Memories of ECO-TRIP NL 2003

by Kenneth Davison

It had been arranged that I would meet Bob, Emily and Sandy at the North Shields ferry terminal between 4:00 pm and 4:30 pm on the afternoon of Saturday the 24th May 2003. The rain delayed the arrival of Bob and Sandy as they had taken shelter, while Emily braved the weather to come and inform me of the delay. Once together we were ushered on board the D.F.D.S North Sea Ferry at the start of our Netherlands Eco Trip.

The aims

To quote the organiser, Erik Wannee of the Dutch Human Powered Vehicle Association, 'to meet up with fellow cyclists from other countries and using many different types of bikes / recumbents machines, as a means of transport, enjoy a cycling holiday touring the Netherlands promoting environmentally friendly tourism'.

Sunday 25th May 2003 - IJmuiden

Having enjoyed a good nights sleep we arrived at the Dutch harbour of IJmuiden on time. Prior to docking at IJmuiden a good and full breakfast had been taken on board. In no time we had disembarked.
Before the start of our ride of the day we checked over our machines and touring gear.

Edam

Bob lead the way from the docks and in no time we had accessed the cycle route that would, after only 19 km/12 mile, bring us to the free cycle ferry that would carry us north on our way to the Zaandam Open Air Windmill Museum and our first stop of the day. Lunch and two hours later, we were back on our transport heading towards Edam, some 24 km/14 mile further on.
Arriving in the village of Edam, and with the bikes/trike locked up opposite a public house, we entered to have refreshments.
During my chat with the young lady serving, we were to learn that the pub was over two hundred years old and still had many of the original fittings in place. To our surprise in walked John Turvey and Paul Stobbs saying that they had spotted my pirate flag flying from my Trice XL trike.
They had been touring Holland for a few days before joining us for the Eco Trip.

Accommodation

Our accommodation in Edam would be a canoe clubhouse. Within a short time of leaving the public house we arrived at our lodging for the night. After securing all our bikes for the night, we entered the canoe club where we were greeted by Saskia van Oostwaard and Erik Wannee who had worked very hard to put the Netherlands Eco Trip together.
Having signed in, we received a package containing a special tee shirt, an I.D. card and a booklet full of information about our trip. Included in the booklet were maps and a day-by-day account of the places that we would visit during the trip.

Food

After all 39 participants had taken a seat around the tables, light refreshments of tea, coffee, thick soup, and bread were served. This was followed by a welcoming speech by Erik. While we all introduced ourselves a small presentation off a new pirate flag was made to me on behalf of the Dutch HPV cyclists with Paulus den Boer doing the honours. In return I handed over my English pirate flag to Paulus saying I would treasure my new flag and fly it on my trike.
The participants taking part in this Eco Trip had travelled from Belgium, Germany, England, Sweden, Switzerland and all over the Netherlands, and before long it was time to put down our bedrolls for the night and get some sleep.

Monday 26th May 2003

I woke very early and it was strange to see 39 complete strangers, both male and female, in the same sleeping area, slowly and without a word rise up, start packing panniers and bags, then arranging the tables for breakfast of tea and bread with cheese, jam or honey. The remainder of the food, along with an apple and a fruit drink, would be used for our lunch. Each day a van and trailer was to act as a back up, the driver was Elvin Haak.
As I was testing out the handling of my new trike, a Trice XL, I carried everything with me on the back of the pannier system. By 9:00 am riders and machines were ready for the off, and heading in the direction of our first stop of the day at Hoorn. Before our arrival at Hoorn, we were to stop at the site where in the late 1950's the dike had broken its banks with terrible loss of life (some 1500 people, I believe). Standing looking over this site it was hard to imagine how such a thing could happen. Now a duel pumping station system controls the flow of water and keeps the water level in check, as vast areas of Holland are below sea level.
On reaching Hoorn, we were lucky to find a street café, as getting 39 people inside may have proved a bit difficult. The sun had now broken through the early morning cloud and it was nice to just sit and relax before we continued our days ride along the IJsselmeer towards Enkhuizen, our lunch stop for the day.

Enkhuizen

The centre of the town is dominated by the Zuiderzee museum. After lunch our cycling group would be split into two parties, one for the English speaking and one for the Dutch speaking, to allow guides to take each party on a tour of the museum. The visit to the museum over, it was time for the local press to interview Erik Wannee and take some pictures of the group arriving in the town for the papers (one appeared in the papers the next day showing our arrival).

Bovenkarspel

After a lazy afternoons ride, it was not long before another mass invasion of cyclists hit the small village of Bovenkarspel. This was to be home for the night, and the local garage floor would serve as a resting place. Shortly after we had parked the bikes / recumbents, a welcome hot drink and cakes were handed out by the parents of the president of Cycle Vision (Jack Dekker). The Dekkers made us all very welcome and later served up our main meal of the day.

The press and TV

Having enjoyed my meal it was now time to join a large group sitting outside in the sun. When the TV crew arrived to interview the trip organiser, I was asked if I would be prepared to talk to them. The interview over, I returned to join the people who were going for a small drink before turning in for the night. The next day I was told that my five minutes of fame had gone out on TV and had been well received by the Dutch TV viewers.

Tuesday 27th May 2003 - the dike crossing

I was the first to stir from my sleep on the garage floor and, stepping over the bodies, the toilet was my target so I could get to the hand basin before the rest woke and formed a line.
Soon the kettles were boiling and tea and coffee made, followed by the food supplies being laid out on the tables. We have a saying here in the north of England a 'shy bairn gets nowt' so again I was first in line to make up my lunch then have some breakfast. Those wishing to have more sleep ran the risk of not getting first choice of the ample supplies of food. This was a good thing in a way, as we all learnt very fast to get on the move as soon as the first person stirred each morning.
Today's ride was going to be hard, as we would be crossing over the longest dike In Holland. This dike, the Afsluitdijk, is 32 km long and almost entirely made in a straight line. We had hoped for a tail wind but as we came to a stop at the locks that dominate the entrance to the dike the wind was in our faces and remained there for the whole crossing. These locks control the flow of the water of the IJsselmeer and are a fine example of both old and new methods of stemming and controlling water flow. About a third of the way along the dike a monument has been built to commemorate the building of the new dike. This monument also serves as an exhibition centre and refreshment stop over. It was here that our Eco Trip travellers would regroup after being spread out across the dike for the best part of the ride to here. The refreshments over and all riders accounted for, it was now time to continue a little further across the dike before reassembling once again.

Friesland

Having left the dike behind we would now also leave Holland and enter Friesland. And I will now quote from Erik's guidebook "this part of the Nederlands has always been very distinctive, having been one of the first parts after the ice age to be inhabited". To prevent the farmlands flooding small artificial hills were built then, much later, a dike system was developed. It sometimes takes up to four years to clear the reclaimed land of salt before the land can be used for farming.
Accommodation for the next two nights would be in Franeker where we would bed down in one of the many scout houses all around the Netherlands. This gave us all the opportunity to wash our clothes and have them dry out overnight. The evening meal over, it was a short walk along the canal, right across the bridge and we were in the town centre for a look round, before returning to the scout house and bed.
It is well to note that the temperature during the day had risen to 30° Centigrade, and I drank over four litres of water. This had been one very hard day for most the people taking part in the Eco Trip. A total of 85 km had been covered today.

Wednesday 28th May 2003 - solar power day

Today the main party would take a short ride to Harlingen to join the sailing boat 'The Aegir' and spend the day sailing her on the Waddenzee. The remaining party of six would first tidy and clean up the scout house before leaving to go and get supplies for the nighttime meal. Joost Man from Belgium used his fully faired Alleweder machine while the Dutchman Hennie Bijman used his trailer to good effect.

Solar power ferry

Our guide for the day would be Robert Blacquière of Netherlands, the trip's I.T expert. (Robert would update the Eco Trip web site every night with words and pictures, to allow those not lucky enough to have a place on the trip the chance to follow the tour at home on their own PC). By early morning the sun was high in the sky and by 10:00 am we, the "solar party", set off at a leisurely pace and within a distance of 30 km arrived in Suwâld for lunch. Erik Wannee had arranged for us to visit the ferry landing and take a trip across the van Harinxma-kanaal (canal).
Seeing this solar powered ferry was to me the find of the whole trip. An added bonus was to find that the ferry landing's floodlights were also powered via the sun. Our guide and skipper for the day informed the party that the landing and ferry were both manned by volunteers. We later found out that Robert's aunt was one of the said volunteers, but was not on call today. One setback with the batteries that powered the ferry is that they have a life span of only two years.
I too have a solar powered light on the trike, my system has an extra large dual solar cell fitted so that I can also run other equipment such as a cell phone or a G.P.S. while away from home (for more information contact sales@energycapture.co.uk).
Having been refreshed and had a look round the site it was now time to load the six recumbents onto the ferry. My travelling partners allowed me to stand back while they lifted my Trice XL on board after all the other machines were aboard. It was then time to cast off and enjoy the short but enjoyable trip to the other side of the canal. The heat of the day would take its toll and it was necessary to just take our ride of 40 km back to the scout house nice and easy, with two stops for tea/coffee along the way - the temperature by 3:00 pm was 35°C.
It was the duty of those first back to start the nighttime meal. As we were first, after a shower and change of clothes I was able to help out getting everything ready by the time our sailors returned to base for the day. The meal over it was the turn of Erik to address us all on the subject of the next day's long ride. He advised an early night as we would all need to be ready early the next day for the longest ride of the Eco Trip of some 110 km.

Thursday 29th May 2003 - Ascension Thursday

The day started to unfold as early as 5:30 am for me. Having packed all but my sleeping bag and air mat the night before, I was soon putting my food supplies for the day in my panniers. After my breakfast and only five hours sleep it was time to awake the others.
Our group of riders had by 6.30 am made ready their machines, and by 7.00 am we set off on the first leg of our long ride of the day. Within 31 km (that included a short detour plus one puncture) we arrived in the beautiful harbour village of Makkum for a tea stop.
The next leg of our journey would take the group along the IJsselmeer passing through Hindeloopen before we came to a halt in the town of Stavoren. This would give the first group the opportunity to share their experiences of the morning ride with the second group of riders over lunch. The distance covered to here was 57 km. After lunch both groups started off on the next section of the ride, spirits high in both camps, in the direction of Nijemirdum.

Stavoren

During the 12th and 13th centuries Stavoren was a very prosperous city, having trading links throughout the then trading world. But now it is no more than a place for the tourist to visit, have a look round, enjoy a meal and continue on their way.

Ascension Thursday

This is a public holiday in the Netherlands and a day when all the family go riding on their bikes. To an Englishman the sight of young and old, in large numbers, all out riding their bikes was a sight to behold. Everywhere we rode we were passed by many people out enjoying themselves cycling.
The afternoon ride would not be without its problems. Martin & Irmgard Kucharzewski found that the crank on their tandem machine had come loose during the ride through one of two forests in the area. These forests are the Rijsterbos & Gaasterland and are the oldest parts of Friesland. Once out of the forest, it was not long before the problem had been seen to, and we were back on the road in no time.

Pannier rack

My pannier rack that had parted at one point some days earlier and subsequently been held together by zip ties did well from the hammering the trike endured when crossing the many cattle grids and peat moors as we travelled on our way first to Nijemirdum then later to Lemmer, our tea stop for the afternoon. All afternoon I had been eating and drinking as much as I could but still took on board more food and water from the back-up van parked here in Lemmer. This stop was a much welcome break as I could get out of the sun for a short while - the heat by now was unbelievable and affecting all the riders.
Our guides in both parties pointed out that a reception was waiting for us on our arrival in Nijeveen. At the Nazca recumbent factory a Mexican style meal was also being prepared and that this would mean keeping up a steady pace for the rest of the ride so off we set again in our two groups, one leaving just ahead of the other.
Our continued ride towards Nijeveen was not without incident. The party of 38 were riding in two groups as having such a large number in one place at one time can be daunting to say the least and would have meant long tailbacks for anyone behind us. So our group of 20 riders would keep together and rode in single file at all times. This did not stop one driver with a trailer in tow passing us at great speed on a narrow single track road and while doing so force a on-coming car off the road and in to the grass verge. While passing me he came so close that the trailer caught my trike mudguard and consequently twisted it up against the wall of my tyre (causing damage to both tyre and mudguard). James Tobin & Carolyn Sharples, riding their Greenspeed tandem, came close to being the second victim of this car. We had to get the party to stop, and by the use of a phone at the front and rear of the group, managed to get every one to pull off the road. I had to remove the mudguard and drinking bottle & cage. This done we pressed on and soon arrived on the outskirts of Nijeveen and the Nazca recumbent factory. It was now 8:00 pm and everyone was feeling tired. We had been on the go for 13 hours, including stops, and had covered 130 km on the hottest day of the year so far. This together with it being a hard ride made for a day we would all remember.

The Meal

The meal provided by the factory owner's wife was first class to say the least. During my meal and drink of a small beer, Paulus den Boer and Johannes Panse had set about fixing my mudguard and water bottle cage - with the help of the factory tools. Having replaced them back on the trike they looked like new. An excellent job of work.

The factory

A tour around the Nazca factory after the meal was very interesting, some of the riders managed to buy a few spares. It was then time to say a big thank you and farewell, and after a head count we set off in the direction of Meppel to find our scout house for the night. The scout house was found with the help of a courting couple out on their bike. The lady who handed over the keys to the scout house made a parting remark to one Dutch rider that we were all mad. Were we all mad? - no, just cyclists enjoying ourselves. It was not long before it was time for bed so I found a table and crawled under it and soon fell asleep.

Friday 39th May 2003 - the photo shoot

To get everyone on the trip together for a photo shoot before today had proved to be a non-starter. I asked Erik if it could be possible to find time, before the day's heavy schedule. He agreed and so after breakfast I rounded up all participants of the trip with their riding vehicles and managed, after a hour, to get camera owners to take pictures of a crowd of strangers who over a short period of time became very good friends.

The canoe trip

It had been planned that those who wished could, after a short ride, spend the morning paddling a canoe on some of the many canals and lakes. Again this would give those who did not time to explore further this beautiful part of the Netherlands.
I took the option not to go paddling and instead joined the group of riders led by Robert Blacquière and Paulus den Boer going for a morning ride. I was still feeling the effects of the last few days and was looking forward to just taking it easy today.

Kampen

Kampen would be our first port of call and after a leisurely ride it was time to sit and enjoy a coffee and take in the views. From there we headed to Dronten which is the recumbent bike capital of the Netherlands and after a nice easy ride along some very flat roads our party came to a halt outside one of the recumbent factories.
Here again the manager played host and provided much welcome refreshments before a short guided tour of his displayed recumbents - now that is what I call hospitality. I really enjoyed looking at some of the machines on display. Leaving the first factory and a short distance covered, we arrived at our second factory. It was open house here and we had free access to the work force and were allowed to ask them anything about the work involved in building a recumbent bike. But what took my eye were the lads taping up a fully faired racing machine ready for the racing the next day at Lelystad. (The speed record to date for a fully faired recumbent stands at 81 m.p.h.) The temperature was up in the high thirties Centigrade by the time we all came together and mounted our human powered vehicles and set off in the direction of Lelystad. Time again seemed to run out because it was 7:00 pm by the time we arrived at the campsite some 15 minutes ride outside Lelystad.

't Oppertje Campsite

The last forty minutes had been a hard ride for me as I was still feeling the effect of the last week's schedule so I was helped along with the support of Paul and Marco. By the time the tents were in place and after a wash and brush up, I was to tell Paulus that the planned meal back in Lelystad would be without me as all I wanted to do was rest my weak leg. In no time at all the services of our van driver had been secured and I would make it to the farewell meal after all. As Elvin (our backup driver and mechanic) and I arrived well before the riders coming from the campsite, I had time to enjoy a chat with him. I found out that he had been involved in a cycle accident with a loose dog and needed knee supports to help him get around on foot. (My own accident some 30 months earlier had resulted in my leg being held together with the aid of pins).



Both photos by James Tobin and Carolyn Sharples
Top photo is of Erik Wannee and Saskia van Oostwaard, the organisers of the Eco Trip, on their home built back-to-back tandem.
Bottom photo is of everybody on the Eco Trip.

The dinner and vegetarian food

Erik had booked the meal at a vegetarian restaurant well in advance, as our party of 39 would take over all possible places. The meal was first class and was served with either water, non-alcoholic drinks or jasmine tea. How nice it was to have us all together and to enjoy the pleasure of each others' company. Soon it was time to make a small presentation to Erik and to say a big thank you for all the hard work that been put into the Nederland's Eco Trip. I had not before this Eco Trip considered vegetarian food as a means of feeding myself but after a week of non-meat meals, and covering long bike rides day after day, was surprised to find that this type of eating had not only kept me going, but my weight had remained the same, and I never felt hungry. Breakfast was tea, four slices of bread made up with either honey, peanut butter, cheese or jam, with the same for my lunch and the nighttime's meal would also be vegetarian.

The Northumberland Eco Trip

The presentation over and a well received speech from Erik, I was to make the announcement that I and my friends would like to invite everyone who had taken part in the Eco Trip to come over to England next year and join us on our Eco Trip around Northumberland. It was late by the time our Eco friends arrived back on the campsite (as they had taken a wrong turn in Lelystad resulting in an unexpected extra 5 km on the ride back) and without a word it was time for bed at the end of the Netherlands Eco Trip,

Saturday 30th May 2003

The day started well, with a surprise visit from Peter Eland as he was leaving the campsite to set up the Velo Vision stand at Cycle Vision.
We had all the time in the world to ride to Cycle Vision being staged at the Lelystad testing track just beside Lelystad airport. I was to visit the camp shop and renew my acquaintance with the owner, having met her last year while attending the European HPV racing championships. After tea and cheese sandwiches and arranging to have the shop open early on Sunday, it was off to the track to enjoy at great day out, organised by the president of Cycle Vision, Jack Dekker. The heat of the day meant our crowd keeping out of the sun and visiting the marquee, stands and display areas, with plenty to see, eat and drink. Soon it was all over and time to take the 50 minutes ride back to the campsite, but the day did not end there as we all agreed to meet at the near by canoe clubhouse that evening. Over a meal of pancakes and beer we spent the night going over the last few day's trip, then I retired to my bed. I was to start back to IJmuiden for the ferry home first thing on Sunday morning.

Sunday 31st May 2003 - Lelystad to IJmuiden

I was up at 6:00 am on the campsite went and over to see Wim van der Veer, the oldest rider on the trip and, at 67 years, one of the strongest cyclists I have ever had the pleasure to meet. Wim was already packed and ready for his long trip home of some 140 km. He told me he had a system for riding long distances by riding for two hours and resting for a short while before continuing on his way. Having said goodbye to Wim I returned to do my own packing as I too would be breaking camp very soon. Before my departure I joined more of the Eco group at the café /hut for tea and fresh sandwiches, also buying more food to see me through the day's journey to the ferry landing at IJmuiden.
Emily, Sandy, Bob and myself were to meet Hennie at the campsite gates for 8.00 am prompt. Hennie would say his goodbyes as soon as we were on our way in the direction of Amsterdam along the IJsselmeer. Bob was to lead our small party back to the outskirts of Amsterdam without any trouble. In no time we were accessing a subway near the railway station that would bring us out near a canal bridge, taking a right turn we had no problems finding a parking space and on locking up the bikes opposite a café, went in for some light refreshments.
The ride here was 50 km and had taken four hours with plenty of time to sit and enjoy the views during our break. It was not long before it was time to continue along the canal and find our way out of the city and head for IJmuiden some 25 km away. Having till 5:00 pm to ride the short distance to the ferry landing gave the group all the time in the world to enjoy stopping along the way for the odd ice cream or cool drink. In no time we arrived at the passport office to receive our boarding cards.
Once on board it was a shower and change of clothes then up to deck nine for a well deserved drink or two, being entertained by a live singing band, before turning in for an early night. I don't remember much about the crossing but woke to the sound of the loud speakers giving out the time for breakfast. Then it was back on to the car deck to collect my Trice XL and, on leaving the ferry, head for home. Sandy, Emily and Bob were to do the same. So ended one of the best holidays I have enjoyed in years, which was all down to the people taking part. It was these participants who inspired me to go ahead and organise the next Eco Trip. Thanks to you all once again.

The total distance covered from door to door was 610 km.