Skip to main content

Eurovelo 15 - Day 25 - the North Sea

I wake up at the camping ground knowing this is the final day of my ride from Oberalppass in Switzerland, including a walk to Lake Toma - the source of the Rhine, to the North Sea at Hook of Holland.

It will be a quick ride ... just 3 km. I'll then ride towards Amsterdam in preparation for my flight home.

Unfortunately I've planned too well. I planned a contingency of 7 additional days for this trip. This was to account for any mechanical or health issues. If I didn't add these on to the trip, and something did occur, then the only solution would be to catch a train on some days.  For me, this wasn't an option as I wanted to ride each and every kilometre of the Rhine. The problem I now have is that I can't get an earlier flight back home ... all flights are absolutely full ... more demand than supply. I've tried even flying from Frankfurt, London and Paris - no joy.

So this morning at 8.00am I cycled down to the pier at the Hook of Holland and tipped the water I collected at Lake Toma, into the mouth of the Rhine as it meets the North Sea.
 
 
 
Water collected from the source of the Rhine River, Lake Toma.
 
Water tipped into the North Sea near the Hook of Holland.
 
Importantly people have donated over $6,000 to Blue Dragon Children's Foundation. Thanks to you who donated and/or supported and encouraged me throughout the trip.  That support has been invaluable.

My aim for these posts has been to pay back for the advice and tips I've received over the past 18 months in my own preparation - hopefully, this does help others.

If you do wish to donate to Blue Dragon please feel free to message me or go directly to their website. 

Once again ... thank you. 
 
 




Comments

  1. Fulton, an epic journey, and so many of us have thoroughly enjoyed the Blog, thank you. Congratulations on achieving the mission, and for the funds raised for such a worthy cause. I'm dubious about your ability to get home earlier - but well let it slide for now! Well done mate. Jason

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks Jas. Also thanks for your encouragement the entire trip. Looking forward to getting home now!

      Delete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Eurovelo 6 - Day 21 - Nantes to Saint-Nazaire (final day)

Mission accomplished.     We arrived in Saint-Brevin-les-Pins and dipped our toes in the Atlantic Ocean, after riding across France, east to west, from Mulhouse, near the Swiss border. We still had a short ride to Saint-Nazaire where we will spend the night and travel to Paris by train tomorrow. We've travelled over 1,300 km in 21 days, including 3 rest days in Nevers, Orleans, and Amboise. We experienced some of the best that France offers its visitors; cultural experiences, fine wines and food, and a glimpse of its history and heritage.   Today's ride ...   A few blogs I've read about the stage between Nantes and Saint-Nazaire described it as being a bit boring, however we found it great. Very diverse landscapes throughout the 65 km journey.   We started this morning with stands up at 9.00am, cycling back towards the Eurovelo 6 route on the northern side of the river. The traffic was chaos to us, however by the looks on Nantais' (natives of Nantes) faces it wa...

Eurovelo 6 - getting to the starting line

So I'm travelling on this trip with 4 old and new friends. Two old friends read my blog from last year's trip and wanted to know when the next one was ... and so here we are! Col and Brett are ex-RAAF mates.  I've known Brett for around 40 years. I was best man at his wedding with Janine, and I'm Godfather to his daughter, Ashley. We've done many of my hiking and motorcycling trips together over the years. So you could say we're best mates. Imagine my surprise when we breezed through check-in and immigration at Brisbane airport, entered the lounge and found the open bar ... just to him utter friendship-ending words of, "I'm not drinking". We're now sitting in different rows of our flight ... apparently too late to uninvite him! Sitting in different rows ended up being my bad! With haste to welcome my new travelling companion, an older woman heading home to Birmingham, I asked if she'd enjoyed her holiday in Australia. "Can't wait t...

Eurovelo 15 - Day 21 - Orsoy to Arnhem

So what I thought was a kid's sideshow alley was just a precursor for the main event ... a techno music festival ... just 50 metres from my room. I thought about joining the crowd, who seemed to be enjoying the spectacle (probably the musicians' parents), however, techno isn't real music, and their repertoire of 3 songs, played over and over, spoiled the magic. 11.34pm, 11.35pm, 11.36pm ... 12.02am - where is the rain, thunder and lightning now? 12.25am - surely someone has called the Mayor of Orsoy! 12.45am - hold my beer! Finally, all went quiet around 1.02am and I got to use my pillow! My body clock woke me around 6.30am and I'd arranged breakfast for 8.00am. The hotel didn't normally serve breakfast until 9.00am on a Sunday, however, they made an exception just for me! At 8.00am breakfast was served ... it was a feast ... I actually thought another half dozen people were joining me.  I felt so guilty not being able to put a dent into all the offerings ... then t...