Cycle: 95.25km//5hr45min//16.2km/hr (EXTREME WIND)
Monday Sept 2
Today's star was the wind. It blew us back all day long, like it wanted us to turn around and sail back to the Ranstad (along with everyone else). Zealand is not for you, it whistled to me. However, today we prevailed, but consecutive days like today could get maddening. We cycled over the Delta Work dykes, which prevent the land from getting flooded, and provide for a scenic and relatively direct ride along the Dutch coast to Belgium. The Dutch struggle with the sea, its everywhere, as are their massive engineering projects to get the upper hand. One of the Delta Work dykes turns into (natural or created?) a long sandy beach, which gets high winds and a kite surfing paradise. We cycled by (at a mere 9km/hr) and easily saw 50-100 kite surfers. Looks fun.
Pressing on, we rode through many km's of sand dunes, and passed by a bench with a couple sitting on it. I declared how jealous I was that they would see the sunset from there, it was the perfect spot! Sadly, we had to find water and a campsite. While we found water at an OH (or AH) , we did not find suitable camping (euro camping sites no longer count). We decided we could, and should, wild camp in the dunes we had cycled through. We headed back to that bench, set out a tarp, made dinner, and watched the sunset with 2 couples who clearly had a similar idea. Unlike us, they quickly left when the sun went down. Just as quickly (after that) our tent went up! Private beach camping. Yay! (The unfortunate cost being sand on my chain and hub ;(
Today will also be remember for the beginning of Bailey's buying. Hello instantly tasty coffee and hot chocolate (and mid afternoon roadside pick-me-ups).
 |
| Kite surfers enjoying one of the Delta Works dykes along the southern Belgian Coast |
 |
| Cycle tourists also enjoy the sandy beaches. |
 |
| We beat you wind, ha! Try to blow me back. No, no you cant. |
 |
| Come with me, out to the dunes where we'll camp for free in peace and prettiness!! |
 |
| Sadly, wild camping also does not usually come with chairs or a picnic table. |
 |
| Glorious sunset at our Dunes wild camp site. |
