Scanlandia: A Tour of the Countries Bordering the North Sea

I’m about to jump off a cliff.

After my mind-boggling JOGLE in September of 2016 I’ve been thinking of another trip across the big pond with my bicycle—and what better place to begin than Amsterdam. Holland the land of windmills, dykes, and bikes. Also I knew I wanted to take more time (though, once again, I’ve come up with a mile-intense itinerary).

So beginning June 5, I fly to Amsterdam for a tour of the countries bordering the North Sea. Namely, Netherlands, Germany, Denmark, Sweden, and Norway. Along the way I will hopefully meet up with old friends and make new acquaintances.

Am I nervous, freaked out, tortured by self-doubt? Cha! But I also know that it will be amazing no matter what. On a scale of 1 being dying and 10 being easy rides everyday in sunshine and no rain, then, yeah, I think I’ll find a middle road.

Concerns right now are that I haven’t trained as much as I’d hoped to—what with the COLDEST APRIL in 137 years. But I was able to ride my bike to Milwaukee and back a weekend ago (77 miles each way) in cold and windy conditions. Then this past weekend I went to the Recyclery and worked on my back wheel. Replacing and tightening spokes. Whereupon I discovered my hub was loose. So got all that straightened out—yet, still I’m worried about the strength of my back wheel and overall maintenance. I’m not really a mechanic.

I guess it wouldn’t be an adventure without fear. Fear sharpens the senses and quickens the adrenaline. It reminds me that I’m alive.

This trip knocks a few things off my bucket list: windmills, mid-summer, and maypoles. I’ve always wanted to experience these.