April 29, 2012
Harlingen to Dokkum: a very hard day
| Heart | 0 | Comment | 0 | Link |
WEATHER: cloudy, strong headwind all the way
Our host, Richard, had left breakfast in a waterproof box on the picnic table outside our room before we woke up, so we ate at about 7:00 and got an early start on what would prove to be our toughest day of riding in the Netherlands. Even though we couldn't access the internet the day before, we knew that the forecast was for strong winds from the northeast, exactly the direction we were heading. It would also be one of our longer rides, and since it was Sunday of the Queen's Day long weekend, we were not sure we'd find anywhere to stop for lunch. Actually we expected most places to be closed.
We started off through Harlingen past the picturesque waterfront and the ferry terminals. The wind was in our faces and we were glad it wasn't raining. We were still sheltered by buildings and trees at this point, and the wind didn't seem too bad. However it got worse fast, and the rest of the ride to Dokkum was a real endurance test. At times we were hardly making any progress at all, maybe 6 km per hour. We've never experienced such strong headwinds, with gusts that blew Al right off the pavement twice. This was the only time that we questioned our normal procedure of setting our itinerary ahead of time and pre-booking accommodation. Had it been raining as well, we probably would have decided to shorten the ride by going directly east to Leeuwarden and skipping Dokkum.
We passed through a number of small towns, and sure enough, absolutely nothing was open. The towns were buttoned up tight, and we had read in the LP that every year for the Queen's Day holiday, thousands of people descend on Amsterdam from all over the country, 'clogging and choking the train system to its breaking point' for a huge beer-drinking binge. We were glad to not be in Amsterdam, but we figured that almost everyone else from this part of the country must have gone there. We had a couple of apples, some cheese and chocolate bars in our handlebar bags, and at some point we stopped in the lee of a building to gulp down a bit of nourishment before slogging on into the wind again.
Except for the towns we went through, the landscape mostly consisted of pastureland, and the route took us along bike paths separate from but parallel to the N393. We didn't meet a single other touring cyclist until near the end of the ride, when we saw two people speeding by in the other direction with the aid of a screaming tailwind, big grins on their faces.
Eva had originally reserved a hotel in Dokkum through Booking.com, and had received a polite email from the owners explaining that the hotel would be closed for the weekend and they would not be there, but we could phone someone when we arrived in town who would come to the hotel and let us in. We don't carry a mobile phone with us, and after thinking over the potential difficulties of the situation, Eva cancelled the reservation and booked a hotel that would actually be open.
When we arrived in Dokkum, we were so glad that we had done this, since during our entire time in the Netherlands, we never saw a payphone, and after 53 painful kilometres we were desperate to get out of the wind without delay. The Hotel Posthoorn was right on a canal and very busy, but we were soon settled in our second floor room with a nice view and a BATHTUB. The next order of business was a snack in the bustling downstairs cafe, and we reserved a table there for dinner later on. The place was packed both inside and on the sheltered terrace because of the holiday celebrations--this was one of the few bar/restaurants in town that was open. After a good rest for our tired legs, we enjoyed a tasty dinner downstairs and then fell into bed.
| Heart | 0 | Comment | 0 | Link |
Today's ride: 53 km (33 miles)
Total: 510 km (317 miles)
| Rate this entry's writing | Heart | 2 |
| Comment on this entry | Comment | 0 |