As part of the 80-year city link between Bath and Alkmaar, the Bath Cycle Club (BCC) visited Alkmaar from 23 to 25 August. Part of the visit was to cycle together in the area with Tour club Alcmaria Victrix (TCAV).
The first contacts for this plan were made at the end of October 2024 through the AUC and also directly by the secretary of the BCC. After various mutual contacts by mail and Teams, the plans were made concrete; the visit would take place from 23 to 25 August and TCAV would accompany the club from Bath on their last stage to Alkmaar from Leiden, and on Sunday there would be cycling in two groups with different speeds and distances. By the president of TCAV 2 routes were made for the Sunday, one of 100 km and one of 120 km with a joint coffee stop in Medemblik.
For Saturday 23 August it has been agreed to meet at the Zoete Inval in Haarlemmerliede to drink coffee and continue to Alkmaar. Eight members of TCAV cycled to BCC as a delegation. At half past eleven we were supposed to meet. TCAV was a little earlier and it was decided to cycle further towards them. At Vijfhuizen we saw a first member of BCC cycling followed by the large group of 12 men and women a few hundred meters away. Everyone squeezed their brakes, TCAV turned around, and after a short acquaintance we went north to the Sweet raid. While enjoying coffee, tea, and other drinks, the acquaintance continued in groups with conversations about everything and anything, about the route they had followed and the wind that had been coming from the north for days and was taking its toll. Because of the wind, the many hundreds of kilometers they already had in their legs and the packing on the bikes, it went to Alkmaar at a calm pace. TCAV members rode headlong to keep everyone further out of the wind. We cycle via pont Buitenhuis past the water tower at Assendelft, Marken-Binnen towards Alkmaar to the Amrath hotel, their place of stay for the next two nights.
At the end of the afternoon there was a drink with members of AUC, BCC and TCAV. Martin from BCC said that only 3 members would join the long and fast tour on Sunday. The legs of the others were too tired to cope with another 100 km trip. Therefore, it was decided to change the plan and ride a 60 km ride.
On Sunday morning at 9 o'clock the 3 members were ready to cycle through West Friesland with 7 members of TCAV. The other group would leave for Hoorn at 09: 30.
The fast group gets off to a fast start. It is clear that the 3 members of BCC belong to the Pacers of the Bath Cycling Club, who cycle every Saturday in a group head over head a route of 60 – 70 km at a speed of 34 km/h on average. The route winds through West Friesland. At Kolhorn, a stop is made and the English receive a brief explanation about the many floods in the region and the decision to build the Afsluitdijk. It is noticeable to fellow cyclists that many channels in the Netherlands have a different function than in England. There they are built for transport by water, in the Netherlands often to drain water. The coffee stop is in Medemblik, the way back goes partly over the IJsselmeerdijk to Hoorn, where you stop at the harbor and continue along Avenhorn and Ursem to the hotel. Meanwhile, the guests had become hungry, and after parting quickly went into the hotel.
The second group consisting of 8 TCAV members and 9 members from Bath made a nice tourist trip through the area between Alkmaar and Hoorn. In Hoorn, extensive time was taken to visit the city. After the coffee stop at Scharwoude, the route went back to Alkmaar. At Schermerhorn the mills were still admired. In Alkmaar, the group cycled past one of the signs with the partner cities before the guests were dropped off at their hotel again.
TCAV looks back on a very successful visit of the Bath Cycling Club to Alkmaar. The appointment has been made to visit Bath in one of the coming years. Great opportunities are 2029 if TCAV is 50 years old, or 2030 if BCC is 150 years old. But earlier can also.
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