Copenhagen - London bike trip

[Konyak! 0]

Hey, anyone here from DK, NE Germany, Nederlands and Belgium that can perhaps give me a few tips concerning what route would be most scenic and enjoyable for said journey?

I've been browsing the net for scraps of info, but I figured that there's locals here that perhaps would be happy to help out.  I'm trying to decide what towns to ride through, as looking at an Atlas doesn't tell me much in terms of scenery.  

I'm planning to do it possibly by the end of September, and need some basic info like:

1. Do all these bike-friendly countries have bike paths or will I be riding the shoulder on backroads a lot, and are bikepaths racing bike friendly?

2. By what date would you reccomend I do this?  I'm looking at regular air temp around 15 C  and up is fine (That's balmy where I am now    ) and I also wonder if autumn in that area brings wind and rain?

3. Is there a prevailing wind in this region? (Should I be going W-E rather?)

4. Do most towns have laundromats and bike shops and cheap lodging? (Like a tavern with a room upstairs or something)  

Any other info would be appreciated.  As I said, I'm doing this on a racing bike, so I'm not lobbing around saddlebags full of food and a tent, simply will bring a change of clothes, phone, camera, med-kit, bike repair kit, and VISA card  

Kinda got robbed of a holiday this summer, so I'm determined make the best of a late one

Many thanks!

Konyak

[Frisbee 0]

Since I live in Belgium, I can only really speak for Belgium, but we have some superb biking paths. Especially along rivers and canals, they're quite popular. (smooth asphalt or such, racing bike friendly)

In the Netherlands biking is very popular, so I bet that there'll be even more biking paths there.

(the regular roads are very well suited for bikes in most area's too, wide spaces for bikes separated from the road for cars)

2 : Ehm, Holland and Belgium are known to their inhabitants as "ons kikkerlandje" (our little frog country ) so it does tend to rain a lot.

Anywhere before november should still see you with decent weather though, if the weathergods are willing. Autumn is ussually a nice season actually, september-oktober should do nicely.

3 : Don't quote me on this, but I think the wind comes mainly from the sea.

4 : Every nearby town I know has a bike shop, I know some laundromats (only absent in the really backwater rural towns) but towns are closely linked anyways, town next to town.

When in Belgium : Try the beer !

Duvel, Kriek, Palm, Lambik....etc.

I'll be happy to try to answer your questions, but I'm not much of an experienced traveller myself (not on the organising side anyways, I'm only 19), but I'll try my best.

[JAP 2]

That sums up Belgian roads pretty well Frisbee.

One other thing, when you want cheap lodging search for "jeugdherberg" ( youthhotels freely translated ) they are very cheap means of spending the night.

You can find them all over the country.

Or you can stay at my place ( between Antwerp and Dutch border ) in return of a nightly lan co-op  

And visiting Antwerp is ofcourse a must !

/edit

Here s a link to a page with Belgian Youth hotels, it s also in english

Youth hotels Belgium ( english )

Hope this helps.

Cheers

[Ironsight 1]

Or you can stay at my place ( between Antwerp and Dutch border ) in return of a nightly lan co-op  

Hmm that's close to Breda

In the Netherlands, Rotterdam is really nice to visit. And if you want to go to the sea, I suggest you go to Walcheren (this is a region) wich is near Middelburg, the nature and the sea are really nice over there. Also if you go here you can easily go to Antwerps. If you want to want to go more east I suggest you visit the Veluwe and the south of Limburg (has a lot of good biking trails). If you want more information just give me a call

[Albert Schweitzer 10]

Holland, Belgium and Germany are superb cycling countries. Not only the roads give good space to cyclists but the population is very active itself so you dont have to fight for your right on the streets. Sceenerie in holland and belgium is great IF you are lucky with the weather. When I used to be a teenie I did lot of trips and we had more fun sleeping in tents. (no danger and great fun in the forests or lakeside).

But I must admit that the weather can be pretty frustrating in autumn, you might have lots of cold rain, that usually influences the mood and motivation in a very bad way

[Nemesis6 0]

Copenhagen, more precise, Christianshavn is a really nice place to bicycle. Lots of bicycle shops, too. Lots of old building, casual people, and you can travel by Metro to any of the nearby cities. However, if you want a more nature/grass route, you should definetly go for the Jutland peninsula.

[Badassdom 0]

well in the Netherlands cycling is a major way of transportation, because holland is flat so it takes very little effort(its really flat there are only a few hills in the south and central part).

because its such a widely used transport there are good bikepaths(as many as car-roads) and there are alot of bike shops.

so for biking its the best country.

But hotels and such are expensive and there are few to be found. there are youth hostels and stuff but you have to look pretty hard.

as for the weather, mmmm that could change in a day or less so its hard to say ,it can 20 C and sunny or it can be 10 c and raining al day, but early autum its not generaly that bad

as for tips on money. buy every thing in a shop cause restaurants and cafe's are really expensive here

important

make sure you bring a good lock for you bike(big chain) cause bikes get stolen a lot here and you won't get it back when its been stolen

[Konyak! 0]

Ok, some good info from you guys, this looks ever better I'm trying to plot a route on the maps that thread most of these places, but I'm not going to zig zag all over, going as directly as I can. Perhaps when I've gotten a route planned, I may post it here and maybe some pointers on interesting places, be they architecture, museums, or nightlife (not planning on biking in the dark, you know )

I'd also like to know if there are any interesting WWII sites to visit, such as tanks along the road, military museums or stuff like that. Something that might warrant a de-tour.

One thing that I'm uncertain of is how easily I will navigate the cities.. I know they are bike friendly, but there are some pretty busy cities along the way, and I just wonder if there is any danger of getting into a bad neighborhood or have I been watching too much Derrick?

Anyway, thanks to you all, appreciate it. Jap, there is no way I won't be going through Antwerpen from the border, so I might have to take you up on that offer >

Konyak

[Frisbee 0]

Not many "bad neighbourhoods" that I know of, there are some in Brussels, Antwerp and Mechelen. But it's nothing where people would drag you off your bike and steal your change. (I think )

That, and since the cities are fairly small, those "bad area's" are small as well, and thus easily avoided.

It would be great to see your route, I know at least some interesting sites.

Oh yeah, I live near Mechelen, sort of between Antwerp and Brussels. If you pass near here I'd love to pay you a beer.

If I lived alone I'd offer you a bed for the night as well, but I think the parental-units might disagree.

Good luck with the planning.