I can’t remember when I first starting thinking about taking a long distance bike trip. It must have been back when we were living in Boise, Idaho because I still remember seeing a couple of bikers loaded down with luggage and equipment climbing the Lowman pass on state highway 21 and thinking that it looked like a nice adventure. And ever since I quit smoking back in ’92 I had been doing quite a bit of mountain biking in the Boise foothills and used to love the kick that I got out of climbing the 16 mile/7500’ route to the top of the ski lifts at Bogus Basin and then thundering back down the single track in a rush of endorphins. In any case, a multi-day, long distance solo bike trip has been on my life-list for more than a few years.
I’d been eying a coastal route along the North Sea for the past 6 months that is known for its beauty and strong wind (it is Holland after all). I’m not only a fair weather cyclist…I slog on the rain/snow gear with the best of them, but the thought of fighting my way 200KM against a strong headwind didn’t appeal to me, so I have been watching the weather report for the past few weeks. Last week they predicted sunny skies and NNE winds, so I threw a few clothes into my pannier and headed for the coast. Here is a little travelogue of the journey.
Day 1
Haarlem to Schevening/Den Haag (50 Kilometers)
The first day was a relaxed ride through the coastal national parks of North and South Holland. I followed the Landelijke Fietsroute 1a (LF1a) which is sort of the I95 of scenic bike paths in the country. The route was well marked and easy to follow and as I pulled out of Zandvoort (our local beach that we bike to all the time) and pointed the bike south, the new adventure began.
The coast in this part of the country is some of the best preserved wilderness in Europe. It remains primarily undeveloped to act as flood protection against the North Sea. Seaside resorts are few and far between and very compact (not sprawled) to protect the dunes. I stopped for lunch in Noordwijk, a swanky little town that pops out of nowhere after an hour of nothing but open nature.
After a few hundred meters of development, I plunged back into the wild dunes. This section of coast has more trees and is dotted with many beautiful little lakes. The abrupt transition from country to city was shocking as I rounded a quiet corner of pine trees and the path spilled out into the very urbanized Schevening (basically a suburb of Den Haag).
I found a nice little beach hotel, treated myself to a T-bone steak (hard to find in Europe!), and settled into a beach bar to watch the sun go down over the sea.
Day 2
Schevening to Westenschouwen (120 kilometers)
I knew that today would be a longer ride, planned at 80 kilometers, but I was looking forward to crossing over to Zeeland and exploring this Dutch province for the first time. But it quickly took a turn toward the “adventurous” as the trail became hard to follow through Den Haag and I became lost for the first time about 15 minutes into the start of the day….it wouldn’t be the last time. I also hit several detours along the way through the Hoek van Holland which just added more time/distance to an already long day.
The ferry crossing at Maassluis gave me a chance to relax and rest my legs and also offered a distant glimpse of the massive port of Rotterdam.
The trail then took another urban turn as I crossed the entry points to the port…
…before delivering me to sparsely populated Zeeland with its many small harbor towns. Brielle is a great little medieval village with loads of beautiful scenery and really, really, really poorly marked bike trails. This is where it went bad for me. I think that only one sign was missing for the LF1a, but I could not find the turnoff without it. I doubled back twice and finally ended up on the wrong path. All told, it cost me another 25 kilometers and was the only section of the trip where I struggled against the wind as I pedaled back to the north to rejoin the main trail at the bridge across the North Sea dykes.
It was a spectacular crossing, with wide, sandy beaches and endless horizons.
Seven hours, and one very sore ass later I pulled into my bungalow at a dumpy little seaside motel. The woman who checked me in had a peculiar accent that I first attributed to the local Zeeland population, but later learned was not local at all. Something just wasn’t right about her and her husband. She was 35 and pretty. He was 55 and sloppy. She was friendly and open. He was gruff and aloof. I talked to her later that evening when he wasn’t around and learned that she was from Russia…a mail order bride! I always saw news stories about this sort of thing, but to actually talk with a woman who came to Western Europe this way was really interesting. Hearing her stories of growing up under communism and her lingering impressions of America as the evil, capitalist empire was great fun. She didn’t speak a lick of English, but her thick Russian Dutch was also a treat.
I then walked the 500 meters to the beach to see the remnants of a 15th century port….
…and a highlight of the trip, the Delta Works, in the distance.
Day 3
Westenschouwen to Middleburg (40 kilometers)
Today was a luxurious day after the marathon of Day 2. My first stop was the exposition of the Delta Works. I loved this! It is an engineering masterpiece that balances the needs of nature with protecting the Zeeland delta from floods. It was commissioned after the devastating floods of 1953 and took more than 30 years to complete. You can read all about it all over the internet, but I was particularly impressed with the way that they laid the foundation with a custom steel mesh/concrete net that was built and rolled out across the sea bottom. Incredible!
After spending more than two hours at the expo, I continue on through the interior countryside of Zeeland. This photo illustrates how far below sea level this land is…and the need for the Delta Works. That sailboat is above the bike path and farm!
The small village of Veere provided a nice diversion and place for lunch.
Until at 16.00, I finally ended up at my destination – Middelburg, the capital of Zeeland.
It was a great town to explore and after a few hours on foot, I decided to treat myself to a local specialty – mussels! This was an unexpected surprise since we can’t get mussels in North Holland again until September. I then settled into a front row seat on the main town square and watched some live music – A.K.A. Ian Timothy at Coney Island – until the wee hours of the evening.
This sign on the back of the hotel door is probably only funny to a (quasi) Dutch guy after a long night of drinking…why is it that each of these languages says the same thing, but only the German has an explanation point? YOU MUST COMPLY!!!!!
The train ride home. 3.5 hours on the slowest stop-train that The Netherlands could deliver. There was a problem with the tracks, and even the trains to Paris were cancelled. But, it gave me a chance to finish my book and talk with some other bike travellers.
All-in-all, a great experience…soon to be repeated. I hope that this little travelogue inspires you to go out and cross something off your life list !
Day 4
The train ride home. 3.5 hours on the slowest stop-train that The Netherlands could deliver. There was a problem with the tracks, and even the trains to Paris were cancelled. But, it gave me a chance to finish my book and talk with some other bike travellers.
All-in-all, a great experience…soon to be repeated. I hope that this little travelogue inspires you to go out and cross something off your life list !
P.S. I threw in a short video taken while crossing the main dyke. If you're reading this from Facebook, you won't be able to link to the video. Go right to the source if you are interested (http://www.dandbhaarlem.blogspot.com/). Listen to that wind! (luckily at my back).
There was still plenty of room for dogs…
…and take in the beauty of the surrounding nature.