Cycling UK Forum

Hi,
I am new to any sort of forum's so please bear with me, for my 70th Birthday this June I would like to do a little bike tour with not to many hills, I'm trying to plan a ride to Amsterdam, I live in Sussex so would get the train to Dover then the ferry to Dunkirk, ride up through Belgium to Bruges, then on to Sluis, through Zeeland and up to Amsterdam then back down to the Hook of Holland and ferry to Harwich then the train down to London and back home, sounds easy.!!!!! I will be camping to keep costs down.
I would appreciate any advise on routes, maps to take, any "not to mad" but small campsites that anyone could recommend, and any advise on things not to do.
I will prob. take about a week over it so no need to rush.
Thanks in advance of any help.
Regards,
Old n Slow

I did Lille to Amsterdam and back last summer. (I did a ferry to Brittany, then train to Flanders.) It's an extremely easy trip both in terms of hills, navigation and campsites.

Firstly, take a look at this website: http://www.fietsnet.be/routeplanner/default.aspx You can use that to produce a list of numbers, representing your entire route - all you then have to do is follow the signs alongside the bike paths pointing to the next number on your list. However... it's not quite that easy: occasionally, a sign will be missing or pointing the wrong way, or a path will be closed for construction work, so you want a backup. I used a free app on my Android phone called 'OSMAnd' which can be used as a satnav, showing that numbered cycle network. Alternatively, you could try and get hold of a paper map or print one, e.g. off that website. Although I'd planned a numbered route before I set off, I then took different routes because, for example, some parts of the route required ferry crossings which weren't running.

Finding campsites wasn't a problem. I just picked them as I went, using the internet. (If you take a smartphone, you can use wifi in bars etc.) I did manage to download a database of campsites to my phone's satnav, however you could just search on Google Maps. None of the campsites I stayed in stood out for being particularly good or bad - after a day in the saddle, I was happy just to get a shower, beer and sleep.

You'll probably do the entire trip on cyclepaths, segregated from cars, as that's how they tend to do it in Belgium and Holland. It's safe, scenic and easy. If I were you, I'd use that website to plan a route, and then look for any nearby attractions you'd like to visit and adjust the route accordingly.

Thanks Devon great help, just what I needed, I had a look at the fietsnet site with the numbers route seems a great idea, also downloaded OSMAnd app to my phone, really starting to feel like it now, you have got me started, Thanks again. I would appreciate anymore ideas from anyone. Thanks.

From Amsterdam to Hook of Holland I recommend:

Hugging one of the straight canals SW (I forget which one)
Meet up with the Lf1a and then follow this all the way keeping to the coast until you reach Hook of Holland

The reason to keep to a canal and to the coast is that it makes navigation very easy. It took me a little over 3 hours last year.

The route was really good.

Thanks for the advise atlas, will look out for that straight canal.

You want to follow the LF1 North Sea Route, from France to The Netherlands.
Good info here -> http://europebicycletouring.com/europea ... th_Sea.htm

Hi Tigerbiten, Thanks for the link just had a read, lots of great information that's sure to help me out. Thanks Again

tmc1630 wrote:Hi,
I am new to any sort of forum's so please bear with me, for my 70th Birthday this June I would like to do a little bike tour with not to many hills, I'm trying to plan a ride to Amsterdam, I live in Sussex so would get the train to Dover then the ferry to Dunkirk, ride up through Belgium to Bruges, then on to Sluis, through Zeeland and up to Amsterdam then back down to the Hook of Holland and ferry to Harwich then the train down to London and back home, sounds easy.!!!!! I will be camping to keep costs down.
I would appreciate any advise on routes, maps to take, any "not to mad" but small campsites that anyone could recommend, and any advise on things not to do.
I will prob. take about a week over it so no need to rush.
Thanks in advance of any help.
Regards,
Old n Slow

I'm older than you and did roughly the same route you have planned last year. It's a great ride and very flat which is good news for us oldies. But take a GPS rather than maps. It's much easier. Be careful with your bike in Amsterdam. It's the bike nicking capital of Europe.

Hi Dodger, Thanks for the tips, it's encouraging to hear you did it last year and that it is flat, will have to get someone to show me how to use GPS, not very tech minded.
I will keep an eye on my bike in Amsterdam.
Thanks to everyone for the advise, would like to know if anyone knows where the straight canals SW from Amsterdam to the Hook of Holland, where you meet up with the LF1a and keep to the coast, are, that Atlas mentioned.

The LF1 route is shown here: http://www.holland-cycling.com/where-to-go/long-distance-cycle-routes/national-long-distance-cycle-network/lf1-north-sea-route-noordzeeroute You'll probably find if you plan a route with that website I linked to in my last post, it will take you along LF1 anyway - that's the way I went, with a few detours of my own choosing.

As for the canal to get you in/out of Amsterdam from the LF1 route, you've got loads of options. I arrived on a very nice canal/river which is alongside the N232 road, goes past Schiphol airport and arrives at the 'Amsterdamse Bos' forest. I can't even remember which route I took back - by then I'd got into the swing of easy navigation and just went where I pleased.

If you're new to smartphones, then you'll need to do three things:

(1) before you go, use OSMAnd on a few cycle trips in the UK to get used to how it works. The free edition only allows you to download a limited number of map areas, but that was enough to cover my entire route. Make sure you've downloaded the Belgium/Holland maps, and can identify the numbered points of the 'Knooppunten' network.

(2) sort out a handlebar mount - I made a very secure one out of a single elastic loop, backed up by the lanyard which attaches to my phone. My phone is waterproof - if yours isn't you'll need to put it in a freezer bag or similar.

(3) You'll need to make sure your phone's battery will last. My phone is renowned for its excellent battery life (Sony Xperia Z3 compact) and I also bought a high capactiy (22400mAh) portable charger. This was more than enough for the whole journey. However I always found by chatting up whoever was working on the campsite, I could always get them to plug my phone into the wall overnight, so I could have done the whole trip without the portable charger. That said, I'm a phone geek and know all the tricks to making sure a phone battery lasts - I'd recommend you do a Google search to find the forum for your model of phone, and ask people for tips on how to do this. It can make a staggering difference.

Hi Devon,
Thanks for all your advise, I'm sure it's going to be a great help for my trip, that route into Amsterdam via canal by N232 and the LF1 seems really good, think that's the way I will go.
I have downloaded the OSMAnd app to my smart phone, I already have a handlebar mount for the phone so can't wait to try it out. There seems to be plenty of choices for camp sites so just get one as I go along for each night.
The tips for using the phone and battery saving are a great help. Thanks again.