With a major life change rapidly approaching, and winter closing in, every weekend has suddenly become precious. If it’s sunny, then cycling we shall go.
This ‘carpe diem’ attitude sparked the latest mini adventure: a tour to northern Holland and the island of Texel. This picture sums up the trip: gorgeous.
In case you don’t know where Texel is, this map should help orient you. Amsterdam is down in the bottom left corner. The route is about 120km in total, and easily done in a couple of days. You can ride on dedicated bike paths for almost the entire time.
And who was cycling, exactly? Well, this time your trusty cyclists were Friedel & Alicia – not Andrew, because he was away in Germany. A girl’s weekend out. Fun! Even more fun was the fact that we both had new Brompton folding bikes, so we decided to test their touring credentials. Here we are, with our almost-matching bikes.
In the summer, the area we rode through would be heaving with tourists. Happily, in November, it was desolate and beautiful. We rode through empty forests…
And alongside sand dunes (the ocean is just on the other side)…
And sometimes we stopped at a farm stall to pick up treats, like blackberry jam. If we’d been here in the summer, we might have also bought strawberries, honey or even wool!
The whole weekend turned out to be a bit of a culinary adventure. Cheese, potatoes and Texel beer were quickly added to our small bags.
We also got up extra early on Saturday, to photograph the sunrise, with Alicia’s medium-format camera.
On sunny autumn weekends, Texel is a landscape photographer’s dream.
From there, it was on to see some friendly seals at an aquarium and seal refuge.
And finally back home again, via a beautiful lighthouse.
A short trip, but a very rewarding one – and through all of it the Brompton bikes held up admirably. We were impressed at how comfortable they were to ride over long distances, even on some unpaved paths. And there’s no arguing with the ease of putting them on the train compared to other bikes. No extra bike ticket. No time restrictions. Perfect! Other Brompton trips are almost certainly in the planning for the future.
14th November 2011 at 11:09 am #
Looks like you had a nice time! as they say, make hay (or bicycle) while the sun shines.
Having a “Brompton” gives one the option of taking the public transport in case the weather turns nasty. Damn I was trying to curtail my urge to get one 🙂
14th November 2011 at 5:50 pm #
Hi there,
Please check your mail, we’ve posted a couple of questions for you!
Rob & Muriel
(Texel island residents…:-)
15th November 2011 at 4:32 pm #
Hi Friedel,
Glad to see you were able to get out this past weekend. We’ve cycled up in at area so you brought back very happy memories. Thank you
Brenda in the Boro UK
27th November 2011 at 1:28 pm #
Hang about; is that a hill in the first picture? In the Netherlands!
27th November 2011 at 5:08 pm #
There are a few, if you know where to look 😉
27th July 2022 at 1:04 pm #
How can I contact you? I am interested in more info.
30th November 2011 at 4:47 am #
I passed up Texel in 2008. Looking at your report I now regret it. But we were on our way from Amsterdam to Copenhagen, then to other Nordic destinations 300 km beyond the Arctic Line. So detours had to be trimmed. But Texel looks superbly ideal for a bike jaunt. Wonder how my Dahon would go compared with your Bromtons?
Happy cycling adventures.
Smiles, Kiwi Roy S…
13th March 2022 at 11:58 am #
Thanks again for the blog. Want more.
20th March 2022 at 5:22 pm #
Looking forward to reading more. Great blog.Much thanks again. Really Cool.
28th March 2022 at 2:13 pm #
Great blog.Much thanks again. Awesome.
5th April 2022 at 10:34 am #
Enjoyed every bit of your post. Awesome.
8th April 2022 at 10:10 pm #
https://www.zabkanewyork.com/cara-download-lagu-mp3-full-dengan-mudah/
10th April 2022 at 9:33 am #
Thanks for the blog. Keep writing.
10th April 2022 at 9:47 am #
https://flaminglipssixhoursong.com/download-lagu-cheating-on-you/
26th April 2022 at 1:31 pm #
I really enjoy the article. Want more.
1st May 2022 at 6:53 pm #
Wow, great blog.Much thanks again. Cool.
7th May 2022 at 1:40 am #
Looking forward to reading more. Great blog.Much thanks again. Great.
23rd May 2022 at 6:27 am #
I enjoy reading an article that will make people think. Also, thank you for permitting me to comment.
11th June 2022 at 6:43 pm #
https://picktocar.com/index.php?page=user&action=pub_profile&id=380419
20th June 2022 at 9:41 am #
http://ap-land.com/archives/13759
25th June 2022 at 9:07 pm #
download lagu seperti kisah rizky febian mp3
23rd July 2022 at 8:43 am #
I am interested in more information. How can I reach you?
24th July 2022 at 5:24 pm #
Thanks so much for your hard work.