Tuesday, May 31, 2011

Day 34 Amsterdam





We roll early and easily NW towards Amsterdam. WGL only once and we recover easily since all roads except major highways have parallel bike lanes. We arrive at camping Zeeburg in the early afternoon - the same campground we departed from over a month ago. The day has been cloudless and especially hot. We set up camp and wait a few hours in the shade before venturing into town. It was bike rush hour when we hit town. Hard to describe - picture bikes 3 abreast in each direction moving as a continuos stream. Bikes passing and somehow merging and flowing through intersections. Young and old, business women in heels, young women with skirts and dresses hiked high, Moms with babies in front and sometimes another on the rear rack, no helmets on anyone. Mostly on traditional black upright seating three speeds all passing and weaving around two gawking helmeted recumbent riders. No warning sounds as they pass by within inches. Stressful and a rush at the same time.
We ride around town bike people watching. We share a brownie and start looking for a place to have dinner. We end up seated so we could watch the bike parade. The burgers and beer were good though the atmosphere was the real plus. At 8 the high clouds that had formed started sprinkling and we needed to get to camp to cover our gear. Navigating back to camp at dusk became a challenge.
WGL and after a couple of backtracks and numerous mapchecks we finally roll back to camp. Our first night rain of the trip and we take shelter under a tree and hide under our bivys for the night.
Note the road side bike trash container - throw and keep rolling.
Keep Rolling,
Pete

1 comment:

John said...

Don't forget to stop for brownies before the plane ride.