Leiden to Amsterdam

It was a cold overcast day, forecast maximum 16 deg. The ride from Leiden out to Katwijk took us mostly through quite nice residential areas. We were trying to follow the numbered location system, but a few times a sign was missing or we missed it, and we did a few extra km as a result.
Leiden and Katwijk are both on the Rhine, and Katwijk is where some of the Rhine water flows into the North Sea, so we stopped at the mouth of the river, which is completely controlled by a Dutch sea wall/gate structure. We had started riding along the Rhine from its source in Switzerland in 2011, so this felt like a bit of a completion.
From Katwijk we had a very enjoyable fast run up the coast along the LF1 route to Zandvoort. This section of the route is two way sealed bike path running through the dunes and bush just behind the beach. It was really nice to stretch the legs for a while. We saw quite a few groups of road bike riders going the other way, but if there were any going our way they didn't catch us.
When we finally stopped (just after a wildrooster) at Zandvoort to study the map for the next section, a road bike rider pulled up just after us and was very complimentary of our speed with loaded touring bikes.
For some days, probably starting in northern Belgium somewhere, we had occasionally ridden past a sign warning us of "wildrooster". We had of course kept a wary eye for any such dangerous sounding birds. It took us a while to realise that the signs always seemed to immediately precede something like a cattle grid but with much smaller gaps. Presumably these are put there to keep the wild roosters in.
After Zandvoort we made our way to Harlem (via numbers 79, 77, 83, 82, 81 & 84!). We rode into the city centre and had a look around then did a tour of a windmill.
The ride from Harlem to Amsterdam, following the red signs, was mostly a pretty fast straight run parallel to a freeway. When we got close to the centre we turned onto the LF20 which we had worked out would take us around south of the city centre to close to our B&B. This route took us through some kilometres of beautiful parks, including Vondelpark and Rembrandtpark.
When we rode out the end of Vondelpark we plunged into cycling chaos, with pedestrians, bikes, motorbikes, cars and trams everywhere.
We made our way without too much trouble to the Parkzijde B&B where we had booked a room for three nights. Parkzijde is a four story terrace across the road from Oosterpark, just a short tram ride from the city centre. The owners live in the top floors. The room we had booked was The Garden Room which "is situated at the rear of the house overlooking our garden and has access to its own private conservatory" (from Parkzijde website),
We rang the bell and shortly after we were greeted by Bernard. After the initial greeting, Bernard continued to stand squarely in the doorway, and commented "I see you arrived with the bikes". Bernard went on to explain that there was no secure place to store our bikes, and that if we left them outside, no matter how well locked, they would certainly be stolen.
Bernard seemed quite prepared to turn us away rather than allow our bikes into his precious building.
Once we got over the initial shock that this was happening in Amsterdam of all places, we suggested to Bernard that perhaps we could store our bikes in the garden, which we knew our room overlooked.
But what if it rains, and our wet dirty bikes have to be carried through the hallway?
We assured Bernard that we would not use our bikes while we were there (quite happily after the last few km riding through Amsterdam). A solution had been found, and Bernard, still somewhat reluctantly, watched us carry our bikes through to the garden in the rear.
In all our travels with bikes in Europe, staying at probably over a hundred different B&Bs, hotels and hostels, this has never happened before.

Our detailed route through Germany, Luxembourg, Belgium and Holland.

Delft to Leiden

A cool day but blue sky and sunshine!
After a nice breakfast at the hotel we went to the tourist info centre, where we left our bags inside with our bikes locked outside, and had walk around the town centre. At one point we spotted a couple of Van Moof bicycles in the wild.
The previous night we had booked, by email, a room with a Vrienden op de Fiets host in Leiden. Delft to Leiden is not very far, and we had decided to ride via The Hague.
The ride to The Hague went pretty well, and after lunch in a café in a park near the city centre, and a very quick look around, we continued towards Leiden.
The Dutch seem to have at least three different systems of bike route navigation. Firstly there are the long distance routes like LF1, or the North Sea Route. These seem to be reasonably well marked and cover a variety of path types. Secondly there are bike navigation signs, red on a white background, pointing to a town or city, and sometimes showing the distance. Thirdly there is a numbering system that refers to locations, not routes, so you can make your way to somewhere if you know the series of numbered locations you want to pass through.
So if you are, for instance, following the LF1 because you know it will take you to Burgh-Haamstede, you will come to a sign indicating the LF1 is one direction, and a red sign indicating that Burgh-Haamstede is an another direction. There will also most likely be a sign indicating directions to various numbered locations. This can be confusing to Australian cycle tourists until they get the hang of it. To properly use the numbered location system you would need a separate pannier just to carry the maps.
The ride to Leiden was quite nice in parts, and we found our accommodation in a very central location on a canal street. Our hostess let us in to the garage where we left our bikes and showed us to our room on the third floor, insisting on helping to carry our luggage. The stairs to the third floor are the steepest we have ever encountered.

Burgh-Haamstede to Delft

We woke up to a cold rainy day. Over breakfast we discussed possible routes with our hosts, then donned the raincoats and set off in light rain.
We initially followed the signed bike route until it turned into unsealed mud puddles, then we followed the GPS for a while.
The bike paths are generally pretty good, but there are so many of them we ended up having to stop frequently to check our navigation.
The day stayed cold and wet. A number of times roadworks blocked the bike routes and we had to find detours.
There was one particularly unpleasant stretch where we were riding along a water-covered road on a seawall for some kilometers with a strong crosswind blowing all the water coming from our front wheels straight into our right shoes.
We finally arrived at the centre of Delft at nearly 5, and found that the tourist info centre, where we were planning to find some accommodation, had closed at 4.
A helpful shopkeeper directed us to a nice hotel nearby, right across the street and canal from the "new church" (only about 700 years old). Our very nice room was on two levels, with the bathroom downstairs, and the bedroom at the top of the typically steep stairs.
After settling in to our room I (Pat) went to find some food, and got some very tasty noodles at the Daily Wok.
After dinner I went for another wander around town. Delft is a lovely small city, with the old central part having a small canal running along the middle of many of the streets.
Just checked the forecast, doesn't look great but at least it should be a bit warmer tomorrow.

Bruges to Burgh-Haamstede

The weather looked pretty nasty and it was cold when we rode out of Bruges. The plus was that we had a decent tailwind and we made good time along the canals and rural  areas. Damme is a pleasant little town but we were really impressed with Sluis - great shopping & cafe strip overlooking a pretty canal, beautiful parkland bordering the canal- our first town in The Netherlands.
Soon we riding along with an expansive vista of the North sea with its big cargo ships & views of the cities around the bay.
We didn't linger because we were keen to catch the bike/ pedestrian ferry leaving from Breskens, which conveniently docked as we pulled up to buy tickets. It also protected us from a small passing shower, which was the only rain we saw all day.
Fish & chips was good at the ferry terminal cafe and we were off again to Middelburg, a charming town, with a spectacular town hall. Middelburg's town  square had been converted into a beach and a large beach volleyball tournament was in progress.
Leaving Middelburg we followed great bike paths, which, with our ripper of a tailwind, allowed us to reach speeds of 47km per hour on the flat. The LF1 lead us past long stretches of sandy beach - there were many people parasailing and windsurfing, all against a backdrop of wind turbines. The people heading south were doing it pretty tough though.
Our route lead us across 3 bridges spanning a North Sea inlet, the Oosterschelde. The longest bridge was at least 1.5km long and formed a protective sea wall. We had more than a normal car lane for bikes. The final bridge was side-on to the wind and it did feel a little hairy at times, especially when you felt the sea-spray on your face.
We arrived at our Vrienden op de Fiets b&b at 3.30 & were shown to our comfortable room.
Nice dinner down the street (apricot pie).

Gent to Bruges

21st & 22nd June
It was raining at breakfast, but the weather radar looked like it would clear for our ride to Bruges.
The route was pretty good, following a sealed path along a canal for most the way. After the ride from Brussels to Gent we were happy to find that Flanders is not just continuous towns, and we mostly rode past green pastures.
We had a pretty constant cross/head wind, but since we needed to find accommodation, and rain threatened, we made good time with no stops.
We rode straight to the tourist info centre. They found us a room in an old hotel, very central, but big bright room. Very lucky to get it.
The Bruge Triathlon is on here tomorrow, should be good to have a look at. Belgian waffles, chocolate shops everywhere. Too cold for Belgian beer today. Belgian chocolate is very diverse. Study is continuing.
22nd
Bruge is so crowded that you are in danger of being knocked over by a number of things. Firstly, unlike every other European city, Bruges' centre it's not pedestrianised. Secondly, due to constant tourist numbers, local drivers have adopted the policy of maximum speed in order to keep terrified pedestrians on the almost non-existent sidewalks. The situation is compounded by the regular and speedy circuits of central Bruges made by a bunch of horse-drawn carriages conveying tourists. Add to this mix a stack of cyclists, including a few large packs of inexperienced tourists lead by an extremely optimistic guide and "new" tourists who have not yet learned the local etiquette and it is a wonder the place isn't a war zone.
For the reasons stated above, we decided to walk away from the central square and headed for the Bejinhof, an enclosed area where women, both  in religious orders and laity, have lived for centuries protected from the external world. It is a beautiful, peaceful placed beside a canal and home to many swans.
On our return trip we visited the Gruuthuis Museum, by mistake. My 'MF' was supposed to be directing us to the Groenighuis Museum. We saw a lot of fabulously old and beautiful hand painted/ written books from the13th & 14th century mainly. But no artists -c'est La vie!
Later in the evening, Pat positioned himself at the transition area for the cycle leg of the triathlon & enjoyed watching the boys come over the little old canal bridge & take the corner on the wet cobblestones. No falls!

Brussels to Gent

19th & 20th June
We decided to take the train  for a few kilometres to get out of suburban Brussels. Tom-tom lead us very efficiently to Gent. I must say though that this was a singularly unspectacular ride. Flanders seems like one big suburb. The bike path followed the road the whole way and except where it became particularly potholed was very safe. At one point, an excavator driver working on a new section of piste and pavement courteously moved his machine into the tragic lane in order to let us pass safely on the other side.
The high point of this ride was definitely our excursion into Aalst. A town with an outstanding central square and historic old buildings. We also sampled our first Belgian waffles at Dirk Martens Cafe/ Tavern - they absolutely melted in your mouth & the coffee (cappuccino with slagroom - whipped cream) came with lovely little petit fours.
The tourist office in Gent was the best we had encountered in Belgium. They pleasantly & efficiently organised a lovely central b&b, provided us with maps & a walking tour & gave us directions on how to exit Gent for Bruges.
We checked into our b&b, got organised and headed out to see Gent. Dinner, at  t'Clock Huys in the Patershol district, was a Belgian Flemish stew with baby potatoes, sorrell (mixed grill Flemish style) & chocolate mouse -pretty good!
We walked for hours around Gent, finding it especially beautiful at night.
Our  b&b was so restful & pleasant we arranged to stay an extra night in Gent.
20th June
Caught up on family phone calls, finances, paperwork & washing and Pat did some bike maintenance.
After lunch we continued our exploration of the city and found a fabulous deli (aula ??). We decided we would have a picnic with the family rabbit, in the lovely enclosed garden at our b&b & bought cheese, ham, rolls, salad, rosé & dessert.