Route planning and preparation: For me route planning is as much fun as the trip itself. Nerdy, I know. However, for this trip there wasn’t much to prepare. Just a track from Cologne to the boarder and downloading gpx data for the long distance cycling routes in the Netherlands. Following the Rhine river cyclepath from Frankfurt to Cologne would be a no-brainer (signposts + GPS velomap where the path is clearly marked). No planning needed here. And the Netherlands offers a network of cycle paths. Each junction has a number and you can easily navigate on the spot from one junction to the next (usually only 5 km away from each other, often less, rarely more). It’s a good system if you want to change the route but I recommend downloading the long distance routes (LF, links below) and following them because “free” routing using only the network maps is a bit of a hassle due to the permanent stop and go. And the puddles in front of the maps.
Knooppunt / junction system
Also, the maps are provided by each district and don’t show anything beyond the district border. If you pass through three districts on one day it’s difficult to pick the best route because there is no overview map. And writing down all the numbers is also a bit tiresome. So when on one day I met a cyclist coming from exactly where I wanted to go, I took a picture of his numbers (the junctions).
Accomodation is no problem. There are plenty campgrounds in Holland and at the Rhine river, so you are basically free to stop every 10km or so and don’t need to plan your days based on campground availability. Though keep in mind that many of the campgrounds are really small and don’t have a proper reception. You may need to call someone.
Here are some links which I found quite useful:
http://www.hollandcyclingroutes.com/long-distance-cycle-routes (includes gpx tracks for LF long distance routes)
GPS tracks: http://www.hollandcyclingroutes.com/long-distance-cycle-routes/gps-tracks
Frankfurt skyline
Mainz skyline
Saturday: Frankfurt – Mainz Kastel (25 km)
10 minutes after I left my friend’s home in Frankfurt the early afternoon the rain started pouring… but thankfully it stopped soon again. The plan was to cycle at least 40 km and camp at the Rhine river. However, after 20 km in the middle of a steep 17% climb the bike made a strange noise and something was in rear wheel. The something soon turned out to be the lower part of the derailleur hanger, which broke into two halves. Riding on was impossible. So I walked down to the hill to the village and asked for a train station, which was quite near. Good news. The bad news was that the bike shops in Frankfurt were already closed and would not open before Monday. Good that I remembered a campground near a train station in Mainz Kastell (which is on the Wiesbaden side of the river) and decided to go there. I had to change the train and waited two times about half an hours. So I arrived at Mainz Kastell right before dusk and put up the tent before it got dark. I walked along the shore with the intention to cross the bridge and get food in Mainz. But food was already available earlier as there was a Ska concert with bands such as Roy Ellis, Bluekilla und 65 Mines Street in a tent at the river shore next to the old castel. And veggie sandwiches and beer. Yippie! And I met some guys from the campground to hang around during the concert.
Sunday: Mainz Kastel – Oberwesel (57 km in the first gear….)
The broken derailleur hanger
The morning started with decision making. Should I wait and explore Frankfurt and go to the bicycle shop on Monday morning? Or should I instead remove several chain links and continue with one gear and get a replacement in a bikeshop on the way? It looked like chances to get a replacement would be very low anyway as there are more then 500 types of derailleur hangers and you apparently need one exactly fitting to your frame. The internet was full of reports of people waiting for their replacement for weeks and months. Hm. The sky was blue, the sun was shining and I a friend expected me in Cologne on Monday. So I went for the second option. Unfortunately the chain tool kind of broke and I could not connect the chain again anymore. I borrowed some tools but it did not help. Finally, luck hit and I could use the well equipped workshop of the campground. I was ready at 12.00 and started cycling down the river Rhine at high spirits. But after a few meters I realized that I had made a mistake. I had originally chosen the middle chain ring in the front and the middle in the back. But the chain went off and I had to put it on the second biggest chain ring in the back. Which felt almost like the first gear. When I was pedalling continuously I could not get faster than 14km/h. There was simply no resistance anymore. I soon found out that it was best to pedal as fast as I could to speed up to 18km/h, rest a bit when slowing down and then start again. I guess the people strolling along the promenade thought I was nuts.
Rhine promenade
Wine & Rhine
But somehow I was still in a very good mood due to the fact I was moving and because the sceneary was much better than expected. I usually don’t like river cyclepaths because it get’s boring after a few hours and often it’s pretty noise because there’s not only the river and the cyclepath but also a highway and railway line crammed in the valley. But at least this stretch of the Rhine river valley wasn’t boring, it was even Unesco World Cultural Heritage. Almost every mountain had a castle and there were many boats on the river. Which look quite nice but make also lots of noise, especially at night. I camped in Oberwesel near the famous Loreley about a meter from the riverbank. The campground had a great shower and good facilities for cyclists like sort of a tarp with tables and benches.
Boats on the Rhine
Monday: Oberwesel – Cologne (75km)
Morning mist near Loreley
The bikeshop in St. Goar was closed on Mondays. The next one in Bad Salzig was closed for good. The third one in Boppard after 25 km was open and ready to fix my bike. I just wanted them to replace the chain on a more suitable gear. But they found a derailleur hanger that nearly fit my bike and then worked a bit on it to make it fit. I could not believe my luck!
Fixing the bike in Boppard
It was already after lunchtime when I got started again and almost flew along the river with almost all gears back to work. Still I would not manage to reach Cologne in time and therefore got a lift on the train to the Cologne where my friend was already expecting me.
Tuesday: Cologne – Roermond (106km) First impressions of the Netherlands
Like in Frankfurt it soon started raining after I left my friend’s house. Not too bad but enough to change into raingear. I had left the river Rhine and had turned west in order to reach the border today and camp in the Netherlands. At the border the rain intensified. It felt monsoon like. I noticed a few more things that changed with the green border. All of a sudden there were cycles and cyclepaths everywhere. The Dutch actually prefer the traditional Dutch bikes. And they don’t care about weather. Monsoon or not, they don’t see any necessity for rain gear. Nor for shelter. In Germany, you can escape a rainstorm by seeking shelter under eaves or in bus stops. But the Dutch apparently consider it a virtue to brave the elements and have sucessfully eliminated every temptation to seek a cosy shelter from their cityscape. When I thought the rain could not get any worse it proved me wrong and just added a bit of volume. When I reached the tourist information in Roermond I was soaked and left puddles on the wooden floor. They promised me that the rain would stop in half an hour. It did – at least temporarily. There was an abundance of campgrounds around but may small scale and they looked quite uninhabited. I managed to put up the tent in between showers and put my wet clothes in the dryer while cooking spaghetti in front of the shower house.
Roermond
Wednesday: Roermond – Nijnsel (77km)
The day was again cloudy with rain showers. And the landscape was boring and not overly attactive. It was flat and there was not much more to see than corn fields and huge farms, either poultry or pigs or cattle. Soon I could distinguish them based on the smell. Poultry was worst. I didn’t take any pictures and could not quite understand why other people are so enthusiastic about cycling in the Netherlands. The villages were kind of bleaky and there were no cafés. I had expected an abundance of pittoresque cafés in Holland, but the cafés named café were rather bars and mostly closed. I needed coffee, the cyclist’s fuel. Or black gold, call it whatever you want. At least I found a small shop where I could buy some food. And I could not believe my luck, in the tiny supermarket there was behind the meat counter a coffee machine, with a chair and cups. And it was for free! (I later found out that all supermarkets serve coffee for free, but several of them only cheap instant coffee, but given the lack of decent cafés I was happy for any caffeine). The lucky streak continued: not far from Eindhoven there was suddenly nature, the Stabrechtse Heide. It was great cycling until it started
raining again. I called one of the mini campgrounds which was a great choice: nice people (owners and guests), a good hot shower, a walnut tree next to my tent (good harvest) and an indoor common room. 
Thursday: Nijnsel – Nieuwland (77km)
A late start because I tried to dry the tent. I went north and to my surprise I had to take three ferries, one of them out of service on Sundays. The landscape had changed. Now I passed through small cosy villages and also the first city, s’-Hertogenb
osch was quite charming (despite the rain). After that everything looked like taken away from a tourist brochure: little canals, dykes, wind mills and lovely old thatched houses from the 17th century (e.g. around Aalburg). As every day, the monsoon startet around 16:00. When I passed Leerdam I found it like the cheese, a bit dull, boring and without distinctive features. But maybe this hard judgement was somewhat influenced by the pouring rain. I was 
pretty soaked when I passed at Camping de Grienduil. I had not intended to stop here, especially as the place was not overly attractive at first glance. But I somehow the rain had undermined my motivation so I called it a day and started cooking spaghetti under a little roof. Later in the evening the rain stopped and I could pitch the tent.
Friday: Nieuwland – Katwijk aan Zee/ De Zuidduinen (81 km)
The forecast was sunny for today, but the weather was apparently not aware of the forecast so I again hat to stuff away a dripping tent. But then the sun came out!
Look, sun!!
Oh, and rain again. (Lek)
I had to cross another river, Lek, and again there was no bridge but a ferry. By then the clouds had decided it was time for rain again. The next cheese town, Gouda, was much nicer than Leerdam, which did not come as surprise as Gouda is much tastier than Leerdamer. From Gouda it wasn’t far to Leiden, which turned out to match its reputation as a vibrant student town with lots of water and great outdoor bars. I think it must be a great place to live, especially as it is only 10km away from the sea. And the sea is really impressive with high dunes, a wide beach and a great surf. I expected Katwijk to be a party place with Friday disco on the campground and beats all night long. But the season was already over and the campground quiet. 
Saturday: Katwijk – Bakkum (79 km)
Today I cycled 5 km south enticed by the area on my map which promised a stand-alone cyclepath throuth the dunes. It was indeed great and lived up to my expectations. 
But It was not much different from the scenery I encountered the rest of the day…It came a bit of a surprise as I was prepared for noisy busy coastal roads with cycle lanes. But it was only like that in the seaside resorts (Nordwijk, Zandfoort, etc) but outside it was very quiet cycling in beautiful nature far away from any roads. 
As it was Saturday (and sunny!) there were many other day trip cyclists. The coastal resort towns were not as ugly as I thought, actually some turned out quite pleasant. IJmuiden however was a rather ugly industrial town dominated by a huge Tata steel plant but it was only a short ferry crossing and it became soon nice again. I decided not to go too far north and checked out the campsite in Bakkum. Which was one of the weirdest campgrounds I’ve ever seen. First of all it’s huge, more than 2000 sites. There are many permanent campers but most seem to be quite different from the stereotype retired couple living in a caravan with lawn gnomes. Here you could see lampions, hippie style places with fleetwood furniture, trendy caravans in Key West pastel colours, very individually styled houses. In the evening I went to the beach for a sundowner.
Sunday: Bakkum – Amsterdam (81km)
I took a route via Egmont (nice!) to Alkmaar and then east towards Pumerend to Amsterdam. All the days before the wind came from northwest, so I was looking forward to tailwind. Haha, big mistake, never ever think that the wind will be your friend. Of course it had turned southeast so I had again headwind which were pretty strong as there was nothing in the flat landscape to stop them. In terms of scenery the trip to Amsterdam was not a particular highlight. There were meadows, cows and the occasional windmill but all in all rather uninspiring. I arrived in Amsterdam at early afternoon and had enough time until 8:30 for sightseeing.
I had expected Indonesian food to be readily available throughout the Netherlands but haven’t seen any Indonesian restaurant on the trip so far. So I was quite happy when I passed a little shop with only one table and ordered a mixed veggie plate. There were many people coming for takeaway food.
I got a huge plate (but nothing is too big for a cyclist). After that I was pretty full, cruised through the city which was a bit too touristy in some areas (Jordan, inner city) but quite charming in other areas (a bit away from the crowd). I was in time at the station but there was no hint where the wagon for the cycles would be. So when the train finally arrived we had to push our loaded bikes through the crowds on the platform.
Resume: It was an interesting trip through diverse landscapes and Holland is really great for cycling for three reasons: 1) because of the cycle lanes and greenways 2) beause of the free coffee in the supermarkets and 3) because you can buy cheese and store it without ending up with a greasy melted inedible mass.
I learned how dry wet clothes in the sleeping bag and not to care anymore whether the tent is wet or dry when I pack it. I also learned that the fear of rain is worse than the actual rain (well, except for the afternoon monsoon).
cyclelise 