September 2, 2022
Day 24: To The Netherlands!
I started this morning by singing Happy Birthday. Six months ago today Kevin came out into the world, and what an eventful six months it has been, and what an eventful day his half-birthday would prove to be.
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We cycled west to Meppen, a larger town where I felt a bit intimidated on some of the busy, narrow roads in the centre that we needed to take to cross a canal. It felt a bit scary with Kevin, but it didn’t last long and we were out of the town following the canal on a safe bike path. It was actually a really, really nice route.
Our first break was in Versen, a very quiet little village with a nice playground where I sat on the swings with Kevin, who was in a fantastic mood today, as if he knew it was his special day. The only concern was that we hadn’t been able to cycle fast due to the bad surface of the path. We had a campsite that we planned to get to but it was still 29 kilometres away, a lot in two sessions on bad surfaces.
But as luck would have it there were some amazing smooth bike paths for most of the rest of Germany. We flew along at 20 km/h for half an hour and our worries about making the distance faded as the Dutch border approached. And then we were there, we had made it across Germany, a country that had felt so big and daunting on our first difficult day had now been successfully navigated.
There was no fanfare about entering the Netherlands and we only knew it was the border because the road and bike path changed to a different style, but then we entered Zwartemeer, alongside a canal that was unmistakably Dutch. The bike path also grew increasingly busy with all kinds of cyclists and there was no doubt where we were. We stopped for our second break beside the canal and it felt good to be here. We took Kevin out and congratulated him on reaching his third ever country.
As usual we stopped for two hours and at one point Kevin, lying face down on his playmat, suddenly pushed up onto his hands and knees. He had been able to push up onto his arms before, and on his knees with his head down on the ground, but this was the first time he had ever done both at the same time, and it was amazing to witness. He was now on the brink of crawling, although his first attempt at doing so ended with a face plant. He got up on his hands and knees twice more before the break was over, to much encouragement from his parents. It is amazing to see how he has developed from the tiny little helpless creature that came out into the world six months ago to this, and I felt especially lucky that all three of us were there at that moment. This trip has given us many things, but above all else it has given us time together. These are amazing, special moments and it is just so great to share them.
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We only had 12 kilometres left to the campsite and it felt like it would be no trouble at all, but first we had to go through Klazienaveen, where the bike paths stopped and we had to cycle amongst traffic. It was still safe with lots of cyclists and the drivers being very cautious, but again I felt a bit nervous with Kevin. And then beyond the town the bike paths got inexplicably bad. It was worse than Germany! We had not been expecting this at all.
It had been a long day, around 40 kilometres again, but Kevin had been as good as gold all day. He hadn’t complained at all and had been full of smiles. It was nice to pull into the campsite at 4:30 and know that we had made it and could all relax now. “This looks like our kind of place!” Dea said, as we pulled into a secluded camping area by a lake with lots of trees and tents and none of the holiday homes that had dominated the German campsites.
We pulled up at the reception building and Dea offered to go and pay while I checked on our baby, but she soon turned back with a funny expression on her face and said “there are naked people here!” I looked up and indeed there weren’t an awful lot of clothes being worn by anyone nearby . “Can you handle it Chris? I think we have to stay!”
For a moment I relented. We couldn’t ask Kevin to sit in the trailer any longer, we had already done 40 kilometres. The owners of the campsite were just showing some other guests around first. But I looked around and it was clear that actually none of the guests were wearing any clothes. This was clearly a naturist site and if we wanted to stay we were going to have to do it in the buff.
“I’m sorry, Dea, I can’t,” I said. “There’s another campsite seven kilometres away.”
I know it would be much more interesting if we’d chosen to stay, but it’s not in my nature, I just don’t get it at all. “I’m sorry, no, it’s okay, we’re just leaving,” I said in a panic as the owner approached us, his penis swinging from side to side.
“Sorry, we were just looking for a normal campsite,” I could hear Dea apologising as I pedaled away. “But have fun.”
We cycled out of the campsite giggling, looking a bit more closely at the name on the sign on the way out. “Naturistenterrein Bargerhoek”. I guess we should have thought a bit more about that instead of just assuming it was something to do with nature.
“They had a whole website that didn’t even mention it,” Dea said as we cycled away. “Of course it was in Dutch, I couldn’t understand it.”
We hoped to be able to cycle the extra seven kilometres without Kevin getting upset but after four he began crying. By coincidence this happened just outside a Lidl, so for the second day in a row we stopped and took a break opposite one, even though we didn’t need to do any shopping this time. We rested here an hour or so and Kevin was really happy. It wasn’t a problem, we would just get to the campsite a little later than planned.
During this break we noticed a most curious phenomenon. A young guy who was walking a dog was also carrying quite a big shovel with him and Dea hypothesized that he had it with him to deal with the dog poo. I had never seen such a thing before and the idea seemed absurd. But then a woman came by walking her dog as she was carrying a yellow plastic spade with her. And a couple on a bench nearby, they had a dog with them, and they too had a shovel. It seemed we had uncovered a most strange cultural oddity.
When Kevin was ready we cycled the last three kilometres along a canal and then turned off on the quiet narrow road towards the campsite. It had been a long day but it was almost at an end as we approached the campsite. A man was walking on the narrow road towards us and I went to go around him. There was also a car a little way off coming from the opposite direction but it would clearly have to slow down for a second as there wasn’t space for all of us on the road. But instead the driver appeared to accelerate directly towards all of us. It was really a maniac. I tried to swerve out of the way at the last minute but the trailer lagged behind me and the car couldn’t have missed it by much as it raced by, disappearing up the road, leaving a trail of Danish expletives in it’s wake.
It was a real shock. How could anyone be so evil? Our precious baby was put at risk for what? Two seconds of easing off the accelerator? As we pulled into what was a very nice quiet campsite moments later my mind was still reeling about what had just happened. This was supposed to be the best place in the world for cycling. The drivers had been patient and sensible all day. What madness was this? Why do I have to bring my child up in this world with such idiots, with such stupid, unnecessary man-made dangers? I questioned whether this was worth it. Could I continue to cycle with our baby, to put him in potential danger? Was it selfish of me? Was it the right thing to do?
I got my answer when we opened the trailer and took Kevin out:
Our baby boy had never looked so happy. This trip was good for him. It was good for all of us. I remembered back to when I’d just started cycling the world, the first times I encountered drivers like that doing such stupid things and putting me in danger. I had questioned then whether it was worth it, whether I wanted to continue. I weighed it all up and decided that it was worth it and I did continue, taking all the steps I could to minimize the risks. I didn’t want to let the few idiots in the world win, I didn’t want to be afraid and hide and not do the things I wanted to do because of them. And I did the things I wanted to do and I am so glad that I did. And so of course we will continue to cycle with Kevin, because I need to teach my boy these things, that there are idiots out there and there are dangers but that you still have to live your life and not be afraid, be careful of course, but don’t be a coward. Stand up for yourself and most of all do the things that make you happy.
The world isn’t perfect, I think as our six-month-old boy sleeps safely between us tonight, but at least tonight in this peaceful, safe, little campsite, everybody has got their clothes on.
Today's ride: 48 km (30 miles)
Total: 819 km (509 miles)
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2 years ago
Because I live near the Dutch border, i cycle a lot in the Netherlands, what you experienced with that car i often experienced it myself. So be extra careful...
2 years ago
2 years ago
2 years ago