Bicycle: 57 km
Riding time: 3:27 h
Total ascent: 64 m
Avg speed: 16.5 km/h
Max speed: 30.6 km/h
Route: Amsterdam to Leiden
Weather: Sunny but getting colder, 12 C
Today I went to Amsterdam to pick up my new bicycle at Vacantiefietser, where I ordered it more than 3 months ago (it didn't obviously help that I was out myself about 2 months, so it was actually there waiting for me since late July).
Riding time: 3:27 h
Total ascent: 64 m
Avg speed: 16.5 km/h
Max speed: 30.6 km/h
Route: Amsterdam to Leiden
Weather: Sunny but getting colder, 12 C
Today I went to Amsterdam to pick up my new bicycle at Vacantiefietser, where I ordered it more than 3 months ago (it didn't obviously help that I was out myself about 2 months, so it was actually there waiting for me since late July).
After fitting it out in the store with all kind of gadgets one might need (bags, lock, water bottle...) I started my ride home.
Magically my garmin started to work again, but as it had not been responding to any attempts in the last few days, I didn't have the route on the device. However I had planned out an easy route in Strava the night before (well, I just did let Strava do it all), I could follow the Strava route on the mobile phone and record it on Garmin.
Specially the first part of the ride out of Amsterdam towards Haarlem was really nice. Although one is riding out of a big city into another city, it is mainly through green. Later on it was for many, many kilometres always along the same river, so very easy to follow. But a bit boring maybe. (Not that cycling in the Netherlands is terribly interesting, landscape wise). I did come by this museum to the power of steam engines and the eternal fight of the Dutch against the water:
... but I didn't stop to visit and instead continued on.
Coming closer to Leiden, my Strava route foresaw to continue straight, however then I was on known territory and I opted for the detour around Kagermeer, as I was really hungry and had always seen nice restaurants on the lake shore. Well, I tried one, probably the nicest looking of all and had a "schnitzel", but frankly enough it wasn't good at all. Just no flavour whatsoever.
I had gained however sufficient strength for the remaining ride back home, through the fields into the sunset:
Surprisingly the new bicycle isn't very fast. I had thought that it would be much easier / faster to ride than my brompton, but maybe because of the weight (it is REALLY heavy) or maybe the brompton already is quite fast, it wasn't a quick and effortless ride, as I had hoped.
It is however also true that I haven't been cycling for the last 2+ months (with a few exceptions) and my last adventure on the brompton was also very tiring and very short. So maybe it is not the bicycle but the legs on top of it...
Coming closer to Leiden, my Strava route foresaw to continue straight, however then I was on known territory and I opted for the detour around Kagermeer, as I was really hungry and had always seen nice restaurants on the lake shore. Well, I tried one, probably the nicest looking of all and had a "schnitzel", but frankly enough it wasn't good at all. Just no flavour whatsoever.
I had gained however sufficient strength for the remaining ride back home, through the fields into the sunset:
Surprisingly the new bicycle isn't very fast. I had thought that it would be much easier / faster to ride than my brompton, but maybe because of the weight (it is REALLY heavy) or maybe the brompton already is quite fast, it wasn't a quick and effortless ride, as I had hoped.
It is however also true that I haven't been cycling for the last 2+ months (with a few exceptions) and my last adventure on the brompton was also very tiring and very short. So maybe it is not the bicycle but the legs on top of it...
