Emphatically, YES! We've slipped from one cycling paradise in Mallorca to another in Holland aka the Netherlands, home of the freaky-deaky Dutchman, Jeroen "JJ" Janssen. And not just his home country, but his literal home, complete with amazing parents, delectable home-cooked meals and sibling guest appearances. Most Excellent!Holland is amazing. I know that it's totally cliche and completely played out, but I can't stop myself from noting how incredibly bike friendly this country is. I've seen more people riding bikes around town in two days than I would back home in a month. Or maybe a year! It's straight loco! I saw a 60 year old woman do a cyclocross dismount yesterday that would have put the whole NorCal B's field to shame. It's beautiful to see cycling embraced as a viable form of transportation, but with infrastructure like they have in Holland you'd be an idiot not to ride a bike. In Holland you can just cruise your fiets down to your town center:
You can speed along a fietstraat, or bike street, reserved for bicycles:
Or slam along an open country road. Davis, California, eat your heart out!
We rocked over into Germany for a little bit on our first ride. I thought that was pretty sweet. This is me SUPER-STOKED on my first time in Deutschland! JJ picked up both the country line sprints. Recon pays off.
JJ and I were both feeling a bit out of place in a high end coffee shop in Nijmegen, but Jamie has an addiction and we're here to support him. (Note: his addiction is to coffee and not the other stuff you can get in Dutch coffee shops.)
As I discovered on my ride today there are numerous canals and waterways crisscrossing Holland. I ended up having to take a ferry to get home, which I though was an absolute kick in the pants. I guess I'm racking up quite a few firsts here in Holland.
Perplexed and a bit tired on my ferry ride. This was my first real ride post Mallorca and I may have forgotten there wouldn't be a team car with drinks and treats...
Also, I'd be remiss if I didn't mention how incredibly beautiful the women in Nijmegen are. Nothing like having a seemingly endless line of tall, fit women parade past you on bicycles while you sip coffee in a cafe. They are gorgeous and fashionable, and as I write this I'm working up my courage to actually say something to them. Don't worry, I've been studying Dutch. De gele zon is groot. That's gonna just knock 'em dead!More dispatches from wonderland soon. I swear I took photos of German ponies with euro-mullets and when I find them I'll post 'em up. Until then, as the Dutch say: Hakuna Matata.
PS Mooney has been shooting from the hip with what was once and iphone and is now a glorified ipod touch. He's got some good stuff up on his twitter.
4 comments:
Loved the blog post, EXCEPT the part where you seem surprised that a 60 year old woman can do a rad cyclocross dismount. What's the implication; that 60 is old?!
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Parnes, I am sure by now Mooney has told you of my recent adventures, so I must say, the cycling talk on the blog is nice, but the real "meat" of it is the dutch women. As I am now a loyal reader, I must know, what the average bosom size is and what are your chances of actually kissing your first girl?
Dear Ross,
I can assure you the women of Holland are some of the most beautiful in the world, but as you well know I have decided to remain pure and refrain from kissing until I meet the woman of my dreams. I'm saving myself for Emma Watson.
I'm so happy that you could be somebody's "Emma".
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