Amanda writes:
Today we rode 20 km from the airport to the hotel.
Yahoo – we arrived at the land of cheese.
After getting the bikes together at the Airport we headed out. We did have some directions but they were not really helpful. We just followed the general direction out of the airport and hopped on a bike path. We followed signs that said this way to Amsterdam. Pretty easy actually. The bike paths are lovely, just as everyone said they would be. There are so many cyclists it is great to see. I hope one day Vancouver can be similar.
Such a pretty City and clean too.
As we got closer to downtown Amsterdam there was one section that was not on a bike path. It was a small City street that was so pretty and quaint. I found myself site seeing and riding quite slowly. And while enjoying the scenery I failed to notice the tracks for the Trolly cars until it was too late. I went down pretty hard but the panniers and handlebars took the brunt of it. I only scraped my elbow a bit. The locals were very nice in helping get the bike off me. I was still clipped in and realized later that I have Andrew’s pedals and they are much tighter. We will have to change that. Anyways the locals were very nice and concerned not only about me and my bike but as Andrew ran back to see if I was okay they were concerned for his bike. They asked him where his bike was and recommended he bring it closer to where we were. They gave me hand sanitizer and gave us some directions to get back on the bike path and away we went.
I could have taken this picture a hundred times over as it was the scene at every turn.
We continued through the core of the City and then loaded the hotel address into the GPS and we were there. We cleaned up and headed back out to try and find a bike shop as my bike had suffered some damage on the plane. My derailleur is a bit bent and I don’t have my two easiest gears. We enjoyed the sites of the beautiful city and quickly learned after speaking with two bike shops we were out of luck. Bike mechanics don’t work Saturdays and bike shops would be closing until Tuesday. Oh well, I guess I will have to ride faster.
At Centraal station there is a parking garage for bikes, not cars. Awesome! You van only see three levels in the picture but there are more.
Andrew showed me around town, took me to the red light district, Dam Square and Centraal station. Great vibe and so many cyclists. You really have to pay attention. We had a nice meal that made me feel like I was traveling in the USA. The couple sitting next to us assured us it was not a typical meal size. Just meant we had lunch for tomorrow.
Dam Square.
Andrew’s meal that included a whole chicken.
Amanda’s ribs that also came with fries.
After a great meal we went back to the hotel to get some rest and plan tomorrows ride.
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