July 28th through August 11th, 2012 will be the dates for our next trip, which will take us to northern Italy where we will find the beautiful Dolomites mountain range and the Italian Alps. This trip will be very challenging and preparation is a must. However the results will be very rewarding. We will be climbing the Zoncolan, Stelvio, Gavia, Mortirolo and many other mountains. If you do all the rides, the plan is to do 900 miles and 100,000 ft. of climbing. However, there are options for shorter days and rest days, since we are staying in Cortina and Bormio for multiple days.
If you are interested in this trip, give us a call at 570-784-6524 and we’ll give you all the information you need.
After packing our bicycles last night we set out to Amsterdam by train. The day was spent by visiting museums, the Anne Frank House and the flower market. Another wonderful trip had come to an end.
Plans are underway for a trip to the Italian Alps and Dolomites for the summer of 2012 and a trip to Ireland in 2013.
Today we cycled across the isles of Zeeland and got a close look at the Delta works. After the flood of 1953 the Dutch started in their fight against the ocean and started by raising the dikes along the sea arms. Eventually they decided to go a step further to close off some of some of these arms, without losing the fishing industry and in such started the Delta works. We got a close look at this marvelous engineering work of pillars and gates with which they can control the forces of the ocean. We finished our ride in Delft.
The weather wasn’t in our favor on Sunday, but our arrival on the Grote Markt in Bergen op Zoom made the ride well worth it. The weather cleared and our spirits were lifted by the good food and companionship. Warm sunshine greeted us Monday morning and along our ride to Middelburg, in the province of Zeeland. Many riders enjoyed the local mussels. Chocolate, churches, and canals make Bruges a wonderful destination. The short ride into Belgium allowed for a full day of sightseeing.
After a long flight with a stopover in Iceland we arrived in Amsterdam. Due to the late arrival, we only had enough time to put our bicycles together. Day one took us from Amsterdam to Lekkerkerk in Zuid Holland. The morning started out by visiting a windmill in Aalsmeer. The 50 plus mile ride took us through the low area of The Netherlands, that is all below sea level. Lots of windmills and beautiful farm houses, surrounded by little canals, filled the 
landscape. Today we left Ridderkerk by ferry and saw all the windmills by Kinderdijk,. The weather was ugly and we endured lots of rain and very strong winds on a ride to Bergen op Zoom in the province Noord Brabant. Both days we have been pleasantly surprised by the numerous bicycle routes, that are laid out all over the country. We even went through a tunnel, that had a separate side just for bicycles.
All good things come must come to an end. This morning we got ready for our final ride of what has been an incredible trip. The mountains that we climbed, the scenery that we saw, this journey will stay with us for the rest of our lives. At times it was extremely hard and intimidating but we persevered and left with a lot of satisfaction. Thanks to all who went along and all who followed us on the web and gave us all the encouragement that we needed. And above all a special thanks to Cindy and Cheryl, our support crew; we could not have done this trip without you!!!!!!
