I was sad/excited/happy/relieved that today was my last full day of cycling before I reach the UK and home. What a way to finish with 25km per hour headwinds, heavy rain, slipping gears and 135km! 42km to the ferry home on Friday....
Up early as I needed to get packed up and get to the bike shop for opening time. I was worried that it would not able to be fixed in order to just get me to Leiden and to the ferry - about 180km. Last night it was pretty much not ridable. I found the bike shop without too much trouble but was extremely embarrassed at having to push my bike up a gradual slope on the way. The gears were just slipping too much. I explained the situation to the guys at the bike shop who just said it would not be possible as my gears were too worn and that I would need a new chain and back wheel cogs and this would cost at at least £80 with labour and parts. Xena (my bike) is currently welded in 3 places, has wire holding on the front pannier rack, a dented saddle, £3 plastic pedals (as the other ones broke), worn break pads, a slick wheel at the back that has no tread and no rubber on parts, a big tractor tyre (off road 2.25 that I used in Mongolia) on the front (as the slick split in two a few days ago), dents and scratches everywhere and handle bar tape trailing behind the handle bars. The only place Xena will be going when I get back to the UK is in pride of place hung up on a wall somewhere in my house (I just need to get a house first - small matter). There is no point in putting on any new gear on to her and I did not want to spend the money for just 1.5 days of cycling!
I have to say that they guy at the bike shop was not overly helpful to begin with. As everyone bikes in the Netherlands he was not bothered about the fact that I had biked so far. I was just another one of the many customers. After a while he suggested that I could put on an old chain if I had one (a new chain would just slip even more). I was very glad that I had kept my old chain that broke in China as a spare and carted it around with me for months. It worked as a great short term fix for my slipping gears. The guy in the shop shortened it so that it would be optimised for working on my large chain ring at the front along with large chain ring at the back (normally a combination that is never used). These had the least wear. They did not slip all the time - only with a large amount of pressure. I was so happy that I would not have to spend a fortune and get back on Xena without changing her gears.
I was in a hurry after I left the shop as I had 135km to do and I did not get on the road until 10.30-11. It was a fowl day. I managed to find the way OK though. The bike paths in the Netherlands are much better sign posted and organised than Germany. There were very strong head winds AGAIN and it rained on and off all afternoon. What a day to finish on.
The stereotype of The Netherlands really is right - loads of bikes, the land is as flat as a pancake and there are windmills everywhere.
There was some great old architecture and canals in the small towns along the way. The whole country is very built up. It felt like one village just merged into another.
I pushed hard but the wind was very strong and my gears where still rubbish so I could not really get a good speed going. It was dark by the time I arrived in Leiden and it took me a while to find Andrew's place as my GPS had stopped working.
It felt very strange to arrive at Andrews house. It was lovely to be greeted by a friend rather than a new person. He is the first friend that I have seen since Beijing. Of course I have met many new people along the way and they have become my friends but it is different visiting someone you already know and has invited you.
This is me after my last full day of cycling during the trip. I think the bright yellow is particularly fetching.... not sure what I will fetch though..
Andrew took me out for a lovely celebratory Chinese meal. It was a feast! Thanks Andrew :-)
Up early as I needed to get packed up and get to the bike shop for opening time. I was worried that it would not able to be fixed in order to just get me to Leiden and to the ferry - about 180km. Last night it was pretty much not ridable. I found the bike shop without too much trouble but was extremely embarrassed at having to push my bike up a gradual slope on the way. The gears were just slipping too much. I explained the situation to the guys at the bike shop who just said it would not be possible as my gears were too worn and that I would need a new chain and back wheel cogs and this would cost at at least £80 with labour and parts. Xena (my bike) is currently welded in 3 places, has wire holding on the front pannier rack, a dented saddle, £3 plastic pedals (as the other ones broke), worn break pads, a slick wheel at the back that has no tread and no rubber on parts, a big tractor tyre (off road 2.25 that I used in Mongolia) on the front (as the slick split in two a few days ago), dents and scratches everywhere and handle bar tape trailing behind the handle bars. The only place Xena will be going when I get back to the UK is in pride of place hung up on a wall somewhere in my house (I just need to get a house first - small matter). There is no point in putting on any new gear on to her and I did not want to spend the money for just 1.5 days of cycling! 
I have to say that they guy at the bike shop was not overly helpful to begin with. As everyone bikes in the Netherlands he was not bothered about the fact that I had biked so far. I was just another one of the many customers. After a while he suggested that I could put on an old chain if I had one (a new chain would just slip even more). I was very glad that I had kept my old chain that broke in China as a spare and carted it around with me for months. It worked as a great short term fix for my slipping gears. The guy in the shop shortened it so that it would be optimised for working on my large chain ring at the front along with large chain ring at the back (normally a combination that is never used). These had the least wear. They did not slip all the time - only with a large amount of pressure. I was so happy that I would not have to spend a fortune and get back on Xena without changing her gears. 
I was in a hurry after I left the shop as I had 135km to do and I did not get on the road until 10.30-11. It was a fowl day. I managed to find the way OK though. The bike paths in the Netherlands are much better sign posted and organised than Germany. There were very strong head winds AGAIN and it rained on and off all afternoon. What a day to finish on. 
The stereotype of The Netherlands really is right - loads of bikes, the land is as flat as a pancake and there are windmills everywhere. 
There was some great old architecture and canals in the small towns along the way. The whole country is very built up. It felt like one village just merged into another. 
I pushed hard but the wind was very strong and my gears where still rubbish so I could not really get a good speed going. It was dark by the time I arrived in Leiden and it took me a while to find Andrew's place as my GPS had stopped working. 
It felt very strange to arrive at Andrews house. It was lovely to be greeted by a friend rather than a new person. He is the first friend that I have seen since Beijing. Of course I have met many new people along the way and they have become my friends but it is different visiting someone you already know and has invited you.This is me after my last full day of cycling during the trip. I think the bright yellow is particularly fetching.... not sure what I will fetch though..
Andrew took me out for a lovely celebratory Chinese meal. It was a feast! Thanks Andrew :-) 
Wow Emily! End of your trip! I only got to your blog late, but enjoyed reading about your travels (via CS). I hope you've enjoyed Leiden today (as it's my hometown) the weather is gorgeous.
ReplyDeleteGood luck settling back in at home in the UK and you can be amazingly proud of what you've done. Stunning!
Best wishes,
Myrthe