Cycling The Netherlands

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🇳🇱 Lisse, Netherlands
Cycling The Netherlands John Bickerstaff
The great Dutch pottery showdown
Yesterday in the Netherlands ⋅ 🌙 8 °C
While all looked good outside in the morning the overnight weather coupled with the forecast strongly suggested otherwise. Opted to go with the car & explore Gouda, cheese capital of the world apparently. Do a bit of cheese tasting & maybe a few other bits & pieces that are largely indoors. Other than a couple of bridge hold ups, some undutch manic drivers and a slightly sketchy multi-storey car park, we made it to Gouda in good spirits - the sun was out - all was well. Located the Gouda cheese museum, struggled, however, to locate the cloakroom. Hmmm. Presented with our test to become a cheese master and so it began. Far too much cow information, including a bit of smellivision. Not so good. The cheese crafting business was quite interesting - the quantities produced was staggering. The main event was the tasting session. The differences though subtle were definitely there. Onwards to the Siropwaffel tasting, except now was the time for the heavens to open. Sheltered but eventually grinned and bared it. Went through the market square - it was Gouda's ceramic day. All sorts of hands on events as well as a potter's showdown. The commentary in Dutch didn't help. Headed to the longest church in Holland - the 11€ entrance also didn't help. Eventually made it to the Siropwaffel factory and all that dawdling meant we'd missed the last tour. No matter - had plenty of free samples. Opted for some more kebbling for lunch. Little mooch around with a hint of sunshine and then back to pack.Read more
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Cycling The Netherlands John Bickerstaff
Jumping on the Moon
May 13 in the Netherlands ⋅ ☁️ 10 °C
A pretty grim forecast necessitated an indoor approach and by happy coincidence located 7 miles from the apartment was the main European Space Agency Testing site and for PR spin they had a visitor centre which had pretty good visitor recommendations. Too good an opportunity to pass up. Laid back morning and headed out to arrive it seems just at the same time as a couple of school trips were finishing lunch & heading back in pretty excitedly. Urgh. Studiously avoided wherever they were. Yet again little England and Thatcher have meant the UK missed out. Learned a lot about all the satellite work that the ESA do and how it all comes through this site. How Holland was involved in The Artemis program. Really interesting and frustrating at the same time. Some fun interactive stuff aimed at the school kids but enjoyed by all. Jumping on the moon was good. Finished up with another Dutch classic apparently - Apple Tart. A cross between apple pie and crumble. Definitely hit the spot.Read more
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Cycling The Netherlands John Bickerstaff
Classic John
May 12 in the Netherlands ⋅ ☁️ 12 °C
A combination of bike injuries and inclement weather put paid to a hurried start. While the wind had subsided a little, it wasn't great nor was the on off rain and hail showers. The apartment had signed up to a variety of streaming providers or more likely previous guests had logged in and not logged off on departure. So Liz had her eye on Wouter's Disney account and some Star Wars viewing. Out on the bike at that point. Firstly lunchables had to be sorted - off to Jumbo mid-shower. Back and the weather seemed to be easing a little. Decided to try and get bits and pieces together to head out. The plan was to do a fairly big ride up to Haarlem except the Satnav could not be found. Turned the apartment upside down. Nothing. Checked the bike shed. Nothing. Had it when I got back from the shops last time cycling. Best explanation was it was put down on the bench while unpacking the bikes and then not picked up again. Classic John buffoonery. Checked with reception whether anything had been handed in. Nada. He was adamant that it wouldn't have been taken - it was more likely to have fallen off. No sign. Oops. Not optimistic. Denmark 1 Netherlands 0. Presented big issues for a long ride - all routes & maps were on that magic little device. Watched a comedy to lighten the mood. Managed to have a little walk down to the local lake and went back on the bike to have a little mooch across the ferry to Kaag Island. Very high end ship-building business and virtually all of the lake front had been bought up by millionaires. You could only get to the lakeshore at 1 small section of shoreline. Still - nice little cycle, not quite as planned though. Back for another movie and Chicken Yakitori.Read more
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Cycling The Netherlands John Bickerstaff
Really not very open.
May 11 in the Netherlands ⋅ ⛅ 11 °C
A combination of a suspect weather forecast and bike related injury pushed the idea of using the train. The local station, a 40 minute walk away offered easy access to The Hague, Rotterdam and Amsterdam. Opted for the former - nearest and easiest option. While it was sunny the wind was definitely of the cold NE variety. Wrapped and made the hike to the station. All very easy but got told off by the guard for not checking in the ticket. Headed straight for the tourist info at the station - map sorted and a range of ideas. Headed out and the rain came. Needed indoor options. Opted to go to the Maurithuis Gallery - so called 'A small World class musuem.' Got there to find people queuing - not open till 1. The temporary viewing tower near the oldest parliament building on the world had been postponed due to the rain so decided to try the cathedral tower. Closed on Mondays. Next option was the optical Illusion gallery - in particular the work of Escher. Closed on Mondays. It seems The Hague is really not very open on Mondays. Had a lazy McDonalds lunch and re- grouped. Topping off the wondrous introduction to The Hague - went to the toilet to be greeted by a lady snapping at me in Dutch. Made it clear I couldn't understand on numerous occasions. When I carried on to toilets suddenly managed English. It seems customers here have to pay to use the toilets. Initially it stunk of a scam but there above the entrance was a McDonalds sign. Sod that, not that I had any money. By now the sun was out - needed cheering up. Climb a tower. Did the trick, didn't feel too secure though - swaying around in the wind a bit more than I'd like. By now the gallery was open & no queue. App downloaded and ready for culture. That was the theory. In practice it pointed out dead possums, people who'd fallen through the ice and shagging dogs so that was nice. Mooched around the old town and enjoyed some evening sun in the Palace gardens. Much better day than the start suggested. Train back and then a battling walk through the wind that was working it's way up to a yellow weather warning.Read more
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Cycling The Netherlands John Bickerstaff
The devil rides an E-bike.
May 10 in the Netherlands ⋅ 🌬 14 °C
The sun was out for possibly the last time so had to be a beach day. 15 mile cycle to Noordwijk and then through the dunes. Ignored the fact that the wind had gotten up somewhat since yesterday. Should be fine. Got out to discover it was chillier & windier than anticipated. Ignored. Bike lane all the way to Noordwijk. A couple of miles in had to decide which route to take wind against to start or finish. Went with the start with the proviso of lots of stops. First stop was the beach only to discover the bike lock key had been left behind. Muppet. Zip-tie would have to do - not particularly secure but then the bikes weren't particularly valuable. Wandered down to the beach to discover it was rather exposed - lots of kite surfers. Tells you something and the height they were getting to also suggested something. Not really soak up the rays weather. Pushed on to the lighthouse - some nice views of the coast & the local fish shack. Couldn't pass up trying kibbeling - a Dutch speciality. Essentially fish & chips but little chunks of fish. Was freshly cooked and very nice. A little further on and we stopped at the Atlantik Wall Museum. Nazi fortifications designed to protect against invasion. Normally such sites are derelict but this had been renovated. They tried to persuade us to take the tour but that added an extra hour so just the audio tour. Very interesting. By now we were exclusively on a cycle track with endless e-bike old codgers flashing past barely pedalling - damn them. Found a sheltered spot and enjoyed a break & some sunshine. Pushed on & had been lulled into a false sense of security. Back to battling the wind & the e-bikes. Eventually back to base and since the shops closed at 6 back out to shop.like a Dutchie bike and panniers.Read more
TravelerLooks like you've made the most of the good westher, looks as though you've found some interpreting places to visit. Continue yo enjoy your trip xx
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Cycling The Netherlands John Bickerstaff
Hyacinth scented queuing.
May 9 in the Netherlands ⋅ ⛅ 17 °C
The sun was out, which bearing in mind the forecast was something to shout about. So in light of that, it was a case of make the most of it. Get the bikes sorted & go. Except the pedals had to be mounted and then it was noticed that the maps hadn't been downloaded to the Satnav. Superb organisation. Then the pinnacle of idiocy - at some point the Satnav mount had been taken off - God knows why & hadn't been put back on. Oops. Looks like someone was going to be riding round with one hand being used to navigate. Not ideal. Eventually set off having been informed that this week's weather was going to be spot on or at least if it rains it'll blow over. Not quite the same. Nice cycle track & quiet lanes to Lisse & then it got a little busier as we approached Keukenhof, supposedly the world's best spring time garden. Judging by the the coach park a good proportion of the world had turned up to admire the tulip fields. This was after all the penultimate day that it was open and the sun was out. Never mind - dumped the bikes. No queue for tickets and opted for the shortest entry queue. While there was no avoiding the fact that it was very busy it was possible to avoid the worst of it and the constant scent of the hyacinths softened the blow a little. The spring flowers did look very nice and you could understand why it pulled in the punters. Also some nice sculptures mixed. Baffled by the queues on the stepping stones and assorted pouts and poses we saw. The actual fields were dying back unfortunately so not quite what the marketing speil suggests but all very pretty nonetheless. They were certainly milking it though - all manner of tulip related tat. Cycled back along the canal.Read more
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Cycling The Netherlands John Bickerstaff
Rush job.
May 8 in the Netherlands ⋅ ☀️ 16 °C
The small matter of navigating to the apartment when Google was deciding not to play ball. Went with the BYD sat nab. Spent the queuing time locating the apartment and hoped for the best. Needed to hope that I remembered to stay on the correct side of the road as well. Thankfully not too busy - hairiest bit was the tiny single track access road to the apartment - all sorts using it bikes, walkers, buses. Relieved to park up - located reception - pressed the buzzer & waited & waited. Started to wonder. Eventually on old lad appeared - father of the owners who were away. Gave us a quick tour, sorted out the air-con and showed us the bike store. All good. Quick dash back down he 1 track nightmare to the supermarket & chill. Nice golden sky to finish.Read more
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Cycling The Netherlands John Bickerstaff
Customs Chaos
May 8 in the Netherlands ⋅ ☁️ 16 °C
Free breakie but an early check-in for the ferry presented a timing problem. Down scoffing as soon as it opened to make the best of it. Headed off well before last check-in time. Not the biggest of queues and the absence of cars in 50% of the lanes suggested it wasn't going to be the busiest of ferries. As it turned out that was a damn good job but all in good time. Boarded and settled down to a window spec with a plug - all mod-cons. Departure 15 mins early - every little helps. Some nice views of Suffolk, Felixstowe Port and Harwich as we went out. Channel was a bit of a mill-pond but loads of traffic. Settled down to 7 hours of time filling - games, wandering, sunbathing & struggling to stay awake. All in all far more relaxing than a flight. Felixstowe is a big port but Rotterdam - of the scale. Ferries though dock at the Hook of Holland. Disembarked reasonably quickly & then customs. Juggled endlessly between lanes, none of which were moving particularly efficiently. Hardly surprising since every UK passport holder had to get out to have biometric scans. Yet another Brexit bonus. And fools are still voting for the frog faced twat. I digress. Virtually last to the booth & when it was my turn I got a wry smile from the border guard - 'Your wife's ok' - I'm assuming he was referring to her passport. Welcome to the Netherlands...Read more
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Cycling The Netherlands John Bickerstaff
Essex bloodbath
May 7 in England ⋅ ⛅ 12 °C
Last minute panic packing & battling with a stubborn pedal that wouldn't come off. That said setting off by 11 wasn't too bad. Should avoid the worst of Birmingham and so it proved - only a couple of miles of slowness. Lunch and charge at Cov services - bikes hanging on the back cut efficiency somewhat - should still make with one stop though. On to the A-roads bit of chunnering about selfish HGV drivers trying & failing to overtake each other & clogging up the road. Could've been worse & it was for the deer population of Essex - whether the M11 cuts through a major population or Essex drivers are particular dickheads or the road carries HGV's with particularly bright lights, god knows but at least 6 deer were spotted in 20 mile spell. Depressing. And as for Braintree - proper Flagshagistan. Not a single lamppost was missed - grim. Made it to Harwich by about 6. Liz chilled while the car was charging. Took the chance to have a little walk to the coast along the North Sea Cycle Route hmmm...Read more
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Trip start
May 7, 2026