Travels with Claud

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Day 15

20160831

Hoek van Holland to Harwich to home



On the ferry, lying in a comfy cabin bound for ‘Engeland’ (well I was then, but now I’m upstairs at home). I hadn’t intended paying for a cabin on the return trip; but when the public areas started turning into festival camp-sites the thought of a comfortable bed and a private shower were too much. It’s also a real boon to have somewhere to leave your stuff. £30 well spent I thought, and I even slept for a couple of hours!

I didn’t sleep well last night. My room was next to the hotel plumbings central nervous system. I could hear whooshing pipes, and gurgling plug holes all night. It was like being in a drain. Breakfast was ok, and I even managed to make myself a ham and cheese sarnie to take for lunch on the ferry. All in all I’d say definitely well to the bottom of the list of places I’ve paid to stay, ever. A constant smell of cigarettes, loosely fitting carpets tacked down with those white plastic electrical wire cable clips, see through towels with virtually no absorbent quality, and some decidedly dodgy looking electric power outlets. You get the picture.

I’ve really enjoyed my fourteen days of cycling around the Netherlands. I wasn’t at all sure when I set off for Leiden on day one how long I’d last. There was a gnawing doubt about why I was doing this. Other than the obvious tourism element, there was a desire to do something that needed a certain amount of resilience and resourcefulness. Was I a person who could do this? Okay, it’s not a solo climb up Everest without oxygen in winter; but it was long days on my own, with a fair amount of uncertainty about where and when I’d end up. And in the first week up north, and then east to GroNINGen, every turn of the pedals was taking me further away from home.

Riding the bike was the most enjoyable part of the trip, which is pretty fortunate! Even on the long days in the hot weather. Cycling is a fantastic way of travelling. You can cover a decent distance in a day, and if you’re off the beaten track, you’re going slow enough to appreciate the beauty of the landscape and the subtle changes, from region to region. Also, you’re engaged in a fair amount of ongoing systems maintenance that keeps you occupied. Does the bike feel ok? How do I feel about stripping off the luggage to fix a puncture? Have I got enough water? Am I going in the right direction? How often do I need to stop? Am I hungry? Is that a big dog or a small bear up ahead?

Once you’ve answered all of these questions positively you can relax and get into the rhythm of the days ride. Obvious but key tip; good kit and diligent preparation solve most of the potential issues before you even get off the ferry, (though not the dog versus bear situation). Here I must pay tribute to My twenty plus years old Claud Butler touring bike. Claud never missed a beat, never slipped a gear, broke a cable or let me down in any way. The only mechanical mishap was a puncture in Zwolle, and that was from my own stupidity; trying to get my bike up an escalator, Idiot.

Why didn’t cars ever come with built in compasses? I appreciate a compass is old tech in these days of GPS and sat navs, but it’s also a very reliable back up tool. Even if you lose your map position at least knowing your direction of travel is a distinct comfort. I’d never seen a ‘compass set in the bell’ until I saw one on Andy’s handlebars in Harwich, a couple of weeks ago. I immediately wanted one. It wasn’t until a week later that I found a bike shop in GroNINGen that sold them.

All in all a successful trip. Tomorrow I’m going to make a spicy dutch apple tart; take that any way you want. Mine’s with whipped cream.

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