Introduction
When I set out, I hadn’t really planned to cycle all round the North Sea, I was just going to spend a few days cycling round East Anglia. The weather was lovely, and the scenery pleasant, so I thought that I could just keep going. The North Sea Cycle Route (NSCR) is the longest continually signposted cycle route in the world. (Although I could dispute the phrase ‘continually signposted’!)

At present the NSCR runs through 7 countries (Holland, Germany, Denmark, Sweden, Norway, Scotland and England) and is roughly 6000 kilometres long. It was developed using money from the European Union, and travels through just about every type of environment you can think of. The route has its own website where you can find out additional information. www.northsea-cycle.com Personally I would not advise you to cycle the North Sea route unless like me you are intent on cycling the whole thing in one go as some sort of personal trial. There are better places to cycle if you don’t have (at least) 10 weeks to spare.

Summary
North Norfolk was lovely. Forget Holland and Germany, (too flat and boring.) Parts of the west coast of Denmark were quite nice, but I wouldn’t worry about never going there again. The east coast was too much on busier roads as was Sweden, so best avoided. In Norway I was getting boring of cycling around the coast; the route was quite fragmented and difficult to follow so I headed up the Numedalsruta into the mountains and then cycled the simply fantastic Rallarvegen road, then along the Hardangerfjord to Bergen. Scotland would have been lovely (especially the Shetland and Orkney islands if there’d been any sun (and less wind and rain.) The north-east of England would be better off actually submerged under the North Sea.

Summary of summary
A gruelling 10 week, 6000 kilometre journey through 7 different countries all around the North Sea.

Conclusion
Forget everywhere else, go to Norway. Cycle the Rallarvegen and the fjords. Go to Bergen. (Save up lots of beer money before you go.) Norway is the best place to live – IN THE WORLD – according to a survey of 177 countries performed by the United Nations. It has been in the top spot for the last five years (when it ousted Canada from the number one position in 2001)

Interesting numbers
5 - The number of different currencies used
7 - The number of countries cycled through
9 - The number of punctures suffered
24 - The number of ferries used
42.1 – The maximum speed achieved on the bike in miles per hour (67.8 km/h)
55 – The average number of miles cycled each day (89 kilometres)
69 – The number of days taken to complete the journey (9 weeks and 6 days. 2 rest days)
370 - The number of hours spent in the saddle (22,237 minutes or more than 15 complete days)
3707.5 – The number of miles cycled (5966.4 kilometres)
49070 – The number of metres of altitude gain (160990 feet)

Inventory

By the way, the diary has been typed with minimal editing, so please excuse any mistakes etc.When I set out, I hadn't really planned to cycle all round the North Sea, I was just going to spend a few days cycling round East Anglia. The weather was lovely, and the scenery pleasant, so I thought that I could just keep going. The North Sea Cycle Route (NSCR) is the longest continually signposted cycle route in the world. (Although I could dispute the phrase 'continually signposted'!)

At present the NSCR runs through 7 countries (Holland, Germany, Denmark, Sweden, Norway, Scotland and England) and is roughly 6000 kilometres long. It was developed using money from the European Union, and travels through just about every type of environment you can think of. The route has its own website where you can find out additional information. www.northsea-cycle.com Personally I would not advise you to cycle the North Sea route unless like me you are intent on cycling the whole thing in one go as some sort of personal trial. There are better places to cycle if you don't have (at least) 10 weeks to spare.

Summary
North Norfolk was lovely. Forget Holland and Germany, (too flat and boring.) Parts of the west coast of Denmark were quite nice, but I wouldn't worry about never going there again. The east coast was too much on busier roads as was Sweden, so best avoided. In Norway I was getting boring of cycling around the coast; the route was quite fragmented and difficult to follow so I headed up the Numedalsruta into the mountains and then cycled the simply fantastic Rallarvegen road, then along the Hardangerfjord to Bergen. Scotland would have been lovely (especially the Shetland and Orkney islands if there'd been any sun (and less wind and rain.) The north-east of England would be better off actually submerged under the North Sea.

Summary of summary
A gruelling 10 week, 6000 kilometre journey through 7 different countries all around the North Sea.

Conclusion
Forget everywhere else, go to Norway. Cycle the Rallarvegen and the fjords. Go to Bergen. (Save up lots of beer money before you go.) Norway is the best place to live – IN THE WORLD – according to a survey of 177 countries performed by the United Nations. It has been in the top spot for the last five years (when it ousted Canada from the number one position in 2001)

Interesting numbers
5 - The number of different currencies used
7 - The number of countries cycled through
9 - The number of punctures suffered
24 - The number of ferries used
42.1 – The maximum speed achieved on the bike in miles per hour (67.8 km/h)
55 – The average number of miles cycled each day (89 kilometres)
69 – The number of days taken to complete the journey (9 weeks and 6 days. 2 rest days)
370 - The number of hours spent in the saddle (22,237 minutes or more than 15 complete days)
3707.5 – The number of miles cycled (5966.4 kilometres)
49070 – The number of metres of altitude gain (160990 feet)

Inventory

By the way, the diary has been typed with minimal editing, so please excuse any mistakes etc.

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