When you ride a bike through the countryside, close your mouth.

I've done some strenuous things - climb the pyramid of the sun at Teotihuacan, climb some mountain in Tepoztlan, Mexico, climb to Gatbawi in Korea, and ride a bike to Edam. Of all of the strenuous things I've done, this has to be the most strenuous simply because of the time it took.

I left Amsterdam at about 7:30 in the morning and got back around 3:30,maybe later, I'm not sure....my knees are killing me and I am exhausted, but feeling healthy and exhilarated. It was definitely one of the most adventurous and fun things I've ever done on a vacation, or anywhere for that matter.

I had a bike map and a little bit of knowledge of how the trail marker system worked. I packed my rain jacket, my bag with water, an apple and a sandwich and was on my way.

As soon as I started, I was confused, but through careful checking of my map and the signs I soon found myself outside of Amsterdam and in the country.

The countryside was amazingly beautiful. Lush green fields with cows, sheep, goats, chickens and horses all roaming around freely. I saw a farmer milking his cows in a little shed in a field. I passed through little villages, saw parents dropping their children off to school. I kept checking my map and the sign postings and fortunately, I did not have to backtrack except one time when I ended up on the main road because I didn't realize there was a bike path next to it. I soon learned that there is almost always a bike path and when there isn't, there is a blue sign with a picture of a bicycle and motor scooter with a line drawn thru them.

Thanks to yesterday's incident at the park where I was not allowed to ride my bike I also understood that a sign with a picture of a bike in a red circle meant that you could not ride your bike there, which always made me look for where the bike path would be.

It was like a lottery each time I came up to an intersection and there were a bunch of signs pointing in different directions. I never knew which direction the signs would take me or what kind of terrain I would find - dyke, country road, village. At one point I came to a pier that went straight into a river. I was stumped. I looked at the map and could see a little boat on it, meaning I'd have to find a way to get across. As I was standing there contemplating turning back and taking another route, a woman came out of a little house at the pier and said something to me in Dutch.

I said, "Can I cross?"

And she answered "Yeeees?" - yes, kind of sung like a question.

She stood there as I tried to fold my map back up and at one point she held her hands up to catch rain, because it was indeed raining, but I think it was meant as a signal to me "come on dope, it's raining". Then she said, "I will get a smaller map" and she went inside and came out after I had my map folded up and in my bag and gave me the smaller map.

It was while she was inside that I noticed the "ferry".

There was a little blue platform with railings and in front of it was an engine. I understood that it was a boat.

She pointed to the ferry and said, "get on". I put my bike on the platform and paid her 1 euro and off we went, across the river.

Then, when we got to the other side, she pointed to a field and showed me five white bridges. She said after the 5th bridge, I could find the trail again.

I got off the ferry and started riding through a cow pasture.

The cows were out grazing in the field. Mostly they didn't pay any attention to me.

I came to the first bridge, which was this ingenious little thing that had a track for the bike and a board to walk on. I lifted the bike up and put the tires in the track and walked across a little canal. I did the same for the 2nd, and the 3rd, and the 4th, and finally, the 5th. I couldn't believe where I was and that I was actually biking through a pasture with canals running through it and that I had just crossed a river in the middle of nowhere on a little blue platform ferry.

And on I went.

I started raining when I left Amsterdam, even though the weather report I checked on Yahoo said it was supposed to be sunny. It rained on and off for most of the ride to Edam. At certain points I was soaked and miserable. Then the sun would come out and I'd dry off before it started raining again. I was thinking about a warm bowl of soup and bread when I got to Edam.

I eventually did get to Edam. I came in along the dyke and saw the dam on the river E, from which the town gets its name. I followed the bike trail signs and before I knew it I was back in Vondeldam. I somehow had missed the center of Edam. I guess the trail network does not take into account that if you bike from Amsterdam to Edam you actually want to see Edam. Oh well, I was not going back. I was tired, wet and wanted to get home.

I stopped in Vondeldam, which was much more crowded than when I first passed through it on the way to Edam (they are neighboring towns like Minneapolis/St. Paul, but on a much smaller scale).

I was thinking I might buy some fried potatoes with peanut sauce again when a fish and chips place caught my eye. I had eaten my apple and my sandwich on the way and it was such a long ride back, I felt I needed (and deserved) something more substantial. So, I locked up my bike and ordered a fried shrimp plate with french fries and potato salad. It was good. There were several different types of fried shrimp in different batters, including some little shrimp spring rolls, and it was all served with a thai-style sweet chili dipping sauce. It set me back a whopping 15 euros though, so that was my meal out for today.

After my lunch I set back on the road and at one point got confused by two signs pointing to Amsterdam in two opposite directions. A man spoke to me in Dutch and I said, "Amsterdam". He then showed me where I was on the map and indicated the direction I should take. His English was basic, but he was able to communicate quite well. He told me to turn right at the wind turbines, and I thought it was interesting that he didn't know "windmill", except when I came to that point he recommended, they were indeed wind turbines - new style windmills used to generate electricity.

I rode along the coast, on a dyke, most of the way back and avoided the farmland and the possibility of having to take a ferry. It was a pleasant ride, but my legs were throbbing at this point.

When I got closer to Amsterdam, the traffic increased, bike and car traffic. It made it a little more difficult for me because I was so tired already, but I managed to find my way to the canal that takes me into my part of town, zip through the area with all of the tourists and successfully avoid hitting anyone and finally lock up my bike on a bike rack I found down the street.

And then, I had to climb the four stories to get to my apartment. One of the reasons I don't go in and out much is because of those stairs. It is a narrow, winding staircase that reminds me of the stairs you would climb to go up in a lighthouse. In fact, my apartment kind of reminds me of a lighthouse.

Anyway, I am home, just did laundry, had a nice shower, took a nice nap and have a pot of Thai red curry with vegetables simmering on the stove. I'm planning on going out later to check exchange rates and see if it is a good time to change money (according to the news reports, US consumer confidence index is up which should mean a spike in the value of the dollar to Euro, but it might be too early). Then I'm going to Albert Heijn to pick up some more food for whatever trips I take tomorrow and later in the week.

I don't think I am going to be doing any major bike trips like today for a while, but I'm really glad I went to Edam, even though I didn't get to see Edam itself.