Holland / Netherlands

I reckon anywhere outside the centre of Amsterdam is restful. I live on Keizersgracht at the moment and even that is pretty restful , but if you can find somewhere north of the Ij to stay it'll be quiet, nice things to see, and easy to get everywhere :-)

I had an amazing time riding round Holland in September for 5 days, being based in Haarlem and Rotterdam, doing rides around these parts.

So now I have the chance to spend 8 full days in the Netherlands at the end of March. My first thought was to do the "Ronde van Nederland" which fits my aim of about 160km a day.

But then the hassle of arranging 8 different places to stay and the potentially unavoidable extended periods of adverse weather conditions of rain and headwinds made me reconsider, and rather pick a couple centres to be based in and then do 100-200km loops from there depending on conditions.

Anyone have any recommendations for which big towns east of Rotterdam/Amsterdam would be best for being based in? Or maybe even more north?

Utrecht, Amersfoort and Arnhem offer the best of Dutch cycling IMO.

Thanks Jaap, good to know. I have so many options, will be good to narrow down a bit!
My experience in September was that it didn't matter where I went it was awesome (thanks to the recreation option for the routeplanner). But I also don't want to miss out on on opportunities to see the best.

Don't forget to plan some rides in Brabant and Limburg as well... much quieter, with more rural areas and nature than Utrecht. And the South of the latter province (see heatmap for obvious reasons) is the only area with some more or less challenging climbs, although it is, due to its shape, somewhat isolated.

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Cheers Peter. I'm not going to the Netherlands for its climbs! I really like the lack of hills. I will definitely do a day trip or two around your territory though (eg, Utrecht > Breda > Tilburg > s Hertogenbosch > Utrecht?).
Hadn't thought of Limburg. Could do a trip to Masstricht and get a train back. Which is what I'd like to do to Groningen, if I get a strong tailwind.

Your heatmap!!

It would be a shame to miss Limburg I think.

I have to say though that one of the things that I loved when I first came here was the "otherness" of the place.. Starting in Amsterdam and going round the Markermeer is for me a great ride because I liked seeing how different it was to the UK.

Ah! Avoiding hills, that's an option I hadn't considered, haha. Riding along the river dikes (Maas, Waal, Rhine) is pretty great for views.

RE heatmap: that's the Strava Global one, mine (the NL part) is this, didn't ride all that much this year outside of work (messengering, very obvious from heatmap) ;-)

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Vrienden op de fiets has a whole network of stays for just 20 euro a night. I've used it, quality of the breakfast...varies. But who cares, you get a bed. And some places are great with friendly hosts!

https://www.vriendenopdefiets.nl/en/page/how-does-it-work

Ok, will definitely give Limburg further consideration. Also, east side of Markermeer. I went to Marken and really liked it and the riding around there.

I was going to use that for the tour of Netherlands, but the limitation is that you can only stay one night at a time. Is probably the cheapest, and social, way of doing it. Liked the one rule that you have to get to the host under human power, be it bike, canoe, or ice skates!

How does it work going into neighbouring countries? Do the roads just meander over the border into Belgium?

Ah cool, didn't think of that as when we went touring with my parents (went over the Afsluitdijk going from Huizen and then around and back via Schiedam etc.) we just stayed one night in every town.

It was...windy!!! Aerobars on a Dutch bike look stupid but you soon get to understand the reasoning behind them.

At least we had tailwind on the Afsluitdijk so that was a glorious (and strange...such a long road with just water around you) and smooth trip. With headwind it would be a total struggle, so if you plan to go over it, check the winddirections before you plan the direction of the trip.

Yup, you’ll usually see a small sign but that’s it.

You should also consider Eindhoven: There’s lots of nice riding around here, ranging from heath to farmland to forests, and easy enough to nip into both Belgium and Maastricht.

What's Eindhoven like? My research (admittedly only looking at google images) suggests it's not quite as picturesque as some other places? I think it'll be a visit place rather than a base tbh.

Based on all the above, I'm tending towards settling on staying in Utrecht for 4 nights and Amsterdam for 3 nights. It's a holiday too after all. Other important factor is that these places are best for vegan gorging.

Eindhoven has some really good cycling and I really do enjoy the city. But I think you're right, it's a bit of an industrial town instead of picturesque (which I like about it).

Utrecht does have THE best vegan pizza in the world, just around the corner of my place.

Utrecht does have THE best vegan pizza in the world

Where is this please? I have been to Utrecht many times and never found this magical place

Punk Pizza
https://goo.gl/maps/7fNsexNSVmK2
https://punkpizza.nl/

Ha, their email is fuckyou@punkpizza.nl
Will be recovery eating/drinking there.

I've been planning rides using the awesome https://en.routeplanner.fietsersbond.nl/
Using the "Recreational route" option:

"Recreational routes lead you to paths and roads that are 'beautiful'. In our planner, beautiful means a balanced mix of nature, beautiful scenery, with picturesque and unique views typical of the area (even in urban areas e.g. pleasant architecture). The route is often low-traffic and can sometimes coincide with LF routes or numbered junction routes, but can leave these routes just as easily."

Where the flowers at? Some say Flevoland, but also around Alkmaar? Worth riding round these parts to see, and if it is, is it a case of doesn't matter which way you go you will see them for miles, or are they only in certain spots?

Two years back there were loads around this area, but unsure as to the specifics.

Dropped pin
Near Kuinderweg 7, 8305 AK Emmeloord
https://goo.gl/maps/QYsPTdZBSXH2

Around Lisse, Voorhout and Noordwijk are loads of flowers, it's where my office is. But it can be tricky to find since most are just on display for a few days.

Thanks, that's just what I was looking for. Sorts of areas to consider. I will probably be a couple weeks early anyway, but would be nice to see some.

There are some really nice roads there. If you start in Scheveningen, you can take the coastal road all the way to "Het Kopje" in Bloemendaal and back through all the (potential) flower-fields. I could make a GPX for you?