Rambling Cyclists: Arum to Onderdijk

June 20 - Day 15

Distance 58.7 kms + 13.9

Total distance on the trip 891.54km

Moving time 3:11hours + 0:55:22

Todays elevation 74m

Total elevation 1315

Weather - This was the worst day of the entire trip regarding weather. Strong winds and serious rain for most of the day. Winds were about 15km/h Westerlies, and temps ranged between 12-18. With no sun. Real feel was cold.

Another fabulous breakfast (we love chocolate sprinkles) and we were on our way before 9am to try to get somewhere before the forecast rain hit us and to catch a scheduled bus on the Dyke.

Riding through open plains again, mainly on roads this time, we went via Zurich ... we could not go directly to the Afsluitdijk as it was under construction, which led to a bit of confusion as the detour roads were closed as well as work was being done on those. We managed to find our way.

Sights on the way onto the Afsluitdijk cycle way.

Wayne really, really wanted to ride across the Afsluitdijk, it was built between 1927 - 1932 it is 32 kms long, 90 metres wide (2 car lanes each way with a seperated cycle path) and 7 metres above sea level. The construction is to add 2 metres to the height of the Afsluitdijk with climate change and rising sea levels, the Netherlands does not want to end up under water.

With all the construction, the cycleways were closed at about 1/3 of the way across, but the Dutch, knowing how important cycling is to the soul, put on a free bus to take cyclists across the part of the Afsluitdijk that is closed. And boy, was I glad to see that bus.

The Afsluitdijk is very exposed, with no protection from the wind, and again we had a vicious headwind as we crossed, and it was cold. We had to meet the bus timetable so we were not waiting in the elements for another hour, so we really had to hike along as we were not really sure when the bus was leaving as the website was a bit confusing. We were planning on 15 minutes of crisis time. We had some cyclists pass us going north, so we knew the bus was there already - before what we thought was the scheduled time.

The bus was there waiting, the driver was a happy Dutch woman who was so excited to see us, as she did not want to make the trip by herself. We then could see another two cyclists in the distance and we waited a few minutes for them, as she felt a bit sorry for them.

While we were waiting she told us what was going on with the construction of the Afsluitdijk - the image of what was to be was on the side of the bus - raising the wall by two metres, and adding more breakwater, and adding another cycleway on the North see side, so cyclists have a choice of where to ride - sea side, or land side. Nice.

The other cyclists made it to the bus, I knew the winds were bad when these people, riding e-bikes, boarded and said - the winds were making the trip hard work. They were from Switzerland. The driver checked the bikes were secure and we were off.

The bus was equipped with blankets for cyclists and pedestrians to use so they do not freeze (as well as the bus being heated). I was thankful for this comforting touch as I was freezing. I think it was a 5 layer riding day.

After about 30 minutes we got to the other side, where quite a large bunch of women cyclists were waiting to board the FREE bus to take them north. They had to take their panniers off to fit all their bikes in the bus.

The photo on the right side is of the Swiss folk who were on the bus with us.

We set off from the bus station, went via a shipyard and found a cycleway that would take us to Den Helger, we did not get very far when the heavens decided to rain upon us. We got as far as Den Ovever (about 5kms) and sought refuge in a bus shelter.

It bucketed down and we sat tight. As we were nearing the end of our riding trip, we had been eating through our riding snacks, and while waiting we pooled our snack foods that would sustain us through the rain disruption. There was a lot of chocolate & honey and one Babybel we had to share.

The rain was consistent for about 2 hours, with a few very short breaks. We took it in turns to run up to the top of the levy to look at the North Sea from this coast. Not as much mud on this side, and it was still flat. Wayne even had a break away to find a cafe, but was turned back very quickly. We had someone from one of the houses come out to see if we needed anything ....a cup of coffee, blanket, bathroom ... so hospitable.

Whilst waiting out the rain, we had to make some decisions about which way to go. We had wanted to go via Den Helger, then back down to Haarlem on the west coast to have another look around that city before cruising into Amsterdam in two days, but we figured we needed to head down the eastern part of the land mass in a somewhat direct route. And of course, how far we went depended on the weather. This is the beauty of riding without a concrete plan - we are not forced to go in any particular way. I booked a place at Oberjik for the night.

About 10 kms down the road it started raining again and we took shelter in this interesting camping ground called Land uit Zee. We had some hot chocolate and cake in the small cafe with a big dog while it rained, when it had finished raining we took a little ride around the grounds. They have taken a bunch of transport items - boats, planes, buses, trains, a helicopter and tree house and made them into little apartments for staying in. It was quite quirky.

After the rain we continued along the Ijsselmeer banks until we reached Medemblik, and the lead into this little town and the actual town was very pretty with many boats, historic buildings, and of course, windmills, old and new.

On our way to Oberdijk the skies cleared up and it became quite warm, and we were passing the Stoom Machine Museum. We had to stop and see this museum.

Wayne was in his element. The smell of oil and metal was overpowering. Thankfully the gardens were quite pretty and the sun was out.

After finding our salubrious accommodation (it was not as good as others we had stayed in but it was clean and the bikes had a safe spot to sleep), we decided to take advantage of the clear skies and ride around the area to do a bit of sight seeing. Turning right first we went into the actual town of Oberdiijk and had a quick look around there, then we headed north to the Radboud Castle back in Medemblik.

The statue commemorates the men who hand dug the canals in the area. Some of the pretty houses on said canals.

On the way up we caught sight of this tall ships sailing in the Ijsselmeer. We passed by the yacht club where many of the sailors were packing up after a race. It is a concern to me when you need to sail in a wetsuit ...