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Published: October 31st 2009
Learning to ride with a loaded bike can be humbling. The first time you set out on a tour it is hard to fathom what the bike will feel like under the load of all your gear. The unsteadiness you feel that first time mixed with the thought of the task at hand makes the whole undertaking seem for a moment unimaginable and you are given the opportunity to either quit, go insane, or focus on what you can do for the moment and forget about the future. That process, forgetting about the future, is an ongoing meditation. When you start each new tour the feeling is no less bewildering but you have the confidence that you will again master the feel. A less expected but equally strange feeling is the first ride without panniers following a long tour........................
We pulled into Amsterdan at sundown on the 27th and found a hostel in a nice Turkish neighborhood just east of the center. There we removed our panniers and stowed them away in our room. Our bikes looked strange with no gear, it was the first time we had taken everything off for months and we felt a bit forlorn. The next
morning we took the bikes into the small park near the hostel, made a few adjustments, and took our "reintroduction rides" around the block. It was strange to feel so uneasy riding our bicycles. Our minds overcompensating as if the bike was loaded, we twisted and turned until we finally remembered how to just let go and let the bike steer itself. In an hour we were not fully accustomed but good to go one-handed with cappuccinos in the balance! We rolled out to the coast the slow way, making our way from park to falafel stand to bike path.
Of all the countries we have ridden in, Holland has the best bicycle infrastructure. The bike routes in Germany are built more with recreation in mind and they twist and wind from castle to citadel to cathedral all over the country. Here the bicycle is seen more like a tool and the routes are generally direct, fast, and well signed. We crossed the whole country in two long days, mostly on bike paths of some sort. On the day we rode to the ocean the sun came out which is a bit of a rare occasion for this time of
year on the coast. We went down to the ocean and rode along the water for a while. We were not alone, wherever we have gone in The Nederlands someone has been there on a bicycle. There was a strange sensation as we realized that the next move west would not involve riding, that we did not need to find our way to the next town...... The sun that set that day truly set on our tour across Eurasia. Taking a break from bicycle travel sounds perfect right now as friends spin us tales of snow falling on our house, but we are both thinking about future tours and wondering how they will compare to this one.
The following days have found us packing up our expedition into a managable load that can be carried at once for a considerable distance. After a bit of creative packing and several rolls of tape we are ready to travel as a unit, at what speed we have yet to determine! This has been a great culture to unwind in. Our neighborhood is quiet and brimming over with messy, spicy falafels. Riding here has also been a delight if only for the odd
obscurity of actually being treated like a valid part of traffic. As a cyclist in Holland you are privy to your own stop lights, rail crossings, lanes, and laws. The bicycle traffic can be heavy at times and riding is still a heads-up experience despite excellent infrastructure. Getting to Amsterdam was easy as everyone speaks English and can relate to travelling by bike. Often we got directions from someone who was also cycling along the road.
As luck would have it we were also able to camp until Amsterdam which found us cooking our final trail meals in lovely, manicured beech forests between houses. This allowed us to bathe in bicycle luxury for a more reasonable price. Waking at five in the morning to make breakfast, we could usually see LED bike lights on the closest path. Everywhere one travels there are rows, sometimes piles of bicycles laying against fences, poles, walls, almost any place where there is no sign to say: "don't park your bike here". We are already quite used to it but when we take a moment to ponder the matter it is really amazing how many bicycles are around at any one moment. The whole scene
is the perfect backdrop as we go about our work. They have the layout for it here but there is a greater reason that cycling is so prominent: The people are out there riding by the droves! If there was no public structure for this it would be a disaster. For us this is a repeat of a common theme we have observed in the last 12000 kilometers. Across the spectrum of roads, in a matrix with attitutes, experiences, traditions, etc. we have noticed a common theme in places that are bicycle friendly: the people there ride bicycles. The more cyclists that take to the road, the safer the roads feel to other riders. We are happy to be two of those cyclists.
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Brendan
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OMG
Congratulations, ARe you going to ride to Tahoe from Maryland? Next week? You two are amazing people and I love you both. B