Let Op! Dremples
- By admin
- May 3, 2016
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There is a r
oad sign in the Netherlands that becomes very familiar after you have spent several days on a bike. ‘Let Op! Dremples’ means ‘beware the speed bumps’ in Dutch. They are endemic on smaller roads and can, should you miss the sign, take you by surprise, temporarily knocking you off balance. We have stumbled on several Dremples since leaving Oxford and not all have been on the road!
The first night was spent in Felixstow was one such dremple. The traffic from Salisbury had been very slow and we hadn’t arrived at the site until after 7.pm. The office was closed necessitating disturbing the site owner who was most affable despite the interruption to his evening ; money and keys were exchanged and the owner gave a brief description of area to pitch. Graeme and I still preoccupied with the lateness of our arrival seemed to have missed or ignored his instructions. We drove on what we thought was a suitable pitch. Doubts crept in when the front passenger wheel started to spin. After a few more attempts to move the van came the sinking realisation that our sinking van would sink our chances of an early start to get to Harwich in time to catch the ferry. Yet again we had to disturb the site owner. Amazingly even after seeing the mud, mess and general chaos we had managed to cause in such a short time the site owner remained affable. Confirming that he had definitely not suggested our selected pitch he returned with a tractor and asked us to attach the towing ring. Seeing our look of perplexion he suggested it would be found with the jack. It was going downhill fast; ‘What jack??’ Luckily a passing angel came over, he knew much about towing rings and jacks, found the jack and thus the towing ring. The tractor effortlessly pulled the van and us out of the mire. Our first Dremple!