Over a morning double espresso at De Dampkring, the Mayor of Amsterdam sprung another surprise on us. We were meeting up with Mathias, long time resident of the city and our guide to enlightenment for the weekend.
So to really get into the spirit of Amsterdam and the Giro we decided there was no better way to take it all in then on a bike, so it was off to the local shop to rent the finest the city had to offer. Now one has to understand that in Amsterdam there are only a couple of different brands of bikes and every one offers two basic models - men's and women's - and in one basic color - black. All of the bikes come with the same component groups and set ups, which makes it a true game locating your bike when you come out of the bars with a number of pints under your belt.
Mounted up on our trusty steeds it was off to satisfy the Mayor's lust for pancakes, not to mention our morning's hunger pains. Leading us down the back streets, Mathias deposited us right at the door step of a wonderful pancake house that served up delicacies such as pancakes with banana, bacon and chili peppers - yes it sounds rather strange but it was a killer meal.
Suddenly in through the door came Giorgio, a local the Mayor had struck up a friendship with at the toy store the day before. While the two caught up on the past 24 hours Top Chef and I were going through Giro Time Out to plan the day's events. Suddenly there was a crash and chairs were all over the place. Seems the morning coffee had left the Mayor (and the rest of us) feeling no pain and during the course of snapping a few pics of Giorgio he had lost orientation and took a small tumble - as you can imagine the rest of us doubled over in laughter, paid the bill and headed out on the bikes.Cruising the streets we stopped by the fixed gear bike museum (it was still under construction but had lots of awesome race and one off customs in the windows) and passed by the bike film festival, noting that we had to come back on Sunday for this one (oddly it was a one day showing - makes no sense since the Giro was in town for 3 days). Riding around we took note not only of the hot chicks in boots on bikes but the various riding styles of the locals, as you can see there is little concern about head injuries and child safety, and the fact that the guys riding Pointers seemed to be the ones that scored with the women.
The shock of the day was Top Chef passing on the opportunity to stop in a Starbucks declaring that he had taken a liking to the offerings at the local coffee shops. With this Mathias immediately changed course and suddenly there we were at the Rookery (Mathias's favorite) settling in for a couple of rounds of double espressos. Back out on the streets the city was beginning to get a bit more into the Giro and we came upon a local race that was lapping the canals. Unfortunately no one crashed into the canal.
After a morning of comedy it was time to head over to the starting area for the Stage 1 time trial. The biggest surprise to all of us was the lack of interest from the locals. There were no problems getting up close to the team buses and getting to drool over these exotic machines.
Following the TT course on bikes was taking it's toll so we stopped off at one of the outdoor bars to hydrate with a few rounds of beers and recon the maps for the next vantage point on the course. While sitting there we were lucky enough to meet up with Evil Knievel's Dutch cousin who pointed us to the nearest coffee shop for additional inspiration and caffeine power.
Sitting back enjoying the coffee we perused the Giro Time Out and discovered there was a zany bike race over the time trail course right after the last racer was out on course. Revved up on double espressos and the special Philosopher Stone tea we headed out in the rain to hunt down the elusive zany bike race registration area. Seems no one working the Giro had any idea what we were talking about but perseverance paid off and suddenly we found ourselves at registration. Having secured our numbers (the Mayor managed to draw numero uno) we immediately headed to the nearest bar for moar Belgian beers. Fortified with the courage a couple of rounds of Palms will provide we donned our jerseys and headed out to the starting area only to discover that just like some pros we were late to the start. Well in the state we were in getting there late was the least of our problems, keeping the bikes upright was the bigger concern, after all these highly tuned Dutch TT bikes are not easy to ride.
Just like with the pros as we raced through the barriers the fans were pounding on the sides, yelling and screaming and even offering up some of the home brew (Heineken) to help us get to finish. Wanting to avoid any problems with doping controls at the finish we grabbed anything offered and practiced the standard lines for the officials like "I never knowingly took performance enhancing drugs".Thoroughly spent from the monumental effort required to secure the top four places in the race we headed out for a late afternoon espresso before cruising the city and doing some sightseeing and bar hopping by bike. Before we realized it midnight was fast approaching and dinner was yet to be consumed. But fear not friends, Mathias steered us to a fine establishment for yet another round of beers before heading across the street to dinner, lots of wine and then back across the street for another round of beers.
We had officially reached the point of mental lubrication where we were ready to experience the Red Light District and the famous Wall. The most important thing to understand is the tolerance of the Dutch, which is why all of the shenanigans take place in the city and while they are tolerant they also make sure to protect the children. Note in the shot below, which is the entrance to the Wall, parents are advised to hold their child's hand while taking them through the Red Light district.
Now the Wall is like nothing else you will ever experience in your life. As you can see from the shot above it is narrow and a the peak it is a flowing sea of deviant humanity going both directions and window shopping. The prostitutes are just hanging out like mannequins in a store window only they are not selling the clothes they are wearing.
Interesting, disturbing and definitely requires numerous beers as soon as you escape. By now the clocks we well into the start of a new day and the NECS was still out on the prowl looking for the next great experience or coffee shop and as you can see from the movie our riding confidence is at an all time high.
Finally sometime after 3 am we decided the adventure for the day had run it's course and it was back to Hotel Nes for a quick mint tea and sack time before the next day's adventure on the canals.
2 comments:
Amsterdam certainly doesn't seem like a very wholesome place for such impressionable people such as yourself. Please return home.
-CFR
Well sometimes one has to take a look at the other side of the menu. I have to admit it was a hard place to say goodbye to, especially since my firm has an office there but I did come back with a much more refined knowledge of the chinese dialects.
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