross in june 7 at 12:29 £11.50 direct.

 

[stephenjubb]

on http://www.theaa.com/route-planner/index.jsp

hook of holland to detmold is 242.8 miles

 

[Bodhbh]

Hull to Amsterdam Ferry will be very expensive, unless you get some kind of offer, it is daft but you have to pay £216 for a return as you have to have a cabin.

Looking at my old booking it was 124 quid oneway Hull -Zeebrugge last year. You're right, most of that breaks down into paying for a 2-man cabin. If it was for a week I might of rethought, but was the start of a 3month tour so what-the-hell.

thb tho, I really enjoyed the experience of leaving Hull, the sight of the Bridge, passing Spurn point, the docks at Immingham, Grimsby Dock Tower, Cleethorpes pier, etc. Then your retire with a bottle of wine and get a good nights kip for the next days cycling! It's not a bad way to kick off a tour.

 

[stephenjubb]

did you get the announcements from 6am? i'd got drunk the night before and had such an hangover and wanted a sleep in but they went off every 15 mins from 6 am

 

[Bodhbh]

did you get the announcements from 6am? i'd got drunk the night before and had such an hangover and wanted a sleep in but they went off every 15 mins from 6 am

I don't recall them, but had some fun and games on the ferry myself and maybe slept thru .

 

[willem]

Harwich - Hook of Holland is often cheapest, and they also have tickets with train ticket included from a few UK stations to any station in the Netherlands, which might help you if you are short of time. An alternative on your end could be the ferry from Newcastle to IJmuiden. On the Dutch side, that is probably the nicest route for cycling, with Hull-Rotterdam the ugliest.
Willem