So, this is a shortened translated post that I posted in the german r/Fahrrad community. I try to keep the main informations, but If you want to read the whole post and translate it yourself it is here.
Last year I cycled from Rosenheim (close to Munich) to Lake Garda, which was my first big tour. (You can read translate it yourself here. This year the plan was to cycle from Brussels to Amsterdam. I asked here for advice in the winter, thats why I want to share my experiences now.
I cycled together with my girlfriend. I used a gravelbike, she used a Ebike. We had a spare battery (that we never used), and that is why we planned shorter routes and skipped "boring" sections.
We cycled from Brussels to Amsterdam across Zeeland.
Day 0: Train from Rosenheim to Brussels
- we had 4 bags that we needed to get off the bike every time we wanted to get on or off the train
Day 1: Brussels – Aalst – Ghent, 42km, 3h
- didn't like Brussles, didn't like the infrastructure
- took the train from Aalst to Ghent
Day 2: Ghent – Brugges – Middelburg, 62km, 3,5h
- took the train to Brugges
- Brugges was full with tourists, it was insane
- after Brugges there were wonderful cycling paths along a canal
- the coast was busy but beautiful
- the ferry was very easy to handle
Day 3: Middelburg- Ouddorp, 57km, 3h
- across the deltaworks
- very sunny, no wind
- there is a toilet across the restaurant on neeltje jans
Day 4: Ouddorp – Delft, 43km, 2h
- there is a very cheap ferry in Rozenburg
Day 5: Delft – Gouda – Utrecht, 42km, 2h
- bought gouda and stroopwafels in Gouda
- took the train to Utrecht
- Utrecht is very busy but beautiful
Day 6: Utrecht – Amsterdam, 47km, 2h
- along a canal straight to Amsterdam, very windy
Cycling Paths:
Most of the paths I found using google.
"Place XY to Place XX" Komoot, Reddit , GPX ; worked very well
I knew the Eurovelo 12 Route
More Sources: Brüssel, to Gent, Reddit, Reddit2, Coast, CrazyGuy
Accommodations: Price for 2 people with breakfast
Brussels: Latroupe Le Berger – 130€, not good
Ghent: Vakantielogies Cathedral – 136€, bath was a floor downstairs
Middelburg: Boutique Hotel Bajoene – 200€, expensive but beautiful
Ouddorp: Boetiek hotel Azul – 220€, too expensive, too large, no other options (very small town)
Delft: Casa Julia – 140€ nice, just nice
Utrecht: Brass – 140€ no breakfast, it is being renovated, there is a cycling garage nearby Fahrradgarage
Amsterdam: The Social Hub Amsterdam West – 365€ for 2 nights, very big, very professional
Bikes: Riverside Touring 920 from Decathlon, EBike "self built"
Conclusion: Perfect infrastructure (except for Brussels), had a lot of fun and saw a lot of new places. I must say that I enjoy the mountains a bit more than the flatness of the Netherlands.
If you have questions, just aks 🙂
by LordEigelb