Their story, in their words…
We set off, early in the morning and cycled down to get our ferry to Calais and over the course of the next five days, cycled up the coast to Amsterdam and then got the ferry back to Harwich where we were picked up by one of our parents.
We passed through Dunkirk, Ostende and Rotterdam amongst other cities, on the way. It worked out well overall although on one day, one of us got two punctures in a row and so had to get a train for a bit of the distance on that day after finding a bike shop and getting a new tyre.
While we were doing it, we were quite tired a lot of the time but also enjoyed the European countryside and visiting new cities and meeting the people that we were staying with. Cycling right next to the beach, which we did for a while, was also very pleasant.
Additionally, the vast cycling infrastructure of cities like Rotterdam and Amsterdam was quite astonishing and like nothing we’d seen before in England. We got a lot out of the experience including greater resilience, especially after the first day where we missed our first ferry but managed to keep going and make the one after, better teamwork and an increased passion for adventure.
Furthermore, I think that we have all become safer and more proficient cyclists as a result of our trip which will benefit us now and in later life.
