Amsterdam to Provence

After Francesco left, I headed south to Provence, which unfortunately meant I had to cross the Massif Central again. Headed a bit further west and paralleled my route from last year.

After Norway the hills didn't seem so bad but I did make the mistake of climbing Super Besse. After seeing it on the Tour de France I thought....how bad can it be! One of my more stupid decisions.....

A friend in the flat land

I forgot the tales of how flat the Netherlands really are, nor how windy. The national symbol of a windmill should have given me some clue. But at least I wasn't going to be alone!

This was to be my friend Francesco's introduction to cycle touring....with a compromise of B&B's.

Starting in Amsterdam we headed NE, which unfortunately is not the direction of the prevailing winds! With flat, open land the wind comes bowling in, often accompanied by the smell of the dairies.

I found the long, continuous grind to keep moving forwards tiring and mind numbing.

Not my ideal type of touring but we explored around some interesting cities.