Words and photos by Epic Rider Craig Brophy.


Read the Prologue
Read Part 1


The challenge of the Amsterdam 300 – Part 2





Waking up at 6:15am at our camp site in Breskens, Belgium was something my body did not want to do. I was craving sleep especially as I had put my body through 310km of riding the day before. But surprisingly I felt good. My legs were a little stiff but they weren’t sore. A good start to the day!


So after a tasty breakfast that consisted of fried eggs, bacon, baked beans and toast, we got our bikes and bottles ready to head out to the ferry that would take us to The Netherlands where our riding would begin.





The first section of our ride was a long one in comparison to the sections we had ridden the day before. Here we were going from Breskens all the way through to Stellendam covering 70km in the process. Thankfully today Mother Nature decided to be kinder to us and gave us a tailwind on this very flat day to help us along our way. Unfortunately though, with all this wind, it meant there was a lot of cloud about.





After a very brief stop in Stellendam, we made our way towards Rozenburg where we would have our lunch. This brought our total ride distance up to 101km. The lunch, held at Deveerheuvel at Rozenburg Ferry Port, consisted of a beautiful tomato soup with small meatballs, followed by some ham or beef sandwiches. It was here that I decided to get some extra Sudacrem onto the chamois in my cycling shorts. The ride the day before had taken its toll on my backside. I also got on my arm and leg warmers as the temperature had dropped quite a lot too.


Onto our last ferry crossing for the day we made our way towards Katwijk aan Zee. Just as we set off, the clouds opened up and so our long ride in the rain began. Reaching Katwijk at the 155km mark, we realised we were running out of time and so couldn’t afford to have a long stop. I quickly put on my lights and then set off with the second group.



Craig's video diary


One thing that really caught my eye was the infrastructure put in my place by the Dutch for all cyclists. The cycling lanes and paths are absolutely fantastic and are well taken care of. I could spend all day riding around on them.


And riding on these smooth and beautiful roads I could really hear how it resonated though the Diablo. A soft humming sound made its way through the beautiful carbon frame. Thinking back on the day before and the distance I had covered, as well as what I had covered on this day, I realised how magnificent this bike is. A racing bike that I have been training on for months and each kilometre of this ride was just incredible. Even though the second day was on a flat route, it suited the Diablo to a tee!





At around 20:30pm CET, we reached our final destination at Oosterpark in Amsterdam, covering a total distance of 215km in just over 9 hours of riding. Total elevation came in at 376 metres.
Tallying up the totals for this two day ride, I covered a total of 525km in a riding time of 22hours and 52 minutes. My total elevation came to 1850 metres.


I am super proud of my achievement. This is the furthest I had ever ridden and it had been to help those who were not as fortunate as me. A proud moment indeed!
I have to say many thanks to all those that have put their hands in their pockets and help donate towards my challenge. Looking at the donations I received, a total of £2350 has been raised for Scope.


And last but definitely not least, I would like to say a massive THANK YOU to NeilPryde Bikes in supporting me in all my training and preparation as well as for getting through the ride.


The route map for the final day of this ride can be found here:
Final Day


Visit the official Amsterdam 300 website
Visit the official SCOPE website