A VERY windy day with occasional rain made for a challenging ride. Headwinds at 29 mph slowed some riders to about 3 mph. As we rode toward the North Sea, we had a rest stop in Castricum.
Riding through the forest:
The dunes at Castricum aan Zee:
The North Sea. Kite surfers in the distance.
Our lunch stop. Lee and Amal:
Riding north along the dunes was somewhat better because the winds were from the southwest:
Egmont Huys – the site of a castle first built in the 1100s, destroyed and rebuilt a few times.
We continued on to Alkmaar – another picturesque Dutch town – which we should have explored but most of us were too exhausted. 25 miles today. Tomorrow’s forecast looks worse than today: a high of 49, periods of light rain or showers, winds 25-35 mph with gusts to 50 mph.
arletelouise 