Closing Comments, Gear list, and Actual Itinerary - European Cycle Tour 2012

I really enjoyed this tour; I was more relaxed and freer of any worries.  My new eating regime has worked a treat, and I've felt like a million bucks for the vast majority of the time.  The only time I felt a bit off was when I had overeaten or ate a food I had removed from my diet.  You can't always get what you eat at home.  It is sometimes hard to find the correct food at the right price. 

My favourite part was the Swiss, Liechtenstein, Bodensee area, all that stunning scenery and freshwater lakes.  Such a contrast to Australia.

The stay in Amsterdam of ten days was a bit long, but that was mainly due to the rain in the first six days. When it was fine I got on the bike and went exploring.  I don't think it was a good idea to be there when Wendy was attending her conference as they were so busy that I didn’t really get to spend time with her and she was always worried that she might be neglecting me.  So in future if I want to travel to the same country as the conference, I'll remove myself from the city and go off hiking or cycling somewhere separate.  Then we can meet up and do something after the conference finishes. 

GEAR LIST - CYCLE EURO 2012

I tend to travel fairly light, but each tour I find some small thing or item that I can delete from the next trip.  I keep a note on my iPhone and anytime I think of anything about gear I enter it on the note.  Buy the lightest version of each item you intend to take. 

Right pannier carry on plane

         T shirt

         Jumper

         Socks 2 pr light-weight

         Spare underpants - 1

         Shorts lightweight

         Cycle pants, hi-vis vest and LS cycle shirt (saves putting sunscreen on arms)

         Ground sheet, cabbage bag (for sitting on the ground)

         Floppy hat, when off the bike.

         Phone charger

         Strap to carry pannier.

 

Left Pannier

o          Toilet bag, deodorant, small soap & sew kit (free motel type).

o          First aid kit, bandaids, patches and antiseptic.

o          Pump, touring type.

 

Plastic bag on top of rack

         Sandals.

         Bike chain & lock

         Wet jacket, wet pants

         Winter gloves

 

Handle-bar bag (carry on plane)

         Sunglasses, sun-screen, lip-balm

         Glasses. 

         Wet ones travel pack.

         Dental floss

         Chewing gum

         Travel pillow

         Maps & trip notes.  

         Shaver

         Tooth paste and brush in ziplock bag

         Hand sterilizer

         Comb

         Lightweight beanie.

         Water bottle 1. 

 

Fitted on Bike

         Water bottle No 2

         Spare tube, spare tyre, lube & tools.

         Puncture repair kit & tyre levers

         Allen keys, bike specific.

         Small Leatherman.

         Oxy straps for wet gear roll

         Cleaning rag for bike & rubber gloves.

         Helmet & gloves

         Cord for securing the bike on trains.

 

Security Pouch (around neck)

         Passport

         Spare cash

         Spare credit card

         Cash card

 

Wear

o          Long pants/shorts combo with belt

o          Nike shoes

o          LS dress shirt

o          Underpants

o          Singlet

o          Socks

o          Phone, adaptor jack and earphones.

DAY 53: SUN 14 OCT - SINGAPORE TO HERVEY BAY

It was a change to a Boeing 747 Jumbo for the flight to Brisbane.  I'm sure the seating area and floor space you get on a 747 is bigger than the A380.  What a lovely flight, had some supper then basically slept till they woke me for breakfast an hour and a half out of Brisbane.   Got through customs fairly quick but then couldn't check in for the Hervey Bay flight at the International Terminal because "Qantas don't check in oversized domestic luggage at that terminal"!   So had to lug the bike box etc onto the transit bus and into the check-in area.   Then couldn't check in at Qantas as it was too early for my flight.   Will drive down to Brisbane in future and park the car at my sister’s place in Ipswich.  

Spent 6 hours waiting at the Qantas Club, napping, wandering and eating.   At least the food and drink at the clubs in Australia are of an excellent standard; better than the overseas lounges.  

Boarded the last flight of this tour on time and flew back to Hervey Bay where Joe was waiting with my ute.  It was a good sight and it was good to be home after a total 44 hours of travelling from the motel in Amsterdam.  

I can't wait till the next tour in about 3 weeks time.  That one is with a group cycling through Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam.   

DAY 52: SAT 13 OCT - LONDON TO SINGAPORE

Left London a bit late due to a passenger being offloaded for some reason.  Of course, they then have to find their luggage so that can be taken off the plane too.   The plane is a very new A380 Airbus, double-decker which holds about 500 passengers, and every seat is occupied.   Tried to watch a science-fiction movie but it was too gory, so I switched it off and got some sleep.  I think I must have got 4 or 5 hours, but of course it was broken.   Very smooth flight all the way to Singapore.    I couldn't get wi-fi on my phone in the Qantas Club for a while then it kicked in, nice to keep in touch.  The QC computers were painfully slow too so they obviously had a problem.  I had been travelling for 25 hours thus far.

DAY 51: FRI 12 OCT - AMSTERDAM TO LONDON

Rain, now I know why there’s so much water in Holland, 3-14deg

The last thing I wanted this day was rain as I have to ride to the airport, but it was raining when I woke up.   I have all the wet-weather gear to cover up so only a bit of a nuisance factor really.  I was looking forward to a nice casual ride to the airport and look around on the way, maybe a few photos even.  The latest I can check out of the motel was midday so I had plenty of time.  I allowed at least two hours for the ride of about 20km.  Having ridden it before I wouldn't have to concern myself with navigation.  I could store my gear at the motel but I've seen the city area so I decided to leave for the airport at midday.  I like to allow an hour for buying the box and packaging the bike and other gear, so I can completely relax and take my time.  

Checked out at midday (8:00pm Brisbane time) and took just an hour to ride to the airport. Only got a few spots of rain despite the dire forecast.  Found a spot under cover away from the crowds and cleaned my bike.  Did a detailed job as I have stacks of time.  The quarantine people are so fussy about dirt and stuff on your bike.  Went to the luggage area and bought a box and packed away the bike and one pannier.  The box was so big that I didn't need to take any wheels off, which was a first for me. The box was numbered to put together.   Taped it up and got a trolley from nearby and wheeled it to check-in 21. Took only a few minutes and I was through to the British Airlines Lounge.  Hours early, but much better than being rushed. The lounge was very basic with no real food at all, just a few packets of chips, but some nice Merlot which I had one glass of.  It really bucketed down outside while in the lounge so again I was very lucky and glad I had left early.  There were no shower facilities at the BA Club either, but they are available in London.  

A short time later BA announced that the flight has been delayed by 15 minutes; not a good start! Eventually that went out to 30 minutes but it didn't affect my connection to Singapore out of London.   Even had time for a nice feed of beef and salad at the Qantas/BA Club in Terminal 3, Heathrow.  As I sat there I looked at people coming and going to the servery.  It’s interesting to see what people eat, especially when it is free.   We all have choices in life, why some people take one road and others take a different one, we'll possibly never know. 

Bike tunnel to the airport

The bike and box in various stages of packing

 

DAY 50: THU 11 OCT - AMSTERDAM

Fine 3-13deg

Slept in till 7:00am, did my morning exercise routine then went for a walk around the local canals, taking some nice photos in the early morning light.  Amsterdam is certainly a photographer's paradise due to all the different landscapes, canals and old buildings.  As it was a cool 4deg after about an hour I was back in the warm motel room having my breakfast of banana, yoghurt and croissant.  

I tossed up whether to go for a long walk or a ride and as it was a cool 3deg outside I decided to do some walking to use the different mussels.   Wandered into the city via the back blocks, watched an old bridge opening up on a canal to let a barge and tug through; great engineering for its time.  Could not find a date on the bridge but it had to be 17-18th century.

Ended up at McDonalds for lunch, Caesar salad as usual; don't eat anything else that they serve up.  Even their chicken in the salad is dodgy, caked in fatty breadcrumbs and guaranteed to contain no real chicken.  However the salad is ok and it's a cheap lunch for A$6.  

Just received an SMS from Wendy who made it to Singapore.  At that time it was not long before takeoff to home.      

I'm still enjoying Amsterdam but also glad to be going home tomorrow.  It will be great to get prepared for the Asian cycle tour next month.  Really looking forward to some more company on that ride.   

Walked and walked some today just enjoying being in a quieter Amsterdam due to a significant drop in the tourist numbers.  I guess the season slows down as the temperature drops.  Didn't see anything in particular, just soaking up the sights and sounds.  Listened to some good busking music in Rembrandt Square.  Bought some fresh figs and a small goat’s yoghurt at the supermarket.   

Got back at the motel about 3pm just in time for a nice cup of green tea and a read of my book.

Converted working barge for housing

Geese near our hotel

Floating house in Amsterdam

Three icons of Amsterdam - bikes, tulips, and canals

Central Station

DAY 49: WED 10 OCT - AMSTERDAM

Ride: 50km: total: 2,010km

Fine with grey sky, 3-14deg

Had a sleep in till about 6:30am then after coffee in our room, about 8:00am went for a nice walk around the Maritime Museum area.  Saw 100s of cyclists going to work just along our street, must be 100s of 1000s of them across Amsterdam.  A fantastic sight to a mad cyclist.  

Back to our favourite place for breakfast.   Then Wendy had to shower, dress and get her stuff ready to leave on the Airport Shuttle (16euro A$20) for her flight at 4:30pm.  I had till Fri as that was the day Wendy had planned to leave too, but changed it when she discovered she did not have enough leave days available.  As I had booked a cheap flight with Qantas it would have been too expensive to change it. In the end I think I stayed in Amsterdam too long, considering the ordinary weather conditions.

I wanted to check the bike route to the airport so I rode out there leaving at midday.  It took about an hour and half, so that gave me an estimate for Fri.  Met up with Wendy out there and said our goodbyes, then rode back to the motel.  The room felt empty and dull without Wendy; although she was very busy while she was there, I still missed her.   On the way back a little shop had half chickens for A$4.10 so got one and had a snack.  I had the rest for dinner with some sauerkraut out of a bottle.   

Had a quiet night in my room reading after watching BBC News, which is rubbish as they repeat 3 stories over and over again.

Early morning walk in Amsterdam

    

DAY 48: TUE 9 OCT - AMSTERDAM

Fine and cool 5-13deg, but felt ok as I didn’t ride. The temperature difference between 9am and the warmest part of the day was 4 deg.    

This was Wendy’s last full day so we wanted to see as much as we could, but not the touristy stuff if we can help it.  Started the day at our favourite breakfast place next door, Kenk’s; eggs, bacon and coffee. 

Then walked to the Waterloo district for a free tour at Gassens Diamonds House.  This made Wendy’s eyes light up with all the sparkly things she loves.  

Walked into the city and bought a few souvenirs.  Had lunch at my favourite department store V&Ds food-hall.  It was then back to the motel for Wendy to pack her bags.

Some of the tools used in the Diamond House