Sunday Morning Ride

Initially I was planning on taking the XP just for a ride to the supermarket. We were out of bread and since some supermarkets are open on Sunday in the Netherlands, I rode to Baarle-Nassau. It was pretty windy and cloudy, but as I came closer to the border, the sky opened up and the sun came through. So instead of returning home after shopping, I decided to spend more time on my bike. Besides the bread I also bought an extra bottle of regular water and I was on my way. I had to start to work at 01.00 p.m.today, so I figured I might enjoy some riding time before going to work.

When I rode from Gilze to Tilburg, I encountered the following road sign :

Can't translate it litterally, but the sign warns bicyclists for a bumpy ride caused by tree roots pushing up the tiles ( wortel = root, opdruk = pressing upward). Haven't heard of read something like this anywhere yet, though it's nice to be warned before you actually feel how bad the road surface is, no ?

When I rode to Goirle, I was pleasantly suprised to discover that they actually have bicycle streets : a road reserved for bicycles. Other traffic is allowed to participate but have to give the right of way to bicyclists. I knew they existed in the Netherlands, but never actually had seen one before. No wonder the Netherlands is one of the leading countries when it comes to bicycling ! Can't imagine the same kind of treatment of bicyclists in my own country, but it's nice to actually see that things can be turned around in favor of the bicycle, instead of motorized traffic. And it made me realize how fortunate I am to be living close to such a bike-friendly country. Most of my bike riding takes place in the Netherlands, if I'm not riding the towing paths near the canal, that is ...

A bicycle street ....

When going through the centre of Goirle, I passed the Irene Street, which was completely turned into the color orange and was renamed Orange Street. As you know, the Dutch are really crazy when it comes to their national soccer team, this is just one of the many ways the Dutch show their support. Unbelievable !

Orange Crazyness ...

By the time I got home, I spent almost 4 hours on the XP, enjoying every minute of it. Let's hope the afternoon shift at work will not be to busy ;-)