Burkarskis do Europe 2023 - BASH
Overview
| Rating |
🚲🚲🚲🚲🚲 |
|---|---|
| Year Traveled |
2023 |
| Length of Trip |
2 Weeks |
| Locations Visited |
Baarlo, Grubbenvorst, Arcen, Velden, and Venlo, NL |
Friday - BASH!
Idiot time strikes again: We have to make a plan the night before of when we will arrive at the castle for our breakfast in time for bike check-in. The morning feels a lot cooler than my previous days in ND so I panic about what to wear. I settle on a UPF 50 lightweight jacket and… the “Never Skip Boob Day” bra. Turns out this was a big hit. At bike fitting I start getting really nervous. The bikes are all very tall, even the ladies’ bikes, so with my seat at the lowest setting I can barely stand on my tippy toes and have my butt touching the nose of the seat. I can only imagine how bad this was for UC! And my test ride on cobblestone and gravel does not improve my confidence. But soon after our departure on the nice paved fietspad I start feeling better. I am still antsy as one guy who can’t steer with the big ape-hanger handlebars nearly takes me out with a sudden swerve and then a girl who brought her own poorly maintained bike squeaked her brakes behind me I shrieked with fear.
The cool, overcast morning was excellent riding weather and the first part of the trip went smooth and comfortably. Our first beer near was on a patio. As we were getting ready to move on, I noticed Michael had dragged his bike away from where we were parked and back into the patio? I wasn’t about to follow him so I stayed near the road ready start riding again. But soon after we are on the move 3dog tells me that Michael had a flat and had hung back to get it fixed up. Whoops, I left him behind. It turned out to be a sheared off valve stem and there was a bike shop down the street from our bar so he was able to get that replaced fairly quickly. Because our rentals have the dynamo hub, he didn’t know how to remove the wheel by hand on his own.
We crossed the river via ferry along with a few cars. We had lunch at a traditional Dutch pancake house which means we get one giant crepe and a bowl of beef stew. You can dip your crepe in the stew or pour the gravy all over it. And we get cheesecake with red currants for dessert. Too decadent. I was feeling a bit too full to keep riding. But I powered through! At our final beer near we find out we can walk to Germany from where we are. We pour our drinks out of the bar’s glasses and into our personal vessels and walk to a trailhead labeled “Smokkelpad” which I’m thinking is maybe a trail for smokers. But it’s a historic smugglers trail used during wartimes to bring items in and out of Germany through Netherlands. Checkout the dude who was guarding the trail.
Shortly after we start pedaling again, 3dog asks me if his rear tire is flat. It was. He of course has to hang back and Michael stays with him too. I don’t feel too guilty about moving forward because I am a slower rider and we have to keep moving. It was already 3:00 and we had a minimum of 18 km to go. Not to mention this event had been advertised as 50 km/30 mi but ended up being 63 km!!! This last leg was the worst. The sun is shining unabated by clouds, we’re on to an urban area so no tree cover and we’re getting heat off of the pavement. I’m falling behind most of the lead cyclists but I’m too far ahead to be with the slower cyclists or those who had bike troubles so I am alone for much of the ride. I finished off my water bottle. AND someone has added incorrect marks!!! Some who left ahead of the group chose to take a scary highway bridge instead of catching a ferry and they created a new mark to have us follow them. I am very tired and cranky when I get back. And Michael is way behind us!!!
I’m already missing the screening of Rocky Horror when I make it back, which is disappointing because I’ve packed my full Columbia gold sequined tuxedo costume. It’s part of the reason why I brought such a big suitcase! I stop in at the Vakantiepark office to get extra keys before I shower and change just in time to make it for dinner. Michael and 3dog roll in just behind me as I approach the castle. They join us for dinner before their showers.
It’s our night to run a bar for the pub crawl so I volunteer as tattoo applicator. We’ve got our logo on temporary tattoos and I get a hold of a towel to dampen. Being in charge of tattoos is a cleaner job than pouring the overly carbonated draft beer and I am much more approachable to be touching a stranger’s skin than a dude would be. This part of the trip ends up being a lot more fun that I expected. I talked to hashers from all over the world. A Brazilian recognized my Melissa shoes and told me she moved back to Sao Paulo for the shoes! I talk to the Oslo couple about the cross country ski stroller I recently discovered exists. I hear from an English dude about the time he got snowed-in in Utica, NY. I like explaining the On-on-dog-a part of our name, as we pay homage to the Onondaga nation while combining it with the hash phrase “on on!” and making our logo a little dog.
Michael is late to return as he needed some time to unwind. When he finally makes it (in his Dr. Frank-n-furter costume despite it being way too late) we take our chance at the pub crawl. Rumors of how to find the mystery bar are growing. Follow a hot air balloon? Count the bars down the line seven, eight… nine? Some creep who has a tray of beer cups and will check off your tee shirt if you sit on his lap?
Late in the evening Kale’s assistance is requested in cooking the late night snacks. The little kitchen they get to use has huge glass windows and is right on the patio we’re sitting at. It was fairly comical watching more and more volunteers pile into that tiny kitchen. Later when I’ve moved back indoors to our bar, we find that the cooking has gone awry and the hotdogs are cold. Strawberry is tasked with promoting the snacks and decides she needs to taste one to help with her sell. So she eats a cold hot dog. Then we tell Tri about there being cold hot dogs and she goes to check them out and comes back eating a cold hot dog. One-by-one we tell people about the cold hot dogs and they lament how gross that must be yet they return eating a cold hot dog.
We didn’t catch the hayride home this night, unfortunately. Our road crossing was safe and successful.