Easter Monday Bike Ride

Here in Europe, most of us have had a long weekend for Easter.  We don’t really celebrate religiously ourselves so for us it was just a nice long weekend.  We did have a special brunch (which hubs shopped for and ultimately included the Dutch favourite.  I was definitely on bread and cheese overkill yesterday) and spent the day at a Catshow but that was the extent of my Easter Weekend.

As it was I had Friday off from work, but hubs didn’t, so I slept in and putzed around before actually going to the gym for a great workout.

So Friday I was alone.

Saturday and Sunday we were the Four Little Fonzies (that’s what we call each other).

I thought Monday, since we both were off and the kids were at their Grandparents house (and then back to their mum’s) WE would do something together.  I was dying to get out of the house and have been thinking about a bike ride for ages now, especially since Bitch Cakes and SuziStorm have been talking about it recently.  Unfortunately hubs had to study – he’d put it off all weekend and this was his one day to really focus on it.   I was not going to let this deter me!

I have been wanting to go to the Posbank – in the six years I have lived here in Arnhem I have never been and really felt like it was high time.  The weather was cool and windy but sunny so I wanted to take advantage while I could.

If there is one thing I love about living here it’s the sense of wonder I feel when I’m cycling outside the city.  Though even when I’m in a city I also am admiring the buildings, the people, the paths, the parks, everything.  I have been here for 15 years and I still never ever tire of being on my bike here.  And speaking of my bike… Frieda… my Giant Trooper – I have had her since 1996 and though I’ve considered buying a new bike I always decide not to because there is absolutely nothing wrong with her whatsoever! We’ve been through some pretty serious crashes, quite a few flats, a few stolen parts, and one random bike bashing and yet she is still going strong.  I never imagined in my whole life that my bicycle would be more important to me than a car, but that really is the case!

Cycling outside of the city though is really magical.  You could cycle on the dykes or in the country, you could run into a dairy farm, a castle and end up having to take a ferry across the water because the bike path has ended suddenly.   I will never tire coming across castles for example… what castles have I ever seen in the US?  I hate to break it to you but Disneyland?  That’s not a real castle ;)

Cycling to the Posbank – I actually went a bit further than I had to  – I wanted to see what was further ahead.  Further than where I had been before on this route.  I saw Mama Sheep with their lambs, motorcycle clubs motoring down the road, horses, people walking their dogs.  Eventually I turned around to go back to the Woods.

By the time I got to the woods I realised my husband was NOT kidding about the elevation.  One of the well-known things about the Netherlands (besides that you can smoke dope here, there are a lot of tulips and windmills, and you should watch your step because there is dog crap everywhere) is that this country is flat as a pancake.  NOT where I live though. Not even in the city I live in, but most certainly NOT at the Posbank.

I stopped for a wee bit to rest, then took off again but had to walk my bike up the hill a bit because I just couldn’t do it cycling!  When I reached the end of the road I saw where the bike trail was but it was completely muddy.  I opted to not go further.  Next time.

I then started to cycle back but stopped a few more time to take some photos.  All in all it was just a bit over 2 hours and 29KM in total.  You can see the bike ride here.

I’m really looking forward to much more biking this spring and summer – makes me so appreciative of my surroundings AND my fitness level!