50K on the Rondje Haarlem*

So my sister and I are doing this 50-mile bike ride between Glasgow and Edinburgh on Sunday. When I signed up for it I was sure I would be super biker chick having biked to and from work all summer (which I didn't). I also thought "Oh, 50 miles isn't too bad", which I learned on Monday is not the case...at least for me. Oh, sure, it won't kill me, but the 30-mile ride we did on Monday showed me how out of shape I really am.

In spite of the sore bum and sunburn, it was a really lovely ride. We saw windmills and lots and lots of cows and sheep. (The photo is from our ride.) There were some horses and followed canals in wide open fields. We also rode by mansions and through incredibly picturesque villages. We had a nice picnic lunch in a place called Spaarndam. And perhaps the most lovely thing of all: it was not raining!

*The Rondje Haarlem is bicycle route that goes all around the outskirts of the city of Haarlem. http://www.rondjehaarlem.info/index_uk.php

On the fietspad

Today my sister, her fiance and I rode our bikes to the local pancake house called De Oase. Very fitting that a place you can eat Dutch pancakes and drink beer would be "The Oasis"! After lunch, my sister and I went on a hike in the nearby park. The pancake house is actually just outside the entrance. That is one of the wonderful things about Europe (at least I've found it in Northern Europe). One moment you can be doing something outdoorsy and athletic and the next you are setting yourself down for major carbohydrates and beer. Cheers!

My sister and I took a bike path (fietspad) home that goes through some park land which contains many old estates. I thought this would be a good spot to pose for a picture. Nice Dutch bike, nice Dutch architecture.