After some rapid-fire back-and-forth over Facebook, we managed to arrange an interview with Zero Distance TV in Rotterdam by the Euromast at 1800 - deadlines are rare during a bike trip, but this gave us more than enough time to make the 90 km trip from Amsterdam (even with our late start!) We loaded up on Bulldog's breakfast offerings for the last time, dragged our bags down from our top floor lockers, loaded the bikes, and meandered our way out of Amsterdam. The city is actually quite beautiful in parts, with extensive canals and some magnificent examples of modern architecture just south towards Amstelveen; they also have dedicated bike roads near the financial district, allowing us cyclists to get around without constantly fearing for our lives.
We hit a navigational snafu just out of Amsterdam - hoping to find a shorter way in between towns, we decided to head down this small lane next to a farm just off the highway...only to end up at a dead-end some 500m later. Instead of turning back, as more sensible and less stubborn people might do, we walked our bikes across part of the cropfield (taking care not to trample across the rows!) to the side of the highway, whereupon we hoisted our bikes over the railings, walked back along the highway to a break in the divider, waited for a pause in the traffic, hurried across the first side, hoisted our bikes over the divider, waited again, ran across to the opposite edge, and lifted the bikes once more to get on the adjoining service road. Lesson learned: don't follow random lanes! (Unless they're prominently marked with bike route signs. In that case, it's probably okay.)
The ride continued uneventfully through several more towns until we reached Alphen an der Rijn, where we realized that the woefully inaccurate maps sold to us back in Bremen stopped just north of Rotterdam. Oh well; a couple of photos snapped off a road atlas in a petrol station just past the town and we were once more cartographically equipped.
We hit Rotterdam with enough time to grab a quick bite, reaching the Euromast at 1801 (one minute late! Blasphemy!) where our interviewers sat patiently waiting for us. The Euromast is this odd-looking tower with an oblong bulge about halfway up. The tower being somewhat unsightly and out of the way, and this still being slightly before high season, the surrounding tourist traffic was non-existent; they had no trouble identifying two haggard-looking brightly-clad cyclists atop heavily-loaded road bikes panting their way towards the base. We headed over to the nearby park where they set up their equipment, asked a few questions, and shot some random footage of the bikes; half an hour later, we were on our way to find food (and Internet!) in the city centre. We paused to take a picture at the base of this weird gnomish statue, only to find ourselves treated to a beer at De Witte Asp by a friendly local named Chris (who, as it turns out, was on his way to a political debate over Rotterdam's economic policies; furthermore, he had been involved in building IT systems for the energy industry over the last few decades, and was considering a solar energy venture in the Sahara!) We thanked him as he rushed off to his debate, then finally headed over to the nearby campground for a much-needed rest.