Sunday 31 August 2014

The Return

It seems like a long time ago since we finished the cycling leg of our trip in Denmark. The return home seemed to take forever, and we were very glad to walk through the door of our house on Friday.

The grottiest campsite we stayed in on the entire trip is the one in Amsterdam. From the map it has potential, being on the edge of Amsterdamse Bos, the large forest area near the centre of Amsterdam. The ride to it from Amsterdam central station was lovely. You don't have to worry about being run over by a lorry, but you do have to watch out for cyclists, they are everywhere. However the campsite is very run down, dirty and flooded during the night. We were careful to keep clothes dry but yet again we got soaked. It always rains when we go to Amsterdam.




The next day we cycled south past lakes, alongside canals and across dykes. The landscape was typically Dutch with views for miles across the fields and wetlands. You are never far from water in the Netherlands. We camped in a farm campsite, and spent the afternoon talking to the pigs and sheep, and protecting our dinner from very inquisitive hens.

We had hoped to cycle all the way back to Hook of Holland, but it was slightly too far for the time we had available so the next day we cycled to Gouda and got the train the rest of the way. Gouda is very pretty, with a large central square with cafes on all sides, and the inevitable cheese museum. We went to a cafe to celebrate the end of the cycling.


Once back in Hook of Holland the sun came out and we had time to reflect on our trip. We had ridden just under 1000km, had stayed in 25 different campsites, had visited about 50 different playgrounds, had worried about the children getting sunstroke and hypothermia (though not on the same day), had been absolutely soaked to the skin 3 times, but had only 3 punctures.

Was it hard work? Yes. Did the kids become urchins? Yes. Did we question our sanity? Yes. Would we do it again? Yes!


5 comments:

  1. Tom & Tania, thank you for sharing your story! We're planning a tandem tour around Ireland next summer with our kids who'll be 3.5 & 1.5 by then. It's so encouraging to find others who've toured with toddlers!

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    1. Hi Emily. Thanks for the comment. Have a great time in Ireland. Have you found Josie Dew's website? Loads on there about cycling with kids.

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  2. Hi there mate. My wife and I are planning on doing a trip next spring to Holland with our 1yr old. Do you have an email address? Is there a way o can contact you to ask advice? We've done touring before, just not with a baby.

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    1. Hi Hugh. Will be happy to answer any questions you have though I'm not sure how to give you my email address without telling the whole world. Where you planning on going?

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  3. We're happy to share our experiences from touring with a 1.5 and 3.5 year old last summer. You could reach out to us via WarmShowers.com if you're interested. Emily and Connor Hegarty

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