Day 108: Lelystad to Wijdenes, Netherlands: Let us go to the banks of the ocean, where the walls rise above the Zuiderzee

September 4, 2012

Our first target today was crossing the 30 km Markerwaarddijk, which is the inner dike across the former Zuiderzee. It divides the Markermeer (Marker Lake) from the Ijsselmeer (lake from the Ijssel river). The outer dike, the Afsluitdijk, is what actually cuts the lakes off from the North Sea. It seems to also be 30 km long. We aim to cross that on Thursday. We have positioned ourselves to do it from west to east, because we believe the prevailing winds will then be in our favour.

Because we were fixated this morning on the Markerwaarddijk, we did not want to tour Lelystad. So we jumped on a road that heads straight for the dike.

We quickly ran into a small market, and enjoyed looking at all the cheese varieties from the two cheese vendors. There was also textiles and leather and stuff on offer, seemingly by immigrant people, but I could not immediately recognize their various countries of origin. I assume they were from various parts of the former Dutch colonies.

One thing missing from this market was any sort of baked goods. And one thing much in evidence was a lot of fish vendors. I take this as evidence of Netherlands being closer in cuisine to Scandinavia than to Germany, something commented on below as well.

The road we had chosen was for cars only and had no bike path beside, but the speed was only 50, so we felt ok. Nonetheless, a man slowed his car to our 10 kph speed, and out his side window instructed us on this being a cars only road. He said we could get on a bike path in 50 meters, by crossing a small bridge on the right. We took his advice, found the path, and as expected it soon veered away and offered a tour of some miscellaneous suburbs. So we veered away and right back on the darn direct road.

Before the dike is a lift bridge and canal, allowing boats to move from the Marketmeer to the Iksselmeer. We lined up with the other traffic, waiting for the bridge to drop.

In terms of bike traffic for once in Netherlands we were pretty much on our own. The Dutch in their upright stance Dutch bikes, with the racks and baby carriers and shopping baskets have no reason to venture out city to city over a forlorn dike. So all we saw was a few dropped handlebar racing crazies, to join the crazy Grampies.

Why are the Grampies up on the dike? Listen to Steve Goodman singing The Dutchman.

The sweep of the dike into the horizon, the blue water, and the wind (at least for a while, at our backs) was exhilarating. Of course, you can’t stay exhilarated for ever, and after some time it became a little bit like being on an exercise bike. No hills, no variation in effort, no excuse to stop.

But wait, there was an excuse to stop! Half way along there is a restaurant, with the inexplicable name of Checkpoint Charlie. The restaurant has its own little harbour, in case you arrive by boat. We found a table overlooking the water, and ordered appelgebak and kaffie. Appelgebak, usually translated “apple pie” here, is halfway between apple pie and apple cake. It always has cinnamon, no doubt plundered from the Spice Islands, and is great.

After that, we easily cranked into Enkhuizen. That is, sort of easily – we first had to contend with a sign that pointed the way to Enkhuizen and in fact lead back onto the dike to Lelystad. Gurrff!

Enkhuizen, when we got there, was a revelation. Here at last were those narrow streets and higgledy piggledy houses, with cafes and shops, that we seem to crave. Here too was a supermarket, called the Deen. In Lidl and Aldi it was impressive the way a multinational can accommodate to local tastes. But still, they have their central production and brands and can never be totally local. Deen was more authentic. One sign of that, I guess, was piles of Gouda cheese in various forms, all over the place. There was also little quick lunches that looked a lot like some sort of Swedish concept. In fact, Netherlands seems a lot closer to Scandinavia than to Germany, in food and housing, even if perhaps not in language.

Back on the cute narrow streets, we cycled along at 3 kph. Dodie got accosted by the first police we have seen in the country. They were on foot, in the tourist area. They told Dodie rather brusquely to look at “that sign”, which apparently signified pedestrians only. Dodie was a bit miffed. Not only were people cycling all over the place, but the signs were not only undecipherable (though graphic only) but switched around every thirty meters, it seemed.

One thing I noticed, was that these police had lettering on their uniforms that said “Politie”. Now, I had seen that before in the last days, on buildings, and had naively assumed these buildings to be city halls, or something – a place where you could get a big helping of “politics”. (It’s scary inside my head, isn’t it?). On the other hand, I was not that far off. “Politics” is translated “politiek”.

Now we had to think about where to head to next. We had read that there is a “cheese market” in Edam on Wednesday (tomorrow). Edam is 30 km south. On the other hand, Alkmaar is supposed to be a charming old city – 30 km west.

We headed for Edam, following the coast, toward Hoorn. Now, though we were on a dike and with (naturally) a water view, we were fighting a headwind. After a bit, signs announced a detour, and backed it up with some barriers. They seemed a bit half hearted, we thought, so we just barged forward.

In due course, the surface became totally torn up, and we were reduced to walking the bikes. A local Dutch couple rode up on their unladen large wheeled bikes, and we asked them if the road would improve ahead. They said they did not know, but still charged on. So we followed. After a km there was a side road, and no improvement in the dike top, so we took it, turning down off the dike. At the bottom, there was the Dutch couple. They had disassembled a barrier, and were waiting for us to come and pass through, before reassembling it. Nice people!

Now that we were off the dike, we ran into a sign for some camping, and went for it. It turned out to be camping “ De Appelhoek” , run by Paul and Ellen Wagenaar. The place is mainly a dairy farm, with 50 head of a black and white type of cow that always has black eyes. They may look a bit like Holsteins, but they are not.

Here we have a quiet spot basically to ourselves, and the family gave us access to their internet. There is a reasonable sanitary block, with power plugs by the sinks. No problem plugging in the computer there overnight, we are just on the farm, with the Wagenaars.

For tomorrow we are talking about abandoning Edam and heading for Alkmaar and then back north toward the Afsluitdijk. This was our first day in “Holland”, meaning the province of North Holland, and we really like it here. We are looking forward to circling around for a few days, and perhaps it does not matter too much exactly where we go. On the other hand, we look at that Afsluitdijk as a challenge, and we are going for that!

Flat nectarines and peaches. Tasted the same, though.

We came across this pirate ship afloat. It was at a ship archeology place, where other boats were being restored or preserved in big buildings

Canon ports can be seen at the back of the ship

Waiting for the lift bridge over the passageway that allows boats through the dike

Fishermen - actually a rare sight here for some reason

Fear of no salting if the path is frozen

Yes, this boat is sailing over our heads.

Enkhuizen - we are back to narrow streets and lots of activity

Enkhuizen - the bakery - ok, but not wow

Enkhuizen - great bike. The steering is by a linkage from the back.

Kinda Swedish offering at the grocery store

Cooked roast beef is almost raw. We got two takeout roast beef sandwiches the other day and had to chuck them. We thought it was the restaurant, but maybe this is normal. Anyway, not good on a hot bike for a picnic.

On special at the Deene store - yes, cheese!

No people, kids, houses, or cars allowed?

This tall lady does not look like much of a bike rider (wrong shoes!)

On the way south to Hoorn - suitably old houses

Always love to photograph Deux Chevaux - this is a rare thing to see here

Almost every house had some sort of precision vase display in its windows

Typical bike traffic on the dike by the lake

What we see when looking left as we head for Hoorn

Should we believe them about this detour, or not?

The Dutch couple and friends were waiting for us, after lifting the barrier so we could pass

At the farm - whiteface cows with black eyes

The farmer still uses wooden shoes (unless he needs his big rubber boots!)

Round hay bales, also plastic wrapped silage is in use here.

Today's ride: 59 km (37 miles)
Total: 5,589 km (3,471 miles)

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