Holland / Netherlands

Anyone in The Netherlands who would like to participate in a short interview?
https://www.lfgss.com/conversations/331925/

I'm (among other occupations) a bike courier in Tilburg, if she's willing to travel from Delft (abt 1 hr by train), no problem to be interviewed. I could ask some colleagues/bike enthusiasts as well so she wouldn't have to come down for just 1.

That would be fantastic! Please ask around, a whole day of interviews would probably be exhaustive and fun, I imagine. It can be any kind of cyclists too.

I'm in Eindhoven, which is another 25 minutes over by train. @Tijs is also in this area, so if we can figure out a joint day and he also wants to join it could be worth the trip. (If in a weekend I'd be happy to cycle over to Tilburg as well)

We could just do a Dutch LFGSS ride around Eindhoven and/or Tilburg. I'm willing to travel. (I'm located in Utrecht)

I will ask around! a date will have to be set. March 30, April 6?

nice to do a meet-up with other lfgss-ers too, yeah!

Sounds good!

Count me in!

If a lot of you manage to get together, I will come along too. It would be nice to do some hand shaking and tyre kicking.
I think 30/3 could work for us, but not confirmed yet.

check, 30/3 (& 6/4) penciled in diary

Same, 30/3 would need to be first half of the day for me.

I'm in Maastricht on 30/3. I can come to Eindhoven on 6/4.

My wife is doing a PhD on cycling safety and the use of mobile phones.

Not sure if you know this and/or if this changes anything, but using your phone while cycling has been outlawed recently, so of course nobody is doing this anymore.

That is exactly why we are here now.

Back to some touring chat for a second.
That sounds like a lovely day out, yes please for a expert, locally-sourced gpx!

https://ridewithgps.com/routes/29521608

Used to ride this route nearly every month, but did some editing to get you into the flowers.

Wow, thank you.

For a moment there I thought I'd be able to attend the Dutch lfgss get-together ride as the token London-based lfgss'er

A Dutch lfgss ride is a fun idea! Wish I could make it

Yesterday saw a tandem recumbent, and then a bike being ridden by an old man that was carrying his wife (I assume) in a wheelchair. Loving the bike-centric Dutch culture!

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Elsgeesterweg off to the right of that route goes through a load of flower fields too - we stopped at the Euro amp there a few Easters ago and the riding was great.

[edit] I was of course zoomed in...... basically the road between Voorhout and Rijnsburg that goes past Koningshof

Did the Flowers ride today with a cloudless sky and steady NNW breeze keeping the temperature cool. The flowers were lovely, but it was the coastal bit that was the star of the show. It was so good I did it twice. Once northbound, drafting a series of roadie helpers into the headwind. Then back to the Hague from Zandfoort. The second half of the southbound leg with two guys, then one, easily averaging about 38km/h. So damn good. Done over 1000km past week, that coastal path definitely a high light along with the windy (with turns, not breezy) forest paths east of Utrecht, straights of Flevoland coast, and whole day of hammering tailwinds all the way from Utrecht to Maasdricht.
Thanks @Jaap for the route. One of my better days out on a bike, so really appreciate it.
Will try post some pics when wifi.

Good to hear! The coastal road was my favorite back when I lived in The Hague.

I also could have put some gpx together for Utrecht, since that's where I live now :)

pre interview ride (from Tilburg) this Saturday, depart 9:30 welcome to join, suggested route:

https://www.strava.com/activities/1945424801

Trip I did end of Sept last year I was on 72", a bit too spin-y, so this time I went for 82" which was great. The surfaces are so good that once up to speed it's easy to maintain 30kph, and with even a tiny bit of tailwind, more.

I rode around 10 hours every day between 80 and 190km, just going slower on the shorter days and loved every minute. To me its cycling utopia. I didn't miss hills at all! So easy to ride really efficiently, without losing momentum.

Fietsersbond routeplanner, can't recommend it highly enough. The recreation routes are brilliant, and the direct routes (shortest or racing) really efficient. The direct routes follow main transport routes like freeways and trainlines so cover distance quickly and smoothly, while the recreation routes take in many lovely little paths or back roads that are often deserted. There appeared to be vast swathes of the country without any people, then suddenly there are a few roads and its roadie central. Maybe it helped being the time of year for quietness. Fietsersbond planner just needs "gravel" (yes please) and "brick paving" (avoid) setting to be absolutely perfect. Netherlands' gravel is like any other surface, perfection.

While there weren't any areas I didn't enjoy, I particularly loved the twisty forest and dune paths of the nature areas, east of Utrecht and along the coast, and the east coast of Markmeer has amazing, massive landscapes.

Can't wait to go back and explore more!

https://strava.app.link/YQXi0mrvxV
Day 1, Hoek of Holland to Utrecht via Rotterdam

https://strava.app.link/LDp3vI5vxV
Day 2, scenic route to Arnhem, and direct route back to Utrecht

https://strava.app.link/FiU2Io8vxV
Day 3, recovery ride to the lovely Amersfoort

https://strava.app.link/8zQDtgbwxV
Day 4, strong wind so went direct to Maastricht. Met a couple Belgians, a barman and a roadie

https://strava.app.link/tYZKn0cwxV
Day 5, to Amsterdam via Naarden

https://strava.app.link/MwWFRhfwxV
Day 6, very scenic route NE of Amsterdam, seeing windmills and town squares with churches

https://strava.app.link/bSPi2ZjwxV
Day 7, wanted to go all the way round Markmeer, but found Houtribdijk closed to cyclists. Started to then head for groningen, but realised I wasn't going to make the train so went to zwolle instead. Loved Flevoland's vibe tho, so modern. And the infinite straights

https://strava.app.link/RCuoJWvwxV
Day 8, sunny flowers and dunes, so good

https://strava.app.link/jZMSZLywxV
Day 9, more pretty towns on the way back to the ferry, plus exploring around Hoek of Holland killing time, which is really nice actually