RatN – Day 7 – Will the Real Netherlands Please Stand Up?

Liz has a Zwift racing buddy from the Netherlands (shout-out to Manon!) who can’t believe the run of good weather we’ve had for this race, particularly given how bad the weather had been leading up to it! So we were just waiting for the real Netherlands to show her face, and today? Well, let’s just say we put those emigration plans on hold! The bike riding gods joined forces and hit us from all sides. The good news is that, finally, all this gear we’ve been schlepping around could be put to use!

The forecast was ominous, but first thing out it was a very pleasant morning; we were on the road before 8am. Cooler temperatures meant that we could wear some of our warmer clothes, which freed up space in our bags. We began working our way towards the northwest corner of the continental Netherlands, a busy port (both car ferries and other naval vessels) named Den Helder.

About an hour into our ride, the anticipated rain peeped out so we quickly pulled over and put on our waterproof gloves, socks, and raincoats. They were welcome additions for me because I was a bit chilled already. Temps were in the upper 40’s, a big switch from yesterday’s 70’s.

This first round of rain turned out to be nothing much, but a few kms later there was a sudden flash and then the familiar thunder aftershock. It was good that we were mostly ready, because it came down so hard that we were having trouble seeing our maps. We stopped under cover at a gas station, where I did a bit of candy shopping. The clerk convinced me to go for the 2 for 1 special, a Kinder Bueno and boy, was it ever [bueno]!

Once the rain turned a bit lighter (but still constant), we continued our trek north. We saw a huge increase in all sorts of traffic, but that had no direct impact on us since we were in a separated bike facility. We found it interesting though, because in our eyes we were nearing the end of the edge of the Netherlands. In fact, we were nearing one of the gateways by car ferry to the Frisian Islands, which are part of the Netherlands, Germany and Denmark (depending on the island).

Even in the busiest, most congested and inhospitable environment for bikes, we were able to find safe ways through the ferry port and eventually worked our way out to the seawall, where we would begin our trek west and south.

The forecast had called for 20-30 mph winds from the southwest, and unfortunately it was quite accurate. With no protection, we found it very slow going. Speeds of 7-8 mph doing above-average power were not uncommon. We were also completely, utterly alone. Everyone else had the good sense to stay inland.

After about 45 minutes of fighting the wind head-on, the route headed inland through a sand dune area populated with short grasses and lots of small, steep hills. This was a welcome change, although it did little to shield from the gale and adding the hills quickly had me running out of gears and resorting to less efficient modes of pedaling.

In a situation like this, the only thing to do is to keep pedaling. The route has us heading down the coast for the next 150+ km so whatever we could accomplish today was less to do another day.

After a few breaks mixed with wind warring, it was time (1:30 or so) for a proper lunch of tortillas, vegan cheese and a can of coke to share. We hunkered down in the lee of a utility building and planned the next phase.

In 6km, we would enter a 50km stretch of national forest/dunes that we’d been legitimately anticipating since we started planning this event. What we’d be committing to is at least  five more hours of hard pedaling to reach the far side, where a hotel could be found. This didn’t seem attractive to us because tomorrow the weather is set to improve with sunshine and much reduced southerly winds. That and another 10-11 hour day was asking a lot, particularly if it was going to keep raining.

So instead, we decided we’d call it and get a hotel at the head of the national forest, giving us a total of 53 miles over a 5h 30m day. Medemblik to Schoorl in the longest way possible. And I can say that we have no regrets — tomorrow we’ll be able to enjoy the sand dunes so much more and it won’t change our race results one bit!

Dinner ala Jumbo (the grocery store) always raises our spirits. We’re feeling about as rested and fresh as we’ve felt since day one!