August 8, 2023
Day 19: Alkmaar to Heemstede
I’m ready for a decent day’s exercise after our off-bike day. So when Tour Leader suggests making a longer ride by going out to the coast rather than riding directly towards Haarlem, I’m keen. The forecast is for fresh westerly winds but no rain. We will, at times, be pointing west but how bad can it be?
We soon find out, having to head first north-west then full-on west from Alkmaar out to the sea. It’s a lovely ride though, completely different to the farmland and dykes of Friesland and north Holland. We’re ready for a change.
We’re riding along bike paths of course, with the occasional detour onto a quiet road. Once past the outskirts of Bergen, we’re in woodland. It’s lovely riding and also more sheltered from the wind. (I’d love to meet the meteorologist who dreamed up the labels ‘gentle’ and ‘fresh’. Preferably while riding a bike. Fresh as in cheeky? My Strava records the wind speed averaging 28 km/hour from the west. Seems about right.)
Bergen aan Zee is a surprise. I’d imagined a small, rickety coastal village but it’s in fact a fully fledged, well-established town. (The Dutch don’t do rickety anyway.) The closer we get to the sea, the more resort-style buildings appear. And there are people here too, which shouldn’t be surprising in high summer, but actually is. They are all rugged up with coats and winter hats. On the beach itself, a few dads are dutifully playing with young children (I can guess the conversation at home this morning: ‘Why don’t you take Junior down to the beach? It’ll be good for you both to get out . . .’)
I dip my hand in the North Sea then we return to our bikes, ready to ride in any direction but west.
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We’re now on the official EuroVelo North Sea cycle path, EV 12. Our destination is due south but the record of today’s ride is a very wriggly red line, as you can see below. At Egmond aan Zee, we hunt down a coffee shop. Mrs Google had suggested the only option was a ‘cute wee café’. The real-life version falls well short of cute so we keep walking our bikes along the shop-lined main street. Mrs G had neglected to tell me that Egmond aan Zee was a bustling seaside resort, even larger than Bergen aan Zee. The main square has eateries galore ready and willing to sell us coffee and cake. Retail therapy is clearly a good idea when the westerly blows off the North Sea.
It truly is a great ride today, despite my moaning about the wind. For much of the rest of the morning, we continue to ride on sheltered tracks within a great undulating sand dune reserve. Note the elevation!
There’s a change in scenery as we approach the IJmuiden canal, the great shipping channel into Amsterdam. Tall cranes, ships and huge industrial buildings dominate the skyline as we follow the well-marked bike path over a series of locks. On the far side, we can see a DFDS ferry. It’s probably the overnight service to the UK. Five years ago, after a week in Amsterdam, we packed up our mountain bikes and caught this ship to Newcastle, spending a very cramped night in a cabin with the bikes in their bags. The buffet breakfast was great though.
The crossing of the IJmuiden is easy, with bikes well looked after at traffic lights. Once clear of the industrial zone, we’re riding through dormitory suburbs and outskirts of a number of towns, including Haarlem. At Heemstede, we stock up with food supplies at an Albert Heijn supermarket and follow instructions to our home for the next three nights, a lovely new conversion of a cow barn on a small farm on the outskirts of town.
It’s been an excellent day on the bike.
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Today's ride: 71 km (44 miles)
Total: 964 km (599 miles)
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