All 4 Love Tour 2

ALL 4 LOVE Cycle Tour - April 2004 ( Part 2 of 6)

No. At ten past four, not long after seeing this heron, I cruised into Leeuwarden. In the centre of town there was a sign indicating a campsite so off I pedalled...and pedalled...and pedalled... ten kilometres later I was not a happy bunny. The signs to the campsite continued - along a road (financed by the EU) along which bicycles could not travel and there was no cycle path! I tried to follow the road but ended up in an industrial estate. Grrrrrrrrr.

After a quick lunch with the Headmaster, I set off again. Should I pedal up to the North coast to visit the Seehondencreche (seal hospital and orphanage) - as visited by Emily in the book, All 4 Love. This would be longer but would follow more of the North Sea Cycle Route and offer far more in the way of culture and natural beauty. The shorter route, due east towards Groningen would simply follow the main road. Which route should I take?

I arrived in Groningen at about six o'clock. (If you had a bronchitic chest, sunburn, and very tired legs, would you have cycled an extra 150km to see a few sick and orphaned seals?).

Day 6: Ah, the joys of cycling in Holland! Here we see a cycle/pedestrian crossing, clearly marked - and the cars actually do stop! Can you read this, French Transport Minister? You probably can't, but at least you can look at the pictures...

Surely not far to go to Esbjerg now.... A sign not far outside Groningen. An interesting historical aside. Most people know that Adolf Hitler was an evil man but did you know that he was so evil that when he invaded Holland, he confiscated all their bikes? Nowadays, when the Dutch beat the Germans at football, they still chant, "We hebben het fiets terug!" meaning, "We got our bikes back!" Thanks Mickey for that one.

Great food in Holland! Soused herring with raw onions on a bed of white bread - a snip at one euro eighty!

Into Germany and, a pleasant surprise, the great cycle lanes and canals continued. I went North and crossed the Elbe on a small ferry, ending up in the Ostfriesen town of Aurich and my first youth hostel on the trip.

Day 7: What a breakfast! An amazing buffet spread - much better than some fancier hotels offer. Aurich also had a swimming pool where I showed off my sunburnt legs to a bunch of old ladies.

Heading west from Aurich, I followed the cyclepath next to a canal. Great weather and just the occasional cyclist to say 'moin' to. (Moin is a local word which seems to be like 'hi').

Here is my bike loaded up. Note the solar panels hanging from the side of the bike. My helmet is also on the path. After I was knocked off my bike in 2003, I don't leave home without it. (Well, I do if I'm walking - I'm not THAT stupid, honest.)

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		Day 4: I was lucky! The sunshine continued and the wind was blowing from the south west - helping to blow me across the Afsluitdijk at an average speed of 28 km p/h. Hats off to the Dutch engineers that produced the impressively large dijk [insert your own joke here] - and particularly for having the brains to put a cycle lane in next to the main road.
		After the dijk, I headed north to the lovely town of Harlingen. As you can see the weather was wonderful and the great Dutch bike lanes continued. There was a slight click on the occasional turn of my left pedal but surely that wouldn't stop me getting to Leeuwarden, would it?
		No. At ten past four, not long after seeing this heron, I cruised into Leeuwarden. In the centre of town there was a sign indicating a campsite so off I pedalled...and pedalled...and pedalled... ten kilometres later I was not a happy bunny. The signs to the campsite continued - along a road (financed by the EU) along which bicycles could not travel and there was no cycle path! I tried to follow the road but ended up in an industrial estate. Grrrrrrrrr.
		After a quick lunch with the Headmaster, I set off again. Should I pedal up to the North coast to visit the Seehondencreche (seal hospital and orphanage) - as visited by Emily in the book, All 4 Love. This would be longer but would follow more of the North Sea Cycle Route and offer far more in the way of culture and natural beauty. The shorter route, due east towards Groningen would simply follow the main road. Which route should I take?
		I arrived in Groningen at about six o'clock. (If you had a bronchitic chest, sunburn, and very tired legs, would you have cycled an extra 150km to see a few sick and orphaned seals?).
		Day 6: Ah, the joys of cycling in Holland! Here we see a cycle/pedestrian crossing, clearly marked - and the cars actually do stop! Can you read this, French Transport Minister? You probably can't, but at least you can look at the pictures...
		Surely not far to go to Esbjerg now.... A sign not far outside Groningen. An interesting historical aside. Most people know that Adolf Hitler was an evil man but did you know that he was so evil that when he invaded Holland, he confiscated all their bikes? Nowadays, when the Dutch beat the Germans at football, they still chant, "We hebben het fiets terug!" meaning, "We got our bikes back!" Thanks Mickey for that one.
		Great food in Holland! Soused herring with raw onions on a bed of white bread - a snip at one euro eighty!
		Into Germany and, a pleasant surprise, the great cycle lanes and canals continued. I went North and crossed the Elbe on a small ferry, ending up in the Ostfriesen town of Aurich and my first youth hostel on the trip.
		Day 7: What a breakfast! An amazing buffet spread - much better than some fancier hotels offer. Aurich also had a swimming pool where I showed off my sunburnt legs to a bunch of old ladies.
		Heading west from Aurich, I followed the cyclepath next to a canal. Great weather and just the occasional cyclist to say 'moin' to. (Moin is a local word which seems to be like 'hi').
		Here is my bike loaded up. Note the solar panels hanging from the side of the bike. My helmet is also on the path. After I was knocked off my bike in 2003, I don't leave home without it. (Well, I do if I'm walking - I'm not THAT stupid, honest.)
What happened next? Click All 4 love 3 to continue the story. HTML Comment Box is loading comments...