August 9, 2023
Day 20: Leiden loop
We’ve been looking forward to a couple of days of riding without panniers, or pressure, for that matter. Our lodgings are very comfortable and it’s about time we fended for ourselves food-wise.
So this morning’s only decision is to decide where to ride today. Leiden appeals to me; it’s a new destination and boasts a botanic garden that could be worth a visit. Bruce is easily convinced and puts together a route – around 30km each way, he predicts – while I buy online tickets to Hortus Botanicus
At last, we’ve stopped worrying about weather windows. The shutters are wide open and the sun warm on our faces as we head more-or-less south. Summer has popped in to say hello. There’s just that pesky breeze . . but it’ll be behind us when we return, won’t it?
The route takes us on all sorts of terrain: cycle lanes on roads shared with cars, cycle paths alongside roads and a motorway, a long shared path along a busy canal – and lots of riding through city and town streets where we need our wits about us and eyes in the back of our heads to avoid collisions with other cyclists and scooter riders. Drivers are unfailingly courteous though and every set of traffic lights has its own cycle signal, separate from pedestrians.
We ride past an ideal wee hole-in-the-wall coffee shop just after the start of our ride – which is always a mistake. Nothing else turns up, of course, so I give Mrs Google a chance to redeem herself as we approach Leiden, after yesterday’s shaky performance. (She’s actually been on probation since our previous cycle tour four years ago when she proudly delivered us to a muddy paddock rather than the supermarket we had requested. She possibly outsourced that job to Mr Google, but we’ll never know.) It’s another fail so we give up and pedal to Hortus Botanical, which has a café.
After lunch, we wander around the glasshouses and grounds of the botanic gardens, which are a part of the University of Leiden, founded by William of Orange in 1575. Another claim to fame is the planting of the first tulip bulb in Europe in these gardens after it was brought here from Turkey. There’s an unhappy-looking New Zealand kauri tree in a pot indoors, alongside other exotic species ‘liberated’ from their native environments. All in all, though, this is a very pleasant experience.
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9 months ago
Tour Leader takes on the challenge of navigating a different route home – and it’s probably better than this morning’s motorway-heavy one. We’re disappointed but not surprised when pesky wind has a change of heart but there’s no malice in the breeze.
After the obligatory supermarket visit, it’s a quick ride through three or four pretty and prosperous-looking villages – and home to a cup of tea. Domestic bliss!
Today's ride: 63 km (39 miles)
Total: 1,027 km (638 miles)
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9 months ago
9 months ago