This morning I woke up in my B&B in Enkhuizen, North Holland to be faced with the difficult decision as to whether I should continue with my 7 day Zuiderzeeroute tour.
Overnight the weather had deteriorated to the extent that I became concerned for my safety in the extreme high winds, torrential rainfall and low temperatures.
When I set off from Huizen yesterday morning there were already fairly strong headwinds and heavy rain showers for much of the 112 km ride north to my planned overnight stop at Enkhuizen.
Last night I checked the weather forecasts for the coming days and again this morning.
Essentially the weather was to become much worse, with temperatures falling, headwinds getting stronger and more frequent periods of heavy rain.
I concluded that yesterday’s conditions were right on the limit of what I considered acceptable and safe.
With the decision made to abandon the tour, I then had to decide the best way to return home to South Limburg, some 300 km south of Enkhuizen.
I had driven, with the bike on the car, to my starting point in Huizen, after which Ans continued to Delft to spend a few days with her friend. It made no sense logistically or economically for her to come and collect me.
(We had a great overnight stop at the Fletcher Hotel in Huizen before going our separate ways….)
Fortunately for me Enkhuizen is on the end of one of the longest railway routes in the Netherlands and at the other end is Heerlen, where we live.
Since arriving in the Netherlands in 2018 I’ve had an OV Chipcart issued by the national railway company NS.
This gives me a 40% discount on off-peak rail fares and a fixed price of €7.50 to take the cycle any distance. Therefore it cost me less than €25 to get home….something of a bargain!
As I cycled the 1 km from my B&B to the railway station in Enkhuizen it started to rain, and this became a heavy hailstorm as I waited for my train.
The train I went on was the Intercity service directly to Heerlen, with no changes and 14 intermediate stops.
Journey time 3.5 hours plus a very wet 5 km cycle ride from the station to home.
The dedicated cycle area was warm, comfortable and clean. It’s the first time I’ve ever taken the bike on a train and am impressed with the overall experience.
Pictures from Thursday are here.
Pictures from Friday are here.
Pictures from Saturday are here.
Today’s featured image is from the canal in Enkhuizen on my walk back to the B&B yesterday evening after my meal/beer.
I plan to return here later in the year to continue the Zuiderzeeroute….
