Katwijk

Just a quick update tonight as Julien has again stuggled to get a good phone signal.

Julien set off this morning at 9.30 and ended up doing a 5 mile loop due to some poor Dutch signposting. He then pushed on to Haarlem but could not find anywhere decent to stop for lunch!

Luckily the weather stayed sunny so he rode on to Alkmaar which had some gorgeous views. After speaking to some locals Julien was advised to travel to Texel so he cycled 30 miles north to Den Helder and then caught the ferry to Texel.

Julien then continued on to Da Koog where he found another campsite by the sea to pitch up in for the night.

Unfortunately he then found out that the onward ferry is not currently working so he will have to retrace the last 15 miles tomorrow – bit of a bummer!

To speed things up Julien has decided to cut through Holland tomorrow rather than continue cycling along the coast.

Julien has been having a problem getting email to work on his phone so I will be adding images to the site from the web until he is able to send his own pictures to me. As soon as Julien sends me his own pictures I will upload them to his Flickr page.

Here is the day’s Google Map and please also visit the Child’s i Foundation and Julien’s Just Giving page.

Day four went very well for Julien. The weather picked up staying sunny at around 22 degrees all day and as a result he was able to get many more miles under his belt. Julien says that Holland is an amazing country to ride in, with excellent cycle paths through and alongside picturesque fields.

After a busy morning cycling along the Dutch coast Julien stopped in for lunch at a cafe in Stellendam where he reports he had a first class burger!

After lunch he continued on, making it to Rotterdam where he came across a special escalator for cyclists and pedestrians that leads underneath a large river and up the other side. Luckily he managed to utilise the escalator despite his very heavy bike!

After passing Rotterdam Julien found a great campsite surrounded by sand dunes at Katwijk aan Zee where he has decided to stay for the night. The good weather has given Julien a chance to dry his wet clothes from the last few days and begin to develop a rather patchy suntan!

Tomorrow Julien will touch the famous North Sea cycle route and continue on his way to Nordkapp.

For those of you following the route here is today’s Google Map. Please show you support by visiting the Child’s i Foundation and Julien’s Just Giving page.