Sat 29 – Amsterdam

Turns out the story of the little boy with his finger in the hole in the dyke to save the world was all made up! Still, people will believe anything if the yarn is good enough; so the young gentleman is immortalised in bronze at Spaarndam, a little north of Haarlem. This statue is dedicated

“to our youth to honour the boy who symbolizes the perpetual struggle against the water.”

Checking the maps helps find a nice coffee stop in the warm sun.

MAP and stats for this first leg of 9k HERE>

Having done obeisance, dipped lids, doffed hats and tugged fore-locks to Himself, and there being no coffee shop within reach, we rode on east under the approach flight path into Schiphol airport. Cycle paths were generally very good, wide enough to accommodate pairs side by side allowing light chatter along the way. However, the weekend runners, walkers and riders, many with dogs, many travelling at warp 3, are out in force, keeping us on our toes.
[Jack’s video will eventually be uploaded and the link inserted here somewhere.]

The ever-enthusiastic Nico leads us via devious and exploratory ways (he knows North Holland better than South), assisted it seems by helpful comments from the riders known and unknown. (see illustration) Eventually we find a nice coffee stop somewhere called Houtrak in Halfweg — or so my smart phone advises in the photo details.

Another pleasant ride soon has us in the western approaches to Amsterdam. Here we are shown a housing project introducing some artistry into the architecture of public housing estates for the workers. Decorations in stone and brick show the influence of the Art Deco era around 1900.

Nearby in Westerpark is an industrial zone with large brick buildings originally containing gas, water and power works. In fact, compared with the countries in the rest of Europe that are not composed largely of sand and water, most buildings are made of brick rather than stone. An old pumping station (c. 1900) has been converted into a trendy restaurant, where we take a break for lunch, soup or a beer.

On departure, Shena makes a bid to take over the entertainment baton by nearly colliding with a woman (spiky hair — product?) in the cross-flow traffic of speeding cyclists. It had absolutely nothing to do with the beer at lunch, but Mrs H managed to put her foot in it — in this case the front wheel, thereby rearranging the for’ard mudguard into an artistic sculpture. She (being trained in the fine arts as you will recall) may be able to sell this post-modern representational installation for six figures. Or not.

By the time the Award-Winning Sweep has fired up the radio link to the head of the column, and Nico appears across a crowded street heading back at full tilt — looking like Tony Abbott our son assures us from somewhere in Berlin — Shena’s sculpture has already been normalised by another woman (dark hair, plenty of smiles) kindly stepping aside from further downstream in the constant stream of bikers.

In a late bid for entertainment laurels, Tiny reports a lost saddlebag. This sends Tony Abbott and his boundless cheerful energy haring back down the track to do a square search; sadly, to no avail. Perhaps some light-fingered passer-by just lifted it unseen from Tiny’s bike. No loss of gold bullion involved but the loss of even the few useful familiar possessions can be inconvenient and annoying. Life goes on.

Being by now seasoned cycling city slickers, we negotiate the pressing throngs around the Centraal rail station with skill and cunning to reach the dock where it all started — about a month ago, it seems. That night the team sallies forth to dine on the town, returning via the Red Light District. Hmm

Final leg MAP and stats HERE>