alanwar

We are going to be staying in Amsterdam May 31-June 3 and one of the activities we very much want to do is to take bikes and do a 25mi or so bike ride around the countryside to see more of the Netherlands than just the city. I would appreciate any suggestions and advice.

1. Are there any good routes to take either from the city or via a train from the city ? Suggestions are welcome. I saw that there is a cheese farm tour in Zaandam (Henri Willig) which looks interesting so it would be nice to combine the two assuming the cheese farm is too touristy and the surrounding ride is nice countryside.

2. Are there recommendations for where to rent bicycles in Amsterdam ?

3. Are there any other tips you could give me for riding around Amsterdam and the countryside ? I grew up riding my bicycle all around New York City so I'm quite familar with the traffic and bicycle theft.

Many thanks in advance, we are excited for our trip !

Alan

hmv

If you have some other question's, PM me.

mjtx

We will be in Amsterdam during the time of the flower parade in April. We definitely want to go to see Keukenhof and are considering going the day of the flower parade so that we can see both. Our emphasis is on seeing Keukenhof so we were wondering if it would be a mistake going the day of the parade or if the parade is really a "do not miss" event.

DenverF9Flier

When I was there a couple years ago, my GF and I took the ~1hr train ride from Amsterdam to the seaside resort town of Zandvoort, and rented bikes from a shop next to the train station. We had fun exploring the city, then headed South on a long, rolling, well-paved bike path for many miles, which winds its way up and down the dunes, next to the sea. There are food vendors, water fountains, and plenty of places to stop and look around. If you want to see the path, Google Maps' Satellite View actually shows it quite clearly. I would definately recommend this ride on a nice day.

CDTraveler

Depending on how much you like flowers, it may not be possible to do both in one day. It is easy to spend the entire day, opening to closing, at the Keukenhof, and still not have a good look at everything. The flower parade goes through Lisse about mid-day, maybe mid afternoon if it is running late. It is also long and has gaps as it gets spread out along the route. We stood in downtown Lisse for almost 3 hours to see the whole thing a few years back.

So your day would look like morning at Keukenhof, ask someone to give you updates on the parade status (do they still broadcast it on the radio? that's how we knew what time to be in position), head over to the parade route about noon, maybe be there several hours, then back to the Keukenhof.

I've seen the parade; it was fun, it was interesting, but I personally would skip it to spend more time at the Keukenhof. If things go as planned, we'll be there 2 days in early April this year, and yeah, I really can spend 2 full days looking at flowers.

stut

A few notes on cycling in the Netherlands, if you're not used to it...

It's mostly a very different style of cycling to what you see in the likes of the UK or US. Bikes tend to be very upright, built for comfort, and with few gears (usually hub gears if they're there). Chains are fully enclosed, brakes are often roller-style, and men are quite happy riding step-through frames. Road, touring and mountain bikes are quite rare, and reserved for racing, touring and off-roading, rather than general use.

Protective clothing and helmets are rarely worn (usually only on long road cycles), and there's a incredibly extensive network of well thought out, well maintained cyclepaths both in and out of town. In urban areas, most one-way streets for cars are labelled "no vehicles" in reverse, meaning cyclists can go both ways.

There is a 'presumed responsibility', from a civil point of view, on drivers in road accidents, and behaviour matches this. This also means that, when cycling, you can expect other bikes to pull right out of side streets into you. It all merges together fine, you just have to get used to it. It's also a lot slower, in towns, due to the volume of cycle traffic, and the fact that people are cycling out in their normal clothes (and hence don't break a sweat). Expect 5-10mph, rather than the 15 you'd see in London. Generally speaking, you'll spend a lot of time off the road, but, unlike cycle paths you see elsewhere, this means you'll generally get priority over other vehicles when crossing minor roads.

So...

Personally, I used to enjoy cycling through the Amsterdamse Bos - it's an easy ride from the centre of Amsterdam, and you can end up either headed down towards Aalsmeer (home of the flower auction) or Hoofddorp via the extremely odd Schipholdijk (through the back of the airport). There's some really lovely cycle paths through the woods (plenty canals and lakes - just make sure you know where the bridges and ferries are!)

In terms of rental - do get one with gears - at least three. In town it's not so important, but out of town, it may be pancake-flat, but you will have some serious wind to contend with - to the point that you really want to plan your route around the prevailing weather. To illustrate - I once managed to go over 3km, along the Schipholdijk, without pedalling, due to the force of the tailwind on my panniers.

When I hired bikes, I generally get them from the few OV-fiets places that also hired out bikes to non-subscribers. There's a very good one underneath Amstel station. They have incredibly solid Batavus Railstar 3-speeds which have never seen me wrong.

On public transport, do bear in mind timing and payment. You generally do have to pay to take bikes on board - with a supplement ticket on trains, or using a concession strippenkaart on public transport (the Amsterdam Metro and Sneltram lines take bikes). You generally can't take bikes on peak hour trains, although the GVB (Amsterdam city transport) do seem to allow it on local transport.

In terms of theft - generally, the ringslot and cable you get when you hire the bike will be enough. (The ringslot is a clamp, attached to the frame, that immobilises the back wheel. The cable attaches to a slot in the clamp, and allows you to attach it to something.) Amsterdammers in particular play up the risk of bike theft - and to an extent it's true, I wouldn't leave an expensive bike in central Amsterdam. However, in the oud-Zuid, Jordaan, de Pijp areas, etc, I've never had a problem with the kind of ringslot/cable combination mentioned above, on a moderate bike. Out in the country, you'll often find people just using the ringslot alone, and leaving the bike on its kickstand (even the bike sheds at Schiphol are mostly like this). Obviously, YMMV, take care, etc, but there's no need to be paranoid.

Most Amsterdam hotels can rustle up somewhere to leave a bike if you ask.

A gem of a site is this: http://www.routecraft.com/fietsplanner - cycle route planning around Amsterdam. You'll be surprised how much there is in the way of a cycling network (and how convenient it is to use the cycle trunk route in/out of central areas).

Have fun! I love the Dutch way of cycling, so much so that I have imported it to the UK - I commute by bike daily, don't own a car, had two bikes imported from the Netherlands (including a lovely Gazelle), and learned that cycling needn't be the marginalised, got-to-get-dressed-up-in-hi-vis-and-protective-gear, sweaty race that it is elsewhere.

Aviatrix

Excellent contribution, stut!

Just one small (OT) point on the very last bit...: "cycling needn't be the marginalised, got-to-get-dressed-up-in-hi-vis-and-protective-gear, sweaty race that it is elsewhere"

You're obviously thinking of the UK here... but if you look at Europe as a whole I think you'll find that cycling UK-style is the exception and cycling Dutch style is the rule. And I do prefer it too! Like you I cycle slowly and in my normal clothes, though (living half-way up a hill) I have invested in a slightly more powerful bike, with 21 gears.

Brian_is_flyin

I always rent from Mike's Bikes.

They offer daily tours of the city and some country side tours too.

alanwar

Yes, I saw they had a 4 hour tour but I was wondering if it would be too crowded, too short or not specifically interesting to us. Have you ever done one of those tours ? If so could you describe it ?

thank you