Comments on: Cycling – Netherlands Bicycle Tour – Reflections on Cycle Touring Holland

By: Web Statistics – What Do You Expect to Get Out of Your Web Analytics Application? | Website Statistics and Analytics

Mon, 07 Dec 2009 13:57:23 +0000

[...] each article. Funny that. My all time most visited, most read, and most commented BLOG post was a summary I did of a bike trip Helen & I took to the Netherlands in September 2008. It’s at the top of GA almost every month. Ah! People like to read about [...]

By: Les Faber

Les Faber — Sat, 15 Aug 2009 23:32:33 +0000

Hello Ann — North Americans have a hard time grasping the extent of the cycling network in Holland. There are more cycling routes ( +17k kms!) than those for gas powered vehicles. Simply put….. get on your bike and ride. You cannot go wrong. And if you do, ride to the nearest train station, buy tickets for you and your bikes and go somewhere else. We toured the country with minimal maps. It is really easy. Bikes are a way of life in Holland.

My suggestion is to acclimatize yourself around a larger city and then get going. The only real hills are in the south near Belgium and when you have to ride up a dyke to see the sea.

Also visit http://www.amsterdamize.com for a good taste of things. Marc has some great posts and photos (and videos).

Again, this is a hard concept to grasp – especially if you are from Colorado!

By: Ann Stringfellow

Ann Stringfellow — Sat, 15 Aug 2009 21:17:24 +0000

Les:
I sent the same question to Helen, but thought I’d copy you as well in the event that she’s on travel.
I would love to ask for a little guidance on cycling in HOlland. We live in Colorado and I have an electric bike as I have one “challenged” leg from West Nile virus a few year back.
We are heading north from Brussles for a week trip to Holland in September and plan to cycle most days on rental bikes. I need flat — as in really flat — country. I’ve been looking at routes in Zeeland but would much rather go to more rural inland areas.
So here’s my question. Are there routes in Drenth, Gelderland, North Brabant or Limburg that you would recommend. We’ll probably settle on one place and do day trips out from there.
Thanks ever so much for your help,
Ann

By: Les Faber

Les Faber — Fri, 14 Aug 2009 11:01:15 +0000

Thanks Derek. May I point out that we bought our 2 WorkCycles bicycles over there and transported them back to Canada for everyday use? Air Canada (go figure) did not charge us anything extra. In other words, next trip, contact Henry (Cutler) at WorkCycles beforehand and place your order!

By: Derek K

Derek K — Mon, 10 Aug 2009 02:52:28 +0000

Re: debit cards. I lived for eight months last year in Delft (little city between The Hague and Rotterdam). I bank with both TD and RBC. The situation with debit cards is slightly more complex than you indicate in your post. I was unable to use my debit card in any establishment or store, but I had no problems whatsoever in using my debit card in any of the ATMs I encountered.

Anyways, great post. I concur wholeheartedly with your assessment of the Netherlands as cycling heaven. If I wasn’t planning at one point on finding a job there and moving, I’d already have gotten my dream bike from WorkCycles to use around Toronto.

By: AMSTERDAMIZE | 100% Lycra-Free, Guaranteed

AMSTERDAMIZE | 100% Lycra-Free, Guaranteed — Mon, 27 Jul 2009 00:49:07 +0000

[...] With those modes, it doesn’t matter where you need to go in the Netherlands. Well over 17.000 kilometers of nearly flawless bicycle paths/lanes and routes will get you anywhere, from big and dense cities to the rural outskirts. My friends Helen and Les from Ottawa can tell you all about it. [...]

By: Les Faber

Les Faber — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 11:34:35 +0000

Hi Curtis. We never had reservations. But we went in September. July may be a different story. I’d (at least) make reservations for my first couple of nights and my last night. Things are busier then.

Enjoy yourself. Holland is awesome!

By: Curtis

Curtis — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 05:05:20 +0000

Fellow Canuck here, stumbled on your blog. Thanks for sharing! I’m planning a few days of cycling in the Netherlands this July, considering Lake Ijesselmeer area, but would like to just see where the pedals take me. Is it crazy to just ‘go’ with no hotel reservations? :}

By: amsterdamize

amsterdamize — Fri, 12 Jun 2009 11:27:57 +0000

nah, at least 17 million km around Amsterdam, anything to keep the blog interesting

By: Les Faber

Les Faber — Fri, 12 Jun 2009 11:18:14 +0000

Thanks Marc. I have been using that “other number” for so long that I cannot even remember where I got it.

Are you saying that you have ridden all 17,000 kms. yourself or just 17,000 around Amsterdam?