Plopsaland!

Welcome to Plopsaland! A theme park dedicated to the children shows that appear to consume the younger years of most children in Europe, including me. Granted I'm not between the ages of three and eight but my dutch might as well be (in fact worse) so I often watch these shows because they are simple and easy to follow. They are also appear to be more interesting than kids shows in the U.S., perhaps we are a bit too reserved. Which is always the opposite of what I assumed. I always assumed Americans were the crazy outgoing, be who you are individual, let your kids run around naked kind of society but it is really not the case. So far I seem to feel that we are over protective and a bit too concerned with far too many little things in life. After walking through the entrance of Plopsaland, which brings all kinds of strange feelings if you not a fan of roller coasters (which I'm not) and you can feel the excitement from all the young kids waiting in line. There were also the overprotected kids crying about anything and everything.

It was busy but in a sense that seemed, well, odd. While waiting in the queue everyone seemed pretty patient. Even while waiting in line for the rides it was not uncommon to see a ride leave with an empty seat or two. If you weren't able to ride with your friend, no problem.

I also had a strange moment while walking through the theme park. I would families of all sorts pulling out homemade sandwiches, snacks, and drinks. Reminded me of my family and how we never traveled without packing a cooler full of things to eat. Why bother buying a hamburger when mom brought Eggplant Parmesan!


Did I mention I was scared of roller coasters? I did and I am. I hate them, really. That sound of the tracks clicking as your crawl your way up to the very tip of nowhere just to go hurling back down toward earth as if you are about to crash, getting sucked into your seat, becoming a victim to the usually not so ergonomic restraining device that somehow keeps you from becoming a projectile. I should probably revise my statement of hating roller coasters. I really don't, I love them, it is just those moments right before it all happens that I can't stand. The mental and physical feeling of placing yourself into harms way is just not natural. Perhaps a bit like bike racing, where you don't think it is possible to take a corner at 50km/u. Physics I suppose.

This is another crazy attraction I rode called the SringFlyer. I don't know how high it goes but it was flippin high. However I still managed to snag a video while flying around in cirlces hanging on by a few cables.




I also rode a few other rides including a ride called the Anibus which propels you to 90km/u in about 2 seconds. That is nearly 56mph! What a rush! I probably should have been more attention to the signs before I got on. All I know is that the ride did a few loops and to quote my favourite movie "I had the need for speed."

I think this is probably the first time I've gone more than a day or two without blogging. I suppose I could make up a few excuses and say I'm becoming more involved with people around me, I've been bored, racing too much, etc. Well I have been engaged in a lot more activities than before which is great. I feel a bit like an adopted son between two families. No complaints though I enjoy the activity. I don't have much for race results to publish, I haven't been racing or riding in the last three days. I think I'm feeling a bit confident and don't feel like I need to keep training as much. WE ALL KNOW THAT DOESN'T WORK. So tomorrow its back on the bike for some more fun.

There is one thing that I was thinking about the other day that I wished I would have done more when I first got into racing. I wished I would have brought my parents (or forced) my parents to drive me to more races rather than just driving there alone. I was always a bit hesitant to bring them or ask them. I don't know why but if there is one thing that almost all families have in common here is that nearly every family has a bike racer in it. That bike racer goes to carnivals/races each weekend and the family comes out to watch, especially if the race is in the home town. I would have really loved if I had my parents more involved. I think this is true of probably anything a son or daughter might do. Another little life lesson to add to the bank.

Tot Morgen en slaapvel :)