2015-04-25 51 4

Location

In the dunes outside Oostvoorne.

Participants

Plans

Get on the bike and ride all the way to the hash.

Expedition

I'd just given my bike a major overhaul, so I figured it needed a nice long ride to make sure everything works. Today's hash being in a nice forest/dune area about 35 km from my house made it an ideal target. I did pack some tools in case stuff turned out not to work reliably. The weather was not perfect (around 10 deg C, quite windy and very cloudy), but it was supposed to clear up later in the afternoon (which it did).

Leaving Delft in the SW direction, the first part of the journey took me through polder landscapes, crossing Schipluiden, Maasland and Maassluis. There, my road was blocked by Het Scheur (the entrance to the port of Rotterdam), and the only way to cross it was by ferry. Arriving in Rozenburg, I rode on towards Brielle, then continued west towards Oostvoorne and finally reached the Oostvoornse Duinen nature reserve. I parked my bike at the visitor's centre and walked the last km or so to reach the hash (since bicycles aren't allowed inside the park). The hash was about 15 metres off a footpath, so not too hard to reach.

I took a few pictures, walked back to my bike and rode the same route back home. A total ride of about 70 km was more than enough for me to confirm that my bike was working fine.

The next day I found a little monster holding on to my left arm, feasting on my blood! I hadn't realized they could be active so early in the year (and at such low temperatures). If the same happens to you (in Holland at least), be sure to report it on Tekenradar . This website is run by the Institute for Public Health, and reporting tick bites helps them to accurately track the activity of ticks across the country. It also has plenty of information on what to do when you've been bitten, and how to avoid it in the first place.

Photos

My bike, in the polder just outside Schipluiden.
In Maasland, there's a petting zoo with this pretty Bambi. Also note the kangaroo behind it! I tried to take a closer picture of it, but it hopped away before I had the chance.
The ferry to cross the river from Maassluis to Rozenburg.
The footpath leading towards the hash. It's in the wooded area, about 50m ahead.
Lloyd posing at the hash.
Another view.
GPS proof.
The ferry terminal at Rozenburg.
The little bugger that bit me!