Author Topic: ACME goes Dutch  (Read 81901 times)

ACME goes Dutch
« on: 15 March, 2017, 09:28:26 am »


In a nutshell
ACME goes Dutch is a quick fire tour of the flat country just across the water from the Essex heartlands. The intent is for an enjoyable ride out through different terrain, sampling local consumables, and bagging a 200km in the process.

Details confirmed to date
Ferry departs from Harwich at 11pm on Friday 15th September, docking at 8am the next morning.
Return ferry departs Hook of Holland at 10pm on Saturday 16th September, docking at 6:30am the next morning.
Single cabins and breakfast have been booked for both journeys.
Confirmed attendees thus far are: Oscar's dad, jiberjaber and psyclist.

Details still to be arranged
Route to Harwich on the Friday evening, including meal stop.
Route in Holland, although some initial ideas have been posted as follows:
 - jiberjaber - https://www.strava.com/activities/387970405 - a shorter ride completed last year
 - Oscar's dad - https://ridewithgps.com/routes/19309226 - a rough and ready 200km
Places to stop, aligned with the route.
 - psyclist has proposed lunch stop at circa 80km, afternoon tea at approx 150km, and meal at 200km, not too far from the terminal.
Return route from Harwich.

Other riders have expressed an interest. Please do let us know if you would like to 'go Dutch'.


Eddington: 133 miles    Max square: 43x43

Oscar's dad

  • aka Septimus Fitzwilliam Beauregard Partridge
Re: ACME goes Dutch
« Reply #1 on: 16 March, 2017, 11:11:11 am »
Good summary, I'm excited already!

Oscar's dad

  • aka Septimus Fitzwilliam Beauregard Partridge
Re: ACME goes Dutch
« Reply #2 on: 16 March, 2017, 01:08:26 pm »
Just been having a fiddle around with routes over lunch.  This is excellent ...

I came across this interesting site today when going through some stuff for a week over there...  its a bit like a dutch version of cycle.travel

https://routeplanner.fietsersbond.nl/

Has options to avoid unpaved & ferries (of which there are lots if you're not careful :D )

I bunged in a bunch of towns which my original 200k very rough route went through and have come up with THIS ROUTE.  Its a bit short but that's easily fixed by adding more towns waypoints, but as a proof of concept I'd say it's passed!  I didn't ask it to avoid ferries so there is at least one which crosses the river immediately after you leave the ferry port; I haven't checked to see if there are more.

Why don't the rest of you have a play with jiber's routing tool?

Vince

  • Can't climb; won't climb
Re: ACME goes Dutch
« Reply #3 on: 16 March, 2017, 04:02:22 pm »
Looks good. If you are sight seeing you could stick a waymark in willemstad and look at The fortifications. The bike path on the Haringvliet bridge is not that wide and is open to local traffic including effing big tractors.
Check the Times of the ferry from HvH to spijkenese. I recall it only runs every two hours.
Lastly please wave to my former co-workers when you pass the office in Vlaardingen.
216km from Marsh Gibbon

Re: ACME goes Dutch
« Reply #4 on: 16 March, 2017, 04:13:09 pm »
Thanks for the local knowledge Vince.

I'm getting very nervous about the desire to include any of the local ferries on the route ... a lot of potential for something to go wrong. I would much rather use buffer time at the end of the ride enjoying a nice meal, not waiting for an inland ferry and end up pedalling furiously trying to make the return ferry before it sets sail.

Eddington: 133 miles    Max square: 43x43

Auntie Helen

  • 6 Wheels in Germany
Re: ACME goes Dutch
« Reply #5 on: 16 March, 2017, 04:14:49 pm »
I might just try to meet up with you chaps somehow. Whether it is possible who knows, but it is just faintly feasible.

I recommend you message roffa otp who lives in Rotterdam and does loads of riding around NL.
My blog on cycling in Germany and eating German cake – http://www.auntiehelen.co.uk


Oscar's dad

  • aka Septimus Fitzwilliam Beauregard Partridge
Re: ACME goes Dutch
« Reply #6 on: 16 March, 2017, 04:23:22 pm »
Thanks for the local knowledge Vince.

I'm getting very nervous about the desire to include any of the local ferries on the route ... a lot of potential for something to go wrong. I would much rather use buffer time at the end of the ride enjoying a nice meal, not waiting for an inland ferry and end up pedalling furiously trying to make the return ferry before it sets sail.

I agree, we should keep off ferries as much as possible.  The one I mentioned is likely to be well used given it's location but we need to double check.

I might just try to meet up with you chaps somehow. Whether it is possible who knows, but it is just faintly feasible.

I recommend you message roffa otp who lives in Rotterdam and does loads of riding around NL.

Yes I will PM roffa and it would be great to see you again  :thumbsup:

Re: ACME goes Dutch
« Reply #7 on: 16 March, 2017, 04:55:14 pm »
Hi guys, I do a lot of my riding on routes that connect well to Hook of Holland. What kind of riding do you want to do? Delta works? Polders? The industrial landscape surrounding Rotterdam (Maasvlakte, Voorne)

Lunch arrangements somewhere nice?

Funnily last year I did a nice tour via Beijerland and thought about how nice it would be if this could be a tour for YACF?

What's the mileage you want to cover? Etc.

Re: ACME goes Dutch
« Reply #8 on: 16 March, 2017, 04:58:29 pm »
Thanks for the local knowledge Vince.

I'm getting very nervous about the desire to include any of the local ferries on the route ... a lot of potential for something to go wrong. I would much rather use buffer time at the end of the ride enjoying a nice meal, not waiting for an inland ferry and end up pedalling furiously trying to make the return ferry before it sets sail.

Depends on which ferries. I take the one from Maassluis to Rozenburg all the time, it runs day and night, same with the one across Spui at Nieuw Beijerland. I would also try to incorporate Tiengemeten. I'll see what I can come up with.


Oscar's dad

  • aka Septimus Fitzwilliam Beauregard Partridge
Re: ACME goes Dutch
« Reply #9 on: 16 March, 2017, 05:06:41 pm »
Hi guys, I do a lot of my riding on routes that connect well to Hook of Holland. What kind of riding do you want to do? Delta works? Polders? The industrial landscape surrounding Rotterdam (Maasvlakte, Voorne)

Lunch arrangements somewhere nice?

Funnily last year I did a nice tour via Beijerland and thought about how nice it would be if this could be a tour for YACF?

What's the mileage you want to cover? Etc.

Thanks for getting involved Roffa!

jibers has ridden in the Netherlands before but I haven't and I don't think psyclist has either.  So we'd like to see everything you mention!  I think it's pretty much essential that we ride below sea level  ;D  And we always want somewhere nice for lunch  :thumbsup:

We want to do as close to 200k as we can as jibers and psyclist want to log the ride as a 200k DIY audax.  I might too if I can be bothered, all I really want is a super day awheel which I don't think will be too hard to achieve.

Don't forget, you're more than welcome to ride with us.

Re: ACME goes Dutch
« Reply #10 on: 16 March, 2017, 06:21:22 pm »
Hah, was going to state that as my condition for coming up with a route: "can I ride too?"

Anyway, I've done 2:

https://ridewithgps.com/routes/19604368

ACME 1 goes south towards Zeeland and takes you across the island of Voorne, across the Brouwersdam. Lunch in Burgh Haamstede, an exceedingly nice and well-heeled village. Then we track back to Bruinisse. We make it across Grevelingendam and along the old polder roads towards Hellegat, which we cross, to have a rest at Numansdorp. Through Hoeksche Waard, we cross the Oude Maas at Puttershoek, and cycle towards Vlaardingen through the Oude Maas nature reserve. We use the new benelux cycle tunnel to get back to the northern bank of Waterweg and make our way back to Hoek van Holland.

https://ridewithgps.com/routes/19604927

ACME 2 takes north through the dunes and a number of old estates as far north as Noordwijk. From there we cross to Warmond and the peat river landscape surrounding De Kaag, having lunch in Leimuiden. From there we follow polder roads to Nieuwkoop, where we start cycling along the Meije peat river to the Reeuwijkse Plassen. These are old peat lakes and we cycle along the narrow lake roads to Haastrecht, where we cycle along the Vlist river to Schoonhoven. We take the ferry across the river Lek there, and cycle along the southern bank to Kinderdijk. Many, many windmills! We take the ferry to Krimpen a/d Lek on the northern bank of Lek and cycle into Rotterdam along the Maas. From there we cycle to Schiedam and Vlaardingen to reach Hoek van Holland along Waterweg.

Both routes are slightly over 200 km and I've added a few coffee and lunch stops. As far as Dutch landscapes go, they're both very different, with distinct characteristics. The coffee and lunch stops have all been tried and tested :)

There are ferries involved, but they all run, so no worries there. They're used for through traffic.


Re: ACME goes Dutch
« Reply #11 on: 16 March, 2017, 07:01:05 pm »
Roffa, that's really good, thank you. Additional riders are more than welcome ... especially if they help us get back to the ferry in time for our return journey. In truth, I think we'll be fine time wise. Once we've built a little buffer on the ride I'll be relaxed, and I'm sure it'll be a great adventure.

I like both routes you've put together. Perhaps route 2, heading north, would appeal to me slightly more. Good photo opportunities and lots of variety. The only comment I would have would be regarding the 3rd stop ... it looks like it's a little bit off the route, and perhaps a little early. After a good stop at Leimuiden, we could possibly push on a little further, maybe to somewhere on the southern bank of the river Lek.

I'd be interested in hearing what Oscar's dad and jiberjaber think. More than happy to iterate further, or stick.

Eddington: 133 miles    Max square: 43x43

Re: ACME goes Dutch
« Reply #12 on: 16 March, 2017, 07:24:01 pm »
The ACME 2 route has a few shortcuts that can shorten ride distance considerably, and ACME 1 can be shortened to 180 km by not going via Vlaardingen, but by taking the ferry across Spui to Spijkenisse, across to Rozenburg and so back to Hoek.


Re: ACME goes Dutch
« Reply #13 on: 16 March, 2017, 07:27:09 pm »
Yeah that third stop is at Reeuwijk, but it's not essential. Very nice place though. I'd exchange that for a stop in Schoonhoven, which is a beautiful city and has a good place in the weighing house.

Kinderdijk has three coffee places, because it's pretty touristy.

But in fact, it's hard to not have coffee, because we pass a lot of places, so there's improvisation as well.

I'm liking ACME2 better, also for variety, although there's something very majestic about Zeeland.

Re: ACME goes Dutch
« Reply #14 on: 16 March, 2017, 08:31:15 pm »
All sounds very good, especially the coffee options.

I suspect we'll want to aim for the 200km, probably as a mandatory route diy, but with options to reduce the distance if we encounter any issues should be in our back pocket.

Eddington: 133 miles    Max square: 43x43

Oscar's dad

  • aka Septimus Fitzwilliam Beauregard Partridge
Re: ACME goes Dutch
« Reply #15 on: 17 March, 2017, 06:20:03 am »
Those routes look epic - thank you! 

The southern route largely matches what I put together which appealed as I'd like to see the big dams.  However, I can see the attraction of the northern loop.  To be honest, it doesn't really matter.  I see no reason why this adventure won't be a roaring success so we'll just come back and do the other route another time.  I'm more than happy to start with the northern route if that's the consensus.

I really am excited now!  :thumbsup:

Re: ACME goes Dutch
« Reply #16 on: 17 March, 2017, 07:38:53 am »
Starting out at Hoek van Holland you could also use parts of the Bunnik audax routes. They head roughly northeast, so usually it would be returning into a headwind.

jiberjaber

  • ... Fancy Pants \o/ ...
  • ACME S&M^2
Re: ACME goes Dutch
« Reply #17 on: 17 March, 2017, 09:38:34 am »
Kinderdijk is proper nice:



The big sluices are amazing, but in terms of nice things to see, they get "samey" very quickly and starts to feel like riding along the A12 without traffic! 

We could cycle the full length of Kinderdijk if we dropped South a little @Nieuw-Lekkerland and used the path I travelled on this route https://www.strava.com/activities/388655019/overview



I'm 60:40 in favour of Route 2... I'm happy as long as I get some appeltaart en slaagrom with perhaps some Calvados..... ;)

It's a shame we can't weave in the benelux cycle tunnel, it's quite impressive, but I think the route to get there might be quite busy as we would have to traverse Feijenoord around rush hour ?

ETA: I'm coming back through Hoek in June which might present an alternative route option as I travel from Breda to Hoek...
Regards,

Joergen

Re: ACME goes Dutch
« Reply #18 on: 17 March, 2017, 09:53:34 am »
The problem now with this thread is a weeks tour is now being formulated in my mind....we might even meet up on the ferry!

Oscar's dad

  • aka Septimus Fitzwilliam Beauregard Partridge
Re: ACME goes Dutch
« Reply #19 on: 17 March, 2017, 09:58:11 am »
The problem now with this thread is a weeks tour is now being formulated in my mind....we might even meet up on the ferry!

I know how you feel!  I'm thinking along the same lines, perhaps next year.  If cycling in the Netherlands proves to be as idyllic as many folks say I might even see if I can get The Current Mrs R over there  :o  I will see how we get on in September.

jiberjaber

  • ... Fancy Pants \o/ ...
  • ACME S&M^2
Re: ACME goes Dutch
« Reply #20 on: 17 March, 2017, 10:01:39 am »
Well I'm squeezing a week in at the beginning of July... so I'll be getting my annual dutch quota in  :thumbsup:
Regards,

Joergen

Oscar's dad

  • aka Septimus Fitzwilliam Beauregard Partridge
Re: ACME goes Dutch
« Reply #21 on: 17 March, 2017, 10:08:08 am »
Well I'm squeezing a week in at the beginning of July... so I'll be getting my annual dutch quota in  :thumbsup:

I've already decided that my 2017 annual cycling adventure (5 days riding) will be UK based and in 2018 there is talk of returning to the Alps (huggy's 50th, my 55th and Tomsk's 61st birthdays) but assuming September goes well (and I can't see it not) I think the Low Countries will be further explored in the coming years, and as mentioned I'd love to get TCMR onna bike again.

bhoot

  • MemSec (ex-Mrs RRtY)
Re: ACME goes Dutch
« Reply #22 on: 17 March, 2017, 10:30:56 am »
Definitely interested in this - will take a look at suggested routes later. We have cycled quite a lot in the Netherlands and always look forward to our next "fix".
On the topic of ferries - there is one type of ferry we really should try to incorporate - the self operated chain ferry! See the second picture down in this article https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/travel/bikes-and-ferries-combine-for-a-freewheeling-dutch-adventure/2016/10/13/ea0ce9ba-8b23-11e6-875e-2c1bfe943b66_story.html
There is one like this just north of Vlaardingen - and finding it on our last ride over there really made our day.

bhoot

  • MemSec (ex-Mrs RRtY)
Re: ACME goes Dutch
« Reply #23 on: 17 March, 2017, 10:36:46 am »
Oh and +1 for a leisurely tour ... OD's tourdax could be just the thing.

If cycling in the Netherlands proves to be as idyllic as many folks say I might even see if I can get The Current Mrs R over there  :o  I will see how we get on in September.
We expounded the delights of touring in the Netherlands to Veloman at some length during an audax a couple of years ago (probably G&Y fields) and he and Mrs Veloman went off for a holiday last year. We were very relieved having done the hard sell that they had a great time.

Oscar's dad

  • aka Septimus Fitzwilliam Beauregard Partridge
Re: ACME goes Dutch
« Reply #24 on: 17 March, 2017, 10:38:29 am »
 :thumbsup: