BICYCLING THE NETHERLANDS

by Lee Foster

Bicycling enthusiasts tend to yearn for a country where the bicycle is the daily and regular means of transportation, both for utilitarian and pleasure trips. In this imagined country there would be bicycle paths joining all towns and extending into remote country areas. Moreover, the bicycle would be used and enjoyed by all segments of society, young and old, impoverished to affluent.

Terrain in this country would be varied, but without steep ascents. An excellent public transportation system, probably by train, would graciously carry the cyclist and his bicycle anywhere he or she wished to go.

Such a country does exist and is known as the Netherlands. I recommend it highly for a bicycle vacation.

Where else, for example, can you find an extensive one way Rent a Bike system, similar to our Rent a Car organizations? At over 1000 places in this small country you can rent a bike by the day or week. On several occasions in the Netherlands I have caught a train from Amsterdam down to Arnhem, rented a bike one way, then bicycled in woods and uplands of the great national park, The Hoge Veluwe, taking in the famous Kroller-Muller Museum with its 270 Van Gogh paintings.

The helpful Arnhem tourist office, the VVV (unpronounceable words meaning tourist office), gave me the varying types of support I sought. On one occasion I wanted only good maps. On another occasion I set up a complete week's tour, arranging hotels on a scenic circuit. They can even see that luggage is carried for you from hotel to hotel. The flexibility of the Dutch biking system is a virtue. Excellent campgrounds are available throughout the country for the self-sufficient biker. Fine country inns, log cabin structures, and youth hostels at affordable prices await the bicycle traveler.

In the Netherlands there are about 12,000,000 bicycles for 16,000,000 people. The figure becomes meaningful when one realizes that bicycling is not mainly an activity for children, as it has been in the U.S., but for everyone. It is usual and normal for the Amsterdam banker to ride a bicycle to work. Given the layout of the city, could a better mode of transport be imagined?

On Sunday afternoons in the countryside you frequently meet older couples bicycling through the woods and fields. All this is possible because bicycle lanes here are an integral part of the transportation network, rather than a sop to the eco vote, as in the U.S.

Bicycling contributes substantially to the overall healthfulness of the people. The Netherlands is unique because the terrain is flat, but never dull. Careful use of land brings a surprise at every turn. An abundance of water blesses the countryside with a lushness seldom seen elsewhere. Centuries of human use give the farmlands an appearance of well-groomed fecundity. In the Gelderland province around Arnhem and in another favorite bicycling province of mine, Drenthe, there are miles of woodlands, heather, and small lakes, called fens. A standard three-speed bike, or even a bike with no gears, is entirely adequate for this topography.

Though I prefer renting a bike at my destination, you can also fly your own bike to the Netherlands with increasing ease. Some airlines realize that the bicyclist is a potential customer in significant numbers, especially on flights into Amsterdam from the U.S. But check this with your airlines ahead of time to comply with their requirements.

Once you arrive in Amsterdam, you'll be immersed in a world where the bicyclist doesn't have to fight for his right to use the streets. The Arie Bezemer family, my friends near Haarlem, west of Amsterdam, are your typical bicycling family here. With a total of six riders in the household, their garage is a mass of frames, wheels, pumps, and rims, as well as a working bike for each family member. The younger boys in the family get so involved in long after-school bike hikes that they sometimes arrive home late for dinner.

Once in the Netherlands, where should you bicycle? Choose the countryside rather than a city, such as Amsterdam, where biking requires maximum attention to safety. Here are the two regions that I have found particularly pleasing.

First, the Arnhem area. I take the train from Amsterdam south and east to Arnhem, embarking point to the extensive forest-park, The Hoge Veluwe. The park is the setting for the famous museum I mentioned, the Kroller Muller, with not only Van Gogh paintings but many other modern artworks. With the help of VVV Arnhem, I arrange a few days of riding in the countryside.

The area has an appeal for all ranges of bicycling competence and for the diverse styles of bicyclists. Wildflowers in the spring and summer create a rainbow of colors on the veluwe, as these upland fields are called. Abundant bird life, such as merels, can be seen and heard. The Netherlands has long been famous for the quality of light in its landscapes, with luminous skies a primary subject in the paintings from the golden age of the 17th century. The bicyclist on the veluwe has ample opportunity to experience the full range of greys, pinks, and whites that compose these skies. Light on the landscape, light in the skyscape, light itself, became the primary subject in paintings by Vermeer and his celebrated contemporaries.

Second, I recommend Drenthe province. From Amsterdam, I take the two-hour train ride to this northeastern province. I leave the train at the provincial capital, Assen, and spend a few days riding the 300 kilometers of bike trails and numerous back-country roads.

In Drenthe I enjoy the lush agricultural fields, used both for crops such as potatoes and for the grazing of cows. Grass grows so quickly and thickly here that a small acreage supports a large number of the famous Frisian-Drenthe cows that have a worldwide reputation for their milk and their breeding stock.

I like to bicycle to the prehistoric stone burial mounds, called hunebedden, scattered throughout the Drenthe region. Of the 51 sites, the largest is at Borger. It's an awesome experience to witness these large boulder burying houses or giants beds, as the word translates, which Stone Age or Bronze Age men built to commemorate their dead. As a communion with the enduring, eternal aspirations of man to create some significant expression of what life has meant, they are as moving an encounter as the Acropolis or the pyramids at Chichen Itza, Yucatan.

Also in Drenthe, At the village of Orvelte I saw a preserved Saxon farm from medieval times. West of Drenthe, in the province of Overijssel, I visited the village of Giethoorn, which has no roads, only canals, to carry on all human activity. I would compare it to Venice, but with a more rural and intimate feeling.

When I think of a European bicycle trip, the Netherlands ranks first in my choices. The flat but intriguing terrain, the bicycle paths and roads, and the integration of the bike into all aspects of life are all considerations.

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IF YOU GO: BIKING THE NETHERLANDS

For more information, contact the Netherlands Board of Tourism, 225 North Michigan Avenue, Suite 1854, Chicago, IL 60601, 888/GO-HOLLAND, web site www.goholland.com.

When you arrive in Amsterdam, the tourism office (called the VVV), can assist you with information, hotel bookings, and tour plans. The main VVV office is at the railroad station. Contact them at VVV Amsterdam, Stationsplein 10, 1012 AB Amsterdam, The Netherlands, 06-34034066.

Once in the Netherlands, the local tourist offices (VVVs) can provide you with info locally on the country's 6,200 miles of bike paths.

Special bike signposts throughout the country identify paths set up only for bikes or for bikes and mopeds. With a detailed regional map, such as the one of Drenthe, you will have no difficulty finding your way because the signpost system in the Netherlands is extensive.

Trains will carry your bike in the Netherlands, but some restrictions sometimes apply, so inquire locally.

Bicycle events each year include a May National Cycling Event in more than 100 towns and villages and a June Tour of Eleven Cities in the province of Friesland.

This article was written by Lee Foster of Foster Travel Publishing. Contact him at his website www.fostertravel.com or via email at lee@fostertravel.com. Copyright Lee Foster.

Lee Foster's most recent travel guidebooks are Northern California History Weekends (Globe Pequot), which won a Lowell Thomas Award, and Adventure Guide to Northern California (Hunter Publishing).

Lee Foster's new literary book is Travels in an American Imagination: The Spiritual Geography of Our Time.

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