2-week cycle from Hook of Holland to... any recommendations?

[BoopMoo]

Hi,

I have a 2 weeks in August to do my first solo cycle trip in Europe.

Plan currently is boat to Hook of Holland, then cycle to Berlin along eurovelo 2, or to Denmark along Eurovelo 12. Has anyone done these routes, know which is better, more interesting? Any other options?

I've cycled the Passau Vienna, and Prague Dresden previously (highly recommend!), and could do about 80km a day. Would be using a road bike, and not camping. I would take my bike back on flight, or maybe sell my bike at destination.

[Tigerbiten]

How much do you want to stick to an "official" route ??
As you could almost combine both your options.

Up the North Sea Cycle route to the German border, ~400 km.
Cut across country on a rough straight line to Hamburg, ~300 km.
Up the Elbe, ~200 km.
Last stretch to Berlin, ~150 km.
Total distance is very roughly 1050 km.

That's probably pushing it for distance but has the best variety in it.

Luck ..........

[BoopMoo]

Being my first solo trip, I'd welcome a few helpful official route signposts to avoid getting lost. Plus, taking routes with less traffic would be more enjoyable.

When you say best variety, does ev2 to Berlin get a bit monotonous? It's a concern I've been having; quaint German towns and castles might get a bit dull after a while. I've heard elsewhere that North Sea Cycle Route could have a the same problem.

[durhambiker]

Being my first solo trip, I'd welcome a few helpful official route signposts to avoid getting lost. Plus, taking routes with less traffic would be more enjoyable.

When you say best variety, does ev2 to Berlin get a bit monotonous? It's a concern I've been having; quaint German towns and castles might get a bit dull after a while. I've heard elsewhere that North Sea Cycle Route could have a the same problem.

Any route could become a tad boring,what you find interesting is down to you.I found Denmark much more boring than the Rhine.Again,individual thing,but sometimes i like a town and few bars to wander to on a night..Lots of that on Rhine,,v flat Denmark not so much,,but then some people prefer tent in the wilds..Up to you.What many do is bike so it includes an "event" beer festival,sport event,music event etc,,,what ever suites you.

[Tigerbiten]

Being my first solo trip, I'd welcome a few helpful official route signposts to avoid getting lost. Plus, taking routes with less traffic would be more enjoyable.

When you say best variety, does ev2 to Berlin get a bit monotonous? It's a concern I've been having; quaint German towns and castles might get a bit dull after a while. I've heard elsewhere that North Sea Cycle Route could have a the same problem.

How are you navigating ??
If you stick to the "official" routes then you can buy a guide book.
If you've downloaded/make a route everynight to a sat nav/phone then you don't really need the sign posts. But they do help with "piece of mind".
I tend to make things up as I go along. So I'll stick to a route if it's going where I'm going. But I'll divert off it if I feel like it.

I've done the NSCR on the way to the Iceland ferry. The best bit is to the border, sand dunes and dykes. After the border only dykes.
I've not done EV2 but probably there's more variation in terrain than the NSCR.

Luck ...........

[mjr]

If you've downloaded/make a route everynight to a sat nav/phone then you don't really need the sign posts. But they do help with "piece of mind".

Signs also help with complicated junctions, especially in urban areas in the Netherlands. Many satnavs won't distinguish clearly between a left turn onto a two-way cycleway on the nearside of the crossing carriageway and a left turn onto a cycleway on the far side of it. Usually the direction will be too vague ("turn left in 20m / turn left" perhaps) but some can be more detailed but too close together ("turn right in 20m / turn left in 20m / turn right / turn left / turn left in 20m / go straight over / go straight over / turn left / go straight over / go straight over") - riding with a few people with non-speaking beeping Garmins, you might feel you're being chased by a herd of Tamagotchis.

[robing]

Cycling through water and cycling through the trees in Belgium look worth a visit.

[RobinS]

The South and North Holland sections of the North Coast route north from Hook are really nice, but beware - the Ijesselmeer dam is currently closed to cyclist, with a bike bus service. We were going south and had no problems, but riders heading north were suffering 2 to 3 hour waits for space on the bus - it was a real melee when we got off. The Friesland sections in Netherlands and Germany are OK, but you do spend a lot of time just cycling alongside floodbanks. For the Netherlands there is a cycle route atlas that shows all cycle routes and junctions - makes nav easy. In Germany there is a Kompass map/guide (may be a bikeline one as well. The Elbe route is quite nice and well signposted, and there is a Bikeline guide. Cycle upstream, not down as the prevailing wind is from the North west - we went downstream and had over 1000km of strong headwinds!

[willp01908]

As has been suggested, the North sea coast route - at least as far as the Afsluitdijk, is spectacular. The bumpier bits south of Arnhem and along the Belgian border to Zeeland are also a great ride as is the Maas river route. This page has some good suggestions for themed long distance routes:
https://www.hollandcyclingroutes.com/lo ... cle-routes.
You can mix and match to suit your time/inclinations.
I did the Ronde van Nederlands route a couple of years ago which is made up of a selection of these routes - fantastic varied cycling.

[LittleGreyCat]

If you've downloaded/make a route everynight to a sat nav/phone then you don't really need the sign posts. But they do help with "piece of mind".

Signs also help with complicated junctions, especially in urban areas in the Netherlands. Many satnavs won't distinguish clearly between a left turn onto a two-way cycleway on the nearside of the crossing carriageway and a left turn onto a cycleway on the far side of it. Usually the direction will be too vague ("turn left in 20m / turn left" perhaps) but some can be more detailed but too close together ("turn right in 20m / turn left in 20m / turn right / turn left / turn left in 20m / go straight over / go straight over / turn left / go straight over / go straight over") - riding with a few people with non-speaking beeping Garmins, you might feel you're being chased by a herd of Tamagotchis.

Just cycled from HofH to Wesel in Germany using Cycle.Travel to plot the routes and then downloading the TCX file to a Garmin Edge Explore.
This got us to each overnight stop and to our destination with only a few minor hiccups which were mainly due to me learning how to interpret the instructions and that bikes could go the wrong way up one way streets if you understood the signs.
The graphics on the screen were good enough to show you how to wiggle your way through complex junctions, and also which side of the road you should be using the cycle track (usually in preparation for the next turn).
One thing I did learn eventually was that the most suitable resolution for the majority of the trip wasn't high enough for the last 500 meters and you have to zoom in for the final turn by turn at the hotel.

My main problem as team navigator was that we followed a numbered cycle route for a while, then cut a corner to another numbered cycle route then turned onto a different numbered cycle route again. Then onto an unnumbered minor road.
The navigees(?) kept trying to second guess the route and complained each time they had decided we were following route 'nn' and then I turned off onto some other route.
Not having worked out that the evening stops weren't on a direct numbered cycle route from the last stop.
Rambling now, but if you look at the numbered cycle routes they do tend to wander a bit at times.

Edit: ride with the wind and catch a train against the wind. You are there to enjoy not suffer.

[boink]

Follow the Rhine to it's source in Switzerland on eurovelo 15? Plenty of interesting towns and cities including Arnhem, Rotterdam, Cologne, Strasbourg and plenty of decent campsites to choose from. There's a Cicerone guidebook too, with a downloadable route map.