Captain Bart must have used up all his coins to produce the weather Tuesday, as we awoke once again to steady light rain. Amy opted for the boat, so I went off by myself to ride through the dunes.
Much of the seacoast is protected by a series of sand dunes which are protected in a national park. As beautiful as they are, riding through the dunes provides one thing most of the rest of The Netherlands lacks - hills. Dutch bike + hills = not so much fun, but the scenery with the wind and rain was quite spectacular.
There was one stretch some 3 miles long where the dunes were missing and the Dutch leapt into the breach with a monstrous sea dike. In addition to holding back the sea, it provided the opportunity for a nasty ride straight into the wind.
The ride continued through the town of Bergen where I took this photo of the famous ruined church. The bulk of it was bomobed out, and only a portion rebuilt so you can wander the grounds which were actually mostly inside the area of the original church.
The ride finished in the city of Alkmaar. I arrived a few minutes after the boat, drenched to the skin. Once the rain had cleared, which it inevitably did, Amy and I took a walk through town to the site of the weekly cheese market which takes place on Friday. I actually did this particular ride 4 years ago on the Flower Tour, so it was familiar and at the same time different. On that trip, we rode all the way into Amsterdam the next day while this time the remaining distance is split and we have another full day of riding before doing that. The theme for dinner was Indonesian. Indonesia was at one time a Dutch colony and the Dutch adopted parts of their spices and cuisine. Unlike Italians, the Dutch appear to be adventurous eaters. Spring rolls, dried banana and potato sticks were followed by various finger foods such as fried onions, pickled stuff and peanuts, a chicken-rice dish and pork satay and a fruit salad to cap it all off.
Total distance 24 km.
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