Deus Cycle Sunday #2
What is it about cycling that always seems to conjure up the thrill of adventure? If you’ve ever prepared for a ride, you’ve felt it.
Even if it’s in those small, routine moments. Sipping coffee and stretching quietly in the Sunday morning chill. Adjusting the laces on your shoes. Smoothing out the folds in your jersey. It’s always there – quiet anticipation. And it’s electrifying. It’s the inescapable knowledge that you’re going to step on the pedals and go, well, anywhere.
We happen to think this feeling goes great with a fresh cup of coffee and a good group of people.
Our second Deus Cycle Sunday was no different. We gather in the morning to share the feelings of anticipation, friendship, and adventure. We sip coffee and tell war stories about headwinds and rain clouds and broken bicycles while we wait for the rest of our group to assemble. It’s certainly more cyclists than last month – we grin as we take a tally of our ragtag bunch of road warriors. Carbon fiber roadies, fixed gear track bikes, and vintage lugged steel all assemble on the cobblestones of the Herengracht. It wasn’t planned that way, but it’s a testament to a powerful idea:
It doesn’t matter what you’re riding. It matters where you’re going, and how you get there.
The route for the day isn’t huge – a rip down the Amstel to the town of Uithoorn, through the beautiful heart of old Amsterdam and out into the rolling green pastures of the countryside. But every cyclist knows not to underestimate the great equalizing power of the wind. We work hard, and we’re happy to do it. With our legs burning and our bodies awake to the pounding pulse of the road, we suddenly turn off onto a small road on the outskirts of Uithoorn. We’re about 20 kilometers south of Amsterdam.
What was just another industrial estate a few weeks ago is now the site of something truly special. A fever dream of untapped space and raw creative potential. This is a place where a group of friends – some from Deus Amsterdam and others who simply share a love of gasoline – come to wrench on vintage machines and blow off steam. We tour an office turned into a custom motorcycle workshop. No running water yet, only the true essentials: the bare steel frames of a number of custom bikes, lying patiently on their workbenches like nitro-fueled grease-guzzling monsters just waiting for the right moment to roar to life. Outside, our ride leaders George and Bart practice their track stands, while others fine tune their gearing and adjust their saddles. We drink coffee and Red Bull from the Carte Blanche food truck, a radical, hand painted converted 1969 Commer, and prepare ourselves for the ride back home.
You could say that this space was our anywhere for the day. Our electrifying journey. It made an impression, certainly, because we set out on the open road and found something incredible and new in the middle of the familiar.
But often the best part about cycling with friends is that it always eventually leads you back home again. Afterwards, we always stop into the Deus Store for beer, brunch, and of course, more coffee. Here we sit, gently steaming from the cold outside mixing with the warmth of the cafe. Telling stories, swapping jokes, feeling good about feeling tired. And anxiously anticipating the next time we can set out on the road together and go, well, anywhere.
Sound like your kind of morning? Deus Cycle Sunday happens every last Sunday of the month. We gather at 11:00AM for coffee and banter, and roll out at Noon. You can expect a new route every month and don’t worry if you’re not feeling your fastest – this is a no-drop ride and we’ll adjust the pace to make sure everyone is included.
We hope to see you there.
ph. @tristanfopma
