day two of Germany-England trip (belated posting)

Monday, August 11

Travelled through Hardenburg, and on to Ommen, where I had a confrontation with a farm tractor (they share the bike roads between farmland) - I ended up yielding to the tractor and getting off the road and into some sand. When trying to get back on the road, I lost my balance and strained to keep the bike upright, unfortunately bending the rear wheel almost in half in the process. I got so angry I was able to bend the wheel with my foot, putting it back in shape enough that I could pedal back to Ommen to a bike shop. Spent 54 Euros on a completely new rear wheel (this included labor cost).





taking a break at a beach in Ommen while waiting for my bike to be repaired...



Discovering that taking the N340 to Zwolle is actually out of my way, I change my route and go south-west from Ommen, heading towards Apeldoorn. Some government idiot decides that half-way to Deventer bikes are no longer permitted, so I take a detour through Lemele, then back to the main road in Raalte to continue on to Deventer. Roads are very smooth on this part of the trip (going through some nice farmland too).



With having about 2-3 hours knocked off my schedule, I ride into Apeldoorn for the night, camping under the stars in the city park (too late to find a campsite).



(pic to posted later)









Raalte

Deventer

Apeldoorn **slept under the stars in city park

speed average: 18-20km/h (10-12 mph)

lost 3 hours due to bike repair

day one of Germany-England trip (belated posting)

Sunday, August 10

I depart Oldenburg, Germany heading west on route 401, then south onto route 70. Sun shining, a little wind--blah,blah same old travel conditions stuff. Separate two-lane bike road makes the ride fast without little towns to navigate through.





Route 401



I discover that route 70 becomes "cars-only" about halfway to Meppen, and detour west to Haren, Germany - stayed west of Meppen and headed to the border and Schoonebeek, Netherlands. Halfway through that town and its brick-work bike paths (oww, my butt!) the city had destroyed the road. Luckily I could pedal across the road work to the other side and continue on.





Crossing the border



Made it to Coevorden, Netherlands, and found a cheap campsite for 6 Euros. Had a nice hot shower, and went straight to bed. (not very exciting eh?)







Camping in Coevorden



riding speed average: about 19km/hour (11-12 mph)

roads through the towns were terrible, but roads

between cities were very smooth and fast

delayed blogging

discovered that England does not support WAP-access everywhere, so I must make a collective log, and publish it when I get home to Germany... check back later!

*Yawn* Time to go!

gah...6am! Am I insane? .. no no, don't answer that. Heading out to Rotterdam now - 400km to go!

Small change of plans for the Germany to UK trip

Greetings folks!



A sudden change in plans for my bike trip to England:



I have to move my schedule ahead by a day or two for several reasons:



Two days ago, I had to use about 80 Euro on bike repairs (read: new gear shifter, new tire, new tube, new cable, wheel aligned) that we not planned for. I also spent about 50 Euro on cake, ice cream, chips, and drinks for the 8 people who said they would come (out the 15 I invited), but only two showed up! So now I must either throw it all away, or figure out how to take 3 pints of icecream with me! :(



So, since my 300 Euro budget has been cut in half, going by ferry from Cuxhaven (only about 120km from home - a 6-7 hour ride normally) is now too expensive - a one way trip with bike is almost 60 Euros, and that ferry only travels every two days.



My new ferry departure point has been moved to Hook-of-Holland, just a bit northwest of Rotterdam, Netherlands. True, this makes the first part of the trip over twice as long (I now have a 380km ride to the ferry), but the ferry-cost itself is now half the price, and there is a trip every 3-4 hours.



So leaving tonight (Saturday evening), or early Sunday morning, will still allow me to get to the campsite by Thursday morning as previously planned.





before loading the bike in the apartment



If you need to reach me, you can email me directly at mobilejimm@digitalmouse.org - this account gets checked about once an hour, and is routed directly to my phone.



If you need to speak to me or send an SMS/MMS message and you are in Germany, try calling 0173 546 0723. If you are in Germany and I am not, *or* the previous number does not work, try 0049 173 546 0723. If you are outside Germany, try the previous "0049..." number, or for those phones that support it (like most mobile/cell phones), try: +49 173 546 0723 - that should work too.



Or just email me - it may be easier! =)



In addition to changing my schedule - I am also adjusting my carrying load, mainly no laptop this time, especially since I can still be reached many ways through the new phone, and it has a little camera built in for taking pictures. I will replace that weight with more food and drink of course.