Karin Kirk
05-06-2007, 03:20 PM
After all the nice recommendations I picked up here, I have got to tell you all about the remarkable day we had. I am visiting here with my Mom. We’ve been intrepid travel partners since I was in high school, and we always manage to have fun, get along great and have interesting and sometimes chaotic adventures. She is 69, which is impossible to believe because she is more daring, energetic and enthusiastic than most 30-somethings.
This was our second visit to Amsterdam and this time we wanted to do some sightseeing by bicycle. Based on the recommendations I got here from Cees, Michael and others we opted to head north of Amsterdam to the Waterland region. I didn’t want to spend all our energy biking from Amsterdam out to the Waterland, so we took a bus partway there and planned to rent bikes for a day tour of the area.
Our day started out with several setbacks. First off, Mom was nervous because she hadn’t really ridden a bike in 30 years or so. I sort of shrugged that off, thinking that according to the cliché, one never forgets how to ride a bicycle. Next, just getting ourselves from Amsterdam to the bike shop in Monnickendam was totally confusing. It took a few tries just to locate the correct place to catch the bus in Amsterdam, then we got off at the wrong stop because the bus driver was certain that as tourists, we must want to go to the more touristy town of Marken. After missing our stop, we got off at the next stop and we figured we’d walk back to where we needed to go. We were flustered while getting off the bus and poor Mom tripped off the curb and fell to the pavement. A kind gentleman asked if she was OK (she was, thankfully) and also gave us approximate directions to the bike shop. After nosing around a bit, we found the bike shop just as they were closing up for lunch. We were able to rent our bicycles, but they took no care in getting us set up properly so Mom’s bike was way too big for her. She’s about 5’1” and she was on the same size bike as I was (5’9”). Even with the seat all the way down, she couldn’t touch the ground while seated in the saddle. Next we tried to find a map to plan out our route but we couldn’t find a shop that sold maps and also no one seemed to speak English. Oh well, we figured we’d just wing it. We wobbled our way through the narrow, brick streets of the gorgeous town. We came to the edge of town and hooked up with the bike path, a lovely, two-lane paved affair. Off we went, feeling like we just might survive this after all.
About two minutes later, two women on rollerblades were heading toward us, one of whom is pushing a baby stroller. Of course they took up the whole bike path. I squeezed past them, but I looked back just in time to see poor Mom veer off the edge of the path and down the grassy embankment into the nettles. I was utterly horrified, thinking that I’ve killed my Mom and how much the rest of the family was going to be upset with me. Of course we weren’t wearing helmets or anything, and I was prepared for the worst. But Mom was OK, just rattled and embarrassed. We dragged the bike back up to the path and she insisted that she wanted to continue. She had a skinned knee, but I’m not sure if that was from the bus stop wipeout or this one, but either way, she would not allow any fussing over her and she said she was just glad she didn’t knock over the baby carriage.
OK, we continued on, both feeling pretty nervous about all of this. Shortly after that, the bike path popped out on top of a long dyke and we had a terrific view of the water, the wetlands and our planned route to Marken. The route looked pretty ambitious, especially considering that we’d already encountered so much trouble. But things got better from there. The riding was uneventful, thank goodness, and our confidence grew over time. The landscape was lovely, with water and sailboats on one side and on the other side were pastures with contented cows, plump sheep with tiny lambs, and many families of geese and ducks. All of the animals appeared to be especially peaceful and happy. On the horizon were many wind turbines zipping around, which made me worry about the headwinds we were going to encounter. But nonetheless, the windmills were super cool to watch.
The last stretch to our destination was across a narrow causeway that has water on both sides. We both worried that it would be windy, too narrow, or otherwise scary, but it wasn’t at all. In fact it was terrifically neat. We cruised into the tiny town of Marken feeling triumphant. From there we continued out to a lonely lighthouse and more views of the surrounding water.
We opted to go back the way we came, instead of taking a ferry and making a loop. We figured we’d had enough adventure for one day, and going back the way we came seemed like a sure bet, and the scenery was hard to beat. We zipped back, aided by a brisk tailwind, and we felt better and happier with each mile. By the time we turned in our bikes, Mom was already planning our next trip to explore further. Maybe a multi-day tour, she suggested. I am so impressed that she survived the day in grand style, and not only that, but she is already planning on our next advenure. I was thinking, as we were riding along, that this was a day we’ll be talking about for the rest of our lives. I was also thinking about Skrawny’s Mom and all the good advice to spend quality time with one’s family, and how lucky we are to have these experiences together. On this day we lived life to its fullest! And even though we were shaky at times, it was a truly great experience. Many thanks for the advice and encouragement from forum members to undertake this bicycle adventure!
Yesterday we traveled from hectic Amsterdam to serene Zurich (wow, what a contrast between those two airports) and today we are having a peaceful day on the Bodensee. On Monday we’ll rent bikes here, so stay tuned for more adventures, but hopefully no more crashes!
This was our second visit to Amsterdam and this time we wanted to do some sightseeing by bicycle. Based on the recommendations I got here from Cees, Michael and others we opted to head north of Amsterdam to the Waterland region. I didn’t want to spend all our energy biking from Amsterdam out to the Waterland, so we took a bus partway there and planned to rent bikes for a day tour of the area.
Our day started out with several setbacks. First off, Mom was nervous because she hadn’t really ridden a bike in 30 years or so. I sort of shrugged that off, thinking that according to the cliché, one never forgets how to ride a bicycle. Next, just getting ourselves from Amsterdam to the bike shop in Monnickendam was totally confusing. It took a few tries just to locate the correct place to catch the bus in Amsterdam, then we got off at the wrong stop because the bus driver was certain that as tourists, we must want to go to the more touristy town of Marken. After missing our stop, we got off at the next stop and we figured we’d walk back to where we needed to go. We were flustered while getting off the bus and poor Mom tripped off the curb and fell to the pavement. A kind gentleman asked if she was OK (she was, thankfully) and also gave us approximate directions to the bike shop. After nosing around a bit, we found the bike shop just as they were closing up for lunch. We were able to rent our bicycles, but they took no care in getting us set up properly so Mom’s bike was way too big for her. She’s about 5’1” and she was on the same size bike as I was (5’9”). Even with the seat all the way down, she couldn’t touch the ground while seated in the saddle. Next we tried to find a map to plan out our route but we couldn’t find a shop that sold maps and also no one seemed to speak English. Oh well, we figured we’d just wing it. We wobbled our way through the narrow, brick streets of the gorgeous town. We came to the edge of town and hooked up with the bike path, a lovely, two-lane paved affair. Off we went, feeling like we just might survive this after all.
About two minutes later, two women on rollerblades were heading toward us, one of whom is pushing a baby stroller. Of course they took up the whole bike path. I squeezed past them, but I looked back just in time to see poor Mom veer off the edge of the path and down the grassy embankment into the nettles. I was utterly horrified, thinking that I’ve killed my Mom and how much the rest of the family was going to be upset with me. Of course we weren’t wearing helmets or anything, and I was prepared for the worst. But Mom was OK, just rattled and embarrassed. We dragged the bike back up to the path and she insisted that she wanted to continue. She had a skinned knee, but I’m not sure if that was from the bus stop wipeout or this one, but either way, she would not allow any fussing over her and she said she was just glad she didn’t knock over the baby carriage.
OK, we continued on, both feeling pretty nervous about all of this. Shortly after that, the bike path popped out on top of a long dyke and we had a terrific view of the water, the wetlands and our planned route to Marken. The route looked pretty ambitious, especially considering that we’d already encountered so much trouble. But things got better from there. The riding was uneventful, thank goodness, and our confidence grew over time. The landscape was lovely, with water and sailboats on one side and on the other side were pastures with contented cows, plump sheep with tiny lambs, and many families of geese and ducks. All of the animals appeared to be especially peaceful and happy. On the horizon were many wind turbines zipping around, which made me worry about the headwinds we were going to encounter. But nonetheless, the windmills were super cool to watch.
The last stretch to our destination was across a narrow causeway that has water on both sides. We both worried that it would be windy, too narrow, or otherwise scary, but it wasn’t at all. In fact it was terrifically neat. We cruised into the tiny town of Marken feeling triumphant. From there we continued out to a lonely lighthouse and more views of the surrounding water.
We opted to go back the way we came, instead of taking a ferry and making a loop. We figured we’d had enough adventure for one day, and going back the way we came seemed like a sure bet, and the scenery was hard to beat. We zipped back, aided by a brisk tailwind, and we felt better and happier with each mile. By the time we turned in our bikes, Mom was already planning our next trip to explore further. Maybe a multi-day tour, she suggested. I am so impressed that she survived the day in grand style, and not only that, but she is already planning on our next advenure. I was thinking, as we were riding along, that this was a day we’ll be talking about for the rest of our lives. I was also thinking about Skrawny’s Mom and all the good advice to spend quality time with one’s family, and how lucky we are to have these experiences together. On this day we lived life to its fullest! And even though we were shaky at times, it was a truly great experience. Many thanks for the advice and encouragement from forum members to undertake this bicycle adventure!
Yesterday we traveled from hectic Amsterdam to serene Zurich (wow, what a contrast between those two airports) and today we are having a peaceful day on the Bodensee. On Monday we’ll rent bikes here, so stay tuned for more adventures, but hopefully no more crashes!