Planning a cycle holiday route at dusk

Judy and I went out yesterday evening to plan a new cycle holiday route. It's a time consuming thing to do as we have to stop at every corner and note what is around so that unambiguous instructions can be written for our clients. Nevertheless, I also managed to get a bit of video of Judy as she rode.

We now have a new shortish family friendly route to one of the swimming beaches in Drenthe. On the way, it passes over another "stiltegebied" or "silent area" where there is little, if any, noise other than that from nature. There are ten of these areas in Drenthe, most of them not far away to cycle. This is possible because the noise from traffic has been dealt with remarkably well.

Anyway, we're still taking booking for holidays this year. If you're interested, get in touch with Judy.

Cycling sisters

David is away this weekend at Cycle Vision so I thought I would write the blog for a change. What he doesn't know won't harm him will it?

A few days ago I was cycling home from college and whilst waiting to cross the canal a young woman and a little girl drew up beside me. The little girl looked at me, smiled, and said "fietsen leuk" - "cycling is nice". I smiled, agreed with her  and asked if they had time to stop and talk to me, luckily they were happy to do so. We stopped on the cycle path and chatted for 10 minutes and I took photos.

I discovered that they are sisters, the older sister is 19 and has just graduated and the little sister is 5 and has Downs syndrome. They often cycle together on this special tandem which they have hired from the local council for 4 years. They pointed out the waist and foot straps which keep the little girl safely on the bike even if she decides to ride "no hands" or looses concentration. Both parents also regularly cycle with the little girl and they have bought her a trike for later on for independent cycling. It was nice to meet them both, I forgot to ask their names, so thanks to the lovely cycling sisters.

Queens Day recreational bike ride

Yesterday was Koninginneddag. It's a nice event, very sociable. Judy and I decided that instead of staying in Assen we'd go to the village of Vries this time, have a couple of beers at the cafes, listen to a friend's music, and take part in the cycle ride which one of the cafes had organised. This was 33 km long, to be taken at a fairly relaxed pace.

Judy riding through the "desert" a few km from Assen

People celebrating in the middle of no-where.

We stopped at a bench to eat our sandwiches. At the left end of the
bench is space for a tree to grow through.

The plaque on the bench reads "listen to nature". As this is a stiltegebied,
or "silent area", nature is all you can hear except for the sound of passing
cyclists.

It turned out to be a very good spot for people-watching.

So we made a video showing some of the other participants in the ride we were taking part in.

Many of the riders were quite elderly. Over 65s make a quarter of all their journeys by bike in the Netherlands. They don't only ride short distances to the shops and back, but also quite often go for tours in the countryside. Retired couples are often seen on matching "his and hers" bikes, and increasingly these days they'll buy electric bikes to make tours like this a little easier.

Some of the other riders on the same route

Teenagers going in the opposite direction

And of course there was also plenty of evidence of people at the opposite
 end of the age range also cycling today.

A few photos from the last couple of days

A few photos from the last couple of days. First, a page out of the latest Vogelvrije Fietser (Fietsersbond magazine). Subscribe to this newspaper for a year and you get a free bike. Not a bad deal.

This month, the Vogelvrije Fietser also linked to my bell test from a few months back.

Our eldest daughter Eliza, on the way home from school.

Bikes outside the post office, so close as possible to the door.

There is a lot of rebuilding going on in Assen at the moment. Due to it, directions have been put up to direct people to park their bikes elsewhere, but many bikes get parked next to the sign.

Judy took this photo while waiting for the traffic light to change on the way to college. There's another crowd of cyclists on the left too (at this simultaneous green junction).

The scene in a suburb of Assen yesterday, on a cycle path featured previously.

Photo from a stop on our afternoon ride today

Passing the pagoda in the Asian area of the Assen arboretum

Approaching a pile of logs

Photo of logs.

Photos taken, Judy heading back home again

Bicycle road on the way back into Assen on a quiet Sunday in March.

Bike basket that I made this week, with red and green willow.

The worst cycle path in Drenthe

Our local paper, the Dagblad van het Noorden recently listed the 12 worst cycle paths in the province of Drenthe (we live in Assen, the capital of Drenthe).

The winner was a recreational cycle path near where we live. While most cycle paths in the Netherlands are wide, smooth and a pleasure to ride on, this one is narrow, not properly surfaced and a bit bumpy. However, it's recreational ! No-one forces you to cycle along it.

Actually, I quite like it. I've ridden along there a few times, and it's a nice change from the normal "perfect" bike paths. It's very much a recreational path.

The winners of this prize, the Natuurmonumenten organisation, are somewhat displeased, as they see it as an old cart track which they made accessible, and which the ANWB then made a part of the local fietsknooppuntennetwork of recreational routes. This caused it to be used more often than it used to be due to signs and maps telling people to use it for recreational trips.

Anyway, here's a short film, which we made back in March when we rode along this path:


See more about normal standards for cycle paths.

Update 2012 - work to improve the surface has made a considerable difference

Thanks to Frits for sending the article - I missed this copy of the paper. The newspaper title reads "Old people fall here in bunches". No doubt a bit of an exaggeration, but it reflects the fact that in this area it's quite normal to come across bunches of old people out in the countryside enjoying riding their bikes. "The worst cycle path in Drenthe" is included on one of our cycling holiday routes :-)

Going to the beach

Last Saturday, Judy and I rode past the local beach while planning a cycling holiday route. As usual, virtually everyone there had arrived by bike, and as the weather was so nice, lots of people were there.

I've covered cycling to the beach twice before.

Judy's new touring bike - Review of the Sinner Spirit

Judy got a new bike a few days ago. She has needed a new touring bike for some time as we sold her old touring bike, a Flevobike Oke-Ja, three years ago before we emigrated.

The Oke-Ja was, well, OK, but to be fair it's only a middling recumbent. It was one of those bikes with the pedals lower than the seat. This makes them very easy to ride, and particularly easy to get on and off. However, they are not really comfortable except for very short distances. The Americans have a term for this: "recumbent butt." Many people try to counter it by replacing the seat cushion (often more than once). We did the same with the Oke-Ja. A friend of mine went through different seats on a BikeE. The problem is due to the position with the feet too low and the real solution is to ride a bike on which the pedals are higher. This is more daunting for beginners, but you get used to it and it's really much more comfortable in the longer term. It's also more aerodynamic. If you're not particularly interested in speed, note that this means you make better progress - especially into headwinds.

We've tried a couple of other things out over the last couple of years, including some trikes a few months back, but really the best option for most people most of the time is a bicycle. They're a bit more efficient, they take up less space and they're mechanically more simple.

I used to work for Sinner, so of course we looked at their line-up. I have a Sinner Mango velomobile but Judy really wanted an open recumbent. She has always preferred above seat steering, and wider mesh seats over narrower hard seats (they're usually a better choice for women and for more "full figured" people) so this narrowed down the choice to the Spirit.

Judy tried a Spirit on a very pleasant ride in May and she got on very well with it. With help from my colleagues I secretly organised a similar bike - in Judy's preferred red, and surprised her with it on the day of a recent cycling event in Groningen.

Sinner bikes are sold complete. Both a front and rear light were included, as was a computer, a kick stand, mudguards and a rack. The standard tyres are of decent quality (Schwalbe Marathons), the brakes are also decent quality Shimano Deore. All these things come with the bike, nothing needs fiddling with beyond setting the bike to the correct size. When we picked it up, Judy rode it home from the shop. These are bikes for "grown ups". For people who want something solidly engineered, on which everything fits, everything works, and on which you'll be able to ride for many years.

I've added three things to the bike. A Busch und Müller Cyclestar mirror, which is essential on a recumbent, a good quality frame lock, and of course a basket. I make baskets for all types of bikes, including recumbents.

The Spirit is a great bike. All the details of the design are improvements over my own two wheeled recumbent, a Pashley PDQ. In comparison, the Spirit wins with front suspension, much better rear suspension, better engineered special parts such as the pivot on the steering, and much better quality rack and mudguards. I think it's also a bit faster - the seat can be installed more reclined for a more aero position, and the larger rear wheel rolls better (while occasionally people make silly claims otherwise, rolling resistance of wheels is always inversely proportional to radius). As a result, fitted with similar tyres, the Spirit has about 15% lower rolling resistance vs. the PDQ with its two 20" wheels. Judy's not bothered about speed, but when we ride together this small difference between the bikes helps to keep us matched. We suffered from the opposite effect when Judy had the Oke-Ja as it was obviously less efficient than my bike. The Spirit is better for marital harmony.

The new bike is a success. Such a success that just one week after she got it, Judy was confident enough to come for the first time on one of the Sunday morning rides of the local recumbent riders, and to ride further in a day than she's ever ridden on any other bike before - 101 km. And all that without a complaint about discomfort beyond tired limbs:


Why choose a recumbent as a touring bike ? Well, they're ideally suited. They're remarkably comfortable and you get to look straight ahead and see where you're going. We've made all our longer tours on recumbents.

Many Sinner customers ride their new bikes directly home from the shop. Last December one of our customers made a particularly impressive first journey.

Sinnertocht

On Sunday we went on the Sinnertocht. A 60 km trip around the Groningse countryside organised by Jan and Harma de Vries of Sinner Ligfietsen.

At last it really looked like spring had arrived, and we had glorious weather, though also fairly stiff headwinds. This is frequently a problem in this area. There are no hills to slow down the wind.

I rode my old Pashley PDQ and Judy rode a Sinner Spirit. She's tried a few others, but thinks this could well really be the right touring bike for her. It's a short wheelbase bike with full suspension, and a comfortable seat neither too close to nor too far from the ground.

More photos below:

A busy week...

It's been a busy week... Some time ago we were asked to make a study of the novel "Fietsmolen" cycle park at Nieuw Vennep in North Holland, and eventually we got around to it last Saturday. It's over 200 km from here, so Judy and I took our cheap folding bikes on the train and made a very short (20 km or so) ride in the rain around the area.

The Fietsmolen itself is quite interesting. It's an anonymous metal box above ground which allow automated use of 200 cycle parking spaces underground. If there's interest, perhaps I'll also write it up on the blog in due course. Nieuw Vennep has just 30000 residents, but in total cycle parking is for more than 1100 bikes, meaning that there is parking for one in 28 of the population to leave a bike at the railway station. This is around the same figure as for Assen and Groningen, a little higher than some places, a little lower than others, but not far off average for Dutch railway station cycle parking.

On our short ride we passed the Keukenhof gardens, but it was much too late in the day to pay to go in. Next to it I spotted this company hiring bikes, complete with a huge fake recumbent (The normal bike next to it is a full sized adult's bike).

On Easter Monday and Tuesday I made baskets. Including a couple of these. They're Extra Large bike baskets which I make to fit a front rack. Unfortunately I had just one front rack left, which went in the post on Tuesday. However, there's good news on the racks...

This week I found a new supplier for the same racks, who not only charges us a little less (allowing us to reduce the price of the handlebar mounted front racks by 20%). What's more, we now have the racks in the retail packaging. We've quite a lot of them in stock now, and I put an English translation of the fitting instructions in with each rack.


From Wednesday through to Friday I worked with my colleagues at the Ligfietsgarage in Groningen. We built two more Mango velomobiles, sent a Mango Sport test ride bike to Denmark for display at a show in Aarhus, and did a few repairs to local customers bikes. It has been noted in Dutch newspapers that bike shops around the country have plenty of work to do on bikes which suffered in the heavy winter we've just had. Of course, those with exposed chains, brakes and gears are much less able to deal with winter than those which have these sensitive parts enclosed (as do almost all Dutch town bikes and also the Sinner Mango).

One of our Mango customers came along on a day when we'd got nearly all the stock outside. We don't only sell Mangos but also have a large number of the other excellent touring and commuting machines from Sinner, the Demon, Spirit and Comfort and a select range of models we like from other manufacturers as well.


And that brings up right up to yesterday, when I rode to work and back with the Bongo trailer behind the Mango. Going to work was fine, but a big bundle of packaging material (needed for the baskets) was not the most aerodynamic thing to tow, so this slowed me down a lot on the return journey, which took almost an hour. Anyway, on the way home I got to watch the bike computer go past 5000 km. My Mango is now just about exactly 6 months old, so that works out as about 190 km per week on average in the Mango, much of it in the three days of commuting to Groningen. Of course, I do still ride other bikes...

We've a busy weekend, and another busy week ahead. Tomorrow is the Ligfietsopstapdag in Assen, and on Monday and Tuesday there are baskets to make.

As I now have both racks and packaging material, I need to get on with wrapping those baskets pictured above and taking them to the post office.

At some point I think we will need a holiday...

To the Winter Market

We rode to Assen's Christmas / Winter market in the Asserbos yesterday. Judy was a bit reluctant to cycle in the snow, but actually found it quite easy on freshly fallen snow. It's when it's hard packed and turns to ice that it becomes a problem.

The snow plows and gritters were out in force, but it's difficult for them to be effective when the snow keeps coming. There are photos of them in the slideshow, but as I know my readers like to see such things, here are others.

The plows have to be able to fit down the cycle paths, which means practically they are not as wide as the cycle paths. Hence some paths have in effective been temporarily narrowed from four metres to two metres in width at the moment.

Judy tries some trikes

Next week we have cycling holiday customers who asked for recumbent bikes to ride. They were delivered today so Judy and I took them for a test ride around Assen.

Judy tried quite a lot of bikes and trikes before settling on her new touring bike. To see what she ended up with, click here

Bike Trailers - Carry Freedom City

The Carry Freedom City trailer is our newest bicycle trailer. Judy used it on Wednesday last week to make a 75 km round trip to pick up 35 kg of bicycle racks.

Unlike the BOB trailer covered last week, this is a recent addition. It has a few unique characteristics which make it useful for us.


This photo was taken on the outward journey, showing Judy's bike pulling the trailer. Note that it's empty in this shot but there is a good view of the bag which comes with the trailer.

This is not so effective for carrying large amounts of things, but you can bungie on considerably more on top of the bag as shown above.


A close up of the way the trailer attaches to the bike. You have to remove the left wheel nut or quick release and re-install it with the hook attachment. That's it.

One of the outstanding things about this trailer is how it folds completely flat and can be unfolded in seconds.

Ideal for someone who lives in a flat with limited bicycle storage (we don't), or if you want to be able to take a bicycle trailer by train. In most places it is not allowed to take bicycle trailers on trains even if you are allowed to take your bike. This folding trailer may well be a good way of getting around the restriction, as when folded it really doesn't look that much like a trailer. One day I will try a cycle / train tour with folding trailer and folding bike.

There is just one drawback to the City trailer. I find that the supplied bag is a little too small for most uses. However, it's quite OK to attach other things on top, as you see in the first photo here, and at some point I'm going to get around to making a basket to fit on top of this trailer for shopping trips.

Another review of the same trailer.

See it for yourself. Cycling holidays in Drenthe.

If you're a regular reader of this blog you'll know that we upped sticks and moved here from the UK because it is the best place in the world to cycle. There is no-where else with the number of cyclists that this part of the Netherlands has, and no-where else with such wonderful facilities for cycling. Assen, where we now live, is the capital of the "cycling province" of the Netherlands, Drenthe. Groningen, a few km North, is the city with the highest cycling rate in the world.

The weather in May is generally marvellous for cycling, and it carries on right through the summer. Last Sunday was an absolutely beautiful day. Our children rode with their friends to the beach, while Judy and I went out to plan a new route for our cycling holiday customers. We took a few photos and a bit of video while we were doing it. As ever, we barely saw any cars, and also as ever, there were thousands of other people cycling !

If you want to see it for yourself, come on one of our cycling holidays.

We passed many cafes, pancake restaurants, and also you often find people selling things informally outside their homes.

In this case, an old bakfiets was parked next to a small country road, loaded with countryside produce.


A country estate on the route. This is the location of one of several museums on this route, and this location also has a petting zoo and a cafe.


This windmill still produces grain and oil in the traditional way. You can look around and buy the produce made in the window

You can also see it in the video.


We've several other blog posts showing cycling holiday routes and destinations, and a few more which you might like under touring and recreation routes.

Keep away from the fellow who owns an automobile

Judy and I went for a another great ride through the countryside yesterday afternoon and having heard this wonderful Irving Berlin song sung by Ada Jones (recorded back in 1909), I made a bit of video to go along with it. As I have mentioned many times before, it's always a pleasure to cycle here precisely because you get to "keep away from the fellow who owns an automobile" virtually all the time, as you do on all of our holiday routes.

We were actually on the way to see the men's Ronde van Drenthe pass through Westerbork, which I also made a video of, though you see much more in the local TV station's coverage. Most of the area is quite flat, but the race route includes a 23% hill.

The winner was the Italian Maurizio Biondo who averaged 43.23 km/h over the 205 km course. Second place was taken by the local competitor Kenny Van Hummel. His team's car is often to be seen parked just a few hundred metres from our home.

Our speeds were a little slower. Speed really wasn't the point.

There are more holiday style posts and more touring and recreation posts. If you want to see these routes for yourself, book a cycling holiday.

Anatomy of a reliable, everyday bicycle

A few days ago someone who had watched my video of the rush hour in Assen asked me why there were so many similar looking bikes and so few had derailleur gears. This post is an attempt to explain.

The bike in the photo belongs to my wife, Judy. I am sure that some people looking at this picture will think it looks like an "old fashioned" bicycle. It's not. It's just a very practical bicycle. It's the result of many years of evolution of bicycle design for everyday use.

These bicycles are not an anachronism, they are an enabling technology for mass cycling. If you want the entire population to cycle, then this is the sort of bike they need to do it on. This bike has covered thousands of kilometres since we bought it (second hand), but apart from a little splashed mud it is spotless. It keeps itself clean and in good condition, despite no maintenance at all.

I'll explain some of the details of the design below.

The handlebars are relatively high and shaped like this because this leads to a very comfortable ride. This shape is also better suited than dropped or straight handlebars for attaching a basket. Judy's baskets were made in 2004 for her previous bike but they are still good. A bicycle bell is fitted. It's a legal requirement here in the Netherlands, and also just a very good idea.

Chain case. This keeps your clothes clean, and makes it practical to ride in normal clothing. It also keeps the chain spotless, so that less maintenance is required. Chains last for many years when fully enclosed. Riders of bikes like this don't have to clean their chain after riding and while having to clean your chain might seem reasonable to mountain bikers who use their machines only for riding on the weekends, no-one wants this job on a bicycle which they use every day.

A full chain case like this is required to get these benefits. I have just a "hockey stick" shaped chain guard on my older English 3 speed but this does not fully protect the chain so I have had to replace my chain this year and have also had to clean and re-lube the chain. However, a hockey stick style chain case does protect trousers and can be retrofitted to other bikes.

The front light and dynamo (generator). Having lights permanently attached to your bike in this way is far more convenient than having to remove them when you park the bike. Having a dynamo to run the lights means that they are always available. (see our blog post about selecting and setting up dynamo lighting systems)

Batteries go flat - especially if lights are left on. Removable lights can be removed by other people when you park your bike.

The rear wheel lock and the skirt guard.

The lock on its own offers enough security for leaving your bike for a short period of time while shopping. Good quality locks of this type are very secure, and can be used with compatible add-on chains and cables to provide more security when needed. The skirt guard keeps your clothes clean while you cycle, and make riding in normal clothing viable.

Note also the mudguards (fenders). These are steel and made to last. Thermoplastic mudguards also work well, and can be retrofitted to other bikes, but they're not so durable as steel and can crack after a few years use. The mudguards on this bike are adequately long at the front to prevent excess spray on your feet. With shorter mudguards, a mud-flap is very helpful to prevent spray. Note that this bike has a mud-flap at the rear, on what is really too short a mudguard to be entirely successful (even with practical Dutch bikes there is an element of style over substance).

This is the rear hub. This incorporates both the three gears on the bike and the rear brake, operated by a lever on the handlebars.

Enclosing the brake and gears leads to extremely high reliability. Neither the gears nor the brakes have required any maintenance, unlike my bike which has rim brakes and has required new brake pads. Not only rim brakes, but disc brakes also are not really low maintenance components. When used in winter, salt on the road causes the disc to rust, and brake pads need replacing fairly regularly. Drum brakes, or Shimano's roller brakes, are much more reliable than this.

Front wheel hub. The front brake is built into the wheel hub, and operated by the handle on the handlebars. Again, this type of brake is extremely reliable. No adjustment has been required at all in the time we've owned the bike.

Some other features of the bike, all directed towards reliability and convenience, are:

1. Sturdy steel luggage rack. It's much more pleasant to carry luggage on a rack than in a rucksack. Let the bike do the work. If it's sturdy enough, as this one is, then it can also be used to carry friends.
2. Puncture proof tyres.
3. Reflective sidewalls.
4. Thicker spokes for stronger wheels.
5. Chrome plated stainless steel rims - which look beautiful and last forever (a good idea with hub brakes as fitted on this bike, not a good idea on a bike with with rim brakes)
6. A paint finish designed to last 20 years of use outdoors.
7. A kick stand. That's why the bike can stand up on its own, with no support.
8. On an upright bicycle, a wider saddle is needed than on a sports bicycle. Read about saddles in another blog post.

This bicycle was made by Azor in a factory just 40 km south of where we live. I took a video in the factory earlier this year.

Looking for parts to make your bicycle more practical ? All the components featured above are available online through our bicycle components webshop.

Unsure about which inner tube or tyre size that you need ? Read our informative blog post which explains all about different bicycle wheel and tyre sizes and how to choose the correct size for your bike. Tyres to fit your bike can be bought online through our bicycle components webshop.


These are a very common type of bicycle in the Netherlands because they are very practical. When taking note of the bikes parked en-masse all around Assen, similar features are seen:

Two interesting bikes. The pink one is a child's bike made just as practical as an adults bike with all the features discussed above. This is needed as virtually all children use their bikes daily to get to school. Note that this bike is parked in the centre of the city. Many Dutch cities have been made safe enough that children can ride their own bicycles right into city centres. The other bike to its right has a low step over frame, which is useful for people with limited ability to lift their legs. e.g. older people, or people with disabilities.

The bike to the left of the child's bike has a fold down child seat on the back.

Two bikes fitted with front child seats and windscreens for the children. These are very common, as otherwise children sitting in front of their parents can get quite cold when being transported by bicycle in winter.

You can buy bicycles (moederfietsen) built specifically to carry two children, one in front and one behind. They come as standard fitted with both child seats and with a windshield like this.

One of the other ways that people use to carry small children is in bike trailers. This bike also has a seat mounted behind the handlebars, but no wind-shield.

This bike is fitted with a "springer" for walking a dog while you cycle. Just one of many ways of cycling with pets. Most people simply hold the dog's lead, which with a well trained dog works well, but the springer does add a degree of safety. It is legal in this country to walk one dog while you cycle (but not two or more dogs).

An extra tall frame bike (the Dutch are now the tallest race in the world) and a bike with a serial number pressed into the frame in a very obvious way - an anti-theft idea that some manufacturers are using, and which makes it very difficult to disguise the serial number of a bicycle.

Bike fitted with a sturdy front rack. These are quite commonly used and work extremely well for carrying large and heavy items. Again an enabling technology to allow people to make journeys by bike for which they might otherwise have used a car. They fit most bikes and you can buy them here.

A traditional looking bike, but actually new. This design is very popular, quite trendy, and many people like them.

As with many of the other bikes shown, this has just a back pedal (coaster) brake. It is legal to have just the back pedal brake in this country, and it's a common arrangement. Coaster brakes are very reliable, so again this is useful for an everyday bike.

Finally a view of people getting on with using their bikes, as they do everyday in the centre of Assen and all across the country...


If you have an existing bike with fewer of these practical components, it is possible to convert it. This website provides components for conversion of mountain bikes or road bikes.

We use similar bikes for our cycling holiday customers.

This blog post also appears on the Dutch Bike Bits blog.