Cycling over a iconic 30-kilometre-long Dutch flood defence

Описание: The Afsluitdijk is a Dutch flood defence, completed in 1932 after 5 years of building. It protects a large part of Dutch inland against the forces of the sea and flooding. Due to the construction of the Afsluitdijk almost 100 years ago, the Zuiderzee, an inland sea in the northern Netherlands, was split into two parts. The closed part was named IJsselmeer, the non-closed part was named Wadden Sea.

Upon completion, the Afsluitdijk was fitted with shipping locks and discharge sluices on both sides: the Stevin locks on the Den Oever side in the province of North Holland and the Lorentz locks at Kornwerderzand in the province of Friesland.

So much for a bit of history. Back to the present.

Since 2019, there has been work on the Afsluitdijk. Work is being done on strengthening the dike and the lock complexes, increasing the capacity to discharge water and maintaining the highway that runs over the dike. And, at the initiative of the region, there will be a completely new cycling and walking path on the side of the Wadden Sea. This is in addition to the already existing cycle path on the side of the highway and the IJsselmeer.

In the weekend of Saturday 1 and Sunday 2 July 2023, Rijkswaterstaat, the executive organization of the Ministry of Infrastructure and Water Management, opened the Afsluitdijk to the public once. Enthusiasts could use part of the new cycling and walking path and it was once again possible for the real diehards to cycle a 300-kilometre round around the IJsselmeer.

I didn't make it that far myself, but I did cycle back and forth between the lock complex at Den Oever and the lock complex at Kornwerderzand. The local chapters of the Dutch Cyclists Union were present here to draw extra attention to more openings and both had set up a stamp post. Cyclists who had their card stamped at both stamp posts received a water bottle with the following inscription:

'Cycling happiness is ... cycling over the new Afsluitdijk'

About the video:

I start filming just before the lock complex on the Den Oever side. Work is still in progress here. Cyclists, walkers, rollerbladers have to cross road plates here and there are traffic controllers to ensure that everything runs smoothly. The new cycling and walking path along the Wadden Sea begins just after the lock complex. This has now been completed for about two-thirds of the 30 kilometres. The last set of about 10 kilometers go over the existing cycle path on the side of the highway and the IJsselmeer. I stop filming at the Afsluitdijk Wadden Center, near Kornwerderzand.

On the way there I had a tailwind and I easily reached speeds of up to 30 to 35 km/h. On the way back I had a headwind (wind force 5) and I barely reached 15 km/h. That was really tough! But the wind prevented no one from enjoying this one-time opening. Rijkswaterstaat estimated afterwards that no less than 13,000 cyclists and 800 walkers crossed the dike! And it wasn't just cyclists with a racing bike and Lycra clothing. I saw people on recumbent bicycles, city bicycles, folding bicycles, e-bikes, hand-bikes, adapted bicycles, tandems. In short, all types of bicycles and cyclists!