Made it to Amsterdam

Before I forget, there was something interesting at the Bastille Day parade that I forgot to mention. The entire time that the French were showcasing their military might, they were playing the song that TBDBINTL (Buckeye Band) plays when they do "Script Ohio". Is there any hidden meaning in this?



Since my last post a few hours ago, we continued biking north along the North Sea Bike Route. We stopped for a great lunch in a town called Zandvoort. Very cool place right on the North Sea. I had crab salad and Jordan had curried chicken. That is her second curry dish this trip. Maybe I should send her to India?

Haarlem was a short bike ride from here. Pretty fair sized town about 20 clicks from Amsterdam. Quite a bit different from Harlem, NYC, although my last time there I had awesome ribs at Dinosaur Barbecue with Pat and Barb McGahan. We decided to hop a train into central Amsterdam rather than ride into the city. I had the address of a relatively cheap hotel called Hotel Winston that was recommended in "The Lonely Planet" book. As we were winding thru the crowded streets with our fully-loaded bikes I happened to lead us into an alley where on each side of us were scantily-clad women in picture windows. The alley was pretty dark, but you could get a good idea on what was being sold there! It is amazing that after several thousand miles flying to London and about 1,000 kilometers biking, I, like a homing pigeon, end up smack dab in the middle of the red-light district!

The Hotel Winston was booked and the girl at the front desk suggested I walk south for a half hour to get something cheaper out of the central district. I thought this was good advice, so we took off and found a SMALL, but decent place near the museums. The stairs are incredibly steep and I am on the top floor (4th floor). I carried all of our gear to our room while Jordan guarded the bikes. The proprietor said he could not keep the bikes in the hotel, but showed us where a place called MacBikes was where we could store them for 1/2 Euro per day. Pretty good deal, if they are still there when we get them on Monday or Tuesday!

Had dinner at a nice local place, walked around, found restaurant row near the museums, and had dessert. It was about midnight by this time so we headed back to the room. Sunday will be our sight-seeing day.

Further mechanical issues... One of my nuts holding my rack came loose and fell off the other day. I noticed a was getting a lot of sway, when I discovered it. Took an extra nut from when of the water bottle braze-ons and fixed it. Yesterday, I noticed a clicking of my spokes in the rear wheel. When we unloaded our stuff for the train to Amsterdam, I noticed that one of the welds on the Braeburn back rack had failed! I have never seen this happen before. That rack was only about 16 months old! If I had my neighbor and friend, Iain Grant, here, I am sure he could fix it in a jiffy. He has his own metal shop in his garage. Looks like I will have to buy a new rack.

General notes on Holland... This is an unbelievable tidy country. Hardly any litter, public restrooms very clean. Everything in its place. I like it very much.