Cycle Your Heart Out
"Your Wheels are Your Paint, The World is Your Canvas"
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The Fly It took 6 years and 25 heartful routes to realise it, Sure it would have been nice to have occurred overnight, but it didn’t, and maybe it wasn’t meant to...  Maybe that alluring spider’s web was meant to catch me, Maybe I was meant to fight my way through, To be able to come out the other side as that grateful little fly. Maybe each heartful route was a lesson to learn, a blessing in disguise. Maybe each one was a future story, a chapter to be told, On a book that was unknowingly writing itself.  All week leading up to Amsterdam I had been reading Elizabeth Gilbert's book ‘Big Magic’. Having been on my reading list for ages, it more or less jumped off the bookshelf into my hands at the Airport. The more I read, the more it made me realise I write because I freaking LOVE it. I understand not everyone will enjoy reading what I have to say, but that's OK too. I'd rather write for the rest of my life than live in a criticism-free bubble. My favourite part was when she wrote about how we should have more fun with our creativity! For many years I would stress myself silly about writing up my heart routes, I would try and force myself to write, even if I didn't have a creative cell in my body that day. I would then get burnt out, lose my words, conclude I was a terrible writer and keep it only for myself. So yeah...no more of that, I now whisk myself off to romantic locations on my own to allow myself no time limit, just the sheer luxury of being able to write, zero interruptions, other than my wine and olives arriving. Heartful Route 25So why Amsterdam?
One of the top cities to cycle in, and it took me until now to get round to it! In 2015 it was my 1st trip to Holland, I'd created a heart route in the tiny coastal town of Westkapelle. That was just a small taste I discovered of how much the Dutch love cycling, and how super flat this country really is! Having returned to Holland for the 2nd time to spend time with family at the beautiful beach Callantsoog, I managed to arrange a 1 night stay in Amsterdam on my way back to Barcelona. As I left Callanstoog I smiled to myself after having spent the last 2 weeks with family and friends. Although they are all spread out all around the world, I’m eternally grateful for any time at all that I get to be with them. Bike rental: On the train ride to Amsterdam I looked up bike rental and straight away found MacBike. Conveniently located just off the canal, a short walking distance from the famous Rijksmuseum museum and my hostel. I hired my funky red bike and was given a detailed map of the city. The girl in the shop was super helpful in telling me all the best canal's and paths to ride, as well as nice spots to relax and enjoy the open markets and cafe scene. The Heartful Route Rolling down the canal I loved that I had no expectations, I really hadn't researched Amsterdam as I’d wanted to be surprised by it all. I think along the route I developed an addiction for canals, each one I passed I couldn’t stop myself from stopping and taking a quick snap. Having been up since 5 am my stomach started to protest at being neglected. A few metres away I found a inviting canal boat, a perfect spot for filling my stomach on some Dutch cuisine. I sat and ate as dozens of touristic boats passed, I felt a little bit like a lion in a safari park as they whipped out their cameras ready to capture the beautiful picturesque canals, with myself modelling a mouthful of food. As I sipped on my cappuccino I took out my map again to figure out my heart route, I then slowly realised it had created itself organically. The more I studied my map and all the canals, the more a heart shape emerged. The best thing was that is was mostly made up of canal paths, the closer to water the better I thought! I was about to jump back on my bike when I looked across the road and saw the Cheese Museum! I remembered a fellow cheese fanatic friend of mine had mentioned it to me last year. My taste buds melted as my eyes feasted on all the different flavours... truffles, pesto, a rainbow of colours from blue, purple and even green! After trying nearly every cheese sample in sight, I then realised a belly full of breakfast, combined with with multiple flavours of cheese was probably not the best breakfast combination. As I wandered along the canals to walk off my satisfied stomach I came across a large group of people all staring up at a house, curious to know what it was I then saw a small sign, “Anne Frank Huis”. Memories came flooding back to me as a child, reading the book in my bedroom, wiping away the tears. In that moment I immediately dedicated a piece of my heart route to Anne. After gliding along the scenic streets and canals of Prinsengracht Joordan I noticed how quickly the vibe changed. Arriving at the centre of my heart route, I had also reached the HEART of Amsterdam. I came face to face with the grim reaper at the Dam Square Royal palace, dead bodies at The Body Worlds museum. Cycling through the craziness of it all, one thing remained the same, it was still full of bike lanes, and easy to ride through despite the masses of tourists. I looked at my map, and noticed I needed to head towards the canal in order to start the other half of my heart route. As I stopped at a canal after the Dam Square to check where I was I noticed a bicycle taxi guy on the look-out for clients. He must know every single path in Amsterdam I thought, so decided to ask him for some directions. He happily pointed me in the right direction so I could find the canal, and continue the rest of my heart route. Before I knew it, the lines had joined again, heartful route 25, complete! After being awake since 6am and cycling the whole city until 8pm I was on the verge of passing out in hunger and exhaustion. Thank you Lorenzo restaurant... I didn't get the waiter's name, but I'm grateful for his kindness. I'm surprised I could even get my words out, I just mumbled something along the lines of, "I'm hungry". Not only did he give me a generous size portion of tasty pasta , he cracked some jokes, then took my bike basket off the table to “make my meal feel more homely”. I pretty much passed out afterwards back at my hostel! I'll have to return again soon to see Amsterdam by night... The following morning it was time head back to Barcelona and press pause on my Dutch adventures. Dropping my bike back at Macbikes they took a liking to my heart route and kindly decided to offer me a cute t-shirt and cap. Before saying goodbye to this cosy city, I sat in Back to Black, a cafe I’d luckily discovered across along my heart route, directly overlooking the bicycle filled canals. Billie Holiday played in the background while I stared out the window searching for the right words to write up about Amsterdam. A heart shaped foam smiled up at me from the cappuccino reminding me of all the kind people I’d met along the route, and helped me make route 25 possible. No longer had I just finished Route 25, I was already starting to dream of my next heart route, and all the adventures yet to come. Love Sarah x
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The Screenshot It started a few years ago, a screenshot to capture the special moment, opposite sides of the world. I've lost count now, it's become the norm, and it's only sunk in recently. It seems to have crept up on me slowly...  The realisation that you’ll never be able to take a last minute coffee, pop over for dinner, or enjoy a long comforting hug. The realisation that your future children will never grow up playing together. The realisation that the only way you can all be together is if you cherish your vacation time, and coordinate so everyone can get at least 2 weeks together...not always an easy task when you’re dealing with multiple countries! July 2017, all spread out around the world. I’ve simply had to accept the fact that none of us will ever agree on one country to all settle in. However, with acceptance comes comfort, maybe we all have different destinies, life has a different plan for us all. So here we are are, on our way to Cambridge, my mum and sister by my side, Their faces not in a phone, Not in an ipad, Not in a computer, But physically there, next to me. Soaking up the realisation, a warm sense of gratitude filled by body. What I once took for granted, I now cherish with every inch of my being. To physically be able to spend time with them, and not through a screen, was honestly the best birthday gift. No longer a snapshot, But here by my side.  Location: Cambridge, England
Heartful Route: 24 Bike Hire and Advice: Rutland Cycling and Cambridge Bike Tours Food: The Anchor Pub Grateful to: My beautiful Mum and Sister |
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