The weather was excellent, we enjoyed cycling very much.The first 40 km to Harderwijk were easy: wind from the back, lots of sunshine, we passed potato fields and old farmhouses with a riet roof.
Harderwijk is a nice little town with beautiful squares and buildings.
In Harderwijk we took a spontaneous decision: Why not try to get home in one day? This would mean: 120 km. ( Up to now we had cycled about 60 km per day).
A look at the map, and we started the last 80 km.
Once in a while an old-fashioned ferry that you had to handle yourself and small villages with fishing boats (Spakenburg)
We had to make a detour of about 10 km, mostly against the wind. None of us talked.
Finally we reached Huizen where we got lost. Apparently we were tired and had not seen the signpost. After several km through the village with lots of traffic we got back on the track to Naarden. Finally escaping the burning sun in the woods of Naarden. By 6 o'clock we reached the medieval town of Naarden.
We were hungry, we were thirsty and we were tired. We had a delicious salad in a garden restaurant. In fact we had cycled about 110 km and 18 km were still missing to reach our final destination Amsterdam. Finally we decided not to cycle to Amsterdam, but to cycle another 2 km to the nearest train station in Bussum so that we got home before dark.
Marie Louise had to take the train to Eindhoven, some 1,5 hours, I took mine to Amsterdam.
Back home by 9 o'clock, happy, tired and very proud of our performance today: 110 km !!
2 years ago I had broken both feet. Today we cycled 110 km. Unbelievable!
The hiker is a biker. What a great experience for me.
I want to thank you, Marie Louise, for your company, friendship and support. We were a great team: we had fun, we had nice inspiring talks, and together we made 399 km within 6 days. More than we had originally planned. In general you cycled before me (and in fact protected me from the heavy winds). MIL gracias, Marie Louise!
This was my first "bike4education" with the purpose to raise funds for study finance for children of our home in Guatemala. I was in Guatemala in April and met both Josue and Norma. 2 great students who go for it, who are so thankful that there are people somewhere in the world who don't know them, but believe in them and support them. Josue will finish his study of architecture at the end of the year. It looks that he will graduate "cum laude".
So please: DONATE ( yellow button up on the right)
The fundraising will go on till the end of 2015. I will gladly keep you informed about the students'progress and the funds raised. Mil gracias in advance, also in the name of Josue and Norma.
I hope that you enjoyed the blog and maybe Marie Louise and I could inspire you to make a cycling tour in Friesland, too. If you have any questions/suggestions, do not hesitate to contact me.
