To get to Ouddorp and my campsite, this bit of humanity on a bicycle needed to cross the first of my four dams, the Haringvlietdam. As you might expect, the Dutch had afforded cyclists much more than a painted line on the road. We had our own two-way segregated lane and the only force of nature I had to contend with was that of the wind which was doing its best to toss me over the edge of the dam and into the lake on my left. It was not difficult to see why the concept of the windmill had taken off in such a big way in these parts. There was a particularly stunning example of one such windmill as I passed through the outskirts of the village of Goedereede. It stood, motionless, at the far end of a busy field of allotments which was dominated by a pleasingly chaotic display of red, orange and yellow wildflowers alongside more disciplined rows of vegetables. In a day that had already exposed me to many of the delights of the Dutch nation, this was perhaps the finest and I paused to appreciate it in all its glory.
Le Grand Tour on a Bike Called Wanda recounts Andrew P. Sykes’ journey around France, into the Alps and down the Rhine in the summer of 2022. It is available as a paperback and as and eBook from Amazon.co.uk, Amazon.com (and other international Amazon sites). The paperback is also available from Waterstones or Foyles and the eBook from Apple iBooks. If you would like to gift a signed copy of the book, please complete the form below:
Le Grand Tour on a Bike Called Wanda (signed copy)
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Categories: Adventure, Cycling, Le Grand Tour, Travel
