Rotterdam to Amsterdam / Cycling in the NL in general

HebdenBiker
HebdenBiker Posts: 787
edited August 2010 in Tour & expedition
I'm on the brink of booking the ferries for a nice ride from Rotterdam to Amsterdam. Any tips/warnings please? Any reason why I shouldn't/can't cycle on "N" roads? I know the NL have a network of cycle paths but from the website some of these appear to be rough tracks. As I'm going on a skinny-wheeled road bike I'd rather take a more direct route rather than ambling round the countryside on bumpy tracks.

Cheers.
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Comments

  • redvee
    redvee Posts: 11,922
    From my experience of NL riding, the paths were well surfaced tarmac pathes which was from the Hook to Amsterdam via The Hague.
    I've added a signature to prove it is still possible.
  • alfablue
    alfablue Posts: 8,497
    I cycled about 300 miles on a round trip from Hook of Holland and including Amsterdam and Utrecht last year, going for a longer trip in September. There is a network of long distance routes, LF routes, these are all very well surfaced paths or quiet roads. A regular road bike is fine.

    You can see the LF routes here, and even plan your rides and download to GPS (I have the whole of September's tour on my GPS). You can also save the routes or print them.

    Instructions on using the planner here: http://www.fietsersbond.net/fietsroutep ... /help.html (Google Chrome offers to translate it, don't know about other browsers).

    This site tells you all about cycling in the Netherlands http://www.cycletourer.co.uk/cycletouring/holland.shtml

    There is also a system of local routes - see this video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sx1TsHc4ZgI

    The system works really well.

    Cycling in the Netherlands is just a fantastic experience, for example, cars give way to bikes crossing roads on cycle paths - you just don't believe it at first but it is true!

    I believe cycling is prohibited on many major roads, unless they have a cycle path beside them. Where there are cycle paths you must use them.

    Just use the LF routes and numbered junction routes, you'll have a great time.
  • redvee
    redvee Posts: 11,922
    alfablue wrote:
    Cycling in the Netherlands is just a fantastic experience, for example, cars give way to bikes crossing roads on cycle paths - you just don't believe it at first but it is true!

    Confused the hell out of me that did. Stopped to cross a road and the cars stops too and a case of stalemate ensues. :?
    I've added a signature to prove it is still possible.
  • fietslogies
    fietslogies Posts: 46
    Probably not your cup of tea ;-) but the signposted LF2 connects Amsterdam with Rotterdam (and Antwerp, and Brussels): http://www.routeyou.com/route/view/116853/route-lf2-nl.nl

    autosnelwegen003mk6.jpg
    60 bicycle trails along Belgian canals, rivers and former railway tracks : http://www.bikely.com/listpaths/by/fietslogies
  • FJS
    FJS Posts: 4,820
    HebdenBiker wrote:
    I'm on the brink of booking the ferries for a nice ride from Rotterdam to Amsterdam. Any tips/warnings please? Any reason why I shouldn't/can't cycle on "N" roads? I know the NL have a network of cycle paths but from the website some of these appear to be rough tracks. As I'm going on a skinny-wheeled road bike I'd rather take a more direct route rather than ambling round the countryside on bumpy tracks.

    Cheers.

    It's not so much a 'network of cyclepaths', but more that all major (and minor) roads have a cyclepath next to them; so routes following bike paths are more or less as direct as the roads. Cyclepaths are everywhere. I don't know from which website you got the idea of rough tracks, but apart from in some of the national parks like the Veluwe, cycle paths are either tarmac or stone-pathed. Those latter can sometimes be a bit uncomfortable on a road bike, but are normally fine, and definitely suited to a road bike. And anyway, most tend to still be better then much of the pot-holed tarmac on British roads.
    If the bike path is not very good you can get away with riding on the road if it's a quiet, minor road, but better not on a very busy N-road, and never on a dual carriage way.
    And, in contrast to British cycling paths, Dutch ones are generally wide enough, and designed for reasonable speeds, not the chicane-filled paths up and down pavements you find here.

    You don't always have priority over cars on a bike path; only when there are the white priority triangles on the road to stop cars before crossing the path.
  • jc4lab
    jc4lab Posts: 554
    Kinderdijk not too far from Rotterdam a must see if you like windmills..A High security lock for Amsterdam maybe.
    jc
  • weeve
    weeve Posts: 393
    I live in hague. I regularly ride to zandvoort (on sea but easily then into ams in another 45m-1hr) and back after work. There is a coastal route which apart from a km or 2 in two towns (nordwijk etc) its on a coastal bike bath through the dunes The 75km round trip (Hague- Za-Hague) is great - wind usually pushes you to amsterdam way so going up is about an hour on a race bike and back is 1:30 ish at steady but brisk pace. Very popular with cyclist of all sorts.
  • weeve
    weeve Posts: 393
    ps - theyre not rough tracks-bit brickbased paths but in summer I use my carbon wheels - and there is no way im fxxxxing those up on farm land:) Also if you want a great day out cycle round the inland sea just north of amstrdam. Its about 160-170km if take the first bridge - I use as a race training route and easy to do in a day. One stretch is 30km of cycle path across the dyke in the sea. Good but beware of the wind :)

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