London -> Amsterdam

[TheDonUK]

Like the title says im planning on making a brief visit to amsterdam

If you book months ahead easyjet do a 40 quid return from stanstead, but by the time i got from home to stanstead i might as well fly with BA from heathrow for about 70/80 quid,

Im thinking a cheap ferry ticket to calais then a blast along the coast to amsterdam by bike might be an option... I figure amsterdam is what 250 miles?, So if i got a 6AM ferry from dover 3 hours or so to get there, a couple of hours in amsterdam buying... tulips... then blast back to calais and get a late ferry back home...

unless my calculations are well out thats about 600 miles ish roundtrip,

Any comments? advice?, I am aware of the Harwich - Amsterdam ferry but it costs more than flying....

[Stiffler]

Recommend the Norfolk line to Dunkirk. Should be the cheapest option and you're dropped off 15km or so closer :p

Tim
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Current Bikes - Kawasaki ZX-6R (636) | BMW G650GS

[Ste]

Find somewhere good on the bike to stash your tulips so that if you do get pulled over by customs it's not going to be found unless they dismantle the bike, airbox or somewhere like that. Take some road maps of whatever bits of France cos that's where you've been. Have been stopped and checked when leaving the country but not when coming in, but they do pull random vehicles over to check. Haven't had anything at Calais other than them not letting jerry cans of petrol onto the boat, so those got poured down the drain nearby which had lots of fag ends around.

Assuming you don't get busted then the only annoying part is as you're leaving Dover and start thinking how many more tulips you could have had with you as customs didn't check anything.

Have fun.

[roper]

Don't get over excited, have too much 'tulip' and then ride your bike. I don't care how used to 'tulip' you are it's likely to make you an unsafe rider.

Takes about 3.5hrs in a car from Calais to central Amsterdam. Of course if all you are interested in is 'Tulip' you could save yourself an hours riding by going to Vlissingen instead. There are 3 shops there selling 'Tulip' and prices are cheaper than in Amsterdam. If you want any more information* then PM me!

*Please note I don't partake of Tulip myself but live in the Netherlands!

[roper]

I should have added I wouldn't be that worried about hiding 'Tulip' from UK customs. All you'd be likely to get is a slap on the wrist.
What you should be worried about is French customs, our backwards cousins in frogland have some antiquated ideas about 'Tulip' and being caught taking it across their borders can result in a prison sentence in the worst case scenario, confiscation of your bike and a heavy fine after a couple of days in a stinking french cell being the normal state of affairs.

If I was really going on a 'Tulip' run I'd go Stena line from Harwich-4 hr crossing on the fast ferry.

[TheDonUK]

Cheers for the advice all.

Stiffler: I looked at the norfolk line but the website wasent up and running, besides Dover is a known blatt for me.

Ste: I was just gonna put all my lovely flowers in the middle of my rucksack wrapped in some rubbers, but on second thoughts i will find somewhere suitable to stash em.

Roper: Yep cheers for the advice, i know my limits, and if i was going for a mong out session i would just fly over and doss around on foot.

3.5 Hours you say, that means i could be in amsterdam before noon if i got the early ferry to calais. I would feel better going to amsterdam, i have been a few times, i know exactly where to go for the finest tulips in town, plus there is this shop near Dam square that does the most amazing garlic/pizza/chibata style cheesey bread, i really cant get enough of that stuff. And i guess i would have to accept the risk of getting caught if its something i want to do... Maybe post half back take half with... Not talking about supply amounts of tulips here just personal use...

And i did look into the Harwich-Amsterdam ferry but it seemed really expensive, like 140 quid, and that was "off-peak", Im pretty sure the most i would pay is 30 quid each way dover/calais.

Anyways cheers, given me some things to ponder over, any more advice is welcome...

[Ste]

[TheDonUK]

[----]

Am i missing something here?

I mean,it seems a long way to go for it,surely theres someone locally you can get some off?.
Or is it that much better/cheaper over there?

[Ste]

[----]

[TheDonUK]

[Ste]

Trainwreck was the favourite last time.

[----]

I did get some grey solid once,which i was told was called morrocan (spelling?) grey ?
That was some good schit but only had that once.

Funny enough,the main reason i decided to quit,is that lately although the green is fairly decent stuff,theres never a lot of it about,and the amount you get for your £40 quid is getting stupidly small.
The solid thats been about for the last year has got extremely schite,and has been giving me a bad head.Also there seems to be more bits of plastic in it than anything else .

Id love to just have a ride over there and try some of the good stuff,but i dont have a passport yet so ill have to wait.

I cant believe it's as easy as going into a shop,and buying it just like that .
I wish they would make it legal over here,i mean,all the problems that arise through people drinking and that's legal,yet weed is classed as a drug....Just stoooooopid.

[TheDonUK]

Yep, i agree, cut out the middle man, eliminates the dealers, ensures good product is smoked and gets a nice healthy tax for the government... Oh but dident you know if you smoke you may get "REEFER MADNESS!!!"

On another note there should definately be a BCF Amsterdam trip, either by bike or flying... I would deffo be up for that...

[menace0710]

[element]

I was thinking of doing a similar trip myself in the summer. I hadnt realised how close amsterdam was to france till I looked the other day!

Main thing you need to worry about is sniffer dogs... Some rubbers should do the trick though

quick question... do you need to have your licence for a year before you can ride abroad?
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[TheDonUK]

No i think as long as you are not on L plates you are fine abroad but it would be worth checking for sure just in case...

[roper]

[Ste]

[tatters]

[Andy C]

[TheDonUK]

It sounds good andy, It would have to be the beginning of summer after i finish uni exams and whatnot, so like June/July?

[Andy C]

[hutchism]

Just came back from a ride to Belgium. Visited Bruge and Ghent. While I was there I thought I might hop to Holland and visit Amsterdam for a few days. Really cool place, the Dutch are really good people and if you find yourself their wondering what to do; the "foam" gallery (photography gallery) is quite a cool place to take a stroll through.

One thing cannot recommend is putting your tulips in your petrol tank after having a tulip and windmill induced spell of paranoia. All cause you were worried about dogs eating them. This had the effect of most of my tulips being ruined by petrol contamination. Completely gutted as these were particularly nice strains of Indian and Nepal tulips.

Anyone know what tulip is the petrol has dried out?

Can i purify the tulips somehow. Put in hot water so the petrol rises to the top or just go for a ride on my bike again?