Dutch Cycling Guide

In Holland, I read that it's the driver's responsibility and his insurance that's on the hook for the cyclist safety and so it seems. Even the trams stop for you. The danger actually comes from fellow cyclists and mopeds (mostly in Amsterdam) that share the cycle paths. For cyclists, you'd need to make sure you have bells and when dark:

• Front and rear non-flashing lights
• Rear reflector
• Pedal reflector
• Reflectors whole way round the wheels

And so we prepared all our bikes plus some spares as I heard the fine is EUR 60 per missing light. 

We were lucky that three of our bikes already had Continental reflective tires fitted. And I got two packs of these reflective tire stickers from Halfords for £3/pack for my 4 year old. That is just enough to cover his two 12 inch wheels on both sides with perfect curve fit as you can see from this pic. I can’t imagine anyone trying to do that for a 28/29 inch wheel! It would be easier to obtain/borrow reflective tires (cheapest being https://www.rosebikes.co.uk/article/continental-sportcontact-2-reflex-tyre at only EUR 15/tire) than to install these stickers unless like me you appreciate that having it permanently is a good thing even for school runs and there just isn't reflective 12 inch tires! Ha!.

LED rear lights are cheap as chips these days and is good for 30 hrs on constant with two CR2032 batteries. LED front lights on low should easily last 3-4 hours. I carried a spare of each (just one set for 4 bikes) just in case, along with the usual puncture repair kit and pump.

I was surprised how very few cyclist bothered with helmets given it’s not illegal without one. Most don’t even bothered with gloves. So we stood out in two ways: easily spotted with helmets and using sporty bikes (racer/cross or MTB). The Dutch is justifiably proud of their Dutch city bike. And given the high price on those, the owners rightly invested in solid chunky locks in general unlike the pathetic thin cables you see around Cambridge.

Amsterdam by Bike with Kids

Took some courage to decide that we were going to take our bikes with a 4 and 7 year olds into the Dutch capital. I'm glad we did because it was a great way to experience the city.

We stayed at Hotel Isis - which has no relation to I.S. as far as we can tell - in IJplein which offers residential calmness and parking yet remarkably close to the city and has a convenient free ferry connection that runs every 13-15 minutes that the kids absolutely love. What a unique way to commute alla traghetti in Venice. There's something unique and welcoming about taking your bike onto ferries.

Upon arriving at the Central Station ferry terminal, we just followed the cycle paths out through the side of the station and under the bridge straight onto the heart of the city at Nieuwendijk, the same spot we were the night before.

A breakfast pit stop at L-Amour Bakery on Spuistraat before a quick stop at the Koninklijik Palace and a shopping trip at imposing Magna Plaza housing the Bershka Nederland and some picture taking in the square outside De Nieuwe Kirk.

Our bikes being checked out

People actually obeyed this sign... odd.

Iamsterdam outside Rijkmuseum

Trying to find parking at the multi-storey bike park at Central Station.... Actually the old town is way too crowded to cycle. The red light district near the old church isn't one for cyclists:) 

Red Light District

Waiting for the ferry after missing one by seconds!

IJplein ferry to Amsterdam Central Station - free and convenient

Zaanse Schans on Bikes from Zaandijk

Located just 20 mins outside Amsterdam, Zaanse Schans is a convenient way to experience the Dutch countryside albeit a bit artificial compared to Kinderdijk but each has their individual appeal. Both are surprisingly free for all to walk and cycle around the site and the atmosphere is very relaxing. It was windy but another sunny day with nice blue skies. I had tried to find somewhere nice and free to park the car within a couple of clicks of Zaanse Schans (EUR 10 per entry at the official tourist car park). My first stop was actually Chocolaterie De Cacaoboom in Zaandijk. The three towns in the area are well known for cacao processing and the air is pleasantly filled with strong aroma of cocoa. Surprisingly there aren't as many chocolate shops as I had hoped though I had realised that while researching online the night before.

Chocolaterie De Cacaoboom

The shop is more like a one table tea room, warmly decorated and welcoming. The lady running the shop had been friendly and helpful. The hot chocolate and coffee were fantastic and there were quite a lot of chocolate to sample. We ended up buying loads for ourselves and gifts for friends.

Lagedijk itself is a quiet cute street and the bread shop at the head of the street serves some lovely stuff. We left our car on Lagedijk and took our bike across the bridge to the main Zaanse Schans site. The center of the bridge offers the best panoramic view of the area and the windmills. On this cold but beautifully sunny winter's day the view was great.

View from the bridge

Inside the compound are more picturesque houses and bridges in traditional Dutch style, sort of a Disneyland of idealised Dutch village. The houses appear to be occupied but not sure if they are locals or chalets for holiday makers.

We visited a wooden wind-powered sawmill, Het Jonge Schaap (The Young Sheep). It's a replicate completed in 2007, as were most of the windmills on the site, either relocated from surrounding site or rebuilt due to fire which unfortunately is quite a common occurrence with windmills. The price was reasonable and the display was quite comprehensive with some hands-on opportunity which the kids enjoyed.

Sawmill processing larch wood pulled from the canal

Wen-Kai vs the wind god

Time for something warm. Went inside the CacaoLab which offers a "make our own chocolate bar or hot chocolate from cocoa beans" experience. The kids opted for the lazy version which is just adding the cocoa powder and sugar for EUR2 cup of hot chocolate. The chocolate prices were high compared to the shop we just visited so didn't buy anything here.

Cacao Lab - spoon powder, add sugar, stir milk....:)

Cycling Rotterdam to Kinderjijk

2015. Warmest December on record. El Niño is in the air and there is no snow to speak of around the Alps so I thought it's the perfect time to go biking with the kids in Holland.

28 Dec 2015. Day 1 of our trip and it's sunny and calm. 10-degree at 10am isn't bad considering it's still winter.

The weather on the way to the Eurotunnel the day before had been horrid. So the positive change was welcomed. The kids have always been into windmills in the UK and Maud Foster in Boston particularly stands out. Kinderdijk (read “dyke”) is regarded as the number one windmill attraction of Holland and we were not disappointed.

Google map suggested route did not include the Molendijk

s-Gravenweg: canals around every house

From the excellent Novotel Brainpark, it's an 11km ride from the right side of Rotterdam. Half the way is wide dedicated cycle lanes and the other half is country side or single residential road - some with non-dedicated cycle lanes - that need extra care for the 4 year old but he learns fast.

For most part the scenery is pleasing rather than spectacular. The posh neighbourhood 's-Gravenweg was memorable for the Zen gardens and artistic designs, as were the new-built "composer" residential area with streets named after every classical composers you can think of.

After crossing the road bridge over Ijssel river we cycled across the open field instead of the Lekdijk/Molendijk roads to the Kinderdijk ferry crossing. 

Crossing the Lek at Krimpen

We had lunch at Cafe de Klok which has a nice view over the fields and served a nice spicy chicken pitta and simple ham and cheese sandwiches with a good selection of beers (including non-alcoholic) for a good price.

The whole site has a great panoramic view of the 19 windmills. There were several windmills running but only one (running) Nederwaard No. 1 were open to visitors.

Museumolen Blokweer

The other included in the ticket is cute residential Museumolen Blokweer which I had sketched from a Dutch painting in some other European museum! I thought the multimedia presentation of the Kinderdijk history was a bit OTT.

The only flaw in the plan was the non-running waterbus back to Rotterdam. I had confused Line 202 with Line 20 but was told by the shopkeeper that they haven’t seen 202 running that day. So that’s another nice 11km ride back to the hotel.

 

Crossing Erasmus Bridge to Fenix Food Factory

Brilliant cycle lanes in Rotterdam