Introduction
| Heart | 0 | Comment | 0 | Link |
We've wanted to cycle tour in the Netherlands for some time, and this spring decided to not put it off any longer. April and May are two of the least rainy months, and of course tulips and other spring bulbs are in full bloom, so we planned to travel for a month in a roughly circular route beginning and ending in Amsterdam.
We normally plan our tours very carefully, booking all accommodation in advance, and we weren't sure how this would work in the windy Netherlands. Tailwinds would be great, but headwinds were another story and we didn't want to encounter them for long distances day after day. Also, as well as experiencing the novelty of cycling in a country where bikes are an integral part of the transportation system, we wanted to enjoy the cultural attractions throughout the Netherlands without rushing from one place to another. We decided on a leisurely-paced trip, averaging around 40 km a day through six provinces, with days off from cycling to visit museums and the splendid bulb garden, Keukenhof.
Al worked out our route in detail, using Google Earth and Katharine Widing's very helpful book, 'Cycling in Holland'. Eva booked the accommodation in advance, and she was a bit taken aback to find that April is high season in North Holland because of the tulips. Our three tours in France have been in the autumn during low season, so we're used to plenty of availability and lower prices. When Eva started searching in February, many hotels and B&Bs in Amsterdam were already fully booked for April, and prices were at the same level as summer. Ouch! TripAdvisor.com and bedandbreakfast.nl helped her find suitable lodging throughout the country, including a hotel in Amsterdam which could store our Bike Friday suitcases for more than three weeks.
Early April is just the end of winter in the mountains of British Columbia, and we hadn't had much opportunity to cycle in the previous few months, We were looking forward to our first spring cycle tour through the flat countryside of the Netherlands
| Rate this entry's writing | Heart | 1 |
| Comment on this entry | Comment | 0 |