Glow worm
Legendary Member
- Location
- Near Newmarket
Hi all- just back from a few days in Holland. I cycled from home to Harwich then took the ferry to The Hook then biked on to Central Amsterdam and back- around 250 miles round trip. At risk of stating the bleedin' obvious, Holland was everything I expected it to be for cyclists and so much more besides. And apart from the trip being great fun and a brilliant experience, (albeit not nearly long enough), the following points were my main observations on the trip.
1. The contrast between the last 10 or so miles from Mistley to Harwich, and the cycling on the Dutch side could not have been more stark. A fast, busy B road on the UK side, with dodgy and dangerous overtakes galore. God knows what continental cyclists getting off the boat for the 1st time in Harwich make of it.
2. All the paths I travelled on were fully integrated and actually went where you wanted to go. No isolated 50 yards of red paint sprayed into the gutter like here. Totally seamless, wide, excellent smooth surfaces, safe and brilliant. I can't describe accurately here how they manage to weave the cycle paths around roundabouts so well, but it works a treat. Often, cars will stop to let you cross. I nearly fell off my bike the first time that happened.
3. All roads, even minor ones have provision for bikes, whether as a separate mini road adjacent, or wide strips down the side designed in such a way as to give motorists the impression that it is the bicycle that has priority. There were no end of underpasses, even for quieter roads, so you just sail through instead of dicing with death trying to cross. Also, at traffic lights, cyclists get their own button to change the lights.
4. Cycling seems to be part of the day to day life of most people. I passed barely a house that didn't have bikes outside it. Yes car ownership is high (I don't have the figures but I seem to recall it's a similar level to here), but becasue of the culture, and the provision, people choose to use heir bikes. I would guess that maybe only about 5-10 % of cyclists wore helmets. I took mine off at the ferry and it hung off the back of the bike until I was back in Harwich!
5. It was great to see so many older people cycling. I saw a group of older women - probably about a dozen or so, who looked a bit like W.I. types- all out cycling somewhere or other. I just can't imagine that here. They all looked pretty fit too- I was overtaken by no end of septegenerians.
6. Brings me to my next point- there didn't seem to be any of that silly competetive crap some cyclists do over here. Not having a competetive bone in my body, I've always let those cursed with such an affliction get on with, it if that's what they get off on. It was therefore so refreshing to see a couple of roadie types get overtaken by a lad in wellies on a masive heavy Dutch bike and not bat an eyelid. I was also able to overtake slower cyclists safe in the knowledge that a minute of so later no silly arse I'd just passed would be pissing about at my back wheel.
7. Driver behaviour seemed pretty good. I had no incidents whatsoever with drivers. Not even in central Amsterdam. This is utterly unthinkable for covering a similar distance over here. Remarkably- Volvos there come fitted with indicators that actually work!
It wasn't all plain sailing. Mrs G flew and I met her at out hotel. Her trains from Schipol Airport to town were all cancelled, shattering my illusion of a first rate public transport system. She had trouble on the way back too. Another point was I found the signage for the main cycle routes to be pretty crap. I wanted to follow the main coast route for the first 20 miles, but there were few signs and those I saw I found confusing. I had my GPS so was fine, but if you were planning on relying on the signs you may struggle. Also, all cycle paths I used were shared use with mopeds. This was fine but took a bit of getting used to, as I had to remember to move over to let them pass (I guess I'm programmed to hear a moped behind me and assume it's on the road- in Holland it's more likely to be on the path and trying to get past).
All told- a great few days in constant warm sunshine. Great fun sauntering past all the cars waiting to board the ferry and then being allowed on first. Parking the bike on board was a doddle and the Stena ferries both ways were brand new and I had a really comfortable cabin.
We are absolutely light years behind the Dutch in terms of provision. I don't know what the answer is, but we have a hell of a long way to go.
1. The contrast between the last 10 or so miles from Mistley to Harwich, and the cycling on the Dutch side could not have been more stark. A fast, busy B road on the UK side, with dodgy and dangerous overtakes galore. God knows what continental cyclists getting off the boat for the 1st time in Harwich make of it.
2. All the paths I travelled on were fully integrated and actually went where you wanted to go. No isolated 50 yards of red paint sprayed into the gutter like here. Totally seamless, wide, excellent smooth surfaces, safe and brilliant. I can't describe accurately here how they manage to weave the cycle paths around roundabouts so well, but it works a treat. Often, cars will stop to let you cross. I nearly fell off my bike the first time that happened.
3. All roads, even minor ones have provision for bikes, whether as a separate mini road adjacent, or wide strips down the side designed in such a way as to give motorists the impression that it is the bicycle that has priority. There were no end of underpasses, even for quieter roads, so you just sail through instead of dicing with death trying to cross. Also, at traffic lights, cyclists get their own button to change the lights.
4. Cycling seems to be part of the day to day life of most people. I passed barely a house that didn't have bikes outside it. Yes car ownership is high (I don't have the figures but I seem to recall it's a similar level to here), but becasue of the culture, and the provision, people choose to use heir bikes. I would guess that maybe only about 5-10 % of cyclists wore helmets. I took mine off at the ferry and it hung off the back of the bike until I was back in Harwich!
5. It was great to see so many older people cycling. I saw a group of older women - probably about a dozen or so, who looked a bit like W.I. types- all out cycling somewhere or other. I just can't imagine that here. They all looked pretty fit too- I was overtaken by no end of septegenerians.
6. Brings me to my next point- there didn't seem to be any of that silly competetive crap some cyclists do over here. Not having a competetive bone in my body, I've always let those cursed with such an affliction get on with, it if that's what they get off on. It was therefore so refreshing to see a couple of roadie types get overtaken by a lad in wellies on a masive heavy Dutch bike and not bat an eyelid. I was also able to overtake slower cyclists safe in the knowledge that a minute of so later no silly arse I'd just passed would be pissing about at my back wheel.
7. Driver behaviour seemed pretty good. I had no incidents whatsoever with drivers. Not even in central Amsterdam. This is utterly unthinkable for covering a similar distance over here. Remarkably- Volvos there come fitted with indicators that actually work!
It wasn't all plain sailing. Mrs G flew and I met her at out hotel. Her trains from Schipol Airport to town were all cancelled, shattering my illusion of a first rate public transport system. She had trouble on the way back too. Another point was I found the signage for the main cycle routes to be pretty crap. I wanted to follow the main coast route for the first 20 miles, but there were few signs and those I saw I found confusing. I had my GPS so was fine, but if you were planning on relying on the signs you may struggle. Also, all cycle paths I used were shared use with mopeds. This was fine but took a bit of getting used to, as I had to remember to move over to let them pass (I guess I'm programmed to hear a moped behind me and assume it's on the road- in Holland it's more likely to be on the path and trying to get past).
All told- a great few days in constant warm sunshine. Great fun sauntering past all the cars waiting to board the ferry and then being allowed on first. Parking the bike on board was a doddle and the Stena ferries both ways were brand new and I had a really comfortable cabin.
We are absolutely light years behind the Dutch in terms of provision. I don't know what the answer is, but we have a hell of a long way to go.