The cart - April 2003
Going downhill in Calvin & Hobbes style. Last Saturday I packed Andy and Kaspar in my car, loaded the unicycle, the longboard and the * cart * Then - for one afternoon - we put fear in the hearts of all cyclists passing on the dyke of the IJssel. We even drew some respectful looks from rough motorcyclists behind the prison of Krimpen a/d IJssel.
Andy and Kaspar assembled this cart in Andy's garden. It is made from spare wood, a child's bicycle, a child's scooter and the cover of a vacuum cleaner.

It's decorated with a lost hubcap and a numberplate (we still don't know where Andy got it, he seems to have a whole collection of them).

It's rather difficult to steer, which only increases the fun.
Holland is famous for it's flatness and it's absence of mountains. The best slopes are found on the banks of the rivers. The river dykes can be 20 - 30 meters in height.

While looking for good longboard spots we found this place. It's the safest one we know - there are no cars here. We didn't know how the cart would perform, so we started here. -- Kaspar demonstrates his longboard. In fact I bought it for myself, but it has been confiscated :-)
But Andy could handle the longboard easily too. Notice the spring blossoms.
A good push increases the speed ... ... and Kaspar can't overtake that cart anymore.
Notice the beautiful chaotic landscape in this area. The river, old shipyards, new office buildings, an old fisherman's village combine to make this a very interesting spot.

One day I'll write a special report about this area. Let's hope it won't be "civilized" too soon.

From here we moved to the Stormpolder. To the steepest slope we have found until now.
This is the steepest slope we've found yet. It's behind the prison on the island of Stormpolder, in Krimpen a/d IJssel. This is on the road, so I have to watch for cars all the time. Fortunately it's a very quiet road.

The prison wall is on the right. In the next picture you can see my car (it's a miracle that all the gear fitted in it, especially the cart). The Van Brienenoord bridge in the background.
Here's all our gear. You can even see my unicycle. I can ride it on slopes, but this one was still too steep for me. It's also a nice slope for the longboard. Unfortunately it's not covered in asphalt all the way.

Below you can see the most serious mishap that we had this day. Still I wouldn't let the kids do this without protective gear. We're not the Jackass team. A police car passed and they gave us the "thumbs up".
We were not the only ones in curious vehicles. This is a "Piaggio". It's a tiny delivery truck powered by a scooter motor. It's wonderful microscopic vehicle. It makes a lot of noise and the maximum speed is 45km/h. Notice that it has only three wheels. The Swiss artist Roman Signer has built a mobile fountain inside one of these.
Border crossings
Deserted Buildings
Urban Adventure Home 		© Andy & Kaspar

April 2003