Pilgrimage to the old country on bicycle

[Guest]

Spent about 6 weeks this summer wandering through Holland, France and Belgium.

Made the switch from motorbike to pedal-bike.

Fly into Amsterdam and head north to pickup a small trailer to pull behind the Brompton folding bike.
Very nice bit of kit which works perfectly with the small tires of the Brompton. 100 liter capacity it can carry my entire camping kit I used on the motorcycle.






Rode up to Groningen which is a very pleasant college town.
After a few days there caught the train back to Amsterdam, wandered around there went to a cannabis shop. I saw them around Groningen and all the larger Dutch towns.
Very strong and high quality ganga indeed. Made for easy sleeping.
From Amsterdam caught a high speed train to Paris.
Crossed Paris to the Gare Montparnasse. Missed that nights train and camped under a closed mini-mall.
Then the morning train to Angouleme in Perigord area where I'd stashed my motorbike and camping gear with me pals.
Rode my first 80 kms day on the little bike. It is a little bit hilly country there and so got a real good workout.
I decided to follow a "Voie Verte" which followed and ancient railroad line.
Then caught the train to Bordeaux and another to Carcassonne where I was going to follow the Canal du Midi to the Mediterranean.

More pics to come

[Guest]

Carcassonne









The Canal du Midi




old aqueduct which carries the canal over a river








There were some pretty fancy rigs


My picture taking on this trip was spotty, I didn't bring a regular camera and took all the pics with a Samsung note3. Never quite got used to it and found it not an especially enjoyable picture take experience. Next time I'll use a normal camera with viewfinder.

[Guest]

I arrive in Sete on the Mediterranean after some grueling riding along the canal. The trail surface was often full of old roots from ancient trees. The small 16" tyres of the Brompton made for a very rough ride.
From Sete I cross the marshy wetland of the Carmargue, famous for wild white horses and pink flamingos.
Heading to the very interesting old Roman city of Arles, spend a couple of nights at a campground to rest and clean up.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arles

Then it was on to another old Roman city; Nimes where the best preserved roman Colosseum resides.






Stayed only one night in Nimes at the most expensive campground of the trip, 23 euro!

After Nimes it was on to Avignon, which another lovely ancient city.
Found a great campground on the banks of the Rhone river, spent 5 nights relaxing, eating goat cheeses, bread, drinking some great wines and wandering the old city.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Avignon

[Jesus Jones]

Nice pics. Have some fond memories of Holland when I live in Germany -Bruggen as a kid which wasn't too far from the border.

[Guest]

In Avignon I decided I had enough of the French tourist town scene and caught the high speed train to Brussels. The TGV goes 297 kph, it rips through the countryside, kinda scary! I was in Brussels in 5 hours!

Brussels is a big bustling city. Spend only one night at a campground in the middle of the city. Have a great Anchovy pizza and some kick ass Duvel tripple hop ale.

The next couple nights I wild camped in footy fields. When I saw a field being watered, knowing it wont be used right away I find a quiet corner to camp strip when no one is around and run out into the sprinklers for a free shower!

An imposing cathedral outside of Brussels


some mean Belgium ale, 10% it kicks some a$$.


Along the canals south of Amsterdam

[Guest]

Dutch countryside up north, fancy thatch work.










Interesting old car in Groningen. I don't know what it is, the red one is a Volvo 122

[CHEEKYFOKKER]

Congrats on a very nice picture thread.
Some very nice phots indeed.

[Quilp]

Very nice photos and what looks like a wonderful trip , thanks for sharing

[Delayed]

great Pics and story Doc. How did you find the push biking when it came to traffic on your travels? Would imagine Holland is keyed into push bike culture. What about the other places you visited?

[Guest]

great Pics and story Doc. How did you find the push biking when it came to traffic on your travels? Would imagine Holland is keyed into push bike culture. What about the other places you visited?

Yep Holland the cycling infrastructure is great. Belgium also has nice bike paths.
Paris has many dedicated cycle paths and some kind of e-bicycle loaning service. I saw that in Bordeaux also, not sure how it works but I saw many stands where you plug in bikes.
Navigating the French countryside was sometimes challenging to stay off the busy roads. Often the busy roads would not have any shoulder for cycling. But french motorists are by in large very courteous to the bicycle.

What took me by surprise was Holland and the huge numbers of bicycles being used. You have to be careful not to be run over by another bike. Something I was not accustomed to.
Also the electric assist bicycle is everywhere and they whiz around fast. In Holland 50cc motorscooters are obliged to share the bike paths. So you had to take care with them whizzing about.