Bike to Utrecht

The spring has lasted too long. Even while leaves sprouted on tree branches, flowers bloomed, and the daylight lasted until 10:00pm, the high temperatures stayed well below 60, and jackets were required outdoors. There has been little warmth - almost no opportunities to run in shorts, or take long bike rides without having my fingers numb.  

Conditions seem to have changed rather suddenly, with highs projected to be in the mid 60s to low 70s for the next ten days. And the timing was excellent; a beer festival held today in Utrecht gave me the perfect excuse for a 40 kilometer bike ride.

I did not have the opportunity to do many biking trips outside of Amsterdam last summer, since I didn't get my road bike until I'd been here for about a month, and I couldn't move my neck much for the next six weeks after that (that whole full speed collision with a motorcycle thing). So the routes around Amsterdam are still relatively new to me, and I'm not familiar with the sights and smells of nature at this time of year.

Buildings overlooking the Amstel as I leave Amsterdam heading south.

Typical sign post telling cyclists which direction to go to their destination, and how many kilometers remain.

It only takes ten minutes to pass livestock and thick fields of pungent, knee high grasses. The cycle path splits many times, with routes leading to different cities. The paths pass through several small cities along the way, with locals walking around doing their grocery shopping, and intercity riders darting through on their road bikes.

Canal in a small town outside of Amsterdam.

One of the small towns I passed through was having some type of outdoor market. I saw a sign that said "Jaarmarkt 19 Mai," which might mean that today was an annual market of some type. All the side streets in one part of town were packed with small tables of (mostly older) people selling pots, glasses, dishes, paintings, furniture, etc. And some booths selling food, either cheeses and meats for people to take home, or sandwiches, ice cream, and pie to eat on the spot.

Market

The route from Amsterdam to Utrecht is about 40 kilometers (so, about 25 miles), but it took me almost three hours to do because of all the places to stop and explore. Along with the town market and the other locations photographed above, the route passed right by a castle I'd never heard of. I took the small path leading to the castle, and I walked around the perimeter (which was free; there was a fee to go inside, and I was already late for the beer festival, so I declined to pay).

Behind Zuylen Castle

Side of Zuylen Castle

I arrived at the beer festival after three hours on the bike. It was packed. There was no line for beer at the spring beer festival in Utrecht in March. Today, I waited between three and ten minutes for each of the four ten ounce beers I had. Like many things in the Netherlands (e.g., Gay Pride day), children joined their parents in the fun, and the young and old mixed together seamlessly. A Dutch blues/rock group played loud music in the tent in the center of the festival, and vendors served hot food, including a pork sandwich with a honey mustard sauce made from scratch, and a thick Irish style stew with meat, carrots, and potatoes (I had both).

So, with the weather turning nice, hopefully this will be the first of many summer cycling opportunities.