Het levensproject dat nooit “af” is, maar gisteren hebben we mooi even een mijlpaal afgetikt: @puk.rotgans is 18 geworden!
Achttien jaar lachen, gieren, brullen. Soms heel boos worden op elkaar, maar altijd weer grote knuffels en oneindig veel liefde. Het is een voorrecht om te zien hoe je je weg aan het maken bent in het leven, Wat een in en in sociaal dier dat je bent en je vrienden het allerbelangrijkste zijn in je leven. Hoe je als een vis in het water beweegt op je Theateropleiding. Dat je niet vies bent van een feestje (of twee). Dat je een sublieme muzieksmaak hebt ontwikkeld en me vaak weer nieuwe pokkoes laat luisteren.
I love you, Pukster! Op naar de volgende 18.
Wil je een keer op fietsvakantie? 🚴♂️
Oftewel bikepacken en daar wat inspiratie over opdoen, vragen stellen, film kijken of gewoon andere leuke fietsgekken ontmoeten? Zaterdag komt @basrotgans weer naar Schoorl.
Bas heeft een winkel in Amsterdam en kan daar alles op maat voor je maken, je helpen en adviseren. Ga langs in de Rijnstraat bij @wheelrunnercc
Stuur vandaag nog een berichtje voor de laatste plekjes. We serveren a.s. zaterdag een “Mungbonen curry bowl” die vegan kan of met biologische kippendijen.
#schoorl #bikepacken #joopschoorl #basrotgans #food
📸 credits @joop_schoorl , @erwinsikkens_com en @michielrotgans.photofilm
As far as Plans B go, this one isn’t too shabby. After not trusting myself to ride 14h to the Pyrenees (and back again mostly), I remembered my long-time wish to ride Traversée des Vosges. A very old mtb route that follows the Vosges mountains north to south.
They’re only 6 hours away, and with the Vosges only being ‘Mittelgebirge’ how hard could it be? 🥴
@zandirohrer was keen to join, and knowing how strong a rider and single-minded he can be, he seemed like the right person to join.
I had a kind of crazy/stupid idea to do it in two days, but after speaking to @meolvin who rode it last year, I have strong doubts about how realistic that is. But that’s not going to stop us from trying. And we don’t have more time anyway.
We’ll see. On y va!
Not all heroes wear capes…
Two random passerby’s certainly didn’t, but they helped @basrotgans out tremendously nonetheless, after he slit his tire on some sharp rocks in the middle of nowhere in Glen Avon 😅
Shy of a tube with the right valve length for his high carbon rims, we had to resort to a bike shop. The nearest one? An hour’s drive away… by car 😫
Malcolm and Andrew offered to help without a single moment’s doubt. While Bas hiked for more than an hour to their house further down the glen, I cycled my way there with them. Upon arrival Malcolm took me in his car to the nearest @rideshimano service center, one hour there, and back again. 🚘 🔧
Once the problem was fixed with a new tire and some @schwalbetires doc blue sealant, the brothers insisted on us enjoying their hospitality a bit more. In their family home we enjoyed a sandwich with homemade jam, and a cup of tea with milk.
I normally don’t like milk with my tea, but for some reason, at that moment, all was good in the world. Our Scottish adventure through the Cairngorms continued as we waved the brothers goodbye. They never asked for anything in return. 👏🏼
Our true local heroes, without capes. 🦸♂️ 🦸
These are the stories that make bikepacking adventures so great.
I was a guest of King Charles at Balmoral ✨👑
We visited Balmoral castle (last image), before enjoying many miles of champagne, and some rugged, gravel cycling. The views further up in the estate where breathtakingly beautiful, before we stopped our bikepacking gravel bikes at Gelder Shiel, the royal bothy. 🏠
There we enjoyed a streaming river cooling our beers and a fire warming our bodies, before we called it the night, only to enjoy more of beautiful Balmoral the next day 🔥🍻
Thank you for the hospitality Your Royal Highness, and thanks for providing firewood at the bothy. We may not have slept in the castle, but we truly enjoyed our royal stay 🪵👏🏼
Glen Tilt to Red House bothy 🏴
This remarkably beautiful valley in the Scottish Cairngorms brought us up to the recently renovated Red House bothy. Don’t expect anything fancy. It’s still a basic mountain hut, but it has everything you could wish for at the end of a day of bikepacking: fire, water out of the nearby river, and a dry place to sleep. 🪵🔥💦
The way up from Blair Athol was anything but basic. Yes, hardpack gravel roads for many km’s, but also multiple hike a bike sections and wet feet river crossings…
But in all honesty, that was everything I was expecting and even hoping for when visiting the Scottish Highlands. A gravel bikepacking adventure in its purest form in a beautiful landscape. What’s not to love?! 🥰
Plassen, moerassen en klieren in rivieren.
Natte bedoeling daar wel, in die Schotse Highlands. 💦
Maar ook enorm genieten. De jongens mochten even lekker buitenspelen 😝
Nederland is ook nat, maar hebben we in hier ook ergens van dit soort leuke wateravonturen? Ik heb de smaak te pakken, let me know! 👀
Back to mech. Bike check for the Gravel-dads Grinduro ‘n bothies trip.
I pulled an ole’ switcheroo on the Open and mounted a 1x12 GRX mechanical groupset for the Scotland trip to Grinduro and beyond. It feels surprisingly fun and direct to be back to cabled shifting. Let’s see if it sticks.
Also managed to nab a set of @ffwdwheels new Drift Pace wheels. They’re superlight and look stunning, but weren’t without issue: I had to switch to a 40mm tire in the rear because the 28mm interval rim width blew up my regular 45s to the point that the tire was nearly buzzing the seat tube. I am@now looking for a grav bike with at least clearance for 50s.
I have no words for how proud I am that “the team” and I have pulled this off. Although the final paint is still drying, we are more or less ready to host our Grand Opening.
And when I do my air quotes, it is because the team is actually a massive village. And that village is not only people that formally work at Wheelrunner, but also @puk_tr en @puursan , friends, family, business partners and even customers that have helped me out in one form or another to create the next chapter of my dream bicycle shop (or is it a bicycle shop dream?).
Therefore, This Saturday, April 5th, from 16:00 - 21:00 I’ld like to invite you to join me for a drink in the new Wheelrunner. Please RSVP through link in bio, so we know how many drinks to get.
Zeventien. 17! Zee-ven-tien!
Ik kan bijna niet geloven dat je al zeventien bent! Maar wat een prachtige reis, en ik geniet er met volle teugen van om te zien wat een heerlijk mens je aan het worden bent. Hoe je als een vis in het water zit op je theater-opleiding. De nieuwsgierigheid waarmee je de wereld aankijkt. Hoe je een in en in sociaal dier bent, die er alles aan doet om bij haar vrienden te zijn. Met een muzieksmaak die zo goed is, dat ik graag zou willen claimen dat ik daar invloed op heb gehad.
En als we een keer mot hebben, dan is het vooral omdat we zo belachelijk veel op elkaar lijken. Een paar weken geleden wist je me tot tranen te roeren met je mooie monoloog die je moest schrijven voor school. En ondanks alles ben je gelukkig nog steeds een heerlijke pretletter, een grote knuffelkont, een dierenliefhebber met een heel groot hart, een natuurtalent als bonuszus, wordt de moody puber wat minder, en heb je nog steeds een los-zittend middelvingertje(s). 🖕🖕
Jij komt er wel, baby! I love you, tot de maan en terug. 😘😘😘
Close to 6 years after starting Wheelrunner on Van Ostadestraat, I’ve just picked up the keys to a new shop where we will start the next chapter of this dream. It’s big, it’s bold, and I’m so ab-so-lute-ly STOKED that we are getting to do this.
Ever since I was a starry-eyed 17 year old wannabe snowboarder, Rijnstraat held a special place as I was discovering Amsterdam, as this is where legendary surf/snowboard shop Sparetime was housed. Spotting their iconic ‘U CAN NEVER B 2 COOL’ stickers was always a treat. It feels like an honour to join this street, already home to our good friends and colleagues from @maats.cc (technically on Van Wou, but still). Together with @theoldmanboardsports , that have taken up the spot of Sparetime, and the @carldenig Pre-Owned I have the feeling there’s an outdoor sports shopping destination developing in Amsterdam-Zuid. #inderijnmoetjezijn
Expect all the stuff I’ld like to think our customers have come to expect from Wheelrunner: solid products, bikes that ooze character, authentic friendliness, deep and geeky bicycle knowledge, and a profound and deep stoke for cycling. And now we’re cranking it up another few notches. There will be a few new brands, more of our old brands, but always with the Wheelrunner vibe and energy.
We’re leaving our old place before the end of January and will softlaunch at Rijnstraat from February 1st. Along the way we will announce lots of cool stuff, but there’s bound to be an opening party/sixth year anniversary early in spring!
