Holland (all)

This blog (still ongoing) describes our experiences, both good and bad, of cycle touring around Europe. It was a long planned trip - about 15 years before coming to fruition - and we decided that as we were between jobs and countries (from Dubai on the way back to NZ) we would explore some of the places we had always wanted to visit and get a culture fix too!

Read about my adventures by bicycle around the world,taking in Europe, the Near East, India, South East Asia, Australasia, and the USA on Route 66.

For something a little less ambitious, I have prepared details of a three-week tour of the beautiful landscapes of central Portugal.

Or if you prefer a central base and some day rides, read about my routes on the Spanish island of Mallorca - a cyclist's paradise, with warm weather, flat hinterland, stunning mountain climbs, and huge ice-creams!

Journey from south UK to northern Poland on a bike and a recumbent trike. We stayed in Poland for a few weeks and then travelled home via Denmark.

We left our jobs and sold our house to go on this trip - part of the reason for going was to explore whether we'd like to live in another country. The other reason was to satisfy my craving for long distance touring.

Cycling from Venice to Amsterdam in 8 days.
Got a loooooooot of rain !!!
Photos of nice landscapes, houses and not DNA-manipulated cows !!! :-)

As a rider of the Beijing to Paris 2007 Carfree rallye to celebrate better, carfree mobility (see www.beijingtoparis.com), I am riding in the opposite direction from Paris to Beijing.

I try to get in contact with local cycling culture as much as I can and to spread peace over the world!

The bike I am undertaking this tour with is a recumbent touring bike equipped with high quality components. So far (end of July 07) I haven't had a single technical defect!

We are performing a 2 years (theoretically) trip around Eurasia. During the trip, we are performing a photo documentation for ICOMOS, an expert organization of UNESCO about cultural heritage. The database created will be available on the website.

We wish with this project to perform some challenging cycling, linking with useful actions.

Our website relates our diary and we are putting plenty of photos and comments (and lots of other fields are going to come, such as advices, technical data...).

Welcome to the Wish Tour!

Below you will find the photos and journal from a two-year, 20,000-mile bicycle journey around the world.

Starting in July 2005, this journal will take readers across the United States, Europe, Turkey, Uzbekistan, Kyrgystan, China, Tibet, Nepal, India, Bangladesh, Thailand, Laos, Vietnam, Cambodia, Malaysia, Borneo, Indonesia, Australia and New Zealand.

The journey began more than 20 years ago, as the seeds of a dream to circumnavigate the globe were cultivated from a deeply personal and painful experience.

[Absolutely stunning pictures.]

The clock was ticking, I was one hour off C-Day with everything packed. I had gone through my checklist time & time again fully knowing that as always with my memory I was bound to have forgotten something.

[...]

3 days in, the sun had come out and I was settling down into my monotonous click, click of turning peddles, I was just dwelling on trying to figure out how many revolutions I'll need to turn these things to get me to my final destination, when In front of me not 30m away was a police car blocking the tow-path. On closer inspection its inhabitants were, as I first thought just having a crafty fag break down on the River embankment. But what was he trying to cover up with that white blanket? Like a puzzle it all clicked in, he was covering up a dead body & as it looked (why did I look) a pretty decomposed one at that!

Retching was not a clever idea when you're in a strong head wind & speeding at 25km. But the sight of that body will stick with me for the rest of my life.

Was this the way it was supposed to be? I was planning a pleasant cycle trip along the Rhine to chill out and clear my muddled head of all my earthly problems! But this was turning into a Hollywood horror movie & I was the sucker, who you always knew, was first up to get mutilated.

Well did I survive to tell the tale, did I find the inner me that I was looking for? Read on & find out!

Our Dutch cycling adventure started on September 3, 2006 with our arrival in Amsterdam. After a few days of sightseeing in and around Amsterdam we took the train to Apeldoorn and cycled to our first overnight stop near Brummen. Over the next 4 weeks we cycled up and down the Netherlands and to Brugge in Belgium. The trip exceeded our expectations and we enjoyed fantastic weather.

If you are planning a similar trip you will find a lot of useful information in our detailed trip Itinerary, day-by-day Trip Report, and the collection of Practical Tips.

If you would like to see the beauty of the Netherlands do not miss the Best Photos. You may also be interested in our recommendations for the best places to see, stay and eat in our Top 5. Enjoy your virtual bicycle tour with Glen and Margaret!

In spring 2007 we cycled Belgium on our new bicycles. In fact we cycled 550 km of the Benelux (Netherlands, Belgium and Luxembourg). The sun was shining we've got a week off so we got our gear and cycled away. On my webspace you'll find a description of the route and a few pictures of the trip to tell the story. Enjoy!

A short tour of some of Europe's flat bits...
1,029 km (639 miles) over 9 days from April 6, 2007 to April 14, 2007.

During the summer of 2006, I traveled with only a bicycle from Lviv, Ukraine down to Napoli, Italy, then north to Calais, France. From Calais I ferried to Dover, then rode to London to complete the voyage. I visited eleven countries and saw a variety of landscapes and weather. I had encounters with many people and most of these were positive. I also used this experience to draw attention to a little orphanage in eastern Ukraine, the Makiivka HIV / AIDS orphanage.

We're Andrew & Friedel Grant - two Canadians who, after living in the UK for 6 years, have set off to travel the world by bicycle. We had no previous bike touring experience when we began, having really only gotten into cycling at the start of 2006, and when we say we ``got into cycling'' that means short commutes to work along flat cycle paths and the odd day trip, that usually ended up at the pub. We're still not quite certain how that translated into the situation where Friedel said ``hey, let's bike around the world'' and Andrew said ``sure, why not''. The first leg of our tour was in Canada, then through Europe to Morocco. We will keep cycling around the world; hopefully next towards eastern Europe and the Middle East.

A trip planned in 2007 to cycle across Eurasia. Follow along as Mike discovers Russia by bicycle. Departure from Amsterdam at end of March. Plan is to ride the first month to St Petersburg and then for five months cycling across Russia including the new section of road across Siberia.

In the summer of 2006 we cycled 62 days and 3700 kilometers through Europe. From Holland to Germany, the Alps, Italy, Corfu, Lefkada, Keffalonia, Greece and western Turkey to complete our journey in front of Istanbul's Blue Mosque. On our site you can find a lot of pictures, tips and travel stories (in Dutch, English will appear later).

In de zomer van 2006 fietsten we 3700 kilometer in 62 dagen door Europa. Van Nederland trokken we door Duitsland, de Alpen en Italië naar de Griekse eilanden Corfu, Lefkas en Keffalonia, over het Griekse vasteland naar Turkije om te eindigen voor de Blauwe Moskee in Istanbul. Veel plezier!

Vom 20 Juli bis 08 August 2006 fuhren wir den Rhein entlang von der Quelle (Tomasee) bis zur Mündung in Katwijk aan zee. Dort trägt sie noch den Nahme ``Rijn'', im Gegensatz zu Hoek van Holland.

In the summer of 2004 we cycled 2250 kilometer from Holland to Rome. During the trip we passed through 10 countries and cycled through the Ardennes, Vosges, Alps, Apennines and Tuscany. We enjoyed the beautiful italian villages and met a lot of other cyclists. A lot of pictures, tips and travel stories in Dutch (English translations will soon appear).

In 2004 fietsten we van Nederland naar Rome. We fietsten door 10 landen en door/over de Ardennen, Vogezen, Alpen, Appenijnen en Toscane. We genoten volop van de mooie Italiaanse stadjes en ontmoetten heel veel andere fietsers. Veel plezier!

I do not believe my eyes. Before us lies a wide, completely flat valley. A late evening sun shines over the valley below. The 2.400 meter high Monti Sibillini rise majestically out of the plains. This is one of the most beautiful valleys I have ever seen.

Willem Hoffmans and I set out from our homes in Holland for a journey to Italy. Through the Vosges, the Jura and across a lot of cols in the French Alps we reach the Italian border. In Italy we make a lot of detours through Liguria, Tuscany, Umbria and Lazio.

I am hanging around the Cathedral for two hours, just to see the people passing by. Half of the passengers are locals, the others are pilgrims for Santiago. The pilgrims are full of stories about physical endurance, injuries, loneliness, spirituality, will power, faith, love and hope. A young girl thinks of giving up. An old man tells that he has slept on a churchyard because there were no normal facilities anymore. A special experience is meeting an old man who has a tremendous charisma; the man is constantly radiating from a seemingly enormous reservoir of stimulating energy. If it is actually possible to reach enlightenment in the way that Buddhists describe, then this man must have reached that stage.

Account of an eight week cycle journey through east, west, north, central & south Spain.

Joris en Stella fietsen vanaf augustus 2005 van Nederland richting China. Na een uitstapje door het middenoosten wordt nu de weg naar het oosten voor gezet.

We have cycled many kilometres trough Europe. On our first trip we cycled from Holland to Sweden. After Sweden we cycled trouhg Great Britain. And we cycled further trough Holland, Belgium, France, Spain and ended our tour 6000 km later in Faro (Portugal).

On our next trip we are going to cycle from Heraklion, Crete to Holland. This trip starts 14 April 2006. More info on our site. In the future we will expend our tours outside Europe.

Cycling the Elbe and Danube cycle ways.

Two tours, one of the Danube cycle way from Germany to Budapest, then through Slovenia to Venice, and the Elbe cycle tour from Hook of Holland to Prague via Hamburg; passing through Germany and Dresden.

Diese Strecke von ungefähr 1400 Kilometern bietet reichliche Abwechslung. Der Rheinradweg bleibt keineswegs am Fluss. Wir fuhren mal am Bodenseeufer, mal am Rhein, mal am Rhein-Rhone-Kanal, durch französische Weindörfer, auf den Rheinterassen, wir waren in Strassburg, Düsseldorf, Rotterdam, um nur einige der Städte zu nennen, wir besuchten die Kaiserdome von Speyer, Mainz und Worms, und zum Schluss tauchten wir kurz in das holländische Fahrradambiente ein. Nur am Bodensee waren einigermassen viele Radler unterwegs, sonst sahen wir kaum Touristen auf diesen sehr gut ausgebauten und ausgeschilderten Radwegen.

The big picture was to fly into Amsterdam, take the train to Cologne, and then bike in 50km legs to Colmar (Alsace). Our intent was to bike up the Rhine from Cologne to Eltville (just shy of Mainz), leave the Rhine to continue south along the Weinstrasse (“wine road”) through Bad Durkheim and Wissembourg into France, on to Strasbourg and then to Colmar. Our ultimate objective was the village of Eguisheim about 7 km outside Colmar, for a total distance of 500 km. If we made it that far we’d rest our legs and play the return by ear; if we didn’t, we would park ourselves in a vineyard along the route and send postcards saying we’d made it to Switzerland! We decided to go “up” the Rhine rather than “down” for a couple of reasons, not the least of which was the north-to-south direction of the prevailing wind in the Rhine valley, which we judged would compensate for the slightly rising elevation .

``The Great Heart Travelers'' promote the blood donation riding around the world. They made a Europe tour of 5400 km in 2004, and a tour in New Zealand in 2005. (Follow the archive link at the bottom of the page to go to the European tour.)

A record of my progress from Alkmaar to Aix; by pedal power. From Netherlands to France via Belgium.

Most important is perhaps to point out that this for me was a most enjoyable thing to do. It was also an easy thing to do, and required remarkably little advance planning. I checked the bike and did the necessary repairs and changes, I drafted a route though the low countries and through France, estimated how long it would take me to do it, and with the minimum physical preparations I set off from Alkmaar on the 5th June.

I benefited of course from previous bicycling experience, I was aware of possible (physical) problems that might turn up, and was very careful not to let minor problems develop into more serious ones. Also extensive travel experience over the years (not much of it on bicycle) has taught me that there is always accommodation, there is food and drink to be found on the way. I climbed from Bonnieux up the hill [...] there was the most fantastic ride down the narrow valley towards Lourmarin, narrow hairpin bends, and again a downhill ride that seemed to go on forever.

We are 2 18 year old students. We made a tour across Europe from Holland to Sweden and Great Britain. After this we took the boat to Holland and set off to the south of Portugal.

In the spring (2006) we are going to make a trip from Anataly Turkey to Holland.

In 2001 vanuit Nederland vertrokken en nu okt 2005 meer dan 65.000 km en al meer dan 40 landen doorgefietst.

Ja, hebben jullie het al gezien, we zijn meer dan 4 jaar onderweg. Wat een tijd en toch.... we genieten er nog elke dag van. Nu zijn we in Jujuy, noord Argentinië. Via Chili gaan we binnenkort naar Bolivia, waar we een tijdlang niet zullen kunnen internetten. We zullen op grote hoogte gaan fietsen, hoogtes waar we nog niet eerder waren. Of dat prettig is.. jullie zullen het later lezen.

[Titus is the bike] - 12195 km in 8 months through France, Spain, Portugal, Morocco, England, Wales, Northern Ireland, Republic of Ireland, Scotland, Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, Austria, Italy and Greece - includes travelogue and many fine pictures

I've travelled quite a bit through the years, hiking on foot, by car, bus, plane... But cycling is just the right speed. Fast enough to actually get someplace, yet slow enough to smell the flowers as you go... Plus, it's the only mode of transportation where the engine actually improves with usage... Anyways, a friend lent me this book about a couple who spent a couple of years cycling around the world and I thought to myself that I wanted to do that ! So, off I went ! Well, I didn't quite make it... After 8 months on the road, I came back... Mostly due to homesickness, but I should have expected that, particularly on a solo trip...

Mid-morning after leaving Santillana [in Northern Spain], I take a break after a long cycle uphill and watch the progress of this little fellow... That's exactly how I felt... slow... but steady!

From Bob Lucky's Biking Page. This is a trip that I took in 2001, beginning at Amsterdam's Schiphol Airport, following the coast of Holland south and crossing into Belgium. East across Belgium through Bruges and Ghent, and then north back through Holland. There are nine chapters here with detailed description and lots of pictures.

The sun is now shining brightly, and for the first time I don my sunglasses. After a while the bike path turns into a dirt path that is shielded from the wind. Except for being careful about rocks and pools of water, this is very pleasant biking. [...] The bike path goes along the shore leading to the bridge, with sheep grazing on the landward side.

The 450 km London-Eindhoven tour will take place at June 24th of the year 2000 when we will start at 02.00 AM Greenwich Mean Time at the Piccadilly Circus. The London-Eindhoven tour is part of our project ``Europe is small'' because the center of major European cities are all within 24 hr cycling distance from Eindhoven. In 1997 we did start at the Arc de Triomphe for Paris-Eindhoven. This year we will do the London-Eindhoven tour and in 2002 Berlin-Eindhoven will be on the program.

The plan: Holland, children, bicycles. We figured the rest would evolve on its own.
``Flat,'' my husband said. ``The whole country is flat. Bike paths all over the place.''
A landscape materialized at once in my head. You can imagine the particulars: windmill, tulips, cow, canal, pedaling 12- and 16-year-old. Sunshine. Waving farmer. Cheese.
``Legal weed,'' the 16-year-old chipped in.
``Not for you,'' I said.
We bought a Holland guidebook, with many photographs of Rembrandt paintings and elaborately gabled canal-front brick houses, but the Bicycles section was only two pages long and commenced with a photograph of a bike helmet. Ha! (We'll get to that in a moment.) We found what seemed to be a suitable Holland Tourist Board Web site, animated on-screen by a little mustached man who pedaled along as you plotted out various rural cycling routes, but every time I tried to download the maps my computer snarled at me and dumped the site.

So we gave up on the advance details, arranged for an Amsterdam apartment that came equipped with the owners' bicycles and landed on a breezy July morning at Schiphol Airport, which is grand and clean and extremely efficient; by lunch time, our bags piled up at the top of the apartment's staircase landing, we were bicycling. Before sundown the next day, we had grasped the essentials.
The essentials were... startling.
By that second day, I had began composing my own introductory bicycling brochure, to be handed at the border to uninitiated Americans with tulips in their heads.

This cycle tour is designed to show you Amsterdam's many varied and often surprising aspects. Not only does it take in the historic city centre, it also shows you other neighbourhoods, and demonstrates that Amsterdam is a city with 'green' credentials. The text provides information about Amsterdam and the measures that have been taken to make cycling in the city an enjoyable and safe experience.

The cycle tour is approximately 37 km long. Riding at a moderate pace, it should take you about 4 hours to complete. In Rembrandtpark in Amsterdam West, it is possible to take a short cut making it some 10 km shorter.

An account of four and a bit weeks' cycling in the Netherlands and Belgium.

My name is Louis Tousignant, a Canadian in his mid-fifties, living in Nova Scotia, on the Atlantic shore. I am always on the look out for riding partners, as I plan one major trip every year, up till now in Europe, but New Zealand and South East Asia are in the wings. All my recent trips have included the following parameters: 100 km/day (give or take 20%) on average; hotels, B&B's or pensions, no camping; most meals in restaurants; start in one country, exit in another, to maximize coverage; 5 to 6 week duration (participation in one leg of the trip is of course possible for those who can't spare the time). [...]

This was my first major trip without time constraints. My last touring experience dated back to the mid-80's. In this context, I did not plan properly, beyond defining the broad outline of the itinerary: Denmark, shortest possible time in Germany therefore Netherlands, Belgium, France, and Northern Italy to Rome. I had no maps for long stretches of the trip, except for France and Italy (Michelin 1:200,000 or 400,000), and no computer on my bike. For a variety of business reasons, I had not trained to any significant degree before the trip, in fact I was green. Finally, I wrote sketchy notes as I went along and here I am, writing a trip report 4 years after the fact...

From Glenn and Sheila Ord's Home Page: On the Road to Nowhere - Nowhere is the Place. With an emphasis on budget travelling - Our experiences and advice for cycling in Europe. This guide is entirely based on our 7 1/2 months (12,000 km) in 1998 across (and back) Europe: staying almost entirely in campgrounds (185 tent nights). This was supplemented by our time in Italy (April-May 1999).

After a long ride through the dunes we arrived in Den Haag[...] We rode to the Palace of Justice, arriving at 11 AM, just as they were starting their first tour. We quickly stashed our bikes by the guard's post at the gate, paid the fee (f10.00) and took the tour (conducted in English) though the Palace of the International Courts of Justice. After the tour, well worth the cost, we rode over to the ``old area'' near the Parliament buildings and bought our lunch at the place we came to know and love, McDonalds (f15.00).

Europe Tour 1997 started in Nyköping (100 km south of Stockholm) and continued to Copenhagen, Amsterdam, Paris, the Normandy coast, Jersey and London, before returning to Sweden via Denmark totalling just over 4000 kilometres.