Author Topic: ACME goes European  (Read 15372 times)

Re: ACME goes European
« Reply #75 on: 12 August, 2019, 09:48:29 pm »
I struggled on Saturday to find somewhere, and not had a chance to properly look again yet. I think we might need to go to one of the surrounding towns. I’m looking again tomorrow ... need to find somewhere large enough for us all, cheap, evening meal options locally or at the hotel, and secure bike parking. Happy to hear suggestions, but otherwise I’ll look again tomorrow.

Eddington: 133 miles    Max square: 43x43

quixoticgeek

  • Mostly Harmless
Re: ACME goes European
« Reply #76 on: 12 August, 2019, 09:52:22 pm »
I struggled on Saturday to find somewhere, and not had a chance to properly look again yet. I think we might need to go to one of the surrounding towns. I’m looking again tomorrow ... need to find somewhere large enough for us all, cheap, evening meal options locally or at the hotel, and secure bike parking. Happy to hear suggestions, but otherwise I’ll look again tomorrow.

You may find Breda has more hotels.

J
--
Beer, bikes, and backpacking
http://b.42q.eu/

bhoot

  • MemSec (ex-Mrs RRtY)
Re: ACME goes European
« Reply #77 on: 13 August, 2019, 08:18:31 pm »
I've just booked ferry and one hotel... I found a good deal at the Hotel (In)Credible in Nijmegen, which looks to be all of about 250m from the Courage. They have told me they have a "garage box" close by where bikes can be stored - I submitted it as a question when I booked (booking.com) and they cam back quite quickly with an answer.




Tomsk

  • Fueled by cake since 1957
    • tomsk.co.uk
Re: ACME goes European
« Reply #78 on: 13 August, 2019, 08:26:01 pm »
Ferrys and Hotel Courage booked  :thumbsup:

Re: ACME goes European
« Reply #79 on: 13 August, 2019, 08:26:42 pm »
Having trawled across the region, I have found what appears to be the perfect hotel for the Saturday night. Reasonable price, nice location, seemingly a nice standard, and hopefully secure bike parking (I'm checking on that).

For the evening meal, the hotel specials are €17.50. Alternatively, the centre of 's-Hertogenbosch is 6 miles away, so there's an option to get a taxi for a night out in town. I've not checked in detail, but there might be somewhere suitable that is closer than the centre.

To keep things simple, I've secured 4 singles and 2 twin rooms. The singles were £66.05 and the twins were £86.29. I can cancel any that are not going to be used, and extra rooms can be obtained if our numbers expand. I have assumed bhoot is able to join us (which looks to be correct, according to the new post above that has appears whilst I've been typing this!). I can take payment on the day, as I expect we'll be charged in euros, so the price may fluctuate a little.

So could all those going please indicate their preference for a single or twin. A PM is fine.

The hotel details can be found at https://www.guldenberg.nl. Just to be clear, you don't need to book a room yourself. I have already done that  :)

EDIT: and Tomsk I had already added to the list  :thumbsup:

Eddington: 133 miles    Max square: 43x43

quixoticgeek

  • Mostly Harmless
Re: ACME goes European
« Reply #80 on: 13 August, 2019, 08:43:04 pm »

Funky!

What's your route thinking for Nijmegen to this hotel? They are only about 60km apart...

I'm thinking I may come join on the Saturday from Nijmegen to den bos. What time are you likely to start in the morning ?

J
--
Beer, bikes, and backpacking
http://b.42q.eu/

jiberjaber

  • ... Fancy Pants \o/ ...
  • ACME S&M^2
Re: ACME goes European
« Reply #81 on: 13 August, 2019, 10:26:13 pm »
's-Hertogenbosch

/Dirk Voice: Which literally means "the Duke's forest"

 :thumbsup:

Hopefully Dirk is coming?
Regards,

Joergen

Re: ACME goes European
« Reply #82 on: 14 August, 2019, 05:05:26 am »
What's your route thinking for Nijmegen to this hotel? They are only about 60km apart...

I'm thinking I may come join on the Saturday from Nijmegen to den bos. What time are you likely to start in the morning?

Original plan was to follow the LF Maasroute for a while, then loop back round. Maybe 120 - 130km. But I will look at an alternative if people are interested in visiting the cycle museum in the morning. So we might have a split group that day, or we might have consensus to one or the other.

We’ll have a better idea on the start time once we know the exact plans for the day. Route planning in detail will happen straight after PBP, so should be able to advise by the end of August.

Eddington: 133 miles    Max square: 43x43

Re: ACME goes European
« Reply #83 on: 14 August, 2019, 07:39:16 am »
Dirk is not coming.

 :'(

You will have to work the wheels of steel on your own Joergen.
The pleasure of pain endured
To purify our misfit ways

jiberjaber

  • ... Fancy Pants \o/ ...
  • ACME S&M^2
Re: ACME goes European
« Reply #84 on: 14 August, 2019, 08:33:59 am »
Dirk is not coming.

 :'(

You will have to work the wheels of steel on your own Joergen.

 :'( :'( :'( :'( :'(
Regards,

Joergen

bhoot

  • MemSec (ex-Mrs RRtY)
Re: ACME goes European
« Reply #85 on: 14 August, 2019, 09:21:58 am »
To keep things simple, I've secured 4 singles and 2 twin rooms. The singles were £66.05 and the twins were £86.29.

Nice one, thanks for booking. Looks like that rate also includes breakfast?

Given that it is a conference hotel (hence I guess the relatively high availability of single rooms) it may be possible to put bikes overnight in a conference room?

Unless you have any other single women expressing interest in the tour, I'll take a single please (but note if any are considering joining I am potentially up for a cabin/room share to reduce costs)

Re: ACME goes European
« Reply #86 on: 14 August, 2019, 10:13:58 am »
Breakfast is included in the price. Looks like good value compared to other hotels I found, and most importantly they could provide twin rooms as well as singles.

I’m waiting on a response re bike storage. I’ll propose the conference room suggestion if the response is not positive.

Eddington: 133 miles    Max square: 43x43

Wowbagger

  • Former Sylph
    • Stuff mostly about weather
Re: ACME goes European
« Reply #87 on: 14 August, 2019, 11:27:03 am »
I struggled on Saturday to find somewhere, and not had a chance to properly look again yet. I think we might need to go to one of the surrounding towns. I’m looking again tomorrow ... need to find somewhere large enough for us all, cheap, evening meal options locally or at the hotel, and secure bike parking. Happy to hear suggestions, but otherwise I’ll look again tomorrow.

You may find Breda has more hotels.

J

I misread that at first and thought “What’s she doing over there?’
Quote from: Dez
It doesn’t matter where you start. Just start.

Re: ACME goes European
« Reply #88 on: 14 August, 2019, 03:44:25 pm »
You won't have any problems there with your bikes, they offer rental bikes etc.. so they will be equiped to deal with yours
too. Also the hotel is set back in the woods and the helvoirt/cromvoirt area is generally very nice. Good choice!
Regards,

Alan

quixoticgeek

  • Mostly Harmless
Re: ACME goes European
« Reply #89 on: 14 August, 2019, 06:25:25 pm »
You won't have any problems there with your bikes, they offer rental bikes etc.. so they will be equiped to deal with yours
too. Also the hotel is set back in the woods and the helvoirt/cromvoirt area is generally very nice. Good choice!

Not necessarily, may a hotel will have a stack of rental bikes, and just park em up out front. Rental bikes are not an indication of having good bike storage.

I'd personally just take the bike in my room. As long as it's dry you should be ok.

J
--
Beer, bikes, and backpacking
http://b.42q.eu/

Re: ACME goes European
« Reply #90 on: 14 August, 2019, 07:25:26 pm »
There is a locked area for bikes.

From previous experience, we have found hotels in the Netherlands not at all keen on bicycles being brought into the hotel rooms. I'm sure some are fine, but many are not. It's useful to know in advance what to expect, and book elsewhere if the arrangements for bicycles don't sound too good.

Eddington: 133 miles    Max square: 43x43

quixoticgeek

  • Mostly Harmless
Re: ACME goes European
« Reply #91 on: 14 August, 2019, 07:27:48 pm »
There is a locked area for bikes.

From previous experience, we have found hotels in the Netherlands not at all keen on bicycles being brought into the hotel rooms. I'm sure some are fine, but many are not. It's useful to know in advance what to expect, and book elsewhere if the arrangements for bicycles don't sound too good.

This matches my experience. I've managed to argue my bike into rooms in all cases bar 1. But that's me on my own. A dozen of you is harder.

J
--
Beer, bikes, and backpacking
http://b.42q.eu/

Re: ACME goes European
« Reply #92 on: 27 August, 2019, 01:04:34 pm »
Quick update.

Thursday 12th
I’ve booked a table for 8 people at the Waterfront in Harwich. 7pm for a 7:30pm meal. No pre-booking of food needed this year. It’ll be good if we can all meet there, and head down to the ferry together.

If anybody doesn’t wish to eat there, can you let me know so I can amend the booking please.

Route planning
I’ve drafted the Friday route. By strictly following the river route the distance was somewhat greater than what I was expecting. I’ve managed to reduce the route by 50km whilst keeping the best bits, including 3 proposed places to stop during the day. Currently I have the route down to 165km.

I’m aiming to work on the Saturday and Sunday routes tonight, and share them all for review by those interested in contributing to the route planning.

Eddington: 133 miles    Max square: 43x43

Deano4

  • Trouble
Re: ACME goes European
« Reply #93 on: 28 August, 2019, 08:02:22 am »
Hey guys.

It looks like this trip clashes with some time someone else in the office has already booked off, so I’m afraid I’m going to have to pull out :-(.

Hopefully next year! Hope you all have a great time.
ACME - Suffolk Branch

Re: ACME goes European
« Reply #94 on: 28 August, 2019, 06:54:56 pm »
Hey guys.

It looks like this trip clashes with some time someone else in the office has already booked off, so I’m afraid I’m going to have to pull out :-(.

Hopefully next year! Hope you all have a great time.

Sorry to hear that. But yes, we’ll hopefully have another tour next year. Maybe aim for something a little different.

Eddington: 133 miles    Max square: 43x43

quixoticgeek

  • Mostly Harmless
Re: ACME goes European
« Reply #95 on: 30 August, 2019, 12:21:54 pm »
Route planning
I’ve drafted the Friday route. By strictly following the river route the distance was somewhat greater than what I was expecting. I’ve managed to reduce the route by 50km whilst keeping the best bits, including 3 proposed places to stop during the day. Currently I have the route down to 165km.

I’m aiming to work on the Saturday and Sunday routes tonight, and share them all for review by those interested in contributing to the route planning.

Any luck with the draft routes?

Btw, what sort of average speed are you aiming for?

Do any of you have a spot tracker or similar? I'm wondering how to find you all if I don't start the day with you (Getting to Hoek for your arrival is either going to make for a 200+ day, or arriving at Rotterdam before 0630... )

J

--
Beer, bikes, and backpacking
http://b.42q.eu/

jiberjaber

  • ... Fancy Pants \o/ ...
  • ACME S&M^2
Re: ACME goes European
« Reply #96 on: 30 August, 2019, 12:42:49 pm »
I suspect there might be a whatsapp group  it appears to be fashionable at the moment  :thumbsup:  Might be a good way of resolving..
Regards,

Joergen

Re: ACME goes European
« Reply #97 on: 30 August, 2019, 12:46:58 pm »
Friday's route is pretty much there. Saturday's route needs a bit of work, and Sunday's route should be straightforward as it'll be based on previous years.

I ran out of time in the evenings this week, so will finalise the draft and send out tomorrow (Saturday). It'll include details of whereabouts we're likely to stop for food and refreshments.

I have a SpotX, but I use a PAYG model which only gets activated when I'm heading somewhere wilder than the interior of the Netherlands. So would suggest we can either note a rendezvous point at the start of a day, or use WhatsApp. We can discuss once the route is published.

I've been assuming a 20kph moving average, but it'll depend on local conditions. On previous trips we've been slowed by junctions, right angled turns on the cycle paths, weird ramps up stairways, etc. Cycling speed might be up at 22 - 24kph, but it depends on how everyone is feeling, the wind, etc.

Eddington: 133 miles    Max square: 43x43

quixoticgeek

  • Mostly Harmless
Re: ACME goes European
« Reply #98 on: 30 August, 2019, 01:08:26 pm »
Friday's route is pretty much there. Saturday's route needs a bit of work, and Sunday's route should be straightforward as it'll be based on previous years.

I ran out of time in the evenings this week, so will finalise the draft and send out tomorrow (Saturday). It'll include details of whereabouts we're likely to stop for food and refreshments.

Excellent.

Quote
I have a SpotX, but I use a PAYG model which only gets activated when I'm heading somewhere wilder than the interior of the Netherlands. So would suggest we can either note a rendezvous point at the start of a day, or use WhatsApp. We can discuss once the route is published.

Am not a whatsapp user, I have too many other chat programs instead (telegram, signal, discord etc...).

I'm sure we can work something out tho.

Quote

I've been assuming a 20kph moving average, but it'll depend on local conditions. On previous trips we've been slowed by junctions, right angled turns on the cycle paths, weird ramps up stairways, etc. Cycling speed might be up at 22 - 24kph, but it depends on how everyone is feeling, the wind, etc.

Excellent. That I should be able to maintain.

J
--
Beer, bikes, and backpacking
http://b.42q.eu/

Re: ACME goes European
« Reply #99 on: 30 August, 2019, 04:10:53 pm »
Hi all,

If you are looking for a route for saturday i can suggest this ...

   https://ridewithgps.com/routes/30985183

Its 120km which might be a little ambitious if you have other plans, it also takes a few lumpy bits around Nijmegen at the start which you could
easily avoid by going through the city. The bit down to Plasmolen is very nice and mostly downhill to the river through the woods. There might be
a bit of light gravel but nothing alarming.

From there it takes the ferry at Afferden (less than €1 and runs every 10min or so), there are other possibilities, from there its Overloon (good place for a stop), Bakel (lots of cafes) and then via the canal (bike path) to Oirschot (Also loads of cafes) . The last part heading North will take you through quiet lanes to your hotel.

(This route is a cut and paste from two other routes that i have, 90% of which i have riden myself)




Regards,

Alan