Going Dutch 2006

After months of planning, training, buying more bits for the bikes and in some cases new bikes, we were off.  An early rise for all especially the drivers and crew of the support vehicles who had to catch an 07.30 ferry from Dover. 
Cyclists were up at 0500 meeting at Liverpool Street Station bleary eyed and clutching helmets and backpacks.  We were off to Harwich where we boarded the ferry, disembarking mid afternoon at the Hook of Holland where we were reunited with our bikes.  We only had 12 or 14 miles to ride to Vlaardingen that day depending on which hotel we were booked into.

The next day Friday was to be a “biggy” of around 75 miles and meant another early start.  The group was made up of 50 sort of ordinary people including my daughter and sister, most of whom work with or for children in need of support, but who were prepared to put in an extraordinary effort to raise money for these children.  One of the girls from Berkshire had written her car off a few days previous, was covered with bruises but was still game for the ride from Vlaardingen.  The support team comprised of 5 vehicles including a campervan and a lorry and 12 people manning them.

Soon after leaving Vlaardingen our average speed dipped due to punctures and some equipment failure.  Excellent map reading by our leaders brought us to a “nice” car-park at Haringvliet for our mid-morning break.  The campervan team had set up a bright red gazebo to shade us from the ferocious sun and set out on tables laden with energy bars, fruit and water to fill our bottles.

Unfortunately the guardian of the car-park, restaurant and toilets thought we’d arrived to steal his trade and threatened to call the police, although nobody could quite work out what crime had been committed.  To say he was apoplectic is an understatement - he was beside himself!  No appeasing, pleading, grovelling made any difference, we weren’t even allowed to use the toilets so we cleared everything away as quickly as we could and set off for the lunch stop some 20 miles or so further on.  The odd thing was that it had all been arranged and agreed with him in January but now he had a strong touch of amnesia.  In my five years of doing this cycling thing I have never met anyone quite so beside themselves as this mad Dutchman.

We duly arrived at Burgh-Hamsteede for lunch at another car-park but this time without a guardian thank goodness. A pretty little town with public loos which are always welcomed by the “girls”.  After lunch another 20 or so miles further along the road to Middleburg which is well worth a visit.  It was a very long day and over the last 10 miles the cyclists went rather quiet – probably concentrating on the job in hand –reaching the hotel in Goes in one piece and in time for supper.  We covered 75 miles that day arriving in Goes around 1900hrs in time to watch a World Cup match on the hotel television.  Most people went to bed pretty early that night apart from a diehard core who went off to Goes for some late night entertainment.

Saturday, an even bigger day with an even earlier start, meant on the bikes and away by 0745hrs.  The day was destined to be a logistical nightmare and it was!  The problem was to get 50 cyclists of varying levels of stamina to cover 85 miles before dark, that’s 9 hours in the saddle and doesn’t include unscheduled stops for water, punctures or even scheduled stops to eat!  On top of that England were to play Portugal in the World Cup around 17.00!

We headed off 10 minutes later than scheduled once Gill and Bob had briefed everyone, handed out T-shirts and all water bottles had been filled.  A hot sunny day was expected and although there weren’t many hills of note it was still hard work cycling against the wind when you have already covered 75 miles the day before and your body is starting to complain.

We stopped for elevenses at the Non Plus Ultra café in Woensdrecht 30 miles out.  This was a supported stop with food from the campervan and coffee and beers from the café.  Gill and John had been there earlier in the year to organise and the manager had arranged for a local Wurlitzer look alike machine to lift our spirits – real old fashioned fairground music with a steam (compressed air I think more likely) organ.

We moved out at 1200ish after photo-shoots and much waving and cheering.  We didn’t know what lay ahead or when the next stop was going to be although the countryside was great and variable.

We had a few more punctures on the next stretch and someone’s derailleur fell apart which meant a trip to the nearest bike shop for instant replacement!  It took some time for everyone to catch up.  The support team turned up several times along the way to fill water bottles this was a very bad sign and meant we had 15 – 20 miles to go to the lunch stop.  More struggling against the wind and the sun was getting hotter by the minute.  People started muttering.

We finally reached the lunch stop mid-afternoon in a secluded campsite having covered 45 miles. Some of the ladies were starting to flag and were uncertain if they could do another 40 miles.  We’d been cycling for 6 hours with at least another 4 to go and it was mid-afternoon!  To make matters worse, our strongest cyclists had abandoned the group, put their bikes on the lorry and taken off by taxi to get to the hotel in time for the big match.

The mutterings hadn’t abated but a plan was being hatched!  We had to cycle another 20 miles to Dordrecht where we could catch the train to  Capelle an den Ijssel which was very close to our hotel.  It did entail changing trains and platforms at Rotterdam and the group having to split up and catch different trains because of health and safety concerns by the railway staff (who were magnificently helpful to us poor tired old girls) about clogging up the carriages with all our bikes. There was a sort of bonus for the football fanatics as we arrived at Dordrecht station in time to watch the penalty shoot-out when England were thrashed by Portugal. We finally arrived at the hotel at 2100 and it wasn’t quite dark.  The excitement wasn’t quite over!

Our organisers had booked half a restaurant for 20.30 - there were 60 of us and they were very accommodating.  Tables were re-booked for 10.00 to allow sweaty cyclists to shower, change and get on the Metro – easy.  The thing the organisers didn’t know was that the ticket office would be closed by the time we got to the station and the only way to get on to the platform was to get a ticket out of a single ticket machine one by one with small change that no-one seemed to have.  What a nightmare and it took ages – a few gave up and went back to the hotel.  We finally got to the restaurant around 10.30 and no-one batted an eye.  It was a Greek restaurant but everyone was so hungry they would have eaten anything.  We slept very well that night.

Day 4, the best, water, water everywhere and more time to look around as we only had to do 45 miles or so to the finish in Amsterdam.  We travelled through peoples’ gardens, along the canals and everywhere people were messing about on, in or by the water – it was a beautiful sunny Sunday.

We stopped off for elevenses in Gouda where the bell on the State House struck every quarter of an hour.  We had coffee and dutch apple cake in the local coffee houses, were able to chat and just relax – the end was tantalisingly close.  The terrain was very rural with vegetables growing either side of the path, cows watching us go by all the way to our lunch stop at Alphen an den Rijn which featured a Chinese Palace (a restaurant now) in the middle of a park.

There was a lake in the middle of this park and with very little hesitation half of the group of hot, sweaty cyclists stripped off and plunged into it with gay abandon.  Nasty slippery rocks at the side didn’t slow down this astonishing sight, a bit like a herd of wildebeests crossing a river.  Suitable refreshed, fed and watered the merry band struck forth for almost the final leg, into the outskirts of Amsterdam and along the Amstel river/canal.

The most notable feature was the wild life along the way.  We nearly ran over a large black pig asleep with his nose in the path, and the number of stone animals and fake herons guarding the water was rather odd.  George and I had a competition to spot the real herons which were almost as numerous as the fakes.

We had a water stop in a churchyard, a break for an ice-cream before the final stretch through another park to arrive at the Bastion Hotel in South West Amsterdam where we were greeted by Susie and her husband from the Who Cares? Trust.  We’d cycled 227 miles!  We were later thanked for our efforts particularly Gill who had the idea and temerity to organise for the 5th year the Biking for Children in Care bike rides and the question that got asked the most was “Where will it be next year?”  I couldn’t believe my ears.