To Zierikzee

August 26, 2024

There’s a long story to the day’s ride, or there’s a brief one. It was a fairly short distance with virtually no climbing involved, but it wore us out and now I’m too tired to think, so let’s go with the short version: the wind blew like hell in our faces most of the way. For the rest of the story let’s just look at the photos and video, OK?

Leaving Goedereede. It’s a beautiful day except for one small thing. We’re grateful that the threatened small amount of rain passed by just north of here and we can get an early start before the day heats up too much.

I liked this! It’s part of a group of about forty evenly spaced Egyptian geese, strung out along a straight line across the field. Strange.

Actually the wind wasn’t in our faces the whole way. The first part of the ride wasn’t bad, and was very pretty as we approached an area of low profile sand dunes. Maybe they’re high enough that they served as a wind break.

Still enjoying some benefit from the coastal dunes. Its windy but not devestating. Yet.

This is more representative. If you zoom in you’ll see that the front rider coming our way has a big grin on her face. Ours are clenched as we labor along about six or seven mph, the blowing sand scratching our legs.

Oh look, it’s a lighthouse! We weren’t in the frame of mind to detour over for a closer look though. This is good enough.

This gives a pretty good sense of the day. We’re riding along the top of the Brouwersdam that crosses the large sea that separates South Holland and Zeeland. It’s a long dam, maybe three or four miles, so at the rate we’re going it takes a while.

The nice thing about moving so slowly is that we’ve gotten a really good look at the kitesurfers. We first saw them some time ago and it seems like it’s taken about a half hour to finally reach them. Or maybe it wasn’t really that long. Time passes slowly when you’re having fun.

This isn’t the best photo but it’s in here to show the sand blowing across the road. Later we’ll tell each other that it reminds us of a similar memorable ride rounding the southern tip of Taiwan.

That’s the last photo from the ride. After that we kept our heads down and just ground it out the rest of the way. Video is good enough, I was thinking. Unfortunately the video got onto hyper speed somehow, which really doesn’t give the right effect. Fortunately though Rachael found a way to slow it down, which is why parts of it have a somewhat choppy, stroboscopic feel.

Video sound track: Take Five, by Dave Brubeck

It’s nearly two by the time we finally reach Zierikzee, cross over its two drawbridges and through its fortified gate and head straight to the waterfront restaurant we’ve been planning on. Zierikzee immediately makes an impression as an interesting, attractive place, but we’re here for two nights and there will be time to look around later. For now we’re just relieved to get out of the wind and have food and drink magically appear in front of us.

An hour or so later we bike up a quiet residential street a few blocks off the waterfront and check in at our B&B for the next two nights - a room in a private home, listed on Booking.com as Tiziana’s Herberg. Were warmly greeted at the front door, the bikes get locked together against the wall in their small front yard, and then were shown to our room. Tiziana invites us to come back downstairs for tea or coffee after we’re settled in which we do, enjoying a relaxing and interesting conversation in their back yard chatting with Tiziana and her partner who’s name I’ve forgotten and would probably misspell anyway if I did remember it.

And did anyone else join us? Yes, the dogs. Tiziana has two small black dogs, eight year old siblings. They’re endearing once they trust you, which only takes a minute or two - but during that first minute they’re barking constantly. Every time, because it seems they have very short memories. Once they get past that first reaction though they’re quite social and friendly, settling around your feet and appreciating your attention.

Toward evening I leave the room for a short walk. I especially want to see the windmill that’s just a few blocks away, and then walk back along the canal to the gate and drawbridges. Zierikzee is still a fairly small place but considerably larger than tiny Goedereede, so I never make it out of town and only see this small corner of the place, but it’s the historical center and the most colorful and interesting part of the city.

Unlike Goedereede which is now an inland town, Zierikzee really is a port city. We’re on yet another large island here, Schouwen, and Zierikzee is on its south side only about a mile or so away from a broad inlet of the North Sea that it’s connected to by the broad and easily navigable Havenkanal. It really does have the feel of a port town too - the canal is lined with mussel boats and leisure craft, and as I walk along it at the end of the day there’s a crew of men rolling up the long, narrow mesh nets that are used for harvesting mussels somehow.

In Zierikzee. So many door fronts have bicycles locked up in front of them! It’s interesting seeing the interior of Tiziana’s place with its large back yard. It makes me think that maybe all of these places have back yards with maybe vegetable or flower gardens in them.

Zierikzee has a landmark windmill also. This one’s even older than the one in Goedereede, dating back to 1727 according to the inscription on its face.

The canal is wide, easily navigable, and lined with boats and fishing vessels.

The drawbridge across the canal. I wonder if it is ever raised? That’s something I’d enjoy seeing.

Yes, from the looks of these boats on the other side I imagine the drawbridge must get a workout from time to time.

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Today's ride: 28 miles (45 km)
Total: 3,517 miles (5,660 km)

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Suzanne GibsonI loved that part of Holland, in spite of the wind. I found the delta works fascinating. We were there 15 years ago. Unfortunately my journal, imported from cgoab, has no maps. https://www.cycleblaze.com/journals/2009summer/rockanje-veere/
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3 months ago

Bob DistelbergAmazing that those kite surfers don’t get tangled up with each other. So many!
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3 months ago

Rachael AndersonTo Suzanne GibsonThanks for sending the link to your tour. I’m sure glad we aren’t camping and that so far the weather has been good.
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3 months ago

Scott AndersonTo Bob DistelbergIt is amazing. I wondered at the same thing myself.
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3 months ago