The grey skies hadn’t cleared o/n and we stared with two of our gang(Karen and Liz) getting a good soaking on the way from their accommodation to our meeting point . Still we then had a good morning riding through dunes . Problem with this journey is you feel the need to press on when you’ve got 70km to cover and stopping to appreciate the dune habitats a little more would have been welcome. We did stop for coffee ofcourse in Zandvoort !
Our terrain changed to some forestry trails after the break and while stopping to check directions , I discovered I’d become a grandad (again ) with birth of my wife’s daughter’s little girl . All looking very happy and I’ll see them soon . After crossing the Nordzeekanaal , 5min ferry, we were getting desperate for lunch but little open apparently. We eventually found somewhere serving large portions of …. everything ! Those of us who had the Angus burger were digesting for some time afterwards.
A word about bikes – two friends who had joined us in Nordwijk had hired bikes in Leiden . However these had “ sit up and beg” style handlebars , were heavy and were not really fast enough for our trip – more for a city explore . One of the fittest members of our group ( Angus- and that comment will just go to his head ) kindly swapped his electric bike for one of these Dutch numbers to help out. In his hands, the bike transformed itself into a racing thoroughbred ( not really!).
After more dune landscapes, during which there was an encounter with long-horned cattle grazing at the edge of the track , some looking feisty ( see photo below) and more squalls, we approached Alkmaar ( via Egmond which is the official stop but no accommodation options). Through some beautiful fields, we arrived at a mini- Amsterdam in my eyes. Just missed the cheese rolling festival – what can you do 🤷♂️. More beer and wine over dinner – I’ll have to go teetotal once friends have left 😉.
Round the Netherlands by bike 
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