Resources on the web and in print
On-line resources
General info about Holland on the WWW
- more information on cycling in the Netherlands in the Wikipedia
- for general tourist information at the Dutch Tourist Board
- for extensive up to date information on all aspects of the Netherlands at the site of Lonely Planet
- for useful information about Holland at the Dutch ministry of foreign affairs
- the same ministry for information about Dutch history (choose your language on the site)
Tour reports on cycling in the Netherlands on the WWW
- Two Texans on an organised cycling tour of one week on a rented bike
- A report about a couple of days of cycling in april 1997 in the province of Brabant
- A family spend the holiday by 'Island Hopping' along the dutch Wadden islands in the north of our country
- A slideshow about a 5-day cycling tour from Hoek van Holland to Amsterdan and Delft
- Brian is amazed by cycling and cyclists in Amsterdam
- A tour report of a family cycling on tandems one week in august 2007
- also in 2007 Stan and Damae made several short cycling trips, among others one on Bromptons and another one on hired recumbent tricycles
- Glen and Margaret cycled in september 2007 in Belgium and the Netherlands
Cycling just across the border
- All the information you need about cycling in Belgium
- Information on LF-routes in Belgium
- All the information you need about cycling in Germany
Links to the paper world
Cycling in the Netherlands; the very best routes in a cyclist’s paradise
Author Eric van der Horst, a British resident of Dutch origin, has written this book especially for the British market. It contains 3 parts: the first part consists of extensive general information about Dutch cycling culture, gear and equipment, Dutch traffic rules and general travel information. The route information describes one main route and spurs to Vlissingen, Nijmegen and the IJsselmeer. The third part is accommodation listings.
Of special interest for the British cyclists are the descriptions of links from the ferry ports to the routes in this book and bike rental addresses near the ferry terminals.
Contradictory to the subtitle, this book mainly covers the western part, roughly 25% of Holland. The author makes no use of any of the numerous signposted routes in Holland, so you need to keep the book at hand all the way.
By the way, Eric poses that “it’s hard to find tasty veggie meals, even in a restaurant”. Being Dutch vegetarians we can assure you this is definitely not the case. Available at www.cyclinginholland.com
ISBN 968 1900623193, 164 pages. Price £13.99
Bicycle mania
American photojournalist Shirley Agudo – a long-term resident of the Netherlands – captures in this book the Dutch bicycle culture. Depicted are people transporting ‘anything and everything’ on their bikes along with witty and bizarre bike designs, and the practical (and not so practical) side of a country having more bicycles than people. It also contains lots of information about the history, the infrastructure, the mentality and the global reputation of a culture gone completely mad about bikes, plus handy tips and a wealth of cycling-related websites.
Great souvenir book of a cycling tour in Holland and a great gift book for anyone interested in the world's best cycling culture.
Available at www.bicycle-mania.nl. For international orders see www.hollandbooks.nl.
ISBN 978 90 5594 698 3, 180 pages, 150 photos. Price € 16
Shirley Agudo's newest book is called "The Dutch & their bikes: scenes from a nation of cyclists". The almost 700 images show all aspects of the Dutch bicycle culture. It's a great souvenir of a Dutch cycling holiday.
Available at dutchandtheirbikes and scriptum.
ISBN 978 90 5594 899 4, 352 pages, price euro 29,90
Bicycle Touring Holland
Katherine Widing's book contains 30 pages of useful general information (e.g. planning, country information, food & lodging) and more than 50 detailed route descriptions. Some are day tours, most are longer trips, broken up in several day trips, often following LF-routes. When a route is not signposted you must have the book handy all the time. (Sometimes you change direction every 100 meters!)
The route descriptions also contain information on where to eat and where
to stay and describes the highlights along the route.
Useful is a description
of how to cycle from Schiphol Airport to Amsterdam.
This book is useful for cyclists who like to carry information in English about the highlights along the trips.
I do hope that in the next edition
Katherine also describes my favourite parts of the country: Twente and de
Achterhoek
Isbn 1-892495-46-5
Lonely Planet: The Netherlands
The Lonely PLanet about the Netherlands contains, as all Lonely Planet guides, a lot of useful general information for visitors.
One chapter is dedicated to cycling in the Netherlands. This chapter provides some limited information about cycling. It advises about clothing and equipment, hire, bicycles on the train, road rules and security, and accommodation. It ends with 5 routes that provide a taster of the cycling possibilities in the country.
Their best advice: rent a bike and head off in a direction that looks appealing.
Isbn 978 - 1 - 74104 - 299 - 3