Pat's Cycle Tour - 2017
8 июля 2017 г., Нидерланды ⋅ ⛅ 21 °C
The time has arrived. Cycle tour 2017. Central Europe from North to South
Amsterdam (NL)
9 июля 2017 г., Нидерланды ⋅ ☀️ 20 °C
Arrived at Schipol airport, unboxed my bike, loaded my gear and pedaled the 15 km into the city. Very fortunate to be hosted by friends from South Africa in an apartment close to the cityЧитать далее
Seems like the bicycles outnumber the cars, but Heineken bottles outnumber the bicycles...good luck Pat! Beer and bicycles, sounds awesome!
Denyse HalseI could never believe there were so many bikes in Holland with mothers ferrying kids back and front of bikes uphill and over canals. :Enjoy
Zaanse Sanchs (NL)
10 июля 2017 г., Нидерланды ⋅ ⛅ 23 °C
The Zaanse Schans is a residential area in which the 18th and 19th centuries are brought to life. It is a little hamlet, really just for tourists. My timing was perfect, as I was leaving all the tourЧитать далее
Hoek van Holland (NL)
10 июля 2017 г., Нидерланды ⋅ ⛅ 20 °C
The next stop after Zaanse Sachs was Zandvoort. First glimpse of the North Sea. The coastal section was quite pleasant until the wind picked up later in the afternoon, direct headwind but fortunatelyЧитать далее
Jenni Botha - At least you did not also have hills to battle with the headwind. Such neat rows of umbrellas on the beach - that would not happen here - enjoy
ПутешественникHi Pat Wonderful pics... thanks. Impressed with the extremely neat way you load your bike. Must be quite q thing to balance weight. The bonus I guess is the flat terrain. They really do have a lot of windmills.
Gorinchem (NL)
11 июля 2017 г., Нидерланды ⋅ 🌧 19 °C
Left Hoek van Holland with a glorious tailwind. Happiness !! At some stage during a serious downpour, I think I passed through Rotterdam (world's third biggest sea port).
The route took me throughЧитать далее
Denyse HalseYou're making good progress despite the varying weather conditions thrown at you. Such cute ferries.. Safe ride today.
Rhenen (NL)
12 июля 2017 г., Нидерланды ⋅ 🌧 15 °C
Woke up to rain. Checked the weather App and 99% chance of rain most of the day. Decision time. Bunker down all day and do nothing, or bite the bullet and get on with it.
Back on the bike. StoppingЧитать далее
Wesel (DE)
13 июля 2017 г., Германия ⋅ ⛅ 18 °C
Along the cycle paths they have what look like windsocks, only larger and made of netting. As you cycle along you lob your trash into the net !
Rode over a hill today, must be out of the NetherlandsЧитать далее
Cologne (DE)
14 июля 2017 г., Германия ⋅ ☀️ 21 °C
Not all green pastures, and tranquil meadows. This northern section of the Rhine is also known as the Industrial Ruins. Slow going and without a GPS it would be even worse.
Rode through DuisburgЧитать далее
Denyse HalseWell done Pat you're doing so well. We visited the Christmas markets in Koln and recognise the cathedral in your pics. Glad you treated yourself to a Starbucks cappocino
Koblenz (DE)
15 июля 2017 г., Германия ⋅ ☀️ 18 °C
Approaching now the more scenic part of the Rhine.
When its a long day, to pass the time it's fun to chase the eBikes till their batteries go flat, then pass them. Once done with the eBikes, thenЧитать далее
Mainz (DE)
16 июля 2017 г., Германия ⋅ ⛅ 20 °C
Today was the start of the Middle Rhine, the picturesque section with medieval castles. This section has no fewer than 50 castles, and is also know as the Romantic Rhine. All the castles andЧитать далее
Speyer (DE)
17 июля 2017 г., Германия ⋅ ☀️ 25 °C
Not much happening on the route toady. Still a few barges carrying cargo but not nearly as many on the lower section of the Rhine. You can see now why the Rhine is considered Germany's economicЧитать далее
Strasbourg (FR)
18 июля 2017 г., Франция ⋅ ☀️ 28 °C
Big day today with 140 km. So far nine days on the bike and 1,088 km clocked.
The past two days have been sweltering with today reaching 36 °C. Doesn't help much starting early as you still on theЧитать далее
Denyse HalseHi Pat drink loads of water in this heat. Do hope your bike has had the necessary Tlc for the days Ahead. Love your pics.. Did you get the thunder and lightening storm last night.
Patrick LearyAbsolutely no rain, however severe storm expected tomorrow morning and evening. Oh well.
Basel (CH)
20 июля 2017 г., Швейцария ⋅ ⛅ 22 °C
The start of today's route followed a wooded canal cycle path almost dead straight for 50 km (144 km in total today). Somewhere on route I crossed another border, now in Switzerland.
Basel - a dropЧитать далее
Flaach (CH)
21 июля 2017 г., Швейцария ⋅ ☀️ 24 °C
Some big mountains beginning to loom now on the horizon. Scary stuff ! Today was the first day with a few small climbs. Gravity sure slows you down when the combined weight of bike plus kit is 40Читать далее
ПутешественникHey Pat seems like you r having a good time. Pics and story are very inviting. Thanks and enjoy it, you could be back home here working like the rest of us - now that's some motivation for those looming hills!!
Lake Constance (CH)
22 июля 2017 г., Швейцария ⋅ ⛅ 23 °C
Today's route followed mostly the shores of Lake Constance (Konstanz) which borders Austria, Germany, and Switzerland. Lake Constance, known as “the heart and soul of Europe". At some stage today IЧитать далее
ПутешественникLooks quite warm that side - were freezing here u know. Enjoy it, looks great
Hochst (AT)
23 июля 2017 г., Австрия ⋅ ⛅ 19 °C
Stopped for a coffee and tried to pay with my Swiss Francs, only to find that I had crossed another border, this time into Austria.
A very brief excursion into Austria, and then back again intoЧитать далее
Vaduz (LI)
23 июля 2017 г., Лихтенштейн ⋅ ☁️ 20 °C
Crossed a border yet again, this time into the small country of Liechtenstein. It has an area of just over 160 square kilometers, and an estimated population of 37,000.
Very quite being a Sunday andЧитать далее
Chur (CH)
23 июля 2017 г., Швейцария ⋅ ⛅ 21 °C
The majestic Alps beckon !!
From Liechtenstein the gradient starts to go up as you head towards the source of the Rhine. Heading towards Chur the river passes through breathtaking ravines.
Today isЧитать далее
Splugen (CH)
25 июля 2017 г., Швейцария ⋅ 🌧 9 °C
Time to now cross the Alps.
Yesterday I was caught in two storms before 10am and only made it halfway of my planned route. Called it a day and decided to find some place dry.
Second attempt todayЧитать далее
Путешественник
Love the way they stack the wood. quite an adventure... wondered how the weather was.
Splugenpass (Alps)
26 июля 2017 г., Италия ⋅ 🌧 7 °C
The lower section of the pass leaving the town of Splugen had five switchbacks. The upper section had sixteen switchbacks !
At the summit of the pass was again another border, this time crossing intoЧитать далее
Lake Como (IT)
26 июля 2017 г., Италия ⋅ ⛅ 27 °C
Once down the pass it was time to head towards Lake Como. My route followed the eastern shoreline.
This area really is picturesque. Towering mountains on the one side, and stunning villages huggingЧитать далее
Milan (IT)
27 июля 2017 г., Италия ⋅ ⛅ 28 °C
Leaving Lake Como and Lecco, I eventually found a path (away from the traffic) alongside the river leading away from the lake. Along the river were a number of small hydro electric plants and locks toЧитать далее
Milan (IT)
28 июля 2017 г., Италия ⋅ ☀️ 27 °C
The city has long been named Fashion Capital of the World. Today was a day for exploring, on foot, and a bit of Metro.
The Milan cathedral is the 3rd largest in the world, and took nearly 600 yearsЧитать далее
Fidenza (IT)
29 июля 2017 г., Италия ⋅ ⛅ 27 °C
Left Milan fairly early to miss the traffic. Good to be back on the bike again. A solid 150 km today. Again another 36 °C day at least the route was very flat.
Cycle touring tip: Most towns areЧитать далее
Filattiera (IT)
30 июля 2017 г., Италия ⋅ ☀️ 25 °C
Big change today, from the flat farmlands of yesterday, where the only action seemed to be the farmers working their lands. Heading back towards the coast now.
Today was another mountain pass, theЧитать далее
Enjoy go carefully hope weather good
ПутешественникHave a safe trip Patrick, looks amazing so far👍🏻👍🏻
Enjoy and be safe