Our good friends Mike and Sylvia (Harrogate) have a nephew, James, who lives in Amsterdam with his Dutch partner Brenda. We had tried in vain to contact them on both occasions when we passed through Amsterdam but our latest effort met with success. As it turns out James’ parents, Richard and Jean have been holidaying here for a week so they all drove up to Krommenie and we had a jolly time and went out for dinner together.
It really was an excellent evening (so good in fact that we completely forgot to take any pictures for you all) and at 11 o’clock we said goodbye outside the restaurant as they got into their car to head off to Amsterdam in one direction, and we got onto our bikes to head off back ‘home’ in the other.
Louise suggested we ought to switch our bike lights on which we tried to do. Hers worked OK but Alex’s seemed not to be operational. Whilst riding, he looked over his shoulder to see if the back light was working but he failed to observe a stumpy bollard in his path! By the time he looked forward again it was too late. Crash! Over the handlebars he went. On picking himself up he noticed the middle finger of his left hand was at 45 degrees to normal. Broken, he thought at first, but in fact a quick realignment with the other hand showed it had only been dislocated as it popped back into place.
So the next day a few scrapes, bruises and a very sore finger or two, but most important of all, the beloved BIKE IS OK!
For an easy day of rest and recuperation (!) we decided to cycle the 13 km to Purmerend (near which we had moored a few weeks ago) because we knew the library offered free wi-fi and also because we happened to like very much what we had seen so far, even in the pouring rain!
As it turns out, the central square, which we had missed last time, was the jewel in its crown. We had a relaxed lunch at a café in the SUN (thought we would never see that again this year) then we made our way to the library and sure enough the wi-fi worked, so we were able to spend a couple of hours catching up on emails and posting the blog using our own English ‘speaking’ lap top.
The only downside was that on our return the wind which had blown us all the way there was now against us and strengthened for the return journey. But a super little tea and cakes ‘café’ run by an elderly lady in her side garden half way home almost made up for that. (The house dates from 1670!)
Of course, to cap it all, Alex’s front brake cable (right) had to break as we set off from the little café, and as the right one is the only brake he can use at the moment because the other hand is too tender, we had to swap bikes. Louise is convinced this was all a ploy. After a very long day in the saddle, Alex just wanted to finish the journey on her bike because the saddle is far more comfortable!
The finger is looking very swollen now so it’s out with the ibuprofens, but he’s being very brave.
2 comments:
Slow down with the blog! I can't keep up! Alex - I have managed to replace your TV with a slightly more up-to-date one (!) but am hanging onto it at the moment, are you in need of it? Mum, I need to resolve my mobile phone contract when you get back....unfortunately only you can do that apparently! All this to look forward to on your return! PS - are you needing a bed to sleep in?
Having had my previously infallible iMac blow up on me last month, and having had to wait a full month for it to be mended, I'm now back online and endeavouring to catch up. I can't believe you didn't mention the dislocated finger when I actually saw you last week! I shall press on with catching up with your adventures over the last month...Jamie
Post a Comment