First 2013 weekend cycle – Eindhoven – Den Helder. 320 km

Posted: April 16, 2013 in Cycling, Netherlands
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The spring is here and my new bike needs to be put to the test before setting out for the North Cape in June. What better way than to return to familiar territory, visit some friends, and pass through what should be tulip territory. Last weekend I cycled 320 km from Eindhoven to Den Helder via Den Haag (The Hague).

In the early and fresh (i.e. cold) Saturday morning hours, I passed through fields, along canals and through forests, almost entirely on cycle paths far away from cars and other disturbances. The birds were chirping – something I have missed in the long colder winter that is now ending. Leaving with the conviction of warm weather (which was predicted for Sunday), it took time before I decided that, yes, may hands really were freezing off, and I really should wear my toasty warm gloves that I had bought for the North Cape. The fields were ploughed, the trees still bare, and waiting in great expectation for the burst of green.

Ploughed field

Ploughed field

Bare trees waiting

Bare trees waiting

As the day continued, the sun started to break through the clouds, but the (head) wind did not drop. I passed wide polders, along dikes, and lots of typical dutch houses and windmills.

Dutch polder and house

Dutch polder and house

IMG_5417

I avoided Rotterdam by passing to the south of it, along a thin peninsula of land, with a view to the industrial area to the north. The wind was causing me to burn extra calories, but the sun was well and truly out.

And then I passed through Delft, the town where I lived when I first came to Holland exactly 20 years ago!

Oude Kerk, Delft

Oude Kerk, Delft

Nieuwe Kerk, Delft

Nieuwe Kerk, Delft

After a lovely evening catching up with my friends in Den Haag, I continued my trip turning northwards, this time with a strong tail wind. Up through the dunes following the coast. There is nothing better than hurtling through the dunes at 40 km/h with the wind at your back.

Unfortunately, the tulips were not out – only the first of the daffodils. It has been too cold for the flowers to dare rise from the soil.

Cafe in the dunes

Cafe in the dunes

The first of the daffodils

The first of the daffodils

Watch out for wild roosters

Watch out for wild roosters

Company in the dunes

Company in the dunes

Cycling through the dunes

Cycling through the dunes

Daffodils from the dike

Daffodils from the dike

Arrival in Den Helder

Arrival in Den Helder

By the end of the trip it was quite warm – about 20C. A real summer feeling as I rode back in the train. Lovely to see all the bikes packed into the train. Back at home where cycling is loved, and there is amazing infrastructure for it!

Unplanned ‘triathlon’ in the Adinrondack Mountains

Posted: April 1, 2013 in Cycling, Hiking, Running
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I have been on a project for work in Boston for the last two months. It has been cold, and it has been snowy. Coming from warmer climes, I didn’t know about driving in snow storms, not using high-beams in blizzards and how important it is to clear the snow on the car roof and bonnet. I am now versed in the ways of the New England winter. Now it is time for the spring – and then the summer – and my big cycle trip.. Yay!

I saw the first sign of spring during my Easter in the Adinrondack Mountains in up-state New York. I was there with some friends (Candice and Sarah), staying in a beautiful log cabin in Peasleeville. On Easter Saturday the sun came out and the mercury rose. The white winter landscape twinkled in the sun as it slowly prepared to melt – over the coming two months. But, for me, the white would remain and I breathed in the beauty.

I saw the blue of my cabin window and jumped out of bed. Such a morning could not be wasted. A jogging loop through the hills was in order. On the map it didn’t look too far. In practice it was further than it looked. (I didn’t check the scale.) Through charming farming land, and through wooded hills.

Peasleeville barn

Peasleeville barn

Strackville Road

Strackville Road

25 km and a big breakfast later, Candice, Sarah and I took out the bikes. This was my first bike trip in the USA. It was a short one (21 km), to a little iced over lake. We had visions of a longer trip, but, as we had more planned for the day, we cut it short to make alternative use of the brilliant sun.

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Lake in Macomb Park

Lake in Macomb Park

And then, keen to see the amazing views on a clear day that I seen from mountain tops on cloudy days, we decided to scale the local mountain out the back of the cabin.

The sun was really shining brightly now, and it was actually quite warm.

On the way up Mt Terry.

On the way up Mt Terry.

It was a steep, snowy climb up a four-wheel track to a communications tower at the top of the mountain. In fact, the tower was not at the highest point. This, however, was not reachable in the winter. I tried my best, bush-bashing cross-country. The snow was deep and, being warm, unstable. I ended my hike in a frozen but thawing bog near the summit. It was beautiful, tranquil, and utterly silent.

Bog at Mt. Terry.

Bog at Mt. Terry.

So, without planning it before-hand, I had done 3 different activities outdoors. 25km running, 21km cycling and 9km mountain hiking. And then a big dinner in the wood cabin with the fire burning.

Matthew toys with the idea of ditching the iPhone and Apple maps.

Posted: March 24, 2013 in Running
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With Apple maps being horrible for tracking my cycling trips (half the roads are missing), I am on the verge of switching to a Samsung galaxy smart phone. My friend Autri has one, so I did a test run tracking a trail and writing a blog entry on wordpress.

I must say it is quite easy doing everything on the galaxy. I am getting close to being convinced. I’ll do some research on recharging batteries and mounting it on my bike. The battery usage seems to be ok. We’ll see.

So, here is my test photo to see how uploading photos goes.

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Updated route of the grand trip 2013

Posted: March 21, 2013 in Uncategorized
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In the summer of 2013 I am planning a long cycle trip from my home in the Netherlands to the North Cape via the Baltic countries.

 

Last year I put together my planned route country by country. Now I have just pieced all the pieces together in an updated total route. Spring is arriving, and the concrete preparations for the trip are approaching. A visa for Russia, last new equipment and my test runs on some of the long weekends coming up. Very exciting!

Here are the routes in the individual countries. Please let me know if you have any suggestions!

No wilderness in 2052?

Posted: December 9, 2012 in Books
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I was sad. In order to prepare for and be happy in the year 2052, we need to learn to like what we will be able to have. Tip number 4 of Jorgen Randers is
‘Don’t teach your children to love the wilderness.’
There will be little wilderness left, and kids who grow up not knowing and loving wilderness will not miss it when it is gone. A tip to being happy in the year 2052. Useful: maybe. Sad: definitely.

2052 by Jorgen Randers.

2052 by Jorgen Randers

2052 by Jorgen Randers

What will the world be like in 40 years? Not, how would we like it to be. Not, how could it be if we were to get our act together. But, how will it probably be? Jorgen Randers has a detailed model of the future, taking into account many key variables including population, GDP, emissions, food production and many others, and puts them into a consistent and realistic model. Life in the year 2052 is unpleasant, not as good as it could have been, but not catastrophic. Not yet. With the earth 2.8°C warmer than pre-industrial temperatures, but emissions and population already peaked, the jury is out on whether or not we get runaway global warming.

But, in 2052, many more live in megacities. There is little wilderness left. And nature has been severely degraded. It is a sad story. Especially since all the technical solutions exist today to avoid this. And they are not even that expensive. Due to political short-termism, and the current distribution of power, a better outcome is unlikely.

The book was interesting reading but didn’t get me too excited. Not until the last chapter when Randers gave his advise on how to be happy in the year 2052. In a crowded, changed world with little untouched and non-degraded wilderness, you should not bring up your kids to love the wilderness. That way, they will not miss it, and be able to be happy.

I love the wilderness. The icy cold winds across the arctic tundra. The lonely roads. The pointed peaks. The beautiful light. The endless joy of being there. Alone. With nature. Feeling it. Now. That future generations may never know this makes me sad.

Let’s hope and act to make the world of 2052 better than what is likely..

Route through Finland and Sweden now updated

Posted: December 4, 2012 in Cycling
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In the summer of 2013 I will be cycling from Eindhoven in the Netherlands to the North Cape in Norway via the Baltic countries. I have been updating my routes according to advice from cycling forums. My latest update is of my route through Finland and Sweden. Many thanks to fillarifoorum – the Finnish cycling forum, and to cykelforum.se and happymtb.org – the two swedish cycling forums.

I may be taking a detour through the Turku archipeligo due to a suggestion from Pikuski, and I will be taking some of the Sverigeleden route due to suggestions from Topfrog. Thanks for your help!!

Route through Latvia and Estonia now updated

Posted: December 2, 2012 in Cycling
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In summer 2013 I will be cycling to the North Cape in Norway through the Baltic countries. I have been updating each leg of the route using advice from different internet forums. Thanks to the kind people on the velo.clubbers.ee forum, I have now settled down to three possible routes through Latvia and Estonia. Which one I will take I will decide when I am there. My current preference goes for the route below, along the coast, through the beach town of Pärnu in Estonia.

Cycling forums are great. This time the German forums

Posted: November 20, 2012 in Cycling
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In summer 2013 I will be cycling from Eindhoven in the Netherlands to the North Cape in Norway. After putting together a preliminary route, I have been asking advice on different cycling internet forums. The response has been amazing. First I updated my cycling route in Poland to follow the Baltic Sea coast, and now I have updated the German leg to connect with my new Polish route.

Many thanks to the people in the 2radforum.de cycling forum. I have been given long distance routes to paste together for my trip, advice on where to go and where not. I also have a couple of people that are going to cycle along with me for a time, and even offers to stay at people’s place overnight. I am really excited with the response, and I’m looking forward to meeting up with some people from the forum next year on my trip! Thanks everyone!!

Here is my new route.

Updated summer 2013 route through Poland

Posted: November 17, 2012 in Cycling
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In 2013 I will be cycling from Eindhoven in the Netherlands to the North Cape via the Baltic countries. I have been putting together a planned cycle route from different sources on the internet, generating a gpx file of the route.

After speaking to a Polish guy, writing on some Polish cycle blogs, and doing some more internet research, I have decided to change my route through Poland to follow the coast, and pass through Gdansk.

Here is my new route.

To reach the coast Baltic Sea coast in Poland, I also changed my route through Germany, using a cool bike route finder called Naviki.
18.11.2012: I updated the German route following recommendations by a German cycling forum.

My route through Poland now follows the EuroVelo 10 path, passes down an amazing looking sand peninsula to a place called Hel, and passes through Gdansk.


Thanks to Pawel for inspiring me to cycle along the coast, and to check out the Polish cycling forums. And thanks to all the people on the cycling forum that helped me out.

The new Polish route is a concatination of routes obtained from bikemap.net. The main one was the EuroVelo R10 route.

Napoli – Modica (Sicily) by bike. 2003

Posted: November 2, 2012 in Cycling, Italy
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The last leg of my cycle south to the bottom of Sicily. Continuing on from where I left off in Napoli in 2002, I cycled south to Sicily, climbing Etna twice, and reaching the southern most point of Italy.

The trip started off at a volcano: Vesuvio, and ended on a volcano: Etna. On looking back at these photos, I discovered that I inaugurated my favourite cycling cap on this trip. 🙂

Vesuvio

Vesuvio

The trip followed the coast. Sometimes on roads winding up and down and around and around. Sometimes on main roads with lots of traffic. Sometimes on small roads that curved down into a valley and then wound their way back out: the same distance covered by 100m on the main road bridge. It was hot going in the Italian summer sun.

Coast road

Coast road

Coast road

Coast road

A long cut

A long cut

I had my fair share of beach places to stay. The stay on the beach at Fuscaldo was cut short when I discovered that I had left my passport at the previous night stop. An evening train trip back and forth. It was dark on the beach by the time I returned.

Fuscaldo

Fuscaldo

Tropea

Tropea

Tropea is a beautiful village perched on a cliff face overlooking a magical beach. It was lovely weather and a warm evening. I sat that evening at a pizzeria on the cobblestone market square. I remember that evening well, even though I am writing this 10 years later. The square was lit in a soft light from the lanterns. Happy couples were sitting facing each other over dinner and a glass of wine. Families were there, children playing, parents watching over them. Dinner took a while, but that was ok.

I sat. I studied the map, planning my route for the next day. I ate my pizza. I drank my drink. I returned to my hostel. I was tired, and my day was cycle, eat, sleep.

The cycling was fun. The scenery was nice. I was experiencing a lot. But, there was noone to share anything with. My boyfriend was home (he is not an avid cycler). I realised that such long distance trips were sometimes a lonely affair.

Also, southern Italy may not be my optimal cycling destination. It is hot, it is mountainous, and there is a lot of cycling on main roads with lots of traffic. This trip was my last long cycle trip until 2012. After this trip I started long distance running, and ran in quite a few marathons. The same physical exertion, in a shorter time span.

Then the boat over to Sicily, and up Etna: twice. From the hot, sunny coast to the cold, barren, lava landscape of a mighty volcano.

The ferry to Sicily

The ferry to Sicily

Lava on Etna

Lava on Etna

Etna

Etna

The road to Etna

The road to Etna

My friend Elke and her boyfriend were touring around Sicily at the time, and so I had a day off with them. We went to the beautiful Taormina.

Taormina

Taormina

Taormina

Taormina

Siracusa is another beautiful city in the south of Sicily. I spent a lovely evening there wandering around the medieval streets.

Siracusa

Siracusa

Siracusa

Siracusa

I arrived in the southernmost town on Sicily: Portopalo. I then made my way to Modica where I took the bus to Palermo. There were no camping grounds in the middle of Sicily, and I wouldn’t be able to cycle across in one day. And time was running short. My trip to the south of Italy was at its end.

And that was my last bike trip for nearly 10 years.
What made me decide to go on another long bike trip? Well, it was Norway. I was there in the winter of 2011, and I was captivated by Tromsø. I was there in the middle of winter when the sun only approaches the horizon and bathes the winter landscape in a deep blue twilight. I wanted to see this place again, but in the eternal sun of summer. Also, Norway is cold. No worries about excessive sweating. And the roads aren’t busy. Oh, and the scenery is absolutely spectacular.

On that trip in Norway, I didn’t experience the lonliness. I met lots of fellow cyclists. And, yes: blogging and facebook made me feel like I was sharing my trip with my loved ones. The wonders of modern technology! In 2013 I will be doing my longest bike trip yet. I am excited already!

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