Ride Across the Netherlands, Day 3

The smell at the cheese market was amazing

We woke up to rain in Alkmaar and decided to finish the walking tour we started last night, hoping to avoid a wet ride. As it happened, we were in Alkmaar on the morning of the once-a-week cheese market so we stayed until it opened at 10am. Strong cheese smell!

By the time the cheese market was in full swing the rain had stopped, so we rode dry again. We rode on top of dikes, across polders, and through lots of farmland where we saw many, many windmills. We got lost and ended up back where we started at one point but figured it out in the end. The circle in the middle of the map shows where we got lost.

We crossed this scenic bridge three times

We crossed the Amstel river via pedestrian and bicycle ferry to arrive in Amsterdam. Finding our way through the city was frustrating. The bicycle, tram, pedestrian and automobile traffic in Amsterdam is intense, and the route we were following disappeared. Turns out the LF7 merges with another route, the LF2; cyclists following other routes through Amsterdam are meant to follow the LF2 signs. It took us a while to figure that out, and my backseat driver navigational assistance probably didn't help.

Dinner with our Warm Showers hosts Leo and Annette was delicious and inspiring. They've cycled from Alaska to Mexico along the continental divide route, down South America all the way to Tierra del Fuego, and throughout Indonesia and Southeast Asia. We enjoyed learning how they travel, and they encouraged us to dream big. Getting to sleep will not be difficult; we are tired after a challenging day, and we need to rest up for another 70km ride tomorrow.

Want to see our route? Click here for the day 3 map.