Amsterdam, at last!

Friday, July 13.

Our riding day was relatively short today, only about 30 miles. On the LF2b for most of the day until we lost it at a construction site, we traveled through more picturesque countryside. We were literally riding atop dikes that held back canals and lakes from houses built by people who so trusted the barriers that their houses were lower than the water. The houses and canals were gorgeous, and in the process of threading our way through them toward Amsterdam, we were actually in bicycle traffic jams. Holland really is the center of cycling.

Everyone, and I do mean everyone, rides a bicycle here. They are a very different style, allowing the rider to remain upright and in street clothes. We've been passed on the bike route by men and women in their 80s, people commuting in their business suits, and today we saw a woman with her two children on her bike, and talking on her cell phone as she rode.

We're now comfortably ensconced in a Novotel near the airport where Chris and Roger will fly home tomorrow. We were actually able to cycle right to the airport today on cycling paths to check on their flight details. Tomorrow after breakfast, they will cycle to the airport, break their bikes down and bag them for travel and we will head into Amsterdam by train. We'll see Amsterdam on foot, since it's the bike theft capital of the world.

Sunday, we'll set off for Hannover toward Karin and Joe.