THE WINDJAMMERS

RIDE OR STFU.

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THE WINDJAMMERS turned 12 today!

(or at least on Tumblr. The Windjammers have been rocking the roads since 2008)

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Windjammers Winter Monster Jam 2023

The 10th annual WJ Monter Jam is in the books. 265km the day after Christmas, year in and year out, come rain and come shine. Ride or STFU is our mantra and riding is what we do.

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Nothing beats seeing the sun rise whilst riding your bike.

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The Windjammers are still riding; four times a week no less. Here is the Saturday Spin posse, posing at café Polder where we have our post-ride coffees and snacks. A colorful bunch, those Amsterdam-based Jammers. 

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Oliebollen ride, the last one of 2016.

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Winter riding at its best!

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That beautiful winter ride last Sunday morning. They don’t get much better than that!

https://www.strava.com/activities/793356146

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There was a fair share of blues in our Thursday morning ride. Dark clouds, autumn wind, and muddy water on the farmers’ roads; enough for some washed-out Flandrien faces. All in all a proper Tim’s Thursday, a ride to cherish.

https://www.strava.com/activities/790601702

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A tourist ride in our own backyard kicked off with a ferry crossing to the hipster NDSM wharf from where we headed north to the Zaanse Schaans with its collection of well-preserved historic windmills and houses. We rode parts of the European Route of Industrial Heritage, a place where us mad old dogs feel at home. With clouds and cold it was quiet on the roads, just the way we like it. Winter riding and no tourists around, plenty of space to jam. 

https://www.strava.com/activities/786956611

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We celebrated a Dutch Thanksgiving with an evening ride and a turkey pasta meal. 18 riders rode into the cold darkness towards small town Kanis where we had bitterballen and beer at the halfway point, café De Gekeerde Kanis. After the break we faced the brisk northeast wind and pedaled back in two packs to café Kanis en Meiland, completing the Kanis-Kanis-Kanis Classic. With the food came many beers and not until midnight did the last Jammer leave the bar.

https://www.relive.cc/view/784784384

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Double bonus points for those that went out this morning. Stormy and rainy weather, a fitting day to ride to ‘our’ street called Windjammer. There was quite a bit of Ride or STFU in today’s mindset. Unfortunately we overlooked two riders at our second meeting point so we were with just three people. A tight group. Yep, these days are not for everyone. 

https://www.strava.com/activities/780674112

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Two consecutive wet and cold Sunday morning rides; next week Sunday will be glorious for sure. Fred double backed after two early flats and Ciska only found us when we had reached Volendam; otherwise we would have been with 10 riders. We made it a tourist ride by rolling over de dijk in Volendam and along the pretty canals in Edam. The real tourists were hiding. The real Jammers were riding.

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Tom Dumoulin on Sunday Morning rides. Ride hard. Be happy.

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Our recently established Saturday Spin is here to stay; we’ve got a winner! Sixteen riders showed up despite a 0C temperature and a brisk wind. Tom ‘Welsh Wizard’ Davies took us on a beautiful route which included climbing fences and dodging angry car drivers. Yet it was all good. It was cold. It was cool.

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When the hands and feet get cold in a three-hour rain ride you now that winter is approaching. The wet did not bother us too much until we ran into that inevitable puncture. The 5-minute standstill just 30 minutes away from home chilled us. Yet nothing that a warm shower and a good cup of coffee can’t fix. We’ll be out there again next week Sunday, come rain or come shine.

https://www.strava.com/activities/767534615

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Remember the Man. Our 5th annual Holger Bismann ride brought out sixteen riders. The classic 100k loop touches a bit of everything; the polder, the woods and the straight along the canal. More than that it touches the people involved. From the first Holger ride four years ago we have been generously invited in the Bismann house for a halfway coffee stop. Each year Windjammers veterans as well as Sunday morning rookies experience the hospitality, the stories and wonderful sugar bread. As a token of our friendship the Bismann girls were handed a framed Windjammers jersey with Holger’s motto Ride or STFU on the sleeve. A small silver vinyl print as a reminder to keep riding always, to empty the tank and to leave nothing out on the road. And to do all that with the signature Holger smile.

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The weekly Saturday Spin in a morning drizzle.