Cycle Tour of Holland

Route Notes
General notes
Rooms at hostels / hotels It is important that everyone sticks to the room plan, which is different for each night, since we have different sized rooms each night. All adults and independent boys will have a copy of the plan. If you are thinking to change rooms, you must see Mr Boardman the night before. Electricity is a 2 pin socket like those you see in most of Europe. 240 volts like in UK. You just need a 2-pin adaptor. There is a socket in each ferry cabin and the hostel rooms usually have one or two sockets. Internet is available in most hostels, which have one or more internet terminals. You buy a ticket from reception costing 3 for an hour; you can buy less time if you want. The hostels often have wireless internet too, if you want to use this on your phone, and the cost is the same as for the internet kiosk. Cycle paths make an effort to spot these. On main roads where there is a cycle path, it is not only dangerous to ride on the road, but in busier places it is illegal. A red cycle with a cycle in means no cycling. On some roads there are cycle paths on both sides, but on some there is a two-way cycle path on one side of the road, so keep an eye out. On minor roads there wont usually be a cycle path and you ride with the traffic in the normal way. Cycle paths are marked in blue with either a blue cycle with a bike in it, or the word fietspad. Often you are allowed to ride the wrong way up a one way street: there will be a no-entry sign, but under it a notice saying uitgezonderd fietsers meaning cyclists excepted. If trying to cross a road at a big crossroads, dont block any cycle path on that road while you are waiting! Cycle paths are also used by low-powered motorbikes, which might startle you the first time you encounter them. Finally, if you are on a traffic free cycle path, pay attention each time it crosses a minor road you need to check for cars before you cross. Mobile phones if you are calling a number in Holland, for example one of the youth hostels or a taxi, you generally need to dial the full international number, ie +31 and then the full Dutch number (but without the 0 at the start). If you just dial the Dutch number without the +31 (or 0031) it often doesnt work. Level crossings like little ferries, these are quite common in Holland and we will cross a few during our tour. If a train is coming, three things happen: red lights flash, a bell starts ringing and a barrier descends. The rules are simple: if the barrier is up and there is no bell or lights flashing, you are OK to cross. If the bell starts ringing while you are crossing, finish your crossing this is something the boys may need instructions on. If it starts before you begin crossing, then wait! Tap water is drinkable in all the hostels and hotels. Remember to empty, wash out and refill your water bottles each evening. We refill during the day by buying mineral water. Larger bottles and cartons are much cheaper, so keep an eye out for them! Non refrigerated water is also cheaper. The cost of water is included in what you have paid for the trip, so staff in charge of groups can claim this back from Mr Boardman. Claiming money for expenditure Mr Boardman will pay for water (see above), entrance fees, little ferries, swimming and if they are needed, trains or taxis. If you need to get money back, please make sure you get a receipt for what you spent. Trains it is possible to take bikes by train. You can check the times in advance at m.ns.nl on your phone, or www.ns.nl at an internet kiosk. Click the English heading at the top right to make life a lot easier! You have to buy two tickets: one for the bike and one for the train. You cant buy tickets on the train. There are ticket machines at all the stations, but these tend to accept cards or coins only and your UK card may not always work! So you may need to find a ticket desk, which not all the stations have, or bring enough coins to pay in cash. The bigger stations will have lifts to get you on to the platform. As the train arrives, look out for the bike symbol on the door for bikes. You can fit two bikes on most trains and sometimes more. You should aim to get trains after 9-9:30 in the morning to avoid the rush hour, when bikes are not allowed to be carried. Finally, on the intercity services, trains will sometimes break into two sections going to two different places. Watch out for this as a possibility. The best option is to find a station with a ticket desk, buy your ticket and ask about whether any of the trains might split, and how you would see that on the sign on the platform. Money Holland uses Euros. There are plenty of cash machines and UK cash cards work fine in these. Credit cards are readily accepted in most places. Birds Holland is a very watery place so you will see lots of bird life, including stalks, geese, ducks, herons and coots. The take-off / landing speed of a bird is about the same as our cycling speed, so you will sometimes get a good moving view of the bird life. Lunches At Amsterdam hostel on the first night, the lunches will be made for us and we collect them in the morning. At the hotels (Hoorn, Zwartwater) we plan to stop at a supermarket during the day and buy the materials for lunch. At the other youth hostels (Heeg, Doorwerth, Soest) we have paid so that we can make our own packed lunches at breakfast time, so dont forget to do so. Most importantly, make TWICE as much lunch as you would normally eat at

home. Cycling makes you very hungry. Dont forget a banana if you can get one. Plastic bags for lunches: staff please note when we are staying in a hotel, you may need to buy some plastic sandwich bags for everyone. Tourist information always handy if you need help with train route planning, finding a bike shop, etc. They are marked with a blue VVV sign. Laundry Dont forget to wash your cycle shirt every night, wring it out very tightly, then put it flat on your towel, roll the towel up and hold tight in a squeeze for a minute. Hang the shirt up and by morning it will be completely dry and fresh-smelling. We will do a group laundry once during the tour, really aimed at cycle shirts. It is essential that everyones shirt has their name sewn in! Otherwise inevitably a large person comes to the pile last and is handed a shirt 5 sizes too small for him... Youth hostels There are only 29 youth hostels in the Netherlands, compared with over 300 in the UK. But this does mean that the quality of the Dutch hostels is a step up from those in the UK: just about every room has a private shower and toilet, except perhaps some in Heeg. All the rooms have an electronic card-key system. Meals are always very good. All the hostels have wifi internet access (for a small fee) and a computer you can use. Towels Everyone will be provided with a towel on four nights: the two ferry nights, and the two hotel nights. On the five youth hostel nights towels are not provided, although you can often buy or hire one for the night at a cost of about 3. It is worth bringing your travel towel anyway, to allow for the occasions when we hope to get to a swimming pool. On two occasions we are calling in to a pool as we cycle past, so a hotel towel wont be available then anyway. Smoking was only fairly recently banned in restaurants / most public indoor places, in July 2008, later than several other countries.

Day 1: Ferry
07:30 Meet at school, pack coach. ADULTS MUST HAVE THEIR PASSPORTS. You can travel in the coach in casual clothes, but when we get off the coach this afternoon everyone must be wearing yellow cycle shirts and their cycle shorts. Coach has hopefully departed by now. Have a lunch stop en route. Best place is probably Woodall Services S26 7XR, near Sheffield, 80 miles from School and 140 miles from the North Shields Ferry Terminal. Many of the other services are one side of the road only, or you have to get off at a junction and drive a bit to locate them.

08:30

The coach will park at Wet & Wild where there is more room than the ferry terminal. If cold, put on yellow waterproof, NOT fleece. Boys get into your room groups of four, with an adult per group to supervise. When everyones ready, cycle around the corner to the ferry check-in. You will get two or three bar-coded cards per person: one is for the bike, and one is the boarding pass and room key. It is possible that youll also get an evening meal card. Its easiest if the adult keeps all the cards for his group of four. Cycle forward in your fours with your adult to the border officials who will scan the boarding pass/room key. Secure bikes to walls with ropes supplied, helped by the adults. DONT PUT LOCKS ON BIKES. Bring upstairs both your panniers and any water bottles which need filling. You can clip your helmet around your bike or bring it with you. Groups of four boys go up to their cabin with the adult. Adult to issue card keys. Tear off the room number. Kids to remain in room until adult has completed briefing with them (see separate sheet). 17:30 18:30 22:30 07:30 UK time = 18:30 ships time: Depart. Set new time on clocks as 18:30 (Dutch time). May go out on deck between now and dinner only. Explore until dinner. (ships time) Dinner. Must stay inside from now on. Head count in cabins. Kids in rooms from now. Wake up call is broadcast. Staff to visit rooms to check boys are awake. Issue breakfast tickets leave on the kids table. Remind them about shower if desired, dress in cycle clothing now, pack bags after breakfast, then can go on deck until ship passes through harbour entrance walls. Only go on deck when bags are completely packed ready to go! Have they filled their water bottles? All boys back at cabins. Cabin check by an adult (kit packed, room tidy, nothing left behind, ask kids any problems). Wait for announcement to go to car deck, then adult accompanies kids from each cabin to their bikes. (approx) Arrive IJmuiden. (approx) Disembarked by now. Gather near exit to ferry until everyone is present, then cycle to passport control.

09:00

09:45 10:00

Holland, or the Netherlands? The correct name for the country we are visiting is The Netherlands. The Netherlands are split into 12 provinces and the word Holland refers to the two provinces of North and South Holland, which contain the city of Amsterdam.

During our tour we are visiting the provinces of North Holland, Friesland, Overijssel, Gelderland and Utrecht.

Day 2: Ferry Amsterdam 21 miles

Timing today: 10:00 5:15 5:55 6:45 7:00 7:30 7:45 Disembark ferry Briefing at hostel make sure you have checked in and taken bags to rooms in good time to attend this Queue up for dinner Shells & Rems leave for Anne Frank House Ums & Fourths leave for Anne Frank House Shells & Rems enter Anne Frank House Ums & Fourths enter Anne Frank House

At the ferry port, after passport control, stop on right of road and divide into your cycling groups. Group leaders: stop your group by the roadside before getting to the main road. Warnings to be made here at start: Cycle on the right Look in both directions at all junctions since you are not used to direction of traffic Dont just follow the guy in front across a junction check it is safe for you! (See also separate sheet on Cycling in Holland tips to go over during the course of the morning)

Going in to Ijmuiden: you cycle half a mile from the ferry to the main road, turn right on to the main road and take the first left off the main road at a roundabout. At the end of this is a left turn, but before you take it, stop on the left where just past the corner is the supermarket of the day, called Deka. It opens at 8am six days a week (closed Sundays). Buy bread, ham, cheese, sandwhich bags etc and everyone can make their lunch outside. Other than the other supermarket on the main street of Ijmuiden (called Hema), there are no other lunch shops today, so make sure you make enough! Having made lunch, you cross the road to turn left. At the next roundabout you are at the start of the main shopping street. This street has a two-way cycle path on the left, so it is essential that you cross the road at this roundabout, so you are on the left of the road to ensure you cycle along cycle path rather than along road by accident. There are several cash machines along this road if you forget to bring any Euros! Leaving Ijmuiden youll experience your first set of cycle traffic lights. We are cycling next to a major road for a few kilometres and the cycle path is on its left. The road runs parallel to the river IJ which links Amsterdam to the coast. The river carries a lot of freight traffic and the Dutch, world leaders at dredging, keep the water deep enough to carry the traffic. If you keep your eyes open theres a little stop on the left after about 7km of riding, with views out onto the river and pictures of the different birds you might see. On the right a hill may surprise you, this being Holland, but in fact it is an artificial hill built to support an artificial ski slope. Then you climb a hill, but once again it isnt really a hill, but a bridge over the river Amstel, for which Amsterdam is named. All along you may notice constant traffic from planes: we are only 10 miles from Amsterdam Schipol, one of the worlds busiest airports. Planes land every 60 seconds and on a clear day you can see a line of aircraft lined up waiting to land. After about 10 miles riding altogether you reach Halfweg, which translates as halfway and is halfway between the coast and Amsterdam. We all need to attend at briefing at the hostel at 5:15, so everyone needs to have checked in and showered by this time. Lunch at Halfweg. A sandwich shop next to an off-licence can sell mineral water for refills. However you need to have bought the food earlier in Ijmuiden. Swimming Our route passes the Solterpark swimming pool but this is closed on Saturday afternoons. The openair pools are open: Mirandabad until 5pm and Flevoparkbad until 5:30. The indoor pool Het Marnix has not published its schedule as yet. For all of these the best bet would likely be to check in at the hostel and then cycle to the pool, taking perhaps one pannier between 2 to keep the baggage to a minimum. BUT we must all be at the hostel at 5:15 for the briefing, followed by dinner at 6pm, and then going out to Anne Frank House after dinner. So aim to be back at the hostel by 5pm. (There is also a supermarket at junction between Leidsestraat and Singel if required) Sport Sport is very popular indeed in the Netherlands, but not just for spectators. The Dutch love to play football, cycle, play tennis and skate, whether on wheeled skates (in-line skating) in warm weather or ice skates in winter. The

nature of skating in particular has had to change: temperatures in Europe were colder for several hundred years before the 20th century, and the rivers reliably froze every year. Nowadays Dutch rivers and canals freeze only rarely, hence the use of in-line skates. Every town has substantial sporting facilities and swimming is popular everywhere. Unlike in the UK, open air swimming in lakes is very popular and facilities are clearly marked on maps. Some swimming pools are actually open less in August because of the popularity of outdoor swimming. Amsterdam We are staying at one end of Vondelpark, one of Europes great parks. When you ride through it, go gently: there will be loads of other cyclists, skaters and pedestrians, so ride slowly. From Vondelpark inwards towards the city centre, Amsterdam is founded on a series of canals forming concentric rings. This evening when we walk to Anne Frank House well cross several of these canals and then walk for some time alongside one of them. The houses along the canal-side are unusually narrow: a trademark feature of Amsterdam, since originally people were taxed not on the volume or grandeur of their dwelling, but on its width. There was a benefit in having a water-side property too: when Amsterdam was founded in 1275, the Count of Holland granted tax-free status to those living by the river Amstel after which the city is named. Despite this, Amsterdam remained a modest town for a while, growing to its present greatness during the golden age of the sixteenth century, owing to its careful focus on trade and easy access to the sea, initially via the Zuiderzee lake and later via the river IJ. Have you heard of the Dutch East India Company, one of the Worlds great trading companies? This was based in North Holland. Tulip Mania In addition to cars and bikes, the ferry to and from England carries lorries, some of them filled with flowers. For some drivers driving the flowers to the European market is their lifes work: three return trips a week. Not bad, if you remember how nice the dinner on the ferry is. This all goes back to the golden age and the first part of the seventeenth century. Many Dutch people became obsessed with tulips, a flower growing from a bulb, always pretty and always a little different. Huge sums of money would be spent on bulbs which might, or might not, turn out to be spectacular flowers. By the end of tulip mania, as it is now known, people were spending the value of an entire house on a single bulb: imagine that, 200,000 on a single flower! Suddenly everyone realised flowers were not worth even a fraction of this kind of money and a lot of traders lost everything they had virtually overnight. Today flowers remain a major export product for the Dutch, but at rather more sane prices. Hostel YHA Vondelpark has ensuite rooms and cardkeys for most doors: dont step out of your room without the card key! Theres a great two-tier cycle sheddont leave your bikes outside the main hostel for any time at all; put them straight into the shed, and lock them up. The hostel has a group of internet machines. We will have a briefing at 5:15 and the YHA meal is available from 6pm. Aim to be at the restaurant at 5:55pm since we need to leave the hostel after dinner very promptly. Dont miss the mural in the stair well leading up to the restaurant which shows some landmarks such as Schipol Airport as being a couple of feet below sea level. Anne Frank House Depart for this ON FOOT straight after dinner. Probably half an hour walking to get there at kid speed. We are booked at 19:30 (Shells/Rems and 10 adults) and 19:45 (Ums/4ths and 10 adults) BUT you MUST arrive no later than 5 minutes after the booking. If you arrive on time, go to the front of the queue and enter the door to the left of where they are entering, with your booking sheet. If you are late, join the queue (probably 20 mins queueing). Allow up to an hour in the house (and shop). Last admittance 8:30, close at 9pm. After Anne Frank house you could play in Vondelpark - adult needed to supervise. Frisbee or mini rugby ball needed. Jews in Amsterdam Since the earliest days of Amsterdam one of the more influential groups of people in the citys development was the Jews. Later, as Jews were persecuted in other countries, some fled to Holland where they found a niche in, amongst other trades, diamonds. As in much of Europe at that time each trade was represented by a Guild, and you could not get started in that trade without the support of the Guild, generally by having a family member in the same trade. But diamond polishing and sales did not have a guild, and here the Jews created a prosperous trade. Up until the second world war many Jews were wealthy and invested much in their city. Today you can visit the central synagogue, surrounded by great buildings, but with an older synagogue nearby filled with evidence from the darkest period in Jewish history: the Holocaust. The Netherlands were occupied by the Nazis during the second world war. Some Jews managed to escape to the few countries which remained safe, but many stayed behind. Some hid, like Anne Frank, but ultimately many were sent by train to their deaths in concentration camps in occupied Poland. And of course the Jews lost all their possessions, buildings and wealth. At the start of the war the Dutch Jewish population numbered 140,000 or so; by the end just 25,000 Jews survived. Today its estimated that 40,000 Jews live in Holland.

Day 3: Amsterdam to Hoorn 40 miles

Breakfast (from 7:30am): all you can eat cold buffet. Bread, sliced meats and cheese, cereal, natural yoghurt with muesli, fruit juice, cake, biscuits, tea, coffee, hot chocolate, chocolate spread, jam, peanut butter. Bring key for room only leave panniers in room. At this hostel we will be provided with packed lunches which they have made for us. At the other hostels well make our own packed lunches at breakfast time. Take sheets off bed. Room inspection at 8:30 (unless you arrange different with a teacher), then down to bike shed. Bring cardkeys which staff will collect - don't hand in separately. From the hostel, exit Vondelpark and cross over a busy road, then a bridge (past TGI Fridays) and turn right onto road called Weteringschans, with a good cycle path. In April 2010 there were major road works half way along this road and I had to turn right, cross a large bridge and ride parallel to the route for a while. Hopefully though you will continue to a windmill. Cafe at Ransdorp (on route by sea, no need to strike inland) - could be an early snack break. After Ransdorp there is a blue Fietspad sign (rectangular without picture of bike) up on the dyke on the right climb up to be on this. Avoid the road. This dyke path continues for several km. Our route crosses a spit of land to the pretty village of Marken which used to be an island. Here there is a pleasant grassy area with tables outside a small supermarket where you can get supplies, and opposite theres an interesting clog factory. From Marken we are going to retrace our steps to the mainland, but the harbour is well worth a visit, with a typical Marken house to walk through (if you pay). There are several cafes and shore-side food stall. There is a free public toilet on the harbourside; toilets also inside clog factory. Today is a 40 mile ride and if you are concerned some boys will struggle later, you can board a small ferry to take you to Volendam. This could be a good idea if the road from Marken back to main land is windy: the ferry will save you almost 10 miles of cycling. Marken Express tel. 0299 363 331, fax 0299 367 466. Dont need to book. Goes every 3045 minutes, costing 6 (one way) for adults with bike, 5 for children aged 11 and under with bike. Journey takes 30 minutes. Next you pass through another pretty village: Volendam, though not quite as nice as Marken, since its sea front is littered with slightly tacky tourist shops and bars. But the sailing boats and houses are attractive, and if you do need a caf stop there are plenty of nice places to choose from. If you have time, just before arriving at Volendam is Alida Hoeve where demonstrations of cheese-making and clog-making are available. To get to it, look out for the traditional windmill which you cycle past near to Volendam. After the windmill you would go left, then right to the harbour front. If instead you go left after the windmill, then left a hundred metres along the road to a roundabout, theres Alida Hoeve. Leaving Voldendam you pass through Edam, home of the famous cheese. This is a much quieter place than Volendam, but very attractive, with old houses and traditional draw bridges across the waterways. Our route takes us briefly inland as far as crossing a small draw bridge, then turns right to get back to the coast. If you fancy a look at Edam village centre, cross this bridge but turn left. Quickly youll arrive in Edam. If you have time you could take a look at Edams Museum, best known for its unique floating cellar which rises and falls with the ground wateer independently of the rest of the building which is firmly rooted. At Hoorn you hit a roundabout at the start of the town. We are staying in three hotels tonight. De Keizerskroon and Petit Nord are straight ahead at the roundabout; de Magneet is right at the roundabout. All the shops are also straight on at the roundabout, including a Halfords cycle shop on the left. There are separate short GPS routes to take you to the hotels. Hoorn is a thoroughly pretty place with museums and an attractive harbour. Before the construction of the Afsluitdijk it was a hugely important trading port; now the boats are all leisure craft. The route to the De Magneet Hotel passes through the main old town square shortly before reaching the hotel. The town square is called Rode Steen, translating as Red Stone, named for the blood which flowed from the gallows which were set up there! The former States Council building is in the town square coats of arms on its walls from the seven towns governed from here. It now houses a museum, somewhat poorer now after 10 million worth of paintings were stolen in 2005! But the four large group portraits remain inside along with plenty of other sights. Hoorn has plenty of 16th century houses, some leaning gently into the streets. Those leaving the de Magneet hotel in the morning will go past an impressive defensive gate. Windmills There remain about 1000 windmills in Holland. In many parts of the world windmills are used for industrial purposes such as grinding grain. This is true in Holland, but in addition the Dutch used mills to pump water from their lowlying land, otherwise fields would become swamps and crops would fail. Windmills have four sails and these always turn anticlockwise. We may see some sails turning during our visit, but since most mills are now museum pieces rather than active mills, they often turn their sails on just one day a week. During the remainder of the week the sails are parked. The position the sails are in when parked can be used to

send a message: + shape: windmill not currently in use, but will be used again soon. x shape: windmill not likely to be used for some time top sail just to the right of vertical: we are celebrating (indeed, when a wedding was taking place, the sails would be decorated heavily with garlands etc) top sail just to the left of vertical: we are mourning Mills come in different designs - you could try to photograph some of the different types you see. Some had living quarters. Some later designs of mill were easier to turn to face the wind, which is needed to get the sails to turn as effectively as possible. Many designs reflected what the mill was to be used for: pumping water, grinding grain or sawing wood. Hotel s On this one night of the tour we are split between three hotels, with 27 people at the Keizerskroon, 41 in the Magneet and 4 at the Petit Nord. We are eating all together at the Keizerskroon at 7pm. All three hotels are providing breakfast. The two larger hotels should also be providing us the facility to make a packed lunch. Hotel de Magneet: If the front door is locked, go along to house number 29, 20 metres along the road and knock there. The rooms are around the back of the hotel in several small buildings. Bikes stored in the garden area. Swi m m i n g There is a small outdoor pool Zwembad de Wijzend on Pastoor Nuijenstraat 57, 1689 GM Zwaag, telephone 0229 237422. Open until 5pm on Sundays, 6pm if it is a warm day. (The big indoor leisure pool is likely to be closed on Sunday. For future years, it is de Waterhoorn, located on Holenweg 14e, 1624 PB Hoorn. Phone for Waterhoorn is 0229 217 770. Open 1000-2200. 3.65 up to 12 years, 4.30 aged 13 and over). Cheese The Dutch are famous for their cheese, exporting products such as Edam and Gouda in huge quantities nearly 700 million kg in 2008! The average Dutch person eats 16 kg of cheese a year. We cycle through pretty Edam on our second day. If anyone is making good time, you could stop to look at the factory. Drop: a slightly strange Dutch sweet Drop is a thick, rubbery liquorice root with Arabic gum concoction the Dutch go crazy for a reputed 30 million kilos of the stuff is consumed each year. Its bitter taste is reminiscent of childhood medicine and some foreigners have trouble taking a second bite. Theres also a liquid version; look for a bottle of Dropshot in supermarkets. (Lonely Planet)

Day 4: Hoorn - Heeg

Short option 29 miles (half to the ferry, half on the other side)
The Zuiderzee Museum in Enkhuizen is one of the best in the Netherlands. If you are taking the shorter option, you should try to leave as early as the others so as to get some time in the museum. Its 14 miles along the coastal cycle path (11 miles if you take the cycle path next to the main road, a straighter but rather less pleasant route). On arrival at Enkhuizen, get your bearings. Find the tourist information VVV and buy your ferry tickets. The ferry for Stavoren departs directly opposite the VVV. You can also buy a ticket for the museum at the VVV which includes a 1km ferry ride to the museum (in this case you would lock your bikes near the VVV). Alternatively follow the GPS route to the museum. The Zuiderzee museum Buitenmuseum section is laid out as a little Zuiderzee town at the turn of the century, complete with 130 houses, farms and sheds, taken from around the region and rebuilt to show Zuiderzee life as it was from 1880 to 1932. Great attention to detail gives a very authentic feel to the place, with staff wearing traditional dress. There are workshops throughout the day and you can purchase items in a bakery, chemist, sweet shop (maybe buy some drop) and even post something from the post office. Included in the display is a re-imagining of the harbour at Marken which we visited yesterday, built in 1830 when Marken was still an island. Museum phone: 0228 31 82 60. Theres also an indoor Binnenmusem concentrating on farming, fishing and shipping. Enkhuizen also has museum of ships in bottles, world's largest collection. Tel. 0228 31 85 83. Ferry Enkhuizen to Stavoren +31 228 32 60 06 or email: veerboot@quicknet.nl dont need to book unless there are more than 20 people, in which case a phone call booking is needed. Costs 14.70 per person including bikes (11.10 for 11 years and under). Recumbent bikes can be taken for an extra 2.60. The ferry departs at 12:30. Buy tickets from VVV. They reckon you can turn up only a few minutes before; make sure that the tickets are bought from the VVV on arrival at Enkhuizen.

Note: its important that you dont miss the 12:30 ferry! There is one more at 4:30, but youd not get to the hostel in time for dinner. The ferry journey takes 80 minutes and you can buy snacks or even lunch on board. (If for some reason you did get the 4:30 ferry you could turn lunch into dinner, and expect to be at the hostel at about 8:30pm, but this would be a very long day.) From Stavoren you go to Koudum, Gaastmeer (catching a small ferry, open 1pm-6pm and 7pm-8pm) and Heeg. To catch the ferry press the button for 4 seconds and wait. It sometimes takes a few minutes for the ferryman to appear.

Long option 62 miles

This route cuts up to the coast at Wervershoof and then re-joins the Zuiderzeeroute along the shore of the lake, cycling slightly West of North. Then a 90 turn right North-East across the Afsluitdijk, and finally South-East down the opposite side of the lake to Heeg. If the wind is coming from the North or North East and is fairly strong, the day will be very tough, but if the wind is weak or from the South West, it should not be too bad. Insist boys are fully packed by 0750, be at breakfast at 0800am and be ready for a prompt getaway from the hotel at 0830 sharp. Its a long day and you need to start promptly. Medemblik provides an excellent stop with a co-op supermarket and a pleasant bakery. Then theres a long straight section along the lake side, though not with a view since you are riding at the bottom of the defensive dike. You could look out for the steps up the dike which appear from time to time, and stop to climb these once, giving you a great view of the lake. Then you join the motorway across the huge Afsluitdijk, although the cycle path is completely separate to the motorway and entirely safe. 3 miles along the Afsluitdijk there is a stop where you can park your bikes and walk across the bridge to a small caf. Near the bike park there is a monument and display in English about the building of the dike. Afsluitdijk Much of Holland lies at, or even slightly below, sea level. When a high tide combines with a storm with the wind blowing inland, the coast of Holland can be flooded. The Dutch have for a thousand years and more built defensive mounds along their coastline, called dikes. You'll see these on the day we leave Amsterdam early on in our tour, and on many occasions afterwards too. Often you may find you are riding along next to a dike which obscures your view of the water, although on the day you leave Amsterdam the cycle path sometimes climbs up on top of the dike to give a spectacular view of the lake. Later on in the tour if you are riding along the side of a dike, it is worth looking out for the steps which will sometimes climb the dike. Stop for a rest and walk up the steps to see the view. Over a period of several hundred years an inland sea grew in size as the land was flooded. The sea, called the Zuiderzee, ended up having a coastline 240 miles long, and continued to grow. For a long time the Dutch government discussed building a giant dyke at the entrance to this sea and in 1932 one of the largest engineering projects the world had seen achieved this. Netherlanders now had to maintain a 19 mile dyke rather than defend a 240 mile coastline of a sea, now renamed the IJsselmeer. The water filling this sea comes several rivers and over time, since the lake is slightly higher than the sea and has a dyke at one end, all the sea water drained out and was replaced by fresh water from the rivers, so the IJsselmeer is now a fresh water lake. A consequence of the Afsluitdijk is that all the fishing ports within the IJsselmeer could no longer function and these are now filled with small leisure boats instead. At end of Afsluitdijk, you turn right, away from the main road and onto a pleasant coastal road towards Makkum. It is well worth a stop for refreshment in Makkum town square where there are several cafes and ice cream sellers. After passing through Workum there is a small ferry (open 11am-1pm, then 2pm-7pm). To catch the ferry press the button for 4 seconds and wait. It sometimes takes a few minutes for the ferryman to appear. Taxis in Workum: 515 542 525 or 515 541 306

Province of Friesland Leaving the Afsluitdijk behind we are now in the province of Friesland. The Fresian people have their own language and youll notice some huge farm houses, homes for giants really, some with three floors of rooms and a few with beautiful thatched roofs. Originally, like in many other parts of the world in times gone by, the farmer's family would live in the house together with the livestock and any grain or other crops which were drying or being stored. Nowadays the stables and barn tend to be separate buildings in most parts of the world including the Netherlands, but the farm houses here in the North retain their giant, pyramidical shape, usually with three floors, even though they are inhabited only by people. This province was more susceptible to flooding than others, so the farm houses were sometimes built on mounds of mud to give them some protection in height from the flood water. Being largely separated from the South by the huge Ziuderzee lake, the Friesian people remained independent of the rest of the Dutch state for longer, hence why many still speak their native Friesian language. In 1997 the Friesan language has been given greater prominence

by the Dutch government, with the province now officially known by its Friesan name of Frysln. Hostel Bikes have to be left outside. Dinner is available from 5:30 to 6:30. They dont serve late, so make certain you arrive on time!! The hostel has a washing machine so tonight could be the first wash of cycle shirts. There is no nearby swimming pool but you will be too tired after such a long ride to want to swim anyway. The hostel does however have some pleasant grounds including a childrens play area, which should do nicely.

Day 5: Heeg Zwartesluis 43 miles

Lemmer has a Spar shop easy to see as you cycle in - handy for extra lunch materials. Today is another very watery day. To begin with we leave the yacht haven of Heeg and ride alongside a busy main road, but soon we are on quiet cycle paths and like on many days of the tour, well need to cross a canal using a little ferry at Spannenburg (open 10:00-19:00 every day in July/Aug, press button for attention). Lemmer provides a good stop to replenish supplies. This is where we leave the IJselmeer behind: for the past 2 days from Amsterdam onwards we have been cycling around it, and here we are perhaps half way round. Now we head inland to cycle through the Weerribben National Park. We are still on the Zuiderzeeroute, one of the Dutch National Cycle Routes: the planners provided an optional extension to visit the Weeribben. Later on in the trip near Utrecht we might see farm houses in a T-shape. These reflect prosperous times when farmers had the funds to extend their properties, with the original barn having a new family house attached to it at right angles. Leaving Lemmer we ride Eastwards near to a river for 10 miles as far as the village of Ossenzijl. Here the route takes an unlikely looking right turn just before a canal, but dont worry: you are on the right track. You may like to pause at the turn since here is a nice caf with plenty of room, and the usual delectable fare of apple cake, hot chocolate etc. The caf has a toilet indoors, ie only if you buy something. In five miles time you will ride through some woods if you need a pee and dont want to buy anything in the caf. Cycling South from Ossenzijl is sublime riding. The path is just a metre wide and you are never more than two metres from the water. The first sign you see is an artificially large one pointing to todays destination of Zwartesluis. In fact its a sign for canal traffic since here is a division in the water ways. You may well see some pleasure craft as you ride past cottages, each on its own strip of land separated by a waterway. The cycle path climbs up over tiny bridges over each of these waterways, perhaps 50 little bridges in all. This is cycling to savour, but you must do so gently the path is narrow and is shared with other riders coming in your direction, also with pedestrians. So ride deliberately slower than normal, perhaps 9mph. Dont make loads on noise and dont make any attempt to overtake other riders there simply is not the room to do so safely. Instead just join on the back of a group if need be and ride a bit slower. The canalside path is about 4 miles long, then two miles through some woods on a narrow path, and then you are back on minor roads where there is room to overtake if there is no traffic. Water is the main feature of the 3,600 hectare Weerribben. The long channels in this flat bog marsh are the remnants of peat extraction. There are bogs, reed meadows, hay pastures and marsh woodlands. Together with the neighbouring nature reserve De Wieden, it forms the largest freshwater marshland area of western Europe. The otter was reintroduced here in 2002. They are not troubled by the one million annual visitors who explore the area by bicycle, on foot, or by boat or canoe. The canals and channels are also popular with ice skaters in cold winters. As we ride well see plenty more giant farm houses, often half-thatched the thatch sometimes covers the part of the building used for equipment or animals, and the front part of the house where the family lives is sometimes roofed with tiles. In April I saw bundles of the long reed grass drying on the fields after being cropped: this is the material they use for the thatch. Later we ride through Blokzijl, a gem of a village in the middle of a split water way. At its centre there is a small marina, surrounded by the narrow old houses you may remember from our time in Amsterdam. Getting to the hotel youll notice we have to ride a 100 metres along a canal to cross on a special bridge: the road bridge is too narrow for cars and bikes to share the space, so bikes arent permitted on it. Tonight we stay at a hotel, a nice bit of luxury. Youll generally be in rooms of two; there is more space than in the hostel, towels are provided; theres a nice large bathroom and even a TV set. But: dont use anything from the fridge. This costs, and if you do use anything I will be billed afterwards and they will tell me your room number so I will chase you for the money! Also, dont use the hotel phones. These are always expensive, and once again, we will get billed. The hotel has a small but nice swimming pool and if this gets too busy we can head into town where there is a large swimming pool, part of which is outdoors. Zwembad De Kragge on Juilanastraat 24a Zwartsluis. Telephone 038 3866203. It would be worth asking hotel reception to call them to check their opening hours. Dinner should be at 6:30 and will be a hot pasta buffet. Breakfast is available from 7am. Polders

The Dutch are the world's experts at turning swamp and shallow sea into land which can be cultivated - this is called land reclaiming. They are also the experts at keeping river beds deep enough for large ships to pass along them to ports, such as in Rotterdam, Europe's largest port. For this purpose they have special ships called dredgers which suck the silt up from the river bed, carry it to deeper water and dump it. Dutch dredgers are used throughout the world to keep ports open for business. Polders are fields which have been reclaimed from the sea. An area of swamp or shallow sea is enclosed by dykes and mills are used to pump the water out. Nowadays the pumping is done by modern pumps rather than mills. The water is pumped into specially dug canals which drain the water into the sea. Polders remain very watery places, with small drainage channels surrounding each one, and so they attract a lot of birds for whom the land, with its supply of crops, is an ideal habitat. As we cycle south to Zwartesluis we pass through the most recent polders in Holland. There was a plan to increase the size of these polders still further but after much argument the Dutch Goverment decided to halt polder development since the marshy land the polders would reclaim is such a fantastic habitat for wildlife, and many Dutch people wanted not to destroy this.

Day 6: Zwartesluis Apeldoorn 37 miles

A bit of everything today: two ferries, a level crossing, some hills, a forest and plenty of well-paved cycle paths. Indeed a point to note is that much of the day is on dedicated cycle paths, some adjacent to roads and some meandering gracefully through woods, not a car in sight. When you are on a road, take a careful look in case there is a cycle path next to it, marked with either the blue cycle in a circle sign, or Fietspad. It can sometimes be easy to miss a cycle path. Cobbles These are present in many villages, partly because it is traditional, but also because the cobbles act to slow traffic down: as cars drive across the cobbles the noise on the tyres is quite loud and it makes drivers slow down automatically. A clever and attractive way of making traffic safer. We pick our way out of Zwartesluis to keep away from the traffic, and soon arrive at our first ferry, to Genemuiden, which is in constant use they dont wait for plenty of passengers, they just go when youre ready. Cost is about 1.30 including your bike. Then we settle in to some cycling along straight but quiet roads, mostly with dedicated cycle paths on one side. The next ferry is one of the little ones, and is operated by the owner of the cafe next to it worth a stop maybe! It crosses the river Ijssel which we crossed early on the first day. Once again the cost is about 1.30, although in April I was charged twice for some reason. In Wezep there is a Boni supermarket and also an Aldi, so plenty of options for replenishing stocks. When you leave Wezep you enter a forest, and climb the first hill of the tour! The terrain remains hilly for the next few miles until you reach the town of Epe. Just after you leave Epe you need to cross a main road take care here, there arent any traffic lights etc to make it easier. Now you join a long cycle path which cuts through the countryside in a direct line to Apeldoorn. It is pleasant and easy cycling, but you need to pay attention whenever the path crosses a minor road. It is easy to fall into the trap of cycling blindly on without checking for traffic. Finally the cycle path brings us to Apeldoorn, a large city where we join the ring road for a mile or two before reaching the youth hostel. Hostel The hostel is open all day, but rooms are cleaned at 4pm so you may not be able to access rooms initially. (You could call in advance to negotiate this). The hostel has a washer and drier, so tonight might be a good time for the second wash of cycle clothes, especially since today is a shorter day. The hostel also has table tennis and volleyball. There is a decent cycle shed which is locked after dinner. Evening meal is at 6pm. Breakfast 7:30-8:30am. Swi m m i n g Before setting out, ask hostel reception if they can call to check the pool is open. Kristalbad is closer, but check the price first. Should be a good choice on a nice day. Two swimming pools. Kristalbad is close by. It is an outdoor pool open til 6pm weekdays, 5pm weekends. Phone 055 355 2987 or 0900 222 7374. www.kristalbad.nl. The leaflet shows safe mini kayaks in use by kids perhaps included? Cost in 2005 3.40 kids up to 15; 4.25 adults, although website suggests it is ten times that! The pool is lifeguarded. Indoor pool is at G12 on town map on Dubbelbeek 56. Called Zwembad Malkander. On road called Dubbelbeek. Phone 055 533 32 17 or 0900 222 7374. www.zwembadmalkander.nl. Open Mon-Fri until 9pm, Sat until 4pm, Sun until 4pm. Cost 4.45 kids up to 17, 5.05 adults; discounts for ten or more. The pool is lifeguarded.

Day 7: Apeldoorn Doorwerth 27 miles

Today is shorter to allow time to visit three places: the Krller-Mller Museum, the Cemetery and the Airborne Museum. The Airborne Museum is just two miles before the hostel, but it closes at 5pm, so you need to keep an eye on the clock and arrive at this last venue not later than 4pm. Since we have three venues to visit, ALL boys are to be accompanied by adults today, including all the groups who would normally ride independently. Experience shows that independent groups of boys tend to avoid going to the venues, yet when they do visit, they find the venues really interesting. So every group will be accompanied today and therefore all the venues will be visitied! The whole day provides splendid cycling through the Hoge Veluwe national forest on excellent paved cycle paths. We start straight away, climbing gently into the woods from the hostel, and eventually passing an amusing sign warning of wild roosters. After some time this trail descends and you need to slow your party down it is easy to get going very fast, but the path abruptly ends and puts you onto a downhill gravel track. If you are cycling quickly you will likely crash here. Now you cross a level crossing, and then cycle for a long time through the woods on well surfaced cycle paths. The gentle hills are in fact aged sand dunes, now covered in forest. There is a plan to return some of the area to their original dune form, and at some point today you will cycle past a large area which is just sand dunes. Eventually you pop out at Hoenderloo, where there is a cycle shop if you need it (to reach it, turn left into the town opposite the entrance to the Hoge Veluwe park, and ride for mile. The shop is on your right next to a VVV). Then you enter De Hoge Veluwe national park, which costs 3.75 for kids up to 12 and 7 for everyone over 12 (pay as a group and reclaim this from Mr Boardman at the end of the day). The first thing you pass is the De Hoge Veluwes visitor centre which has a splendid underground museum which features life underground. This is free to visit, as is the very pleasant cafe. Take care though not to spend too much time here: the real venues for the day are still to come. Shortly after the visitor centre and caf is the Krller-Mller museum, one of Europes great Art museums, with works from masters including Picasso, Monet, Manet and Renoir. In particular the Van Gogh section is amongst the best in the world. Modern sculpture is also on display with works by Rodin, Moore and others. The museum costs a further 3.75 for kids and 7 for adults. Take care to read the warning sign to the boys on entry: no food, dont use phones, etc. Even the white wall in the entrance corridor is art, so dont lean on it! Leaving the museum and visitor centre behind, the cycle trail is again excellent very well surfaced. It wiggles around a lot, and I have not put most of the wiggles on your GPS route, so much of the time you will be riding close to the pink path on the screen, but not necessarily on it. Take a slowish pace through the park since there are often other cyclists to avoid and the curves can be sudden. De Hoge Veluwe The Veluwezoom is a large nature reserve, with a landscape formed by glaciers. The area is quite elevated for Dutch standards, with long ridges of hills covered by woods, heaths and shifting sand. The northern end of the park is wilder than the southern slopes, with its genteel country estates and stately lanes. The area is home to a diverse range of different plants and animals including red deer, wild boar, badgers, wild sheep (mouflon), pine martens and reptiles; its also an important breeding ground for many birds. The park was set up by the businessman Anton Krller and his wife Helene Krller-Mller. Anton wanted to create a wildlife park and Helene wished to build a world-class art museum. Over half a million people visit de Hoge Veluwe each year and as part of the entrance fee visitors can borrow one of a fleet of 2000 famous white bicycles to roam the park youll see plenty of riders on these as you explore. Of course, well not need a bike since weve brought our own! Watch out for a dual carriageway road en route to Oosterbeek. The cars can go very fast. There is a wide central reservation though, so you are only crossing one carriageway at a time. (If you are incredibly late and it is rush hour, you might have to avoid the crossing by turning right and riding for of a mile to the next traffic lights.) Half a mile after crossing the dual carriageway, look out for the cemetery on your right. Admission to the cemetery is free. Nearly 2000 soldiers from Operation Market Garden are buried here. Park the bikes in the trees keep them completely off the approach area with pebbles. Leave an adult to guard the bikes and walk together to the centre of the cemetery. Read to the boys the greeting from Colonel Geoffrey Powell, a friend of Mr Boardmans family. Colonel Powell played a significant role in the battle and was awarded MC. The boys can then walk quietly around the cemetery. Suggest that they look at the ages of the soldiers. Some boys will be able to find someone with the same surname as themselves. Airborne Museum 026-333 7710. Open Mon-Sat until 5pm. We are booked in at 3:30pm. Price is 8 adults, 5 for ages 13-18, 3.50 for up to 12 years. It is a euro cheaper per person if at least 20 of you enter at once. There is a video to start but you may have to miss some or all of this if boys get sleepy after the ride! There are weapons, maps and many tableau of manikins representing key figures in the battle, including Geoffrey Powell. Much of the uniform and other items are originals. The museum is housed in a building which used to be a hotel and was taken over by the allied forces to use as their command post. A small modern extension provides the entrance and the gift shop. The

extension also houses a stairway which is important: you visit the museum from top down, and there are two floors underground which you access using the modern stairs in the extension. The bottom floor with its realistic rooms, sounds and re-enactments is the best bit, so dont miss it by mistake. A message to the pupils of King Edwards School from Colonel Geoffrey Powell MC Fifty-seven years ago, in September 1944, more than 10,000 men landed near here either by parachute or glider. Within nine days, 2,000 of them had died. Another 2,000 fought their way back over the Rhine. The rest, half of them wounded, were taken prisoner; with the wounded stayed all the surviving medical staff and chaplains. This was but part of a larger operation, involving over half a million men, among them another 25,000 American airborne troops. Its aim was to start a movement that would end the war by the coming Christmas. This Arnhem battle, part of it fought over the very ground upon which you stand, was part of a larger failure. Many reasons were given for the British 1st Airborne Division being repulsed. Primarily, however, there were two: the plans were too complicated and the Germansseemingly on the point of defeatfought harder than had seemed possible. But of those who carved their way back across the river, the writer of this message among them, not one is known to have expressed regret for what they set out to do. It was a bold move that failed as can so often happen in war. As it was that war went on until May 1945. During those long winter months it has been estimated that a further fifteen million men, women and children diedRussians, Germans, Americans, British, Polish and people from many other nations, the greater number of them civilians. Success in September might have saved much if not most of that ghastly loss. Say a short word of prayer for those who lie around you, some of them the writers closest friends, many little older than you. They died that you might be born. Remember them. God bless you all. Colonel Geoffrey Powell MC Swi m m i n g No swimming tonight, since it is 10km to the nearest pool. Hostel Dinner at the hostel is expected to be 6:30. Your arrival might be around 5:30 after the museum. If delayed, call ahead. They say there should be enough space indoors to store all 74 of our biked. There is a beach volleyball court outside the hostel, complete with a little sign in Dutch saying Doorwerth on Sea. There may be a small fee payable. Dinner in April was outstanding. Enjoy!

Day 8: Doorwerth Soest: 39 miles

Note: the first re-filling point is in Maarsbergen, more than half way into the day, so be very sure to bring full water bottles. We encounter a few minor hills again today, but nothing serious. Indeed the first couple of miles zip by rather quickly since they are mostly downhill. For quite a while after Bennekom we see a substantial looking range of hills approaching, the remnants of a glacial ridge, but our route cunningly turns right to avoid them, following a pleasant river to Veenendaal. We cycle next through Maarsbergen and eventually the shopping area: dont miss the supermarket which sometimes looks like a florist, with all the seeds and plants outside. Inside there are plenty of drinks and snacks to refill you. There follow some enjoyable paths through woods near Austerlitz. Dutch bikes come in two main flavours: The traditional upright bike, used by millions of Dutch to go shopping, pop to school or the swimming pool. You can spot these because the rider sits very upright, invariably wears normal clothes and often cycles quite slowly. None of these riders wear helmets. The bikes have chain guards so your normal clothes dont get oily, and built-in locks cycle theft is sadly very common in the cities. The racing bike, the type we see all the time in the UK, ridden by keen cyclists in proper cycle clothing, usually wearing a helmet, and always riding rather quickly! There are lots of competitive cycling teams in Holland and you might encounter one of these out on a training run, or possibly see a race event. You see virtually no mountain bikes around the streets they are mostly only used when practising the sport of mountain biking on suitable tracks. That said, they can be bought very cheaply, so a few people buy them to save money. Towards the end of the day we arrive at Zeist, entering the town on millionaires row; indeed properties like these would fetch perhaps 3 million in London. Zeist might be a good place to try to find a Panencakehuis. Our route doesnt pass any shops in this town, but as we leave it dont miss the turn for the splendid swimming pool. First person in should pay for all since we will get discounted child tickets and all the adults free. In summer time there is likely to be an outdoor and indoor option at the pool, and there is a snack bar here too. The only drawback is that

the pool closes at 5pm, but this gives you time to enjoy the final 7 miles to the hostel, with the last mile or so wiggling pleasantly through some sand dunes. The pool is called Zwembad Dijnselburg on Badmeester Schenkpad 8, 3705 GK Zeist, telephone +31 306 990 006. Hostel The hostel has a good cycle shed. There are plenty of sports including basketball, beach volleyball, table tennis and football. Breakfast is normally available from 7:30 but we will likely ask for it from 7am so we can be sure to be cycling by 8am. Swi m m i n g There is a local pool open until 5pm Sat/Sun. Closed Mon. Open until 9pm Tues-Fri. However we are unlikely to need it since we will have stopped at the excellent Zeist leisure pool en route.

Day 9: Soest Amsterdam

Need to decide which kids are going all the way to Ijmuiden and which are going to Amsterdam Centraal Station to get ferry to Ijmuiden. It is likely to be more windy today than on previous days it is a windy part of Holland however if the forecast suggests substantial headwinds you may need for everyone to go to Amsterdam Centraal station and catch the ferry to Ijmuiden. The cut-off point of 1:15 to get to the windmill in Amsterdam is important. An early start is essential. Breakfast is available from 7:30. Get the kids up at 6:45. Insist that panniers are packed, beds stripped, kids fully ready by 7:30. Eat breakfast 7:30. Group 1 need to make packed lunches at breakfast (this has been pre-booked and paid for). Tell kids to have panniers on bikes, ready to go by 8am. In truth aim to be away 8:15 latest.

Short option 3 6 miles

As far as Amsterdam you are cycling the same route as the main route (see notes below). Shortly after you pass through the village of Abcoude you then continue straight on into Amsterdam, all the way to the centre of the city. At central station, dont go into the station area too early: keep on main road cycle path until immediately after the huge central bike park, then turn right. Go over footbridge and under rail. After going under railway turn right. After 100m turn left to find the ferry booth. First booth should be the IJMuiden ferry; this ferry is on the left and the service number is 419. Costs in 2010 are 5 adults or 3.10 kids aged up to 11, with bikes free. The ferry leaves every 30 minutes and can carry up to 20 bikes, which you do not book in advance. Details at www.fff.nl or www.connexxion.nl. The website says they cannot carry recumbent or tricycle bikes. Theres also a note on the website that construction work may cause delays in the ferry service in 2010. Wind Oddly, you never feel the wind when its behind you (although the cycling does get a lot easier) but you certainly notice the wind when its against you! As we approach the coast again on the final day the wind is likely to get stronger, and usually it is an on-shore wind, meaning it blows on to the shore from the sea. For us this will mean it will likely be a head-wind a wind we are heading into. So, harder work! In such conditions it may be worth having your little group cycle quite close to the person in front. The guy in the front (an adult perhaps?) has a bit more work to do than the people behind.

Long option 51 miles

Its the last day so thoughts will be turning to the comforts of home, but there is plenty to enjoy on this ride, with quiet cycle paths through a forest, a spectacular crossing of a lake, and a canal-side route avoiding busy Amsterdam. There are two little ferries on this route, to cross a river and a lake. Note: opportunities to refill water bottles and buy food are very limited today. After we leave the woods we pass through Nieuw Loosdrecht which has a supermarket, but this is only 9 miles into the day, so not worth a stop. Then there is really nothing until you have crossed the second ferry: the final 20 miles has two or three cafes and ice cream shops, though still no supermarket. IJmiuiden has a nice cafe just before you arrive at the town which is worth a stop, and plenty of shops in the town centre. Take care not to be late for check-in though. We begin with 8 miles or so through the woods on generally very quiet trails. The surface, though not tarmac or concrete, is hard packed and easy to ride on. We then have to follow a rather busy road, albeit on a cycle path to one side, but this gets us into position for the crossing of a lake on a narrow spit of land, the path only permitting cycles or pedestrians. Then we follow another busy road, but on a fully separate cycle path, followed by pleasant riding along the river Amstel which we crossed on the first day. On this river, the day after the Oxford-Cambridge boat race in April 2010, I watched hundreds of solo oarsmen rowing in a major competition. There was about 50 metres between each boat and the stream of rowers kept going for over an hour. Many rowers had a cyclist shadowing them on the bank, shouting coaching tips. Along the riverside you may notice a whole succession of dwellings on water: houseboats. Then we cut through the suburbs of Amsterdam on cycle paths, which bring us to an attractive ride through the Amsterdamse Bos (woods), which finishes with a small ferry carrying us across a lake. At this point we are less than two miles from Schipol Airport you may see some evidence of the airport and its surrounding industries. Then we

leave the city on a canalside cycle path taking us to Halfweg, which we passed on the first days ride. The final 13 miles are the same as the beginning of that first day.

Ferry
Aim to be at the ferry terminal by 4pm. Check-in is between 3pm and 5pm, but it takes quite a long time for all the kids to pass through the check-in process. Having passed through with the cars you will be directed where to wait. If theres time you could park the bikes and allow the kids to wait in the passenger terminal. Keep them together since as soon as there is an announcement to go back to the vehicles you need to be ready immediately bikes which are ready might be boarded before the bulk of the cars. Wind turbines The 3-pointed sails on these tall structures face into the wind, so if a turbine is facing you, the wind must be behind you. It is well worth keeping an eye on the windows in the ferry: a few kilometers in to our journey we pass a large offshore wind farm. The 36 turbines look fairly normal, but in fact they are much larger than the ones weve seen on our ride. They are 65 metres high and each blade is 40 metres long. The farm generates enough power for 100,000 households. The turbines can operate in winds as low as 11 mph, and automatically shut down in storms of 90mph. In the UK we already have several off-shore wind farms, with several more in construction. The London Array, and Atlantic Array (off Devon) will each have approx. 350 turbines and each generate power for more than a million homes. The farms already in construction around the UK will provide 4% of the UKs total electricity needs; plans are afoot for more. Many people oppose wind turbines in the UK since they say they spoil their view; perhaps off-shore farms like these are a good way forward: it is windy in the sea, and people wont have a view to spoil. Now youve seen them close up, you can make your own mind up.

Arrival at school collection of waterproofs, panniers, first aid kits

ALL waterproofs, panniers, first aid kits, GPS units, GPS mounts etc MUST be handed in today. You need to allow for this in your planning: it is NOT allowed for you to cycle home with equipment and return it in the Autumn.

Summary of GPS routes

Route 2 Ferry-Amst 2 Anne Frank 2 S Flevopark 2 S HetMarnix 2 S Miranda 3 Ams-Marken Length (miles) 21 1.2 3.4 1.4 3.4 15 Description From the port to Amsterdam Vondelpark hostel From Vondelpark hostel to Anne Frank House, on foot From Vondelpark hostel to Flevoparkbad swimming pool From Vondelpark hostel to Het Marnix swimming pool (note underground cycle park) From Vondelpark hostel to Mirandabad swimming pool To the island of Marken. From here you can opt to take the ferry to Volendam, saving 10 miles, and then pick up on the next route 3 Ams-Hoorn. Or just continue riding by picking the next route. Ride from Marken back along the spit to the mainland and up the coast to Hoorn, passing Volendam and Edam. On arrival at Hoorn take this route if you are staying at the Keizerskroon Hotel On arrival at Hoorn take this route if you are staying at the de Magneet Hotel To go from the hotel to the indoor swimming pool (closed on the day we visit in 2010) To go from the hotel to the outdoor swimming pool in Hoorn To get from Keizerskroon to De Magneet Take this route if you are starting at De Magneet Hotel, followed by 4 Hoorn-Heeg Take this route if you are starting at Keizerskroon Hotel, followed by 4 Hoorn-Heeg Having got out of Hoorn using one of the above two routes, continue on this route. So the total distance for the day will be 62 miles. To get from Enkhuizen ferry/ tourist info to the Zuiderzee Musuem If you need todays shorter option, this takes you from Hoorn to the port of Enkhuizen via the nice coastal route A shorter way to get from Hoorn to Enkhuizen, but rather less pleasant

3 Markn-Hoorn 3 Keizerskroo 3 de Magneet 3 S indoor 3 S outdoor 4 Keizr-DeMgt 4 De Mag strt 4 Keizer strt 4 Hoorn-Heeg 4 Zuiderzee M 4B Hoorn-Enk 4 Enk Fast

24 0.1 0 1 3 0.5 5 5 57 0.7 14 11

4C Stav-Heeg

15

If you need todays shorter option, having caught the ferry at the end of route 4B, this takes you from the port of Stavoren to tonights hostel at Heeg. Total distance for the day will be 29 miles. The days ride from Heeg to Zwartesluis. Go slow on the 4 mile path by the canal in the second half of the day. Same route as above but different final third. Same route as above but different final third. To get to the swimming pool at Zwartesluis, although the hotel does have a small pool of its own. That said, the hotel pool will not be lifeguarded, and the large public pool will. The days ride from Zwartesluis to Apeldoorn. Two small ferries to catch. Large outdoor pool near Apeldoorn hostel Indoor pool Apeldoorn The days ride from Apeldoorn to Doorwerth. You have to pay for entry at the Hoge Veluwe national park. Then there is the Kroller Muller Museum, and finally the cemetery. After the cemetery, choose 7 Apel-Door2 to finish the ride. Remainder of the route from the cemetery to the airborne museum and then the hostel. From Doorwerth Hostel to Soest Hostel, stopping 7 miles before the end for a swim at Zeist swimming pool. The full route from Soest hostel to IJMuiden ferry port. The recommended route to Amsterdam central station if you need a shorter day An even shorter route to Amsterdam central station if you need a shorter day If you catch the river ferry from behind Amsterdam central station to Ijmuiden, this final route takes you from where the river ferry drops you, through Ijmuiden to the ferry port. If you have embarked on the full day ride of SOEST-IJMUI and realize you need to cut the day short, look out for the village of Abcoude. Shortly after you leave that village, this route should be adopted to get you to Amsterdam Central Station. This shortcut leaves 4 miles later on in the main route, from the village of Ourderkerk Theres a small ferry across a lake on the main route to IJMuiden. If for some reason this little ferry is not running, this route will take you around the ferry and re-join the main route further on.

5 Heeg-Zwart1 5 Heeg-Zwart2 5 Heeg-Zwart3 5 S Zwart

43 40 44 0.6

6 Zwart-Apel 6 S Kristal 6 S Malkand 7 Apel-Door1

39 1 3 25

7 Apel-Door2 8 Doorw-Soest 9 SOEST-IJMUI 9 Rail 1 9 Rail 2 9 Ferry 9 Shortcut 1

3 38 51 33 30 2.5 8

9 Shortcut 2 9 NieuweMeer

8 3