Dune Tour from Alkmar 12 May

Day 2 Dune Tour from Alkmar followed by river cruise to Den Helder

Despite a warm night we slept well. I had a quick foray into the town first thing to pick up some fruit and more suntan lotion. We were eager to head out on our ride as we needed to be back for 1500 at the latest when the drawbridge would be drawn up! The sea waits for no man, or at least that is what the captain said.

The first part of our ride was very pleasant with the wind behind us through pretty suburbs to our first (essential) coffee stop in Schoorl at the bottom of a downhill ski run – comprising sand rather than snow! Mike and I occasionally saw other riders from our boat, but they were fairly spread out and no one else stopped at this lovely little café. Before this we rode through Bergen where there was a beautiful town centre dominated by a ruined church see below. Round the grounds of the church were various displays of pictures from the war showing the impact on the local population. It really resonated with me and was an iconic memorial to those times.

At this point both feeling revitalised and strong we decided to opt for the longer route through the forest fringing the dunes. The dappled sunshine and excellent path winding back and forth made for a delightful tranquil ride. Interestingly there were very few flowers. We came across some highland cattle but no wild ponies as our guide had promised. Not quite the wildlife savannahs of Africa. We started to appreciate on this rolling terrain that these bikes were not made for going uphill! And even less so into the wind which was in our face when we turned south.

The dunes themselves were impressive, still marching we are told slowly westwards , and framed by long sandy beaches. I imagine in the summer this would be very busy but we were lucky to be here out of season. Thought of having a café stop at Bergen aan Zee but it was a bit crowded / touristy so we headed on and found a beautiful spot just off the bike trail for our tea and sarnies. Lovely to chill and soak up the sunshine before getting back on our bikes and fortunately heading inland away from the wind.

Our route back was uneventful until we got close to the outskirts of Alkmar when we came across a French group from the ship. Unfortunately they were struggling with the navigational cues as Ride with GPS was often telling them to go left in French when they needed to go right – but not every time! They tucked in behind us and we all managed to navigate back to the ship.

We wanted to explore some of Alkmar before the afternoon departure so after a quick shower headed into town for a gentle wander around followed by a very nice beer and bitterballen at a café on the canal. This is what supported cycle touring is all about. The buildings in the old part of the town were very pretty. Happy days.

The cruise to Den Helder was great as the sun was shining, we sat on the sun deck with others watching life pass by (the previous week it had been wet and windy) drinking tea and eating cake! Was very impressed by the rail bridge which lifted to let us pass. The Netherlands has certainly industrialised their waterways and the engineering is most impressive.

Was nice later on, as it cooled down and the wind picked up, to sit in our cabin with the curtains open and watch the river scenes as I read my book.

See below for a video of our ride. Note to see the full controls click on the < control on the progress bar. This will allow you to watch the video full screen.