2014 - Zurich to Amsterdam by Bicycle

Forecast: 15-22 deg C, cloudy with rain; Listed distance: 71km; Actual distance: 89km; Cumulative distance: 1368km; Av speed: 18.9 km/h; Max speed: 30.7 km/h; Ypres: 15 deg C, Wind: WSW, 11-14 km/h; Ghent: 19 deg C, Wind: W, 12-14 km/h; Start time: 8:45am; Stop time: 2:15pm; Ride time: 4h44m We left a little later than usual due to the 8am breakfast, however we still got to our destination pretty quickly.  While there was no full-on rain, the constant drizzle was a pain; it wasn't really enough for the full rain jacket, but a little too constant for the spray jacket.  We had nice off-road cycle paths for the first 71km and a handy tail wind which was a nice change.  For the last 8 km we had to mix it with the cars on some not so wide streets and then the main highway into Ghent. That wasn't too bad as the path was well marked and well off the road. Check-in at the Ibis Ghent Centrum St Baafs Cathedral took a while as there was an influx of new arrivals at the same time...

Forecast: 15-18 deg C, showers; Listed distance: 0km; Actual distance: 40km; Cumulative distance: 1279km; Av speed: 14km/hr; We awoke to the pitter-patter of rain on the windows, but seeing we've got a stopover it doesn't matter.   We had the time to just lounge around in bed and wait for a 8am breakfast. The B&B we are staying in is an old converted three story mansion about 800m from the city centre. It is decked out beautifully, no expense spared, and our room is quite large. There are no soccer hooligan in this neighbourhood.   Peter, who owns and runs the place, is also kept busy taking clients on battlefield or cycle tours. And the B&B is conveniently located opposite a brewery, location, location, location! Ypres is the first city we've seen that really takes full advantage of the WW1 Battlefields story. There are plenty of places in France which could do very well out of the millions of foreign visitors who flock there every year to visit the cemeteries ...