A very long bike ride

Fri 28 August 2015

My Butt Hurts...

Today I went on an awesome bike ride all the way to Haarlem (15km west of Amsterdam). I didn't actually do anything there; I just went, picked up snacks, and headed back. I'm 99% sure I missed out on an awesome Haarlem exclusive cultural experience, but if was really more about the journey (I originally set out to bike to the coast and Haarlem was my compromise to that).

I don't recall where this park is exactly. I remember it was east of the city center, many kilometers.

Another view of the park, this time with a play structure.

I found a very neat park near the Western edge of Amsterdam; I ended up spending an hour or so there having a picnic.

Dilapidated

An old and dilapiddated building. It's hard to tell the building original purpose...

This was a cool abandoned building I found. I like abandoned buildings.

A large ice-cream cone shaped trashcan at a 45 degree angle for cyclists to dispose of trash into.

I also found this awesome trash can for people riding bikes. It's genius.

PONIES

After the bike ride I was very tired. I slept a lot. And yet not enough...

Small (and Large) Appreciations

Here is a list of some of the traits of Amsterdam (and what I have experienced of the Netherlands at large) which I appreciate.

They have signs that tell you you're going the wrong direction.
You can bike to another city and be on bike paths the whole time!
Bikes are easy to use and aren't shoe-horned in as a second class mode of transportation.
The trains are so quiet. Why can't America have quiet trains?

This list will probably grow as I remember things. All in all I like the city and the country. You should visit if you haven't already.