Blog from Holland, September 23, 2008

And greetings from the Dutch Princesses in Utrecht!

The sun has been shining non-stop for days and days and I’ve been riding a high like no other for weeks. But today it’s misty and grey and I’m honestly feeling a quite low, drained and even sad. I’m over 9 months now on the road and my whirlwind tour since January has taken me through 27 countries in Africa and Europe. I’m happy to say that at least 81.463% of the time I’m pretty darn excited, content & happy. But the ups and downs are still a reality in my life and likely in the lives of almost anyone on earth, regardless of what we all “do”. So I’ll wait this low out as I know it’s just part of the cycle of life.

Where I left off last blog was our last day in Bristol, England with our hosts Paul and Jo. Emma had paid a visit for the weekend and ended up staying one more night with our new friends Jo n Paul to suck in some more amazing moments together. Emma and I had met a lovely couple down in Gambia in W. Africa last March named Jo and Rich and they invited us to come for dinner and stay the night so we hopped in Emma’s car with the bike, drove to Southampton, did an epic bike ride in the New Forest Park for a few hours, then joined them. Turns out it was Jo and Rich’s anniversary so we tilted some champagne and had a lovely home cooked meal. This was also the starting point where I planned to meet two guest riders to start riding east.

Emma n I at the New Forest Park riding n filming away

The next day was the day that Emma had planned to head back to London to get back to work and I was going to do a long ride with a few guest riders who had planned to ride with me. But for whatever reason the three guys who were so excited to ride with me had things come up with their work and were no longer free. I can imagine one or even two, but to have all three cancel their ride with me was a bit of a stinger and I felt a bit bummed. It’s funny it happened because we were all talking about how serious the folks in UK take their work—and this was a prime example. I hope they don’t get more serious than us Americans!

Jo and Rich's Anniversary Celebration ;)

But Emma and I were having a blast together as always, two fellow vagabond Aquarius nomads connecting in Emma’s home country, so we got to working out some way to continue the adventure. Like me, Emma is self employed and makes her own schedule. So we both moved into flexibility mode. She moved her schedule and I sucked up the loss of riding some epic terrain in the south for a compromise that turned out to be just right!

Emma had commitments to her business and needed to do an evaluation of a restaurant in London so that was not an option to miss. So my options were to ride solo in Southern England or to take Emma up on an irresistible offer of a yummy free meal at the evaluation joint, a free night of accommodation at her company hotel and the continued companionship of a very special friend. The mission was to get this evaluation done FAST so we could get back out to some more nature, riding and camping on the east coast where I would then catch my ferry to Holland.

The trip to London was wonderful and exceeded my expectations. The meal was delicious, watching Emma work her magic was quite enriching and heading out to reconnect with a fellow Bay Area friend Jackie living in London was the icing on the cake. The next day Emma closed her business deals and we got the heck out of dodge to arrive on the North Sea in time for a nice late afternoon ride along the water and into the town of Harwich.

So England, like Wales, turned out not to be about big long miles and typical touring like other countries. It was more about building new friendships with Jo and Paul, and continuing to build a great friendship with special friends Rich, Jo and especially Emma. I did plenty of riding, in fact almost every day I was out riding & exploring, but it was more about catching the modern day lifestyles of people I care about and creating memories that will last a lifetime. All good with me! Move lika jellyfish…

And my last ride in the UK on the sea in Harwich w/ Emma

So after a sad goodbye to Emma I was on the early morning ferry to Holland. It was sad thinking about leaving these lovely islands of Britain and Ireland, and really sad to think I was moving further and further away from so many great people. Seriously, just thinking about everyone—Mark n Denise in Scotland, Brid n Una n Neil in Northern Ireland, Monica n Art n Oisin n Sean n Dave n Wayne n Jono in Ireland, Janina n Sue n Sam in Wales, then Emma n Paul n Jo n Rich n Jo n Jackie in England…no wonder tears well up when I allow myself to just feel the fact that it indeed hurts to say goodbye.

In fact, just writing this blog has made me realize where this low is REALLY coming from. These are real friendships, heart connections and even soul connections that happened when individuals were open with me and me with them. I will cherish every one of these friendships but I have to remember to allow myself to feel sad and not just try to “move on”…or else these sadness sessions sneak in and don’t know why. Big thanks to all the crew in UK and Ireland for making my journey to your land so precious and truly unforgettable.

Here in Holland it’s a totally different energy all together. It’s quiet, calm, organized and quite a cultural change from UK indeed. And I really dig it. I arrived on a festive Friday night in true Peace Pedalers style and was greeted at the train station by two of the original Dutch Princesses Sanne and Karen and a new one Martina who escorted me back to Karen’s place where I had my own studio apartment just 1km from downtown all ready for me. They made me feel so special and welcome and this was just the beginning.

Yummy!!! Thanks Karen!

Karen had a totally typical meal ready for me of yummy Dutch dishes with wine, champagne, great company and the positive energy I needed to keep the sadness of leaving UK n Ireland from bumming me out for the weekend. From the fine food to the big laughs we took it to the dance floor downtown and were up grooving till 4AM after meeting more really cool Dutch locals. I LOVE to dance and met the right ladies as I was in good company.

Martina lovin the ride to the pubs downtown

Rockin the dancefloor till the wee hours!

A cool windmill that runs a huge saw...very cool

Karen has been such an amazing host with home cooked meals, great plans, introductions of more friendly folks, more meals and even some Dutch language lessons! Saturday night we hit the town again for more dancing and I was able to meet a few guys (Finally! I know!) Daan and Joffrey for some good chats and Daan is on the bike with me tomorrow heading southeast towards Maastricht.

Daan and I planning our route over some fine brews :)

The last few days have been all about meeting folks, takin care of bike and camera equipment, eating, playing squash, checking out the local sights here in Utrecht, and firming up the adventures ahead. Looks like a nice 100km ride tomorrow, 100km to Maastricht to meet up with Karen and her friend there, then another long ride to Brussels with Karen from Maastricht to meet up with a guy named Freek, the friend of my bro Hugo from Benin in Africa and a friend I met in Mali named Therese.

Wow, writing and a nice cry can do wonders to a traveler in a funk. I’m almost done with the Ireland journals so hope I won’t fall too far behind. So stay tuned…

Big love from Holland!

Jamie