2 weeks to go
Two weeks to go! Time is getting so short that the milk’s expiry date is after I leave. The bike has been into the shop for a service; it got cleaned. The gears were re-lubed and it was noticeably easier to pedal, which probably means I should have spent more effort looking after the drivetrain. I also wish I'd done that gear check I talked about last week. I’m sure something is missing or needing to be replaced and it’s going to get complicated or expensive.
The weekend was busy so I only managed a four hour ride; I went out to Utrecht and back along some routes I haven't been on before. Lots of movable bridges. One ferry.
From left to right: Here’s the milk to prove it. My POV, for this grey and damp weekend. If Disneyland had a Dutch street it’d look like this. Lock prices are 4 euros for canoes and rowboats, 9 euros if it’s bigger than 15m.
The ride was also the first weekend after Sint Martin, and there were a lot of Peets out and about. An SUV with four of them passed me slowly so they could all whoop at me; I'm not sure if they knew me or thought they knew me - or just gave this treatment to everyone they passed. There was a Peet parade at one spot; they separated to let traffic through and were so hyped that when I waved three people reached in for a high five.
From left to right: Dual windmills. Only one autumn picture today; I’m trying to be restrained. This street is basically a jetty, exciting! The actual view from there, not quite so exciting.
Netherlands engineers do like to flex their water mastery. Check out the map in the picture - it’s basically a pier, it’s surrounded by water on both sides, so I figured it was worth a look. But without consulting the map you would barely know, all that was visible was occasional glimpses of the water between expensive houses. Every one did have a boat in the front yard, come to think of it.
It was grey and cold, and I wasn’t that keen to be out and about, so I didn’t have the enthusiasm to stop to take photos that often. So just a brief update this time.
It was also quite wet. My route was mostly on asphalt, which is OK, but at about the halfway point it went onto a gravel track. I hesitated, but I probably should have stopped and found another way, because it meant my nice clean bike wouldn’t be nice and clean afterwards. Despite avoiding every puddle I could, and going very slowly through the ones I could not, the bike is now sprayed with grit.
So I guess I need to add “clean bike” to the to-do list. Or maybe I’ll just ignore it for a week. I suppose it’ll probably get dirty again next weekend anyway.
