For example, today the forecast showed rain starting at 6:00 pm with it continuing until 11:00 pm. We never ride until 6:00 pm, so getting into camp before the rain began was not a problem. During our ride the wind was fierce, and directly against us the entire day. It brought some dark looking clouds overhead, but they didn't dump on us, just as forecast. We pitched our tent in a large, lushly green lawn at the marina/campsite right on the river's edge. Gorgeous. We took a nap and woke up at 5:00 pm. We needed to get groceries in town, Schoonhoven, half a mile away. We quickly rode to town and sought out the grocery store on Yelp, knowing the rain was coming soon. It started to drip on us as we approached the store. We made a quick round of the store, gathering our supplies and scurried back to our bikes outside. The rain was light, but provided good incentive to ride back to the tent with haste. We crawled inside just as the sky let loose, about 5:55 pm. How do they do that? We have been in the tent these past four and a half hours, cruising the web, cooking dinner and listening to music, all with the constant drum of rain on the tent. The wind has also been constant, rattling the tent fabric and keeping the condensation off the inside of the tent. Really, a nice afternoon. The forecast showed the rain stopping at about 11:00 pm. 15 minutes ago it stopped. We high tailed it to the restrooms 200' away to do our business and brush our teeth. Back in the tent, it has started to sprinkle again, but I have faith it will quit in the next 45 minutes. I will let you know, as I will still be writing this entry at that time.
We woke in our hotel this morning after listening to it pour last night, congratulating ourselves on the foresight of a hotel room. Breakfast was served at 7:30 am in the restaurant downstairs; hard boiled egg, bread, meat, cheese and tea.
We were on our bikes by 8:45 am and out of town by 9:00 am. We are heading generally west now, and the wind was blowing decidedly east, at about 25 mph, with higher gusts. My speedometer stopped working this morning, but Sally's showed our considerably reduced speed, about 6-8 mph, as we pushed against the flow of North Sea air rushing at us. The lighting was amazing as the sun came in and out from behind the passing clouds. For the past week I have been extolling the wonders of riding on the top of the dikes, the views it affords, the level path and the fine, smooth paving. Today I discovered the disadvantage. This high vantage point in otherwise totally flat land gives the wind a straight shot at you with no obstructions.
Here is a measure of the energy required to battle the headwind. Sally's eBike has a battery meter on it with five bars. For the past weeks, with it on "Tour" mode, she gets 12-14 miles per bar. By the end of our day, covering 35ish miles, she has used two bars-maybe the third bar winks out as we pull into camp. This includes using the "Turbo" mode to climb the occasional short hill. Today, we travelled 32 miles into the wind. By mile 28 she had used four bars. As we rolled into the marina/campground her range estimator said she had 2 miles left. It was a workout.
Today, as yesterday, we rolled by the most amazing farms. Large, beautiful brick houses, brick barns, bricked area around the barns, lush, green lawns, beautiful, large flower gardens with trimmed bordering hedges and acres of either corn or green fields. It was beautiful. We also spent some time down off the dikes, riding through that farmland and through some neighborhoods. That was a sight to see. Most of this land is at, or below sea level. The water table is about two feet below the surface. Nearly all the houses had ditches, or small canals 5-6 feet wide, bordering on three sides. It was a little creepy to see these beautiful homes so close to the water level, especially in August, although I don't know that this is their driest month like back home. I do know the Rhine is quite low on water this year due to high temperatures and low rainfall, but that was affecting the middle Rhine and might not play into this portion which is at sea level.
Today's ride was all about controlling water. We passed lock after lock and dike after dike, all playing some roll in keeping the water in its place and allowing towns and farms to exist. Tonight we are camped at Schoonhoven. It is 2 meters below sea level. If global warming isn't stopped, this area will be 4 meters below sea level in 50 years. I'm not sure even the industrious Dutch can maintain water control measures to keep their country dry. I have always heard, ever since grade school about the Dutch dikes and farms, the boy who put his finger in the hole in the dike to save his town. It is marvelous to ride a bike through the country and see the real thing, up close, literally inch by inch. Add a trip like this to your bucket list. This has been an amazing experience. We only have two days left to the Hoek van Holland, where the Rhine dumps into the North Sea. We both hate to see it end.
However, we are now planning to delay the end by a day. The weather forecast says heavy rain all day Thursday. That was the day we were going to ride from Rotterdam to the Hoek van Holland. We really want to camp at the mouth of the river, but don't want to camp after riding in the rain all day. The new plan is to spend two nights in Rotterdam, Wednesday and Thursday, wait out the weather and then ride the last 30 kilometers on Friday when the weather forecast is good, spend Friday night at the beach, and then ride back to Rotterdam to spend a few days with the couple we meet back in Chur, Switzerland on day 4, who live in Rotterdam.
It is now 11:32 pm and guess what? The rain has stopped. How do they do that?
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