MAP & DATA
For the second year running, the ISCM reunion took place in Amsterdam for Queen's day, a perfect opportunity to get some miles in on the flat roads before 2 days of drinking beer.. I decided to Eurostar then Intercity train it from London to Antwerp, then cycle the 174km from Antwerp to Amsterdam. Getting on the 07.30am train from King's Cross meant i was on the road in Antwerp just before midday, and once out of the centre of the City i was onto the fantastic bike lanes that they have there.... After a couple of hours i was into Holland, and onto even bigger, smoother and quieter bike lanes.. One stretch was on a lane about 3 car widths across, and i did not see a sole on it for about an hour... absolutely fantastic.
I had studied the route in the days leading up to departing, and in general it was relatively straightforward, only making one minor mistake in Breda in trying to get around the city. Apart from that, i would recommend to anyone the route that i took. A map with all the spoddy date on it can be seen HERE. I was helped enormously by a Dutch guy on the run into Amsterdam, unbelievably he lived 200m from the hotel i was staying at so he directed me straight the the hotel front door..
Total distance of 173.5km, completed in 6 hours 7 mins, with an average speed of 28.3km per hour. Average heart beat of 118bpm was pleasing to see, getting fitter for sure...
