We started our Friday morning with another boat ride this time from Tholen to Dordrecht. We were suppose to have a very short bike ride before boarding a water bus. Because we needed to be on the water bus with the entire group we had to stay close. This was the most chaotic part of our entire trip! This was us before the chaos began...
There was a road closure that meant our entire group had to make a u-turn in a narrow street. Then there was a major mishap at a bridge. This was not a draw bridge, but a rotating bridge. We were at the back of the group and did not actually see what happened, but we did hear screaming. One of our riders got caught, along with their bike, as the bridge started moving. (Side note: this was someone in the same group that caused the crash that happened in front of us a few days earlier.) Franklin came to the rescue and even rode back to our boat to get a replacement bike!
We rode a little more until we came to the water bus. We had bit of a wait, then finally boarded.
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| This is our wonderful guide, Franklin. The only picture I have of him! |
The chaos continued when we got off the water bus. We were all still close together. Multiple missed turns, riders that still didn't know how to ride properly in a group, and just a feeling of wanting to get away from the madness!
Our first official stop for the day was Kinderdijk, home to the UNESCO World Heritage Site. While most of the riders headed straight for the windmills, Les and I headed to the ice cream shop! It wasn't even 11:00 am, but we were ready for a bit of a break. This break got us the much needed separation from the group. By the time we rode on to the windmills, most of the group was gone. Most importantly, the most chaotic members of the group were gone!
The 19 windmills at Kinderdijk were built around 1740. They are part of a water management system to prevent flooding. The Dutch have been using water to their advantage for over 1000 years.
The mills at Kinderdijk were replaced by steam-powered, then diesel and electric water pumps. During WWII, diesel shortages meant that the Dutch couldn’t generate enough power. Therefore, they were forced to return to wind power to keep their feet dry.
Approximately 26% of the Netherlands lies below sea level, while about 50% of the country is less than 3 feet above it. If the country did not have an extensive network of dikes, dunes, and pumping stations, nearly 65% of its total landmass would be completely underwater at high tide.
Some of the windmills have been converted to museums, but we were content to slowly ride by them, stopping at our leisure to take pictures.
Leaving Kinderdijk we rode on a mostly flat and straight section. Les kicked it into high gear and we averaged 14.3 miles per hour for about 5 miles. My bike computer was showing over 17 mph more than once and I was hanging on for dear life!
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