No, we didn't!
The bed was hard and uncomfortable, the cabin was hot and airless and at one point in the night I felt sure the propellers had hit something or we had maybe even run aground...I held my breath and waited... scenes from Titanic flew through my head...but nobody screamed, no sirens were heard so I assured myself that it had been my imagination! By morning I knew must have slept a while as the 6am bingbong (in various languages!!) woke me up!
All four of us had not slept well and we forced ourselves to get up, pack our bags and go down for breakfast! Once fed and with water bottles filled we went down to the car deck to unleash the bikes ready for the ride from Rotterdam to Amsterdam!
Several cars were already sitting with their engines running and the fumes became quite heavy. The ferrys' huge tailgate lowered slowly down and disembarkation began. Beside us was a lane of motocycles - big ones! They started their engines and the roar was fantastic! The growl from those magnificent machines echoed round the car deck ... we loved it! We honked our horns and rang our bells, we shouted WooHoo and the bikers honked and shouted back :-) I had tears streaming down my cheeks, I was loving it!
At last it was our turn ... we pedalled off the ferry and free-wheeled down the long ramp to passport control - and promptly joined a 5 lane queue to get out of the terminal! What a wait - it took us about an hour to get through but once at the other side we were soon on our way!
Of course we had to remember to cycle on the right hand side but it wasn't hard as we all followed Rich - as long as he stayed right then so did we! (No pressure Rich!)
The route took us alongside a wide river and beside several wind turbines! In a few short miles we needed to take a ferry and had to scrabble around for enough euro coins between us to pay the ferryman! Once over the river we set off again - headed towards our first real windmill - we could see its sails in the distance!
We were soon pedalling along red brick roads with picturesque canals down the middle. Tall, ornate houses bunched up along the sides, tables and chairs decorated the sidewalks.
The route led us partly through residential streets, what a sight we must have been! A gaggle of girls in daffodil yellow, honking at everyone and shouting WooHoo!! Confused Dutch people waved and called 'hello' in an assortment of languages - wondering who we were and what on earth we were doing cycling down their road!!
We pedalled out into open fields and passed picturesque farms, canals and windmills. We passed walkers, joggers and cyclists. People of all ages out and about enjoying the fresh air ... it was great!
We were headed towards Valkenburg Meer for lunch - a scheduled stop of about 1hr. We cycled through Delft and on to Den Haag. The city was hard to follow sometimes as we turned this way and that, trusting Rich and following each other, chatting and honking as we went along.
I remember a man coming out of a shop carrying a large basket of fresh loaves, Lisa honked and shouted 'Nice Bread!' the man grinned back and shouted 'nice arse!'.
We stopped when we had to but so often we had right of way - that was so cool! All the traffic giving way to a long line of yellow topped ladies, all of us waving an unnecessary thankyou to the bewildered traffic and honking yet again :-) It was brilliant!!
At the railway station we stopped for a break. We bought ice-cold coke from the shop and drank it down, it was a hot day and we were glad of the long cold drink - the fizz really hit the spot!
Back on the bikes again and on to Valkenburg Meer! What a sight! Cool green grass to sit on and a beautiful blue lake glittering in the sun!! Another team were there already and honked madly as we rode in. Of course we honked in reply!!
We ate a fantastic lunch from P&O whilst watching windsurfers and canoeists along the waters edge! The sarnies were great but the large fresh muffin filled with lemon curd was gorgeous!
Refuelled and eager, we were ready for the off... and I do mean that! I was loving this bike ride, this fun, exciting bike ride! I was loving it! And I was ready to go again!
The afternoon took us along the main canal up to Amsterdam. It was a beautiful road and much like the Norfolk Broads. Beautiful houses, each one different and very well kept, bordered the route. It was Saturday and people were out in their gardens or messing about in boats! Every house had a jetty with some form of craft, whether it was a small dinghy or a shiny motor launch!
Honking and shouting we rode along! What a hoot! Kids on bikes rode alongside asking where we were headed. We chatted and honked, honked and chatted! It was brilliant!
Mid-afternoon we stopped at a small cafe and some of the girls took advantage of the friendly bar man and learned to ask for a lager-shandy in Dutch (snae-weiss 'snow white')!
Back on the road again but we soon found ourselves in the heart of Amsterdam! Busy roads gave way to green parks as we followed the popular paths through the citys green spaces. Everywhere we went there were families and groups of friends, sitting on the grass with barbeques! There was music and chatter and children playing! There was even bunting in the trees!
For an excited group of girls with honky horns we needed no encouragement!! We honked and honked for all we were worth, we shouted and waved and it was fantastic!!
On and on we rode, getting faster round every bend, soaking up the atmosphere, knowing we were close... and then there it was!
The hostel suddenly appeared out of the trees and we were there!! WooHoo just didn't even scratch the surface! The noise was deafening! Honky-horns, shouting and whooping filled the air! We were laughing and crying all at once!!
It was an amazing feeling! We hugged and high-fived, we took photos and hugged again! We rang home and passed the word 'we made it!'
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