Nightingales in the dunes close to the beach at Wassenaar.
This is just a brief placeholder; I'll try to get some better nightingale audio in the next couple of weeks. There are many of them between Katwijk & Wassenaar, & I love hearing them every spring.
From today's rather lovely 77km ride up the Leidsevaart & back through the coastal dunes.
Still thinking about this article in #SamvirkeDK : it's a bit counter-intuitive but Danes actually cycle 20% less than in 2014. The article is clear that it's not because we're getting lazy but because we don't invest enough in #cycling.
The Netherlands spends 5x per head each year than #Denmark does.
Especially outside + on the edge of the big cities cycling becomes hard. Given #cyclingLife has so many benefits from health to clean air to congestion it's a scandal
The no-parking areas being imposed on cities by the bike-sharing companies and city councils seem intended to destroy and ridicule the notion that rental e-bikes are a ‘last mile solution.’
I just had to drop a bike 1.8km from my house, after a 7.6km journey home.
Needless to say, countless private cars parked on public pavements in the 1.8km in between.
It may lack the mighty rock formations of Yosemite, but you have to think that Ansel Adams would nevertheless have enjoyed photographing the wide open landscape of The Netherlands & the endlessly changing skies above it 🤷♂️🙂
Lovely weather for this evening’s 60km ride: some warmth left over from the sunny day, but cool enough to be comfortable, & only a slight breeze 🌞🌬️🙇♂️
May we proudly introduce:
Pauline and Madmax ❤️🚲🚲❤️
Wow, look at these beautiful bikes! 🥰Even though the bike assembling is now almost 2 years ago, we are still so in love with them, like we had finished them 2 days ago 😍
Let's highlight some special gear and parts:
First, our frames were built by mawis-bikes in Germany - like you already know from the previous post!👍
Second, we went with a 1x11 drivetrain from Garbaruk, and we are really impressed with the quality 👌 To keep our smartphones charged while riding, we chose the 'Son' dynamo hub and 'Sinewave Cycles' charger. Very stable an reliable 💪 And to give a bit of comfort to our buts we selected the 'Infinity Seat' saddles 🫶
Thankful that this afternoon’s storm was short & sharp, leaving a crisp clear evening for this evening’s final 37km ride ⛈️🌞👍
Thankful also to the good people of The Netherlands, their fantastic cycling infrastructure, & the often beautiful landscape it crosses 🥰
I’ve ridden >97,000km here in the past 12 years, >3,500 hours in the saddle, & it has been vital to my physical & mental health – dank jullie wel 💪🧠🙇♂️