In this episode of winter boating, we compare the efficacy of canoeing and biking during a rare Dutch blizzard. Back in December, forces aligned to bring a rare snow storm to the Netherlands. This is my 4th winter here, and until now I'd only experienced a few light dustings. On December 10th and 11th the snow (~10 cm?) came down and stuck around for a few days. While children were making snow-people in the streets (ok, I made one too), Nathalie and I embarked on a memorable adventure: canoeing in the snow!
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I woke up on Sunday morning and was thrilled to see the snow coming down hard. From the warmth of my bed I sent a text message to a few adventurous friends: "Want to go kayaking?!" A quick and enthusiastic response from Nathalie had me quickly regretting my idea. Within an hour we met at a roundabout near my house and began the treacherous bike ride (more like "bike push") through the snow to the club house. The trip took twice as long as usual, since the bike wheels kept filling up with snow.
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When we finally arrived (drenched) at the club, we warmed up and decided to take a canoe instead - it seemed like less logistics and less chance of wet butts. It was a bit windy and there was no one to be seen on the lake.
We hopped in the canoe and paddled slowly into the blizzard. We made it a brief trip, and stayed in the navigation channel adjacent to the lake. Just long enough to have wet gloves and a few ridiculous photos.
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The bike back was probably the most challenging, as we had the wind at our faces and more snow had piled up. We passed a car being pulled off a median by a police car. Fellow bikers passed us with commiserating smiles. It was an excellent workout - especially for Nathalie, who biked twice as far as me and didn't have a proper winter coat!
Date: Sunday, December 10th, 2017
Distance: negligible
Duration: 10 minutes - just long enough for a photo shoot.
Weather: Blizzard! 0C
We did not really go anywhere, so no need for a map in this post!!!
Date: Sunday, December 10th, 2017
Distance: negligible
Duration: 10 minutes - just long enough for a photo shoot.
Weather: Blizzard! 0C
We did not really go anywhere, so no need for a map in this post!!!
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