March 12: Almere
The schedule calls for a 5-7 hour ride today, and I thought it’d be a good idea to find some offroad and (relatively) hilly tracks.
The area east of Bussem had some good tracks, so the route goes through there. The original route stuck close to the water but it required a ferry - sadly it didn’t run on weekends; hence the long detour south.
From left to right: The edge of the Horsterwold area; it’s a natural area, not much there except some very tall trees … which is impressive, given that the whole island is land reclaimed at great expense. Next is a bike bridge, with a nice gentle circular ramp and this very stylish rusted metal exterior. It goes over water and a highway before landing, and there’s an actual lift in the middle, for access to the narrow strip in between. What’s there? As far as I can see, only a single bus stop. I can’t figure out if this is indulgence or not. The fourth photo is a raised cemetery - New Orleans has stories about coffins floating down the street during one of their floods, maybe this is the solution. Last shows the mud that got picked up along the way; the bike needed a lot of cleaning.
There was a ferocious headwind all the way back, which pictures can’t show.
The ride wasn’t offroad that much, but some of the screws of the pannier got noticeably looser and it shifted. If it’s got problems after rides like this, it means it’ll have far worse problems on the real trip, which is worrying. All these screws have hex heads, and I stripped one of them when I wasn’t really putting that much force in. So tightening them is dangerous.
This ride was with the new pedals, which have toestraps. They were a bit small, and might not be a good choice. If these pedal troubles continue the 20-year old set from the old bike might the best option.
Total was 110km in 6h01, about 10% faster than Komoot’s prediction. Which is good news, the Komoot time estimates for the whole European Divide are a little high. And the new tyres haven’t arrived yet: they should improve the pace noticeably. I need some gains, or the ride might have to stop in Germany…
