Cycling in DE & NL - wonderful
Discussion
I have just returned from a 400 km bike ride along the Rhine in North Rhine Westfalia
and the Netherlands.
Great fun. Recommended. Cycling infrastructure is vastly better than the UK.
Roads are split three ways
a) Cars and Lorries
b) Bikes and small scooters
c) Pedestrians
which makes things much better. I didn't see a pothole for a week, the tarmac was lovely
and smooth and except for a Turkish lorry in Duisburg, I didn't have to argue with traffic.
Dutch and German drivers are far better skilled than their UK counterparts.
Cologne beer was IMHO absolute dross - the Mexicans do it better.
The usual measure is 200ml and a large is 300 ml (about half a pint).
Worth avoiding.
Dusseldorf beer much better - brown and tasty and available in 400 ml quantities.
A bit different to Munich where the standard measure is a litre.
Heineken beer universal in the Netherlands and IMHO well worth avoiding.
Fortunately, plenty of bottled beer from Belgium was available, which was nice.
No mechanical troubles with the bikes, not even a puncture.
At 60km a day, I needed a good long lie down afterwards.
The A12 in Essex, on the drive back home to M25land, was dreadful.
40 mph limits on the dual carriageway roadworks, lots of potholes and plenty of Brit
drivers with poor lane discipline and observation.
I can't wait to get back and do the Strassburg to Koln chunk.
and the Netherlands.
Great fun. Recommended. Cycling infrastructure is vastly better than the UK.
Roads are split three ways
a) Cars and Lorries
b) Bikes and small scooters
c) Pedestrians
which makes things much better. I didn't see a pothole for a week, the tarmac was lovely
and smooth and except for a Turkish lorry in Duisburg, I didn't have to argue with traffic.
Dutch and German drivers are far better skilled than their UK counterparts.
Cologne beer was IMHO absolute dross - the Mexicans do it better.
The usual measure is 200ml and a large is 300 ml (about half a pint).
Worth avoiding.
Dusseldorf beer much better - brown and tasty and available in 400 ml quantities.
A bit different to Munich where the standard measure is a litre.
Heineken beer universal in the Netherlands and IMHO well worth avoiding.
Fortunately, plenty of bottled beer from Belgium was available, which was nice.
No mechanical troubles with the bikes, not even a puncture.
At 60km a day, I needed a good long lie down afterwards.
The A12 in Essex, on the drive back home to M25land, was dreadful.
40 mph limits on the dual carriageway roadworks, lots of potholes and plenty of Brit
drivers with poor lane discipline and observation.
I can't wait to get back and do the Strassburg to Koln chunk.
We did it a few years ago and I agree it is absolutely amazing. Very picturesque and stunning tarmac in the main.
We did it down to Basel and then peeled off to go to Geneva but there was a chap we met on the route who was going to the source and then going down the danube. He was camping too so had a decent amount of kit with him.
I loved it and would very much like to do more of it. Have you looked at the EuroVelo website? There are loads of routes to do!
We did it down to Basel and then peeled off to go to Geneva but there was a chap we met on the route who was going to the source and then going down the danube. He was camping too so had a decent amount of kit with him.
I loved it and would very much like to do more of it. Have you looked at the EuroVelo website? There are loads of routes to do!
Can't agree more. I've been with my club and ridden quite a few times in Belgium and Holland and its been perfect cycling every time. Buttery smooth roads, well thought out road layout and courteous drivers make it a pleasure 
The post ride recovery beer in Belgium is the icing on the cake 
The post ride recovery beer in Belgium is the icing on the cake NorthDave said:
We did it down to Basel and then peeled off to go to Geneva but there was a chap we met on the route who was going to the source and then going down the danube.
I have the Danube lined up for after the Rhine. I might only go far enough east to Vienna.My Slovakian is a bit limited.
We did meet up with one French couple in Germany biking to North Cape, Norway (3,000 km !)
and another English couple on a tandem who had biked into the Netherlands
from Turkey (2,800 km). It took them three months.
NorthDave said:
Have you looked at the EuroVelo website? There are loads of routes to do!
https://en.eurovelo.com/ev15I am not that bothered about UK cycling routes anymore. Euro routes are suddenly
much more important.
Nice one.
My 17-year-old is doing the Rhine route down from Frankfurt to Basel, then across to Geneva/Lyon, then the Rhône route to Montelimar and up into the Ardèche this summer, with some mates. They want to go cliff jumping and canoeing. Complete lunatics the lot of them. Last year they went Frankfurt to Lake Garda and back to Innsbruck, the vast majority of it on cycle routes.
Cycle touring in the German speaking countries is highly recommended.
My 17-year-old is doing the Rhine route down from Frankfurt to Basel, then across to Geneva/Lyon, then the Rhône route to Montelimar and up into the Ardèche this summer, with some mates. They want to go cliff jumping and canoeing. Complete lunatics the lot of them. Last year they went Frankfurt to Lake Garda and back to Innsbruck, the vast majority of it on cycle routes.
Cycle touring in the German speaking countries is highly recommended.
Barchettaman said:
Nice one.
My 17-year-old is doing the Rhine route down from Frankfurt to Basel, then across to Geneva/Lyon, then the Rhône route to Montelimar and up into the Ardèche this summer, with some mates. They want to go cliff jumping and canoeing. Complete lunatics the lot of them. Last year they went Frankfurt to Lake Garda and back to Innsbruck, the vast majority of it on cycle routes.
Cycle touring in the German speaking countries is highly recommended.
That sounds a fantastic summer to me. I'm sure they will love it!My 17-year-old is doing the Rhine route down from Frankfurt to Basel, then across to Geneva/Lyon, then the Rhône route to Montelimar and up into the Ardèche this summer, with some mates. They want to go cliff jumping and canoeing. Complete lunatics the lot of them. Last year they went Frankfurt to Lake Garda and back to Innsbruck, the vast majority of it on cycle routes.
Cycle touring in the German speaking countries is highly recommended.
Being a newbie I recently biked solo from Rotterdam to Arnhem (and back) in a very pleasant week or so.
I joined the brilliant Dutch cycling accommodation club for rooms and breakfast at 25 euros per night.
https://www.vriendenopdefiets.nl/en/
Met some very nice people and was made welcome.
I joined the brilliant Dutch cycling accommodation club for rooms and breakfast at 25 euros per night.
https://www.vriendenopdefiets.nl/en/
Met some very nice people and was made welcome.
dcb said:
Heineken beer universal in the Netherlands and IMHO well worth avoiding.
Fortunately, plenty of bottled beer from Belgium was available, which was nice.
Loads of great Dutch beers too. Check out Het Ultje, Kompaan, Texels, Jopen, 't IJ, De Prael, Crooked Spider, Frontaal, Kees, De Molen...to name just a few of my favorites from just within the Randstad area.Fortunately, plenty of bottled beer from Belgium was available, which was nice.
Since moving to NL I only use the car for long trips, my cycle to work is all cycle paths, and if I cycle in to the center of the Hague (5km or so) I think there's about 100m of non cycle path. The demographic is very different than that UK too, the majority of cyclists are commuters, and the vast majority of car drivers are also cyclists so tend to be a lot more aware of bikes. you don't get the "them and us" thing that seems prevalant in the UK.
Agree roads are way better condition than the UK too, every time I go back to the UK I remember why so many people drive 4x4's! However VED equivalent on a 2 litre diesel is over €100/month, and the purchase tax on a new car is related to greenness and can pretty much double the price of big engined cars.
RizzoTheRat said:
Loads of great Dutch beers too. Check out Het Ultje, Kompaan, Texels, Jopen, 't IJ, De Prael, Crooked Spider, Frontaal, Kees, De Molen...to name just a few of my favorites from just within the Randstad area.
Since moving to NL I only use the car for long trips, my cycle to work is all cycle paths, and if I cycle in to the center of the Hague (5km or so) I think there's about 100m of non cycle path. The demographic is very different than that UK too, the majority of cyclists are commuters, and the vast majority of car drivers are also cyclists so tend to be a lot more aware of bikes. you don't get the "them and us" thing that seems prevalant in the UK.
Agree roads are way better condition than the UK too, every time I go back to the UK I remember why so many people drive 4x4's! However VED equivalent on a 2 litre diesel is over €100/month, and the purchase tax on a new car is related to greenness and can pretty much double the price of big engined cars.
I think there is some stat like 70% of local journeys under 5lm are taken by bike. I can well believe it. As opposed to stats taken in Manchester 2-3 yrs ago stating 70% of journeys under 1km (not even a bloody mile) were IN a car. I know they have the infrastructure for it but 1km, jesus.Since moving to NL I only use the car for long trips, my cycle to work is all cycle paths, and if I cycle in to the center of the Hague (5km or so) I think there's about 100m of non cycle path. The demographic is very different than that UK too, the majority of cyclists are commuters, and the vast majority of car drivers are also cyclists so tend to be a lot more aware of bikes. you don't get the "them and us" thing that seems prevalant in the UK.
Agree roads are way better condition than the UK too, every time I go back to the UK I remember why so many people drive 4x4's! However VED equivalent on a 2 litre diesel is over €100/month, and the purchase tax on a new car is related to greenness and can pretty much double the price of big engined cars.
Anyway, if anyone is thinking of cycling from Hook of Holland up the coast towards Zandvoort/Haarlem (and turn right at Katwijk for Amsterdam) then do it, the LF1b bike path is a great route especially through the dunes (some old WW2 gun emplacement type things there too)
neilr said:
... if anyone is thinking of cycling from Hook of Holland up the coast towards Zandvoort/Haarlem (and turn right at Katwijk for Amsterdam) then do it, the LF1b bike path is a great route especially through the dunes (some old WW2 gun emplacement type things there too)
Absolutely agree - did that last summer as the second day of riding from home to Copenhagen. 100km from Hook of Holland to Amsterdam - perfect introduction to NL. I would also say that Denmark is a great country to cycle in too - not quite as bike focussed as NL but really good.
RizzoTheRat said:
That route goes right past my front door in Scheveningen 
Then I've cycled past your front door on a number of occasions! Ill wave next time First time i ever did it i missed a sign and got lost in Scheveningen and went round in circles for a bout 45 mins.
Its a bit disconcerting in the dunes between Scheveningen and Katwijjk when there's a thunderstorm though ! Great route though.
When you get to the top of the hill (ok you'd probably call it a slope) about 2km North of the water tower there's some steps on the right up to a look out point, lovely view of the area. Alternatively about 1km earlier there's a path and some steps the other side that goes past the gun emplacements and on to the nudist beach if that's your preferred view
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