Bloeming marvellous

The Netherlands is/are (plural?) fantastically set up for cycling. Although I pedalled around the country in 2011 I forgot that Amsterdam is relatively close to the North Sea coast. Therefore on what promised to be the nicest weather day of the weekend, we cycled from Amsterdam to Bloemendaal am Zee. As a seaside resort it is very low key, with some huge gulls scratching about. Coupled with the very common grey herons that are everywhere and are not perturbed by speeding cyclists, it's been a successful day for large birds. The most comical heron we saw was sheltering during a rain shower alongside some homeless folk underneath a bridge.

The Netherlands are even more densely populated than the UK, which necessitates it being a masterclass in infrastructure and planning. The country factors in the needs of cyclists above almost anything else. Every five minutes as we cycled past copses and ditches and into headwinds, we marvelled at the cycleways, dedicated traffic lights, signage, and roundabouts with bike lanes and priority rights for cyclists. The provisions in the planning are simply excellent.

Pedalling into the strong winds is hungry work and the highlight of the day was lunch in the sun at a relaxing cafe next to a pond. Apple cake, coffee and panini. And Han's eyes were bigger than her stomach when she ordered some extra bitterballen. Which were greasy and delicious.

We were exhausted by the time we got back to Amsterdam, after cycling over 40 miles, according to Strava. Han complained about her painful 'undercarriage.' With some tasty Syrian food we replenished our depleted bodies.