Disclaimer: I am using a French keyboard so I will be making a lot of mistakes.
Nights on the road: 14
Nights payed for accomodation: 1
Nights sleeping in the snow: 1
I happened to get a facebook message the day before I was planning on leaving for Antwerp. Anton, an English/Dutch cyclist I took in for a night when he was touring through Noth America half a year earlier, saw my blog and invited me to join him for Christmas in Weert. Change of plans. At the end a miserable first day, I got a flat and, due to the cold, snapped all three of my tire levers and could not remove the tire (the metal wire inside had shrunk). I awoke Christmas morning under a cluster of trees in a field. Using a knife and a screwdriver, I managed to make my bike ridable, and by late afternoon I reached Weert.
My luck is incredible sometimes. Anton´s family was immensely generous and while I was dining on lobster and veal among other things (a cyclists wet dream), my bike passed the night safe from the elements in a garage next to a Ferrari. The next day, I made my way south. The cough that had been plaguing me since Rotterdam became more noticable. And during a fit of clearing my lungs that brought me out of deep thought, realized that I had been in Belgium for probably an hour. I cycled until about 8:00 (the sun sets about5:00) and, worried about what another night in the snow would do for the cough, I grabbed a hostel bed in Tongeren, the last city before the Flemish/French language divide. Unfortunately, my health was already on the decline and after a very short next day (20km) I reached Liege and I decided not to go any further. Lucky for me, within a half an hour in Liege, I met a very fun couple out on their walk who decided to give me a place for the night. We had a great dinner with their friend who cycled from Liege to Mali (the long way around). I am still having trouble imagining how a human being could cycle across D.R. Congo (east to west).
Anyway, after a miserable night of throat and lung pain, I am not fit to hop on a bicycle. Thankfully Brigitte and Charles are very understanding and allowing me to stay until I recover
Tuesday, December 28, 2010
Wednesday, December 22, 2010
Rotterdam
Apparently this type of weather is very rare in the Netherlands. This is evident in the fact that the dutch seem completely out of place in the snow. Cars skid, pedestrians slip, and the country's infrastructure is completely jammed by just a little snow.
This is just a quick post.
The lovely couple who rescued me in Utrecht:
It is really incredibly what kindness people can show a complete stranger. Unfortunately, after just two days with them in Utrecht (one in the silence of a meditative retreat) I had bike off to Rotterdam. The conditions ranged from alright to unridable. The worst parts were more like iceskating than biking. But it was beautiful.
After about 70km I made it to Rotterdam (the world's second busiest port) in the Rhine/Maas Delta. Visiting an old friend. We met in Cambodia several years ago. She was also travelling alone by bicycle.
This city is a bit of a shock after the charm of Utrecht and Amsterdam, with their beautiful old architecture and compact four story average skyline. Rotterdam is in the only "modern" city in the Netherlands, due in part to the Nazi Bombing campaign which leveled most of the city. I am peering out of Esther's 12th floor apartment and viewing glass-skinned skyscrapers all around.
For now, I am just kind of relaxing...
Spent a day out in Den Haag (the Hague)
Thankful that my bike is indoors:
I am resisting the urge to vent on comparative Dutch/American politics. I have a feeling immigration and integration will work its way into the next post.
Saturday, December 18, 2010
A Wild Start
I'm in Utrecht. I never planned on being in Utrecht. Here is how it happened...
After a short layover in Iceland, I arrived in Holland. The bicycle was assembled in front of the terminal and I biked into Amsterdam. This kind of cold was a bit of a novelty considering I had been on the beach in a t-shirt a week earlier.
I will not dwell on my time in that city but I have to say that I have rarely been so impressed with a city. The layout of the streets, canals and bike paths was like something out of a dream. Following Anita (who along with Cyriel was kind enough to host me) that night as she bicycled through the city with a Cello strapped to her back to play Mahler was a wonderful introduction to Amsterdam.
Leaving the city on the first cycling day of my trip was much more exciting than I would have liked. About 20 km out of the city, a majr storm blew in. What had been a green and brown landscape the day before quickly went white. I was on small backroads, the signs were covered in snow and the heavy snow was falling just about horizontal due to the wind, stinging my eyes and leaving visibility at around 50 feet. This, combined with Holland's confusing coding for bike route signs, resulted in me getting completely lost. I figure I made about 40km toward Rotterdam (my destination) and another 20 or 30 km the absolute wrong direction. Of thse kilometers, many had to be walked at the ice and snow became too much to bike on. After half a dozen falls, in the half foot of new snow, I called it quits and made for the nearest town for shelter.
Initally I thought things were perfect (considering the situation): the town was on the train line to Rotterdam. Unfortunately, I quickly discovered that all trains to Rotterdam had been canceled due to the weather. Absolutely numb, I made my way into the public library to defrost. After several hours of going back and forth between the station and the library, I met a very interesting girl named Mika who was on her to Utrecht by train. She invited me to come with her and she said she would try to arrange a couch for me there. Several trains passed to Utrecht, but unfortunately they were packed to the doors with those who had been stranded in Amsterdam and there was no way in hell I could get a bicycle on. After several hours of waiting with me in the snow on the platform, she finally hopped on one of the trains and gave me instructions of how to find her. Ready to sleep in the snow on the platform (it was 9:00 at night) finally a train passed that had (barely) enough room to fit me on. As I loaded my bike on, the cabin went hysterical with laughter. One woman was even crying. I supposed then I understood how ridiculous I looked. "Not a good day for a bike ride eh?" It took a surprising long time for everyone to stop laughing.
In Utrecht I arrived at the "Critical Mass" event that Mika had invited me to. After an hour of chatting about social change and snacking (how I was still standing I don't know), Mika took me to the apartment of this really kind Buddhist couple she knew. I arrived for the end of Napoleon Dynamite. Today we passed most of the day without saying a word as part of a silent meditation retreat. Hence the free time to catch up on my writing.
For those curious about the conditions, check out this little video I made.
Peace,
James
After a short layover in Iceland, I arrived in Holland. The bicycle was assembled in front of the terminal and I biked into Amsterdam. This kind of cold was a bit of a novelty considering I had been on the beach in a t-shirt a week earlier.
I will not dwell on my time in that city but I have to say that I have rarely been so impressed with a city. The layout of the streets, canals and bike paths was like something out of a dream. Following Anita (who along with Cyriel was kind enough to host me) that night as she bicycled through the city with a Cello strapped to her back to play Mahler was a wonderful introduction to Amsterdam.
Leaving the city on the first cycling day of my trip was much more exciting than I would have liked. About 20 km out of the city, a majr storm blew in. What had been a green and brown landscape the day before quickly went white. I was on small backroads, the signs were covered in snow and the heavy snow was falling just about horizontal due to the wind, stinging my eyes and leaving visibility at around 50 feet. This, combined with Holland's confusing coding for bike route signs, resulted in me getting completely lost. I figure I made about 40km toward Rotterdam (my destination) and another 20 or 30 km the absolute wrong direction. Of thse kilometers, many had to be walked at the ice and snow became too much to bike on. After half a dozen falls, in the half foot of new snow, I called it quits and made for the nearest town for shelter.
Initally I thought things were perfect (considering the situation): the town was on the train line to Rotterdam. Unfortunately, I quickly discovered that all trains to Rotterdam had been canceled due to the weather. Absolutely numb, I made my way into the public library to defrost. After several hours of going back and forth between the station and the library, I met a very interesting girl named Mika who was on her to Utrecht by train. She invited me to come with her and she said she would try to arrange a couch for me there. Several trains passed to Utrecht, but unfortunately they were packed to the doors with those who had been stranded in Amsterdam and there was no way in hell I could get a bicycle on. After several hours of waiting with me in the snow on the platform, she finally hopped on one of the trains and gave me instructions of how to find her. Ready to sleep in the snow on the platform (it was 9:00 at night) finally a train passed that had (barely) enough room to fit me on. As I loaded my bike on, the cabin went hysterical with laughter. One woman was even crying. I supposed then I understood how ridiculous I looked. "Not a good day for a bike ride eh?" It took a surprising long time for everyone to stop laughing.
In Utrecht I arrived at the "Critical Mass" event that Mika had invited me to. After an hour of chatting about social change and snacking (how I was still standing I don't know), Mika took me to the apartment of this really kind Buddhist couple she knew. I arrived for the end of Napoleon Dynamite. Today we passed most of the day without saying a word as part of a silent meditation retreat. Hence the free time to catch up on my writing.
For those curious about the conditions, check out this little video I made.
Peace,
James
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