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Does anyone have experience of inter city cycling in The Netherlands - or have links to useful route planning sites?
I'll be cycling from the port of Ijmuiden to Gouda and Utrecht this summer. Possibly moving on to Antwerp.
Any advice on route planning or "must see" sights en route would be very welcome
We took the tandem to The Netherlands last summer and did a tour. The cycling facilities are exceptional all over, and riding between cities is straightforward. You can tide right through the middle of all cities with confidence, and there are routes clearly marked signs and regular maps by the bike path. If you stop, no matter where you are, someone will appear and offer directions, before you have time to get a map out.
We joined Vrienden op de Fiets and stayed with them a few times. They will send you a map, and list of the participating members (around ten thousand) who can offer inexpensive accommodation to cyclists. You're welcome to borrow some maps and I also have The Rough Guide which was useful too.
Cheers
Colin
I think the Fietsberaad do a route planning app that does things like scenic (green) routes vs. direct (red). Not sure if it comes with an English version
Best one I used was:
http://www.nederlandfietsland.nl/fietsrouteplanner
Can't go wrong with all of the route signs.
If going South from Ijmuiden definitely go the dune route first, towards Zandvoort and the Hague.
For useful sites, I'd go for http://en.routeplanner.fietsersbond.nl/ . If you click on the tab 'Lf en Knoppunten' you get to see the long distance LF routes (landelijk fietsroutjes/ national bike routes) and all of the waypoints. In theory you can just plan your route the night before and write down all the numbers of the waypoints you need, then follow the signs (red for short distance paths, green for LF routes) to the waypoints. I've managed to get lost doing this before though, so you might want to keep a map too. At each waypoint (knoppunt) there's a board with a map showing nearby waypoints.
You may feel like after Ijmuiden to Gouda to Utrecht you fancy some slightly more undulating countryside, in which case you should head east from Utrecht, perhaps towards Arnhem and Maastricht. To the west of Utrecht it is completely flat, to the east there are occasional small hills.
Thanks all for what looks good and interesting advice.
Thoroughly looking forward to this wee trip. Visited The Netherlands many times but never as a cyclist.
Thanks again.
I cycled in August from Ijmuiden-Amsterdam-Almere-Nijkerk-Barnaveld-Otterlo-Arnhem and up the Rhein to cross the border at Emmerich. It's a cyclist Paradise! Although we had maps, rarely used them as it's all so well signposted - cycle routes are white with red writing. Dedicated, good quality paths almost the entire route with plenty of great pit stops and as flat as a billiard table. Amsterdam centre was a bit slow due to heavy (cycle) traffic, but other than that, no problems whatsoever.
I expect your route will be of similar quality.
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