Year: 2013

Late October Bishop Castle 200k


Sunday was a great day to ride Bishop Castle 200. I started early and rode the counterclockwise Colorado City route. If you like to front load climbing and/or are starting when it’s cold, this is a good way to do the ride. The disadvantage is that traffic on the 15 mile stretch of I-25 is heavier in the afternoon than early morning. The Bishop Castle RUSA permanents are only available from May 1-Oct 31. That’s because the upper elevations can be icy. Even yesterday when the high was 71F and the low just below 32F there were a few sketchy corners near Bishop Castle.

Photos from October 2012

Dordrecht – Waterbus – Ferry

Ferry docking at Krimpen ann de Lek
Kinderdijk from the ferry
Getting up to speed. We’re not out for a cruise.
Scullers in the distance
One guess. Which one belongs to the Amerikaan?
It looks so … official
I’m impressed!

Dordrecht was one of my favorite rides of the trip. Funny thing too, because it was the only time in Rotterdam I it rained. Though, I’m sure no one from the Netherlands … or Portland … or Vermont would have called it rain. I biked to Dordrecht, then took the waterbus to Alblasserdam. I was shocked how fast the waterbus was once it got up to speed. I then biked to Kinderdijk and took the ferry across the river to Krimpen aan de Lek. A bargain at 75 cents, though I don’t know if I’d think it so cheap if I did it frequently. It’s a very short ride. Still far preferable to swimming. From there a bike ride back to Rotterdam. A great day on the water and bike paths around Rotterdam!

Learning Dutch? Have an iOS device? Here’s my tip for the day Omroep.nl Radio 1 app. Available even in the US App Store!

Stop action video of ride, 6:30.

Gouda, not the cheese

I happened upon this when I got lost looking for the “fietspad” out of town
Kaas en Ambachten Museum
Surprise! A bike.

Well maybe the cheese. I didn’t partake, though the Kaas en Ambachten Museum looked like it was open.

After Sunday’s SUP session I took off for a 45 mile ride. It’s true, I really felt like going back to the apartment and having a beer, but there were only so many days to ride. My goal was Gouda, and Sunday afternoon was a lovely time to visit.

[Update 25 Aug 2013: Added photos from the GoPro. You can see all 7,000+ photos in 11.5 minutes on Vimeo. There’s also a 8.5 minute video of Rotterdam on Sunday morning.]

Today’s tip, and this one expires soon: download the 3voor12 app and listen to Eefje de Visser‘s new album “Het Is”. Or listen via your web browser at 3voor12. Zij komt uit Gouda, so it’s appropriate she’s featured on this post.