During the summer break most hellingprofs went for a ride in far away country, but some opted for a challenge which was closer to home: The Southern Sea. Harmen’s parents were nice enough to let us stay the night(and drink their supply of beer) so we could start our ride at sunrise. We were supposed to leave at 6:00, but even though Robin was not present we still didn’t manage to leave in time.
Gijs, Bas and Bart looked very motivated for the ride.
Alger, Bas, Bart, Gijs, Guy(an infiltrator from the Domrenner), Harmen, Niels and Tjalle left a little later than 6:00 for a ride of approximately 380 km. Niels started at the front of the small peloton and made sure we had a good starting average speed. Everybody was in shock when Niels asked for someone els to do some work at the front after more than two hours. The first stop was just over the border in the always beautiful foreign Friesland. They even learned that there is a mountain in Friesland. On the way to the next coffee stop Harmen got his first of two flat tires. Niels took full advantage of the moment and went for a nap on the side of the road.
Here you can see Niels during one of his power naps.
The second stop was just before the infamous ”Afsluitdijk” a 30 km dike with headwind which connects Friesland with the mainland of the Netherlands. After 250 km we arrived at Sonja’s house for another stop. During this stop the atmosphere was amazing and everybody was in the mood for the remaining 130 km.
The atmosphere was great during the stop at Sonja’s house.
It wasn’t long before the mood dropped so the decision was immediately made to stop at the Burger King in Amsterdam (which Bas could guide us to without using any navigation). We even needed another stop before the Burger King for some to get some extra sleep. After Amsterdam (only) 80 km were left and the pace was increased again. Even the ”bordjes sprints” were contested, Tjalle, the Joop Zoetemelk of Hellingproof, finished second every time (as usual). But the pace was disrupted by another flat tire for Harmen and a ferry that was out of use. Eventually we made it back to Harmen’s parents so we could eat all their pizza’s and drink the remaining of their beer supply. The next day Niels was invited to talk about this adventure on National radio in a Tour de France talk program.
At the end of the ride we were welcomed with plenty of pizzza’s.
