Hallo fellow learn-it-all 👋 Greetings from Voorschoten, Netherlands. Screentime stats were low on the road cycling across Holland this past week, so this letter is a collection of four poems I wrote over the past couple weeks. Enjoy letter 276 below :)
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📜🖋 Poetry Corner
Poem 1:
August 21, 2025
Inspired by my first bike-packing adventure
My first century ride
My first century ride checked off with a grin, 115 kilometers on the last day, where to begin? My first century ride Why did I do it? A nudge from a friend, Beautiful cycling lanes, A Dutch bike membership, A thirst for fitness, And a hunger to see To explore, to sweat. My first century ride Because why not? I haven’t met a single soul who has cycled this, Not even a Dutchie. If it were easy, Everyone would do it. My first century ride The opportunity is here: No stray dogs like in Thailand, No skinny roads like in Honolulu, No crazy drivers like in Chicago. My first century ride Because lately, I’ve woken heavy, challenged to get vertical, desperate to remember that I can do hard things. Finishing a challenge can plunge me forward into the dicey depths Of my unknown ahead. On the first day Pedals turned hard as crystallized sap, each kilometer ahead, honeycombed with swelling spurts, starting at my toes, up my quads, hovering on my sitbones. I shifted gears down For less tension With more rotations, Even still, Time passed slowly — Too slowly. Too many unplanned detours, Worries surface: Grumbling bellies, sinking sun, and my phone battery almost done. On the second day Much-needed rest accompanied by An angry train conductor, a crowded ferry, A trip to the bike mechanic, a freeing skinnydip frolicking in the North Sea, a beach club blasting ABBA, And the perfection of salty and sweet In a purple potato. My first century ride. On the final day, a sprint to the ferry, lungs gasping, collapsing in effort, yet more alive than ever. Revival thanks to a cappuccino, a burst of potassium from a banana And a peanut butter sprinkle sando, to summon my spirit. My first century ride. Through dead silent Schoorl dunes by the sea, curving round bends like an hourglass, greeting locals, laughing at breaks, learning from the first day’s hungry mistakes. My first century ride. My limbs could be smeared soft as butter fed by cheese, crackers, and bread on-the-go. Two cups of coffee, a ferry delay— helaas pindakaas, fifteen extra kilometers to the finish line. My first century ride. Where has this left me? legs humming, lungs wide with freshness, Disbelief at what my body can do, and Holland unfolding, cute inviting towns farm fields alive like a zoo, cows grazing, Angry ducks, Rustic stool scents Klinking chains. Wrong turns on highways. And smiling cyclists for days. My first century ride. Beside Allison’s wheels, my spirit found flight — in Holland, where cycling feels perfectly right. Grateful, exhausted, yet ready once more. Proost to the laughter, And the hard things we endure.
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Poem 2:
August 9, 2025
10:54 PM Foukstraat tram stop in Amsterdam
inspired after meeting SoFar Sounds musicians
From Doze to Drive
I wanna feel young Be ‘round people who never make me hold my tongue I wanna feel bold Do wacky n’unique things never feeling old. Where is my drive? I don’t wanna just survive — How can I go thrive? Many leave potential untapped — so we go DO up the WAZOO only to be in its own cage of its own. And so my thoughts loop — they keep going, stalling me in a coop, like a sleepy chicken. But I’m going to keep going, Because a short-lived life, That’s not an option. I will prioritize making my past self smile — To make her proud, And cry At all the crazy things we’ve lived.
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Poem 3
Inspired by a conversation with
🌡️ At Boiling Point
Sometimes I feel like a pot boiling on a gas stove— with expectations. full to the brim bubbling over with steam over a flame, hoping to put it out. I don’t have a boss like a normal 9–5 but I’ve got self-imposed pressure pushing me to pursue excellence to get better to be better. I don’t want see her as a bad cop I want to love her for guiding me But this can be worse. It can be awful.
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Poem 4:
August 16, 2025
Inspired by a conversation with while eating Tompouce
🐈 Witje the Most Playful Poes
Sure he caused a plummet to my productivity, stuck his head in my water glass and treated me like his master, BUT his crazy way of Being, abundant with play and presence of the fly buzzing by the window of the bird squawking on the roof of the ribbon in my journal of the tasty treat under his nose With me, it inspires possibilities. There is no separation of ego no Witje alone versus Witje together no space in between There just is Witje. The crazy cat. The playful poes. 💙💚
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❓Question to think about
What hard thing can I do to prove to my future self that I can do hard things?
🎧Listening
Collapse by Chance Peña
Breathe in, breathe out, whisper to me softly
We're alright, it's okay, darling, don't be sorry
Slow down, step back, like you always tell me
It ain't all bad, it's just overwhelming
🔍Dutch Phrase to define
Helaas pindakaas: literally translates to "Unfortunately, peanut butter"
Figuratively: a humorous Dutch expression meaning "Too bad!" or "Oh well!"
Used to express lighthearted disappointment when something goes wrong or a desired outcome isn't achieved, with the added "pindakaas" serving as a playful, rhyming, and nonsensical addition for lightheartedness.
🌟Quote to inspire
“Self-esteem is the ability to see yourself as a flawed individual and still hold yourself in regard.” — Esther Perel, Belgian-American psychotherapist
📸Photos of the Week
🙏Shoutouts
to my bike buddy Mobes. It wouldn’t have been as fun without this shared experience from start to finish.
The Vrienden op de Fiets biking membership I used to find local homestays to sleep at this past week on this cycling adventure.
To padded shorts that made this cycling adventure much more comfortable and even possible to do be done. Without them I’m not sure I would’ve made it this far… makes me thinks about how I could use this sort of shorts for more things in life ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
I am grateful you chose to fill part of your day here.
If something in this letter resonated, press the ❤️ , leave a comment, reply to this email, or reach me at vermetJL@gmail.com. I love hearing from you.
Keep on learning 😁
Tot snel 🌺 🌺
Toodles :)
Jen
P.S. I coach writers. I guide them to find their voice, build a writing rhythm, and have fun hitting “publish.” Let’s chat.
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Super fun newsletter this week. I absolutely love your poetry! So authentic and clever! ❤️