London to Amsterdam

On 23 June 2011, Guy Jones, Eamonn O'Reilly and Simon Richardson began their fundraising cycle ride from London to Amsterdam. They were joined by Ella Spencer who was in training for the GUD Kilimanjaro Climb. The foursome arrived at Liverpool Street Station at 8.00 am, pushing their way through the bustling rush-hour crowds, panniers packed to the brim. A hearty breakfast was devoured before, the group took a short train ride to the outskirts of London where the ride began. What follows is an account of their three day adventure, which raised over £2,000 for GUD - a fantastic achievement. Everyone at GUD would like to say thanks for their brilliant pedal power!

Day 1 - London to Harwich

The first day of cycling brought with it a whole host of challenges, not least the fact that none of us had managed to plan our route from London to Harwich! The journey started well and we cycled through the beautiful Essex countryside, basking in the sun and revelling in the fresh air. We made steady progress and even managed to fit in a few aptly-timed breaks for scones and chocolate!

After a fair distance we reached Colchester, the clouds began to gather and a mad dash ensued as we desperately tried to reach a suitable spot for a pub lunch. However, with some confusion it conspired that Guy had taken a different road. Luckily, we found where he was on a map and peddled furiously to meet him. Slightly worse for wear we arrived at an idyllic country pub only to realise we'd missed their serving slot for lunch... and we were further perturbed to find that there wasn't a pub in the area that was likely to still be serving! With stomachs rumbling we continued on our way, the heavens opened and a heavy downpour ensued. Sheltering under the doorway of another closed pub, its landlady kindly directed us towards some potential lunch venues. Our idyllic pub lunch was not as we had envisaged, but as we wound our way downhill through an industrial estate we fell across a fish and chip shop. There we sat, finally gorging on our well-deserved lunch, looking out on the industrial estate, with the rain pounding down outside.

Our lunch break was aptly timed as the weather cleared. Miraculously, we then found a cycle path to Harwich! Following the path, our excitement built as we reached the Harwich Road (having only got lost a minor number of times...) As the sun began to set we found ourselves spiralling down-hill into Harwich and along to the port, stopping on the way at a supermarket to get some much needed provisions and wine! Aboard the ferry, tired but content, we sat on deck and sipped our red wine from mugs - preparing ourselves for the sand dunes of Holland.

Day 2 - Hook of Holland to Leiden

Pedalling off the ferry, the early morning sun was already warm. We treated ourselves to a wonderful Dutch breakfast before setting off along the sand dunes towards The Hague. The beautiful weather made for a fantastic ride with the cycling relaxed and far less challenging than the previous day. Holland really is a cyclist's heaven! We made excellent progress and soon stopped off in a small town to shop for lunch (and get some medicine for Ella's knee, which was proving to be a bit of a nuisance!)

Setting off again we found ourselves settling down for a picnic lunch in the early afternoon sun, having found a perfect spot on the beach. Our typical Dutch picnic of fruit, meat, bread and almond cake went down a treat and it wasn't long before we were all fast asleep. Once we reached our hostel and dropped off our bags we headed for dinner at a nearby pancake house. Later, we were warned that the weather might not be so kind to us the next day...

Day 3 - Leiden to Amsterdam

Our final day began under grey skies and as we snaked along the paths of the sand dunes, it wasn't long before the heavens opened. With the wind having picked up we struggled along, eventually reaching a small town. It was here that we would move on to the roads for the quickest route into Amsterdam. Stopping for a hot chocolate and to relish some of Guy's homemade ginger cake we were absolutely sodden. Some time spent warming up and looking over the next part of the route returned some much needed energy. Guy and Simon set off together on the path to Amsterdam feeling revitalised. Eamonn and Ella were going to follow on, with Ella's knee pain proving problematic; taking it slow became essential for the final 20km.

Having left the sand dunes behind we began the approach to Amsterdam making use of the fantastic Dutch cycle paths which made it remarkably easy to find our way. Everyone welcomed the sign signalling our entry to Amsterdam! In the centre, the group reconvened and headed to the canal boat where we were to stay for the night.

Suffice to say, we were all very happy to have reached our final destination and we topped off the achievement with a wonderful traditional Dutch meal, some good red wine and some rather bizarre liquors! Overall, Eamoon, Guy and Simon raised over £2,000 for GUD.

Thanks very much for the fantastic effort boys!

Photo Album

Back to Events