30 Day Bike Challenge - Day 1 (Part 1 - Introduction)

There are two mistakes one can make along the road to truth…not going all the way, and not starting.
Buddha

in front of De Molen, Ankeveen as we set off for Weesp

It is always challenging for me to start a project because I need to incorporate it in our  family life somehow, so it would not take up more of our time in the day but it will simply be blended with our current  schedule.

For example, I decided to start with the 30 Day Bike Challenge this June because the weather has more chances of being dry, the girls have a short school break combined with the holidays.  Keeping them entertained and busy can then be combined with biking the routes I would like to check out and blog about.

I have had the idea of keeping a biking journal while I was still in Germany, perhaps more than a decade ago before the eldest was born.  There are a lot of entries in my handwritten journals, which are still in our flat in Hamburg stored in boxes in our attic.

During the WordCount Blogathon, which I participated in using My Daily Mooosings in the Netherland blog I felt my confidence increase in creating a blog, which is finally putting this idea in motion.

I still feel very unsure if I would do justice to the idea I have, but I strongly feel that it is better to put it out there to share, than remain stored in my mind. Learning by doing has always been my battle cry, and this month this cry would be stronger as ever, specially when self-doubt and blogging fatigue looms over me.

The regular blogging in My Daily Mooosings in the Netherlands has strengthened my focus in what is most important thing in life, and gave me clarity on the subjects I would like to direct my time and attention.

I would love for my family to spend a lot of time outdoors together; it will be wonderful for the girls to grow up to appreciate and respect Nature surrounding us.  It would be great for all of us in the family to have a deeper understanding of the history, language and culture of the Netherlands through our biking tours, and most of all find joy in the simple yet precious pleasures in life.

These are what I hope to document in the 30 Day Bike Challenge in June 2011 - for lack of a better name for this project (I will have to think up another title during the course of the challenge or after it's completion, to be used for next year ):

• Family time together outdoors
• Discovered new bike paths  around the area (through the woods, along the lakes and in the forest)
• Images of scenic routes, monuments, historical places
• Anecdotes about our talks regarding the places we visited and things we each learned during each bike tour
• New words/phrases in Dutch, we learned through  each bike trips
• On trips abroad, a quick comparison of biking cultures
• Images of happiness, joy, appreciation for the Summer season, for the place we are blessed to be able to visit and our good healthy life, that enables us to enjoy all of it.

The first bike route will be Weesp, and I plan to dedicate 2-3 posts about it to be posted in three consecutive days.  I'll have to see what impressions of Day 1 will bring.  We have been in Weesp a lot of times with the camera, in the car and on foot but never on the bike so that is quiet another experience.

Today, I am planning to simply photograph three windmills in Weesp.

• Molen De Vriendschap (Utrechtseweg) (link was originally in Dutch, then the page was Google translated)
• Molen De Eendracht (Utrechtseweg) (link was originally in Dutch, then the page was Google translated)
• Molen Het Haantje (Stammerdijk). (link was originally in Dutch, then the page was Google translated)

Also, eat ice cream with the girls, as reward at the end of the bike tour.

Well, now off we go, and as the Dutch
will say: succes!

in front of De Molen, Ankeveen as we set off for Weesp