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 Xmas
promises should never be taken too seriously, so I was somewhat surprised
when my parents followed up on my bleary eyed suggestion of a cycle tour
of the Netherlands. The idea was to embark on a pilgrimage to the haunts
of Dad's youth - the more mature party members as tour guides and us youth
as packhorses. Giddy-up!
There is no better way
to ease yourself out of jetlag and into holiday mode than a few days cruising
the fleshpots of Amsterdam. There are more coffee shops, art galleries
and museums than pubs on the West Coast. And to make life easier, most
Dutch people speak English (some arguably better than we do) making it
easy to order a beer or any other sensory indulgence you feel the need
for.
The Dutch are to cycling
what Nashville is to country music and Amsterdam is a kind of nirvana
for urban cyclists ... dedicated bike paths crisscross the city and everyone
rides a bike. Thousands of singlespeed clunkers line up outside railway
stations patiently awaiting the return of their masters, and along suburban
streets bikes are shackled to anything that doesn't move. The network
of cycle paths covers the whole country and is so extensive that you could
easily map out four or five different 500-600km tours without retracing
your tracks. Detailed maps and descriptions of cycle routes are (paradoxically)
available from the Dutch Automobile Association (ANWB). They also have
the good oil on camping - a favourite pastime for the Dutch. Prices are
reasonable and the facilities over-the-top. Alternatively you could score
a Natuurkamping card (through the ANWB) - and enjoy smaller, more rustic
campgrounds.
Amsterdam is the obvious
place to start a tour of the flat lands. We did three ten-day trips ...
the first through the small fishing villages north of Amsterdam, the
traditional
cheese market in Alkmaar and then up into Friesland. The second took
us into the centre of the country, taking in De Hoge Veluwe National
Park
and the Kröller-Müller Museum with its amazing collection of
20th Century Art (including 278 Van Goghs). We then headed out into the
castle region of the Achterhoek near Germany and back through Utrecht
- a University town that rivals Amsterdam for canals, funky back streets
and outdoor cafes. Our final tour took us south to the islands of Zeeland
and Oude Tonge - homeland for the van Dorsser clan.
Flat land riding is not
everyone's glass of Heineken, but with facilities like these it's difficult
not to be seduced just a little. Returning to reality, we pedalled south
for a few days into Belgium and then east into the Ardenne region for
a week or so. Goodbye bike paths and hello hills. The Ardenne is a series
of semi-forested plateaus divided by rivers and rising to a high point
of about 700m. Belgium is one of the most fought over pieces of dirt
in
Europe, and because of its topography the Ardenne has seen some pretty
ugly battles ... the "Battle of the Bulge" being the most notable. Museums
and memorials dot the area giving budding historians ample opportunity
to bone up on one of Europe's blackest hours. The cycling is amazing,
nice quiet roads and woody scenery. Most villages have cheap hotels.
Although
campgrounds don't litter every intersection, there are enough around
to make camping stress free. Mountain biking is popular - the small town
of Houffalize hosted a world cup race last year.
Consumption is never
far from one's mind when cycling, and the food in Belgium is fabulous
- combining the best of Flemish and French cuisine at reasonable prices.
Fortunately a couple of hills a day keeps the battle of the bulge at bay.
The Ardenne is famous for game dishes but not a haven for vegetarians.
Choose from hare, venison, wild boar, duck or pheasant. Ardenne ham is
also world famous and there's plenty of amusement with smoked sausages
of all shapes and sizes. And of course there is Belgian beer. We ain't
talking Lion Red here, it's the full noise variety available in a multitude
of flavours, styles and potencies. Most is brewed by men of the cloth
in monasteries dotted around the hills. I can leave the raspberry numbers
myself but give me a Trappist and I'm a happy lad.
If none of this spins
your whizzer, there's always chocolate. With an annual consumption of
around 600,000 tonnes, it's no surprise the Belgians have figured out
how to make the good cake. Even if you don't fancy it yourself, sending
a box home to mum should keep you on the Xmas card list.
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