Cycling In Holland

King of the cycle lane, Holland is a saviour to all pedal pushers. From its beautiful routes to inner city cycle paths, cycling in Holland is a dream. Being hands downs the best country to ride your bike, no wonder the banks and bridges of the canals are so full of them.

In Holland, you get the same sort of feeling we imagine van drivers have: of having complete, unquestioned precedence and absolutely no one is going to argue with you. In Holland, cyclists have priority almost everywhere, including at roundabouts.

On the rare occasions that you actually have to venture onto a main road, drivers are extremely considerate. This perhaps has something to do with the fact that in Holland just under a third of people use bikes as their main form of transport, which is a far cry from many countries where cyclists are regarded as an aberration.

Holland has a historical connection to cycling, but when cars became popular in the ‘60s, the number of cyclist deaths rose considerably. This, combined with a lack of faith in the car’s dependability, lead to huge investment in cycle paths. Some are shared with scooters, but many run a good distance from the main roads so you don’t end up riding in a thick cloud of diesel fumes.

If you want a quick route that takes you through the main tourist areas of Holland, there’s an excellent coastal path from Amsterdam, through Dan Haag and down the Zeeland Islands. These are crossed by several massive dams, which join long white beaches populated by kite surfers and Dutch tourists. However, it’s advisory to tackle these from north to south. Holland’s famous for being flat, but in reality the route runs on a very steady incline which stops being a novelty after about 10km.

When tackling the cycle routes towards Amsterdam, it’s not completely necessary to buy a cycle map as there are boards every few kilometers with the routes on. It’s definitely advisable to use these rather than relying on the direction signs, which send you multiple ways to the same location and often lead you in circles.

By Ruth McDonald