Eemdijk (I dare you to pronounce it)

This is the story of how a 40 km ride ended up being a 70 km ride. Sore legs and all.

OK, the Eemmeer is a small sea just to the east of the Gooimeer. The Stichtse Brug, over which I've ridden several times already, separates them. What they don't tell you is that (1) most roads of the Eem River region are dead-ends, and (2) that the bridge over the Eem (at Eemdijk--the name should have been my first hint) is actually a FERRY...a ferry that sits dead on the water every Sunday.

So: Sunday morning I saddle up to ride to the, er bridge at Eemdijk. The start of a long day.

But a good one.

Someone Else was up for breakfast even earlier than I.
 

And Someone Else has friends. This is three minutes' ride east of my apartment: over the A1 motorway, down the hill and across the polder. No separation at all between you and the big guys who live there. There's nothing to be done for it but just to peddle through and hope no bull takes offense.
 

After backtracking several times in deep farmland, on roads mismarked by the "official" ANWB bike map, at last I find a road east to the town of Eemdijk. Well, almost to Eemdijk. At the end of the road is the Eem River, on which sits the ferry that doesn't run today. So I do five kilometers upstream (south) to the closest bridge at--three guesses--Eembrugge. And of course five kilometers back downstream. 10000 meters to cover (the GPS assures me) 40 meters. We will not declare this Efficiency Day.
 

Though as every traveller knows, sidetrips offer little gifts of their own. Had the ferry been running, I would never have seen this wonderful little private harbor off the Eem.
 

And here I cast a wistful glance westward from Eemdijk proper, across the Eem to the spot where I took the previous photo.
 

Stone jetties into shallow water, ducks, old boats, sleek modern windmills drying out muddy marshes for cows. You can see a lot of Netherlands from this spot (Spakenburg harbor).
 

And around the Eemmeer, through Huizen, to my little place. Just in time to pack for America.