Piet signed up for the Rabo Beach Challenge 2011 again, despite his "freezing" experience of last year (post of 30th November 2010). His cycling mate Renaat passed for this one, in order to spare his bike (sea water and sand!) for further degeneration. It should be clear: bikes are really suffering and you can hear them creaking badly during the race.
Anyway, Piet lined up with some 1000 other cyclists for a 38 km ride from Scheveningen to Noordwijk and back. Unfortunately it was high tide, the sand was very soft, and there was only a very narrow strip fit for cycling, just along the waterline. It was a very tough ride towards Noordwijk, with many crossings through water, some even knee deep! After the turning point there was a short stretch along a cycle path in the dunes, and back on the beach. Luckily the sea had withdrawn a bit, and the cycling was a lot better. Soon the silhouette of Scheveningen Pier was visible, and Piet finished after 1 hr 52 minutes, somewhere in the middle of the pack. The weather was quite pleasant, some 8 degrees and little wind, and even though Piet was soaking wet, his fingers and toes were doing fine......and back home a very thorough bike cleaning job was waiting!
An impression of the 2011 Rabo Beach Challenge, 19th November 2011
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