Cycling North Sea Route from Amsterdam to Hamburg.

Has anyone cycled the North Sea route from Amsterdam to Hamburg? We
will be flying into Amsterdam or Hamburg.

How many Km is it from Zandvoort to Hamburg, I tried to calculate it
from the http://www.northsea-cycle.com website and I have around 850Km.
From Amsterdam to Zandvoort looks like it is around 50-60Km. We hope to
bike 100-120Km a day, but this also depends on a few other variables. I
have a few questions to determine how many days this should take...

I'm planning this trip for Summer 2007. When does everyone go on
Holiday in the Netherlands and Germany? I do not want to struggle in
finding hotel rooms or campsites when everything is booked.

Which way is the wind direction? Is it better to go from Hamburg to
Amsterdam or Amsterdam to Germany?

What is the percentage of bike path surfaces made from?
Asphalt/concrete hard surface
Crushed stone(ballast)
Dirt path
Other

If anyone can answer these question this would be really
appreciated....

Thanks,

RJA

writes:

Has anyone cycled the North Sea route from Amsterdam to Hamburg? We
will be flying into Amsterdam or Hamburg.

I did this about 15 years ago, so my info may be a bit outdated. At that
time it was the first cycle tour I did, I wasn't very well equipped but I
was horribly fit...

How many Km is it from Zandvoort to Hamburg, I tried to calculate it
from the http://www.northsea-cycle.com website and I have around 850Km.
From Amsterdam to Zandvoort looks like it is around 50-60Km. We hope to
bike 100-120Km a day, but this also depends on a few other variables. I
have a few questions to determine how many days this should take...

The book I used at the time is in Dutch, "Fietsen langs de Noordzee", by
Bart Aardema, published by Kosmos, covering de route between Cap Gris Nez
in France and Skagen in Denmark. I don't know how this route differs from
the current route.
Amsterdam-Zandvoort is a bit less than that. The book gives
Amsterdam-Bloemendaal as 22, from there it's not that far to Zandvoort. It
all depends on where in Amsterdam you want to be I suppose.
And they are easy kilometers, most roads are flat and with a good surface.

From Amsterdam to Friesland there are a number of alternatives. We went to
Enkhuizen and took a ferry to Stavoren (it doesn't take cars). I really
liked it, the alternatives go over either the Afsluitdijk or htr
Zuiderzeedijk, both can be a bit long and boring but a scream if you get
the wind right. I really liked the ferry route.
We left the route at Wilhelmshaven, took a ferry to Helgoland and another
from there to Sylt, bypassing a lot of rather boring Germany.

I'm planning this trip for Summer 2007. When does everyone go on
Holiday in the Netherlands and Germany? I do not want to struggle in
finding hotel rooms or campsites when everything is booked.

Holidays in the Netherlands are staggered, different parts of the country
go on different times between June and August, and it varies every year.

Which way is the wind direction? Is it better to go from Hamburg to
Amsterdam or Amsterdam to Germany?

Winds are most often West-Southwest. I did it from Amsterdam to Hamburg,
but that was mainly because I lived in Amsterdam and it was nice to start
our trip from our front door.

What is the percentage of bike path surfaces made from?
Asphalt/concrete hard surface
Crushed stone(ballast)
Dirt path
Other

In the NL most are good asphalt. Some minor roads have cobbles, and some
of the cycle paths in the dunes near Zandvoort are gravelly but still a
good hard surface.
I did this at the time on a racer-tourer with slicks and was fine, except
for one town in Denmark where we found a dozen drawing pins in our
tires...

Roos

Thanks Roos, on your input....

Roos Eisma of wrote:

writes:
I'm planning this trip for Summer 2007. When does everyone go on
Holiday in the Netherlands and Germany? I do not want to struggle in
finding hotel rooms or campsites when everything is booked.

Holidays in the Netherlands are staggered, different parts of the country
go on different times between June and August, and it varies every year.
Germany staggers school holidays as well, and the main holiday traffic tends
to follow the school dates. Each state has its own fixed dates.
--
Steph Peters
Chorlton Wanderers Cycling Group
Monthly slow and easy rides from South Manchester
http://www.sandbenders.demon.co.uk/cycling/chwan.htm