Sunday Fitness

A grey sunday; an overcast sky, as is often the case in winter. One is reminded of the "Hazy shade of winter", song by Simon and Garfunkel. Winters in the Netherlands nowadays are not half as severe as they used to be in the days of the 17th century. Ice skating is mostly done in halls on artificial ice. A lot of people sit in front of their tv set watching speedskating. The olypmic games are only two more weeks away. Expectations are rising, and 60 % of the population seems to think, dutch speedskaters are going to do very well. As they did four years ago when Jochem Uytdehaeghe snatched away some medals in the winter-games in Salt Lake city. But if the only way to enjoy speedskating is to watch someone else doing it, what else can you do, if you want a little outdoors exercise? Some people go running; some take a sunday stroll in the local green patch and some take their bike out of their garden shed and pedal a few kilometers. So, on my bike i visited the nearby National Park "Loonse en Drunense Duinen". Compared to the Mojave or the Gobi desert ( a little far-fetched i admit), it's nothing more than some grains of sand, scattered underneath the pine-trees. But you should try seeing it in dutch dimensions, which make it pretty big. Also a good place if you'r having the sunday-blues and feel like seeing someone else. Who needs skating anyway?