We entered the USA, the UK, and now Europe via the sea. The ferry trip from Harwich to The Hook of Holland was one of subdued excitement and anticipation as we chatted with other cyclists about to begin their journeys. In particular, one family: Charlie, Cordelia, and their delightful young daughters Grace and Megan, were about to embark on their first family cycling tour to Amsterdam.

Holland snuck up on me while I was busy making plans. No matter! In my mind’s eye, it’s all well signposted- Cycling heaven this way!

I found out rather quickly to my horror that there may be such a thing as too many bicycle lanes. Holland is indeed a cyclist’s  Mecca. Everyone rides and the bicycle is given the right of way, it’s like pre-motorized China with European faces.

Navigating the extensive bicycle network takes a degree of skill and knowledge of the system. Paths are numbered, however they don’t follow each other in sequential order, rather, they intersect at different points. We found signs in The Hague to Rotterdam but wanted to see the International Court of Justice and the Peace Palace before we left. Therese spotted a sign pointing to Li’s Palace and thinking it was an abbreviation of the Peace Palace we followed the signs. We ended up out the front of a suburban Chinese restaurant! We then found our way to Rotterdam and followed the ring road for hours until we mastered the bicycle route numbering system.

Plot your desired destination and then join up with the interconnection paths to get you there, in our case our campsite. Take route 9 then 59 then 71 to 12 up the path to 86 and Roberts your mother’s brother. Simple.

A consequence of being geographically challenged is that I got to see a great deal of marvelous Rotterdam. Its architecture (old and new), waterways, canals, shipping, people and windmills, and lots of windmills (old and new).

We successfully navigated out of the city via a purpose-built underground cycling tunnel. The infrastructure built to support the ubiquitous bicycle, in its myriad forms, is amazing! Build it and they will come.

At Kinderdijk we took in the fully restored fifteenth century World Heritage listed Windmills. These medieval engineering marvels helped drain the low-lying lands and increase the amount of fertile arable land.

From Kinderdijk we navigated via a combination of numbers, cycle signs, and good fortune. On through pretty towns whose names I struggled to pronounce: Alblasserdam, Papendrecht, Dordrecht, Biesoschi, Werkendam, Woudrichem, and finally Gorinchem. We have set up camp in a funky, alternative-themed campground in time to do a little bicycle maintenance, fix Therese’s broken stand, clean the drivetrain and replace a few screws that have shaken loose from the rear racks. So far our bicycles have proved pretty much bulletproof.

I must say it’s great to be in a country where cycle tourists don’t warrant a curious look from passers-by, we are normal here.