Hallo :)

I’ve arrived in Holland safe and sound. After a 4:30am wakeup call on Tuesday to catch the plane from London to do yet MORE travelling, I am glad to be able to unpack my suitcase and settle in somewhere for a few months.

Sure, people have told me Holland was flat and so I was expecting it to be reasonably flat but with maybe some rises, even just a little hill... but no. Nothing. The highest point in Holland is apparently 300m, and my bet is that the 300m of elevation is on an on-ramp to the highway that I passed on my way in. Looks like i’ve found my SE hill :S


my berg.

Apart from the obvious lack of hills, the specially designed bike roads also caught my eye. These roads are just like normal roads, except they are about 1m in from the actual traffic roads – great for road safety!!! The Dutch could teach us a thing or two about road safety and cyclists!

my own bike road


I have only been out riding a couple of times but I have already noticed the great deal of respect given to those on two wheels. Cyclists don’t get beeped at, yelled at, or have things thrown at them by cars, instead motorists put themselves at risk to avoid cyclists or simply wait 10sec until the road is clear ahead. Holland is definitely a country built for bikes.


I am staying on a farm in a little village called Oosterwijk, which is just outside Leerdam. The house is a very modest farm house built in the 1600s! I am staying in the loft with two NZ girls (one of whom arrives Monday) and we have our own little living area up there as well. The only downside is that we have to basically climb a ladder to get to our room, and the bathroom is downstairs... so my phone light is mandatory when making a trip to the bathroom during the night to prevent me from killing myself.

My room in the roof


The farm isn’t used for farming; instead it is a hobby farm with a horse, 5 sheep, chickens and roosters, 2 cats and 2 Pomeranian dogs, so no need to worry that the meat I eat for dinner is going to be poor little Bambi! Alice and Theo (who own the house) grow all of their own fruit and veg and on my first morning I was treated to homemade bread and jam with a coffee...and rumour has it that this is a regular occurrence – yes!! The best way to describe this place is probably like a country B&B, and i’m not going to lie – I’m loving being spoilt!

Home :)

So i’m off to my first race tomorrow, RaboSter in Zeeland which starts with a 7.1km TT at 6:30pm! The next day is a 113km RR starting at 6:30pm with the 3rd and final stage a 134km RR starting at 12 noon...Looks like i’m going to have a lack of sleep Friday night but it is reassuring that everyone is going to be in the same boat! Rumour has it that the race is going to be incredibly windy as it is on the water...hard and fast. To be honest i’m not expecting great things as it is my first race here since coming back from illness, but i can’t wait to give it my best and get my first Euro race under my belt :)

From here in Oosterwijk, tot ziens and take care xx