On Sunday morning we set out to find the bike trail that heads North and meanders through the vast beach dunes. We had heard about this trail and we were told of how beautiful and scenic the ride is. It's a three-person wide trail that winds all the way up to the city of Leiden.
In an effort of finding our bike trail, we mistakenly journeyed up a street that lead us to the North end of Scheveningen Beach. It was there that we found a nude beach and a 'dog friendly' beach - two different beach areas. The nude beach was quite a distance away from where we were, but the dog friendly beach was right in front of us. The many dogs were running about and enjoying their day while their master was relaxing and also enjoying a day at the beach.
After asking someone for assistance, we ventured about to eventually find our desired trail. It was amazing how many people were out and about - either biking, hiking, jogging, or simply strolling. The trail was busy, yet never was this problematic for us. Everyone moved about in a rhythm that simply 'worked'.
We were amazed at the variety of people and the variety of bikes. We saw older adults and we saw young kids. Some had rickety old bikes and some had electric bikes. We saw old dutch bikes and we saw expensive racing bikes. There were parents riding bikes that contained multiple kids sitting in the child seats that were either mounted on, or built within the bike's frame. We witnessed fathers who rode alongside their child so that they could assist them by placing their hand upon their child's back, which helped their child to propel forward. You name it... we saw it!
The Dutch are so comfortable on their bikes. We were told once that they are born on bicycles. When you experience all that we did on Sunday, you start to believe that this may be true. They are certainly naturals! We on the other hand... are simply two Americans who are trying to do our best to 'blend in' and to experience our new life here. We are finding that our new dutch bicycles are the perfect way for us to do so. We love our dutch bikes!
You will see below some photos and two videos of our journey. The bike trail turned out to be absolutely awesome! Regardless of whether you are an experienced rider or simply someone like us who enjoys an occasional scenic ride... you would have loved this trail. Perhaps someday you may experience it in person....
