journal features

cycling by the sea-side

the journal of Michael Werneburg

twenty-seven years and one million words

Hook of Holland, 2023.06.20

I cycled to Hook of Holland after work. I had no phone service, and no map, but I found my way due to the odd bit of good signage, my own ability to guess things like how traffic is shaped and so on, plus lots of strangers. Most of the way was away from the water, but I was in sand dunes for a good bit of that, which was of course pretty amazing. There were a lot of greenhouses and canals and so on, and a genuine old-timey windmill.

It took 2 hours and 30 minutes, and I arrived at 20:30 thinking I could turn around and be home by 23:00. No biggie. But when I brought the heavy bike around I realized I'd had a headwind the whole time. The headwind hadn't mattered too much when I was asking countless people for directions in the city, but it would matter for the ~14km of more or less straightish sea-side sand-dune riding etc. I decided to cheat and take the tram back. Which, because I had to switch in Rotterdam, itself took nearly 90 minutes.

It was awesome riding on separated bike lanes and up and down those dunes and all kinds of places. I saw rabbits three times (once from a tram). This little country sure is amazing.

rand()m quote

The man who lies to himself and listens to his own lie comes to such a pass that he cannot distinguish the truth within him, or around him, and so loses all respect for himself and for others. And having no respect he ceases to love, and in order to occupy and distract himself without love he gives way to passions and coarse pleasures, and sinks to bestiality in his vices, all from continual lying to other men and to himself.

—Fyodor Dostoevsky, The Brothers Karamazov