(First in a three part series, because this got long)
Spend some time reading the literature of cycling and
alternative transportation devotees, and you will quickly gain the impression
that the Netherlands are some sort of Shangri-La for two wheels. Time after
time, bicycling advocates in the US will say “if only we could be like
Amsterdam” - when we’re not trying to be Copenhagen or Paris or Bogota instead.
Not for nothing is this a well-worn trope—I remember visiting Amsterdam a few
years ago and being greeted with a practical sea of bicycles parked just outside
the train station. The Dutch do like their velocipedes, quite a lot.
Amsterdam train station. The upper ledge in the middle of the picture was completely full of bikes.
And then when the Dutch (or the tourists) get stoned, they throw the bikes into the canals. Thus completing the circle of life.
So, given my status as “the bike guy” at Caltech (that’s
what running a bike co-op does for you), when one of my fellow let’s-move-our-labs-to-Switzerland-expats,
Robb,
asked me if I’d be interested in doing a bike tour from Amsterdam to Brussels
over a long weekend, I knew the answer had to be yes. I had never actually
ridden around there, and now I too could properly experience this utopia of
cycling.
The trip was to go as follows: on Wednesday night (October 9th)
we would fly up to the Netherlands, get ourselves settled, and get some rest.
The next morning, we’d buy ourselves some nice bikes for the ride, load up on provisions,
and do a pleasant 40-mile warm up trip down to Delft. Friday would be our push
day, 100 miles down the Dutch coast, until we reached the Belgian border and
made our way over to Ghent. This was to again be followed by another 40-mile
light day down to Brussels, at which point we would get some well-deserved
beer, rest, and further beer. Finally, Sunday we could take a high-speed train
back to Zurich, by way of Paris.
A bit of Google Maps for you.
