Day Four 'I just wanna ride!'

The big day finally arrives and this time we are up to meet it. Breakfast at the hotel and then into a cab to Weesp train station to meet Peter from Tulip Cycling. He's there before us and unloading the bikes. 

Tulip are super organized and everything is as expected. Our checkout session is very thorough and we are not underway until around 11am. Fortunately the weather gods have pulled out the stops and it is a beautiful day. 

A word here about Dutch bikes. They are very comfortable, weigh a ton, but it doesn't matter as there are no hills. Gearing and brakes are different from what we are used to but it doesn't matter. We soon learn how everything works.  And boy can they carry cargo. No problems there. 

We have a 40km + ride ahead of us and the group sets off behind Andy who has the GPS for the route. In no time we are cruising down tiny paths and up and along impressive dykes. Everywhere is water, beautiful old towns, very happy farm animals - in short all that you imagine The Netherlands to be. 

We stop for coffee at a bakery by a lock. Then ride out and along the sea for a while. 

Well into the ride we find a very new resort and marina with a pretty good menu. Croquettes are a surprise hit with many of our group. We had beef today but The and I tried shrimp ones yesterday. Yum!

On up the coast we ride - to Marken where we catch the 'World Famous!' Ferry to Volendam. 

On the way we check out Don and Terri's enthusiasm level!

Fabulous sailing boats ply the waters by our ferry. And when we arrive, we are greeted by a very pretty but tourist oriented town. The encourages us all to try the Poffertjes fresh cooked on the dock. Nutella, strawberry, sugar - delicious.

With that we enter the home stretch with a 20 minute ride up to Edam and our hotel for the night. But not before we pass a store that poses an intriguing question. You have to combine the brand with the store name. 

Edam is a super quaint town and our hotel -  De Fortuna - matches. We have quirky rooms and the hotel has a great restaurant. We need look no further for dinner tonight but first enjoy a well earned post ride drink - Andy gets the prize for the most floral gin and tonic ever!

Tomorrow we go on to Haarlem but there is a slight threat of rain. Will those ponchos we rented be put to good use?