Biking in North Western English Winter

It's got progressively colder here over the past three months and now in January I am completely covered up. Some days it hardly gets above zero. I have fallen over once when riding, having hit ice in the dark. Never saw it coming as I went around a corner. 

I can't believe that the government encourages people to ride in this country. Although motorists seem very considerate of cyclists in the morning I have had a few near misses as they just seem oblivious to the fact I am there. They come from a side street and cross in front stopping when they see me at the last minute. Five times so far and it has made me rather paranoid. I have improved my visibility with two lights on the front and a reflective jacket. Doesn't seem to have made much difference. 

I have found a longer bike path now well away from the traffic which is considerably longer but obviously safer. Road rage was becoming an issue as half apologised but a couple didn't. There was one driver with his daughter who went to cross the road in front of me driving into a small shopping area. He hit the breaks and stopped a meter from me. I was some what incensed and stopped in his way. I gestured for him to put his window down but he ignored me. After a stand off lasting a minute or so he gave up on the shops and drove down the road.

Some people seem to have little empathy for those they don't know and apologising seems to be beyond them.

Now it is snowing and I have had to upgrade my bike. It wasn't bad biking in the snow but the snow does get into your eyes. I had to wear sunglasses making it harder to see. The main issue was the blizzard like wind I biked into which caused me to take an hour to ride 13km. School became optional at lunch time yesterday and 80% of the kids left. The snow had been building all day and by lunchtime people were getting concerned about getting home. James (another math teacher into gaming) and I entertained the Removes (year 7 kids) with various gaming cards including killer Bunnies and Munhkins. 

Limburg and more Relatives

We got up early in the hotel and enjoyed the breakfast on offer. Its part of the price but didn't offer self catering like in New Zealand. That didn't stop us though although no cooking. 

It was a great day so we headed out early looking for a bike hire shop. In Belgium and the Netherlands there is nothing surer than having a bike shop in every town and village. This seems especially true in Limburg which is reknown for its cycling. It wasn't easy to find, being located in the middle of a college. You would have thought someone would have mentioned this after asking a number of people.

Holly just loooved this, did notice from time to time her legs weren't rotating! ;)

The bikes were great; we had two tandems one for me and Holly, and the other for Sue and Julia. Sophia had her own. There is an amazing array of purpose built cycle lanes away from the roads. We went on a circuit of 15kms. It was rather demanding because it involved hills and we needed to be back in an hour. We got lost once, but people in Belgium are very friendly and it wasn't long before we were on our way again. I saw a number of cycling groups going out and felt the call to join but wasn't able to. Maybe in a number of years.

At noon we headed back to the Netherlands and to visit a cousin of mine Marienel and Marco Janssen . They own a shop selling antique handles for all sorts of home use. It was amazingly well run and incredibly busy given it is located in a small town. Apparently they get customers from all over Europe and their internet customers come from all over the world. 

My ome Hub (Marienel's father) was there also. The kids entertained by putting on a performance which all were taken by. It was a great time and we didn't leave until late in the afternoon. 

Like in the south of Holland, it is great and relaxed. It was a chance to slow down and relax. However, the next day we headed off back to the UK. We met a really nice French service station attendant on our short time going back through France. She clearly didn't speak English and our attempt to say hi and thanks ended up being in Dutch. She must have wondered what she had encountered. 

Dutch Relatives in the Netherlands

We left Amsterdam early. Luckily after New Years Eve our street was clear of markets and cars. I had taken a tram back to the station and picked up our car. Of course I had another problem paying as there facility to pay by credit card was broken. It took about an hour and a half to get back to our apartment after taking the wrong tram and having to run down a couple of roads to find the right one. Of course as I arrive the tram I needed was leaving and wasn't going to stop for me. It is a far reduced service on public holidays and I had a long wait.

It was an easy drive to Asten with the roads pretty empty. We arrived at ome Paul's place at about noon and were welcomed by him tante Alie, cousin Francois, his partner Sandra and children Tygo and Kyra. Later we were also joined by Werner and Janine and their son. I had first met Werner many years before when he was visiting New Zealand and had taken him on a long mountain bike ride up Fringe Hill in Nelson.

It was a great time as we all enjoyed the meal and talked. Ome Paul and tante Alie seemed especially taken with Holly as she entertained in her usual way. At about 3pm it was time to say our farewells. It was great for our kids to meet some of their dutch relies. As we left with the hosts watching we again left heading the wrong way around the round about. This happened to us back in 1998 in the same place. It finally occurred to me why. Often dutch streets are single laned to allow for cycle lanes on either side of the road. As we were in the middle of the road it is very easy to switch back into being on the left hand side. Luckily this never happened else where, where it could be a little more dangerous. Still embarrassing though. 

We headed towards Limburg and just over into Belgium where we had reservations at a Youth Hostel in a tiny place called St Martens-Voeren. We got there in the dark but settled in well. There were only about 8 people booked but there was another family with four children and after some encouragement our kids were playing with them. They were from Belgium and language was an issue. However, they all played Foosball and soon Sophia had names and places. 

New Years Eve in Amsterdam

We had decided to have a quiet day today. We had gone for a walk and enjoyed another outing of ice skating. Well the kids did anyway. After the Paris experience this was one thing they were really keen to give another go. The rink at Leidseplain Square is a very beautiful place with many cafes and shops. Unfortunately the rink was being run by what could only be called cowboys who had little regard for those using it. After the highly organised rink in Paris this caught me by surprise. No one watched the rink for safety and the guys running it seemed to have little interest in customer service.

It was about this time I started to realise using a credit card was not as easy as in other countries. Apparently few dutch people have a credit card and most super markets and food outlets don't take them. We had exchanged a few hundred Euro before leaving the UK but had found the credit card easier to use and had tried to use up the cash thinking we didn't wont to get stuck with it. That back fired as we had to use our credit card at an cash machine three times to pay the bills. Its an expensive way to do it. Only one supermarket in Amsterdam takes a credit card had has a number of stores called "Dirk van den Broek". Good to know for the future.

Still we settled down in one of the outdoor cafes and enjoyed watching the kids fly around. From about 10.30am there had been a number of loud explosions. They went off periodically and from every direction. By the evening it was relentless and sounded like we were in a war zone. I had never heard anything like it. They weren't the usual type of crackers but really big sounding ones. they also had what we used to call tom thumbs but only bigger.

By 11pm it was constant and from multiple directions. It lasted about another three hours. How anyone slept I have no idea, well actually the kids seemed undisturbed. I heard that 70 000 Dutch people were admitted to hospital that day which doesn't surprise me. I have been in Singapore over the Chinese new year which had massive public displays but this was something else and quite staggering.