The rumble strips are to make the road a bit wider for car traffic, so they don't get stuck in the sand, without making the road feel very wide. It keeps speeds down.
Most of them aren't for slowing down the speed, especially in rural area's where the road is wide enough for 2 (normal sized) cars to pass each other. They're added so tractors and trucks which are wider don't destroy the green sides of the road. Having to fill up the holes with new sand/gravel on a regular basis can add up in maintenance cost.
We owe a lot to those brave Canadians that liberated our country. My grandparents in Haarlem were liberated by the Canadian army as well. I remember the stories of my grandfather, who nearly died of starvation during the last winter of the war. He had to eat tulip bulbs to stay alive. The Canadians really saved his live by liberating the city! So thank you for that. Also nice to see my house when you drove through my street in Haarlem(around 01:05).
@@barneyklingenberg4078 Or for parking it at a place like the station in a unguarded spot. To expect the chance it would get stolen, or borrowed and not returned...
I'm a Dutchie living abroad and I'm watching this out of nostalgia (which may be the reason the algorithm suggested it to me...) I now live in Bavaria, German Alps, and still aim to get from A to B by bicycle and public transport - even though the people around me think I'm crazy. Everybody is talking about the climate crisis, but when I say I don't drive, they can hardly believe it. It's doable! I cycle between Easter and the Autumn break. Living abroad makes me realize what a cycling paradise Holland is. My nieces and nephew reach their secondary school by bicycle via a cycling highway. They have E-bikes though, because they don't like having the wind in their face... Whereas me and my brother did all that without an engine. And yes, we still use that saying when we want to tease Germans, but my generation says: 'Your grandpa stole my bicycle!' Although I stopped saying that since I live on this side of the border now... Thanks for these series, and your enthusiasm about this topic!
I am almost 70, live in Haarlem and have always been my own boss. We have storms here, once or twice a year, and generally they blow from the south-west to the north-east. Sometimes the other way around. From about 20 years old I used the storms to take the day off. I brought my bicycle on the train and went to, for instance, Den Haag. There, from the station, it was kind off against the wind to get to the coast and it could be difficult. But once I got to the coast and turned right to go north, it was like flying on wheels. Very soon I'd enter the bikepath you showed us and all I would hear was the sound of the storm. Then it was just nature on that winding path. Bicycling would be effortless, the wind just pushed me hard.. At that speed it happened several times I flew of the path. Never a big problem. There came Katwijk aan Zee, Noordwijk, Zandvoort and Bloemendaal. After that it was about going east heading back to Haarlem. But often I entered the national park by Bloemendal beach and still cycled further. Quite stupid because then, going back was cycling against the wind . . . I wrote this in past tense, but should have used present tense. I still do this.
As a Dutchy I loved your way of capturing my country. It's funny, I ve been to all these places a lot and for me its normal but looking through your eyes I can see the beauty again. Thanks man, wish you safe journey and you'll always be welcome in Holland...:)
As a southern neighbour of the Netherlands, I am really pleased we're very slowly beginning to adopt the wise bicycle policies of the Dutch. Thanks for showing the way!
As a fellow Canadian that moved here, I love revisiting that early wonder I felt at how welcome I feel as a cyclist. It makes such a difference being prioritized by the infrastructure. I cycle everywhere, and have only rented a car 3 times since moving here 2 years ago.
@ebrothen : I was an exchange student my senior year of high school in Maassluis (near Rotterdam) '78 - '79, and I thought then that Nederland was already a bicycle paradise. As it turned out, that was just the 'beginning'. That same year unbeknownst to me 25 kliks away in Delft was the actual very first comprehensive Dutch city-wide bike plan w/ substantial detail and a vision that became the template for what has followed the last 45 years. For instance, looking through the prism of 'connectivity' toward achieving functional bikeway networks, there were actually ~ half a dozen - prisms - from the hyper-local = how the 7 year old child could ride to school/ through to the contiguous improved streets and new pathways that would allow someone like me to easily bike to Delft from Maassluis for Market. As the saying goes: "The rest is history." :) bikeeric
This has been such a good series so far! I also want to pay respect to your grandfather, it is crazy to me that these men came all the way from Canada to Europe to save us, but it is really cool that you got to see him represented in the museum. I'm looking forward to the rest of this trip!
Gosh! How I wish we could live in cities like I see on your videos. It just looks so much more pleasant and healthy than in our car dominated country (USA). I do my little part by riding a cargo e-bike and sharing info with those who ask but the impact is infinitesimal.
As German me and my wife often spend weekends at private B&Bs in the Netherlands. Nearly all of the hosts have bikes left which you can use for moving around for free. Amazing!
In that particular location it is very necessary. It's on the road to Wassenaarseslag and takes car traffic to the beach through the wonderful dunes of the Hollandse Duin National Park. At the place where the cycling path parallel to the coast crosses the perpendicular car road to the beach the visibility from both flows of traffic towards each other is quite poor due to vegetation. Without the stop sign there'd be accidents. Though it would be better if cars would yield to bicycles
@@nicthedoor also you were cheating there. I guess you realized that you just passed a stop sign and then decided to film it. because you were riding the opposite direction ^^
8:17 This bus-stop is all to familiair for me. It's near Den Haag Laan van Nieuw-Oost Indien (Laan van NOI) train station! Apart from that, many thanks again - great video. A debt that can never be repaid, is too the brave men who liberated our country. Canadians, Americans, Brits, Polish and other allied troops made sacrifices that enabled the freedom we experience today.
i worked at Haagste Security Delta for years. So i agree. that stop and the clips from scheveningen down to NOI are very familar :D Only difference: the sun. usually it rains
Today I watched the remainder of the video, loved it. As a resident of Voorburg, graduate of Delft University and a big fan of the path through the dunes it was a feast of recognition. To be honest, I do feel privileged to have such great cycling infrastructure in The Netherlands. A few days a week I'll cycle from Voorburg to my work in Rotterdam and back, over 90% on dedicated / separated cycling paths. It is not even that much slower than by car, taking city traffic into account. Thanks for the video!
And before that a market. But the parking lot looked really bad: www.google.com/search?q=delft+plein+parkeerplaats&udm=2&fbs=AEQNm0D2LG9gDjdzevzvhx2tFfQMgxuLKzL4I1JP5Nyqa4QAzRe37hUNqC2xvWoyWQ3D-bUG6Gf0sxx4Xv7pO2SypaN8dT9pI8GyUmjFFUjHbftTfemfLbiaDvUvZ1-b4jF3yGIDDt6clO3QlLBR9hEQARJzgx-5f1ibfDeX1AEYhp8OzwCc78lrGSlKoE1Fo0ULdnZOO7E5nSj62PhLkUjalbjSMk-l-Q#vhid=1f81HcgUtlyfqM&vssid=mosaic
In 1978, I cycle-toured from London to Kobenhavn via France, Belgium, Nederland, and Germany. Back then, ALL the city centers were overrun with auto parking and it was tough cycling. Fortunately, planning for humane sustainability in EU has tipped the scales away from auto-centric domination. Some cities and towns in England have finally started planned access to multimodal travel. Little has changed in U.S. unfortunately, where capital spending seems firmly skewed towards fossil-fuel-supporting infrastructure.
Which square? The market hasn't, right? Or at least not for the last 41 years as far as I remember (so vooruit, minus some baby years then). I went to the "Jan Vermeer" primary school which later turned into some sort of museum (Vermeer center). We used the market square as our play ground :)
Great video! I was in The Netherlands in1998 on a work assignment. I absolutely love the country and would love to go back but haven't been able to. Thanks for sharing this wonderful trip with us!!!
Maybe interested in some background in Dutch bicycle infrastructure. Up until the 1970 there was no cycling infrastructure at all and cities where packed with cars. In 1972 a group of mothers in Amsterdam started a movement because of the high fatality rate of cyclists, mainly children going to or from school. Now we design cities so that bikes get access to the fastest routes to town, if possible separated from car traffic. Cars are banned from old city centers (which were never designed for cars anyway). Cars can come (nearly) everywhere, but via a bit longer routes. Because of this infrastructure people tend to take the bicycle more than cars for trips within cities. Bike lanes between cities and villages have a different story. The first bike lanes were put along busy "dangerous" roads. As the Netherlands is a very busy country, lots of roads could be considered as "dangerous" roads. Form the 1990's cycling became a way of recreation and to support that more dedicated cycling paths were build. The cycling highways are the most recent feature. The oldest was opened in 2010. A cycling highway is an (extra) wide cycling lane, with good lightning and ment to serve as a save way to cycle between two neigboring cities 24/7. As distances in the Netherlands are not that long, is often used by commuters and school going youngsters. The electric bikes makes it even easier to travel longer distances per bike. In your video there are some road with red sidings, these red siding can be cycling lanes (if there is a bicycle painted on it), but these red sidings are also used to make roads optically narrower for cars, so they tend to reduce speed.
7:34 You are cycling through a drinking water production site :) It uses the dunes to filtrate water. I think that underneath that cycling path there are a couple water pipes running to the production plant for further cleaning. Those pipes need to be accessible, so you cannot use asphalt. The rumble strips are there to give personnel acces to the area. I will check on this coming Monday, I work at the water company :)
@@RobinRense I'm pretty sure those rumble strips at the edge are to make the road juuust wide enough for two cars to pass each other if needed, given that Dunea (water utility company) and Staatsbosbeheer (state forestry department) are permited to drive cars onto there. The rumble strips give a little extra strength to the dike and a surface for the car tires to grip onto so they don't dig themselves into the grass/mud.
7:40 you probably already got the answer, but it is just there to warn motorists (or cyclists) if they get close to the shoulder. most shoulders are soft and if you are in a car you will feel and hear the rumble strips to get your attention to not end up in a ditch. And if you are on a bike (with no suspension) you get shaken up quite well haha. hope this helps
Making a "fietsstraat" isn't as easy as just slapping a "fietsstraat" sign on the road. In fact, that "fietsstraat" sign has no legal standing in the Netherlands, it's just a standardized informational sign without any regulatory meaning. What makes a "fietsstraat" a "fietsstraat" is that it is geographically laid out so that it is a convenient route for bicycle through traffic, while being only practical for residential access by cars. In other words, the cycling network needs to be set up such that this route attracts cyclists, while the car network needs to be set up to discourage through traffic or only allow local residential access. You don't start with a "fietsstraat". A "fietsstraat" is a natural emergent quality of a well-designed regional road network.
Many people assume that cyclists get priority on a "fietsstraat" but that is not the case for the Netherlands. Apart from a sign, and usually red asphalt, there is no actual rules. This is however different in Belgium. They have the same signs there, same roads, but in Belgium, cars are not allowed to overtake cyclists, and have to always give priority to cyclists. There is a strong desire to have the same rules in the Netherlands, but with expected pushback from motorists and difficulty in enforcing this behavior, we haven't gotten around to changing the laws yet.
The town of Houten is a great example of this. It is the "fietsstraat" capital of The Netherlands, partly due to the urban planning of neighbourhoods all connected to one ring road, but critically: for cars the neighbourhoods are not connected to each other. Meaning cars have to use the ring road, while bicycles can cut through.
at 1:49 a clear anti-tank wall as part of the Atlantic wall. ;-) Love your video. I love to ride my bicycle there too and visit the beach on a sunny day.
Liked and subscribed! Well done with the videos. It's a treat to watch. We habitually take cycling in the Netherlands for granted and it's lovely to see this land through different eyes!
Wow, I've lived here for over 5 years and visited for 20. I live in Amsterdam and work in Noordwijk (on the coast west of Leiden). I worked in Delft before that. You capture what made me fall in love about this country the most...."The journey". Of course, you do have good weather here. If it was November and raining with strong winds, it's different, but still beautiful! I love the cycle and walking infrastructure here. And I know EXACTLY what you mean with the Dodge Ram stepping on the gas pedal like that. I see it in Amsterdam too. Not sure what's up with those guys.
And the sides you have seen along the path are for the cars that drive there like the cars of dunea ( they control the dutch drinking water and the police drive there aswell) but also the rangers use this patch with there cars, thats way you see the ribbels beside the bicycle track……it’s just for the cars so they can make way for you the cyclists…….😜
As someone who lives in Leiden (and lived in Voorburg, Delft and The Hague) and love cycling I can say you made the right choice going through the dunes. On every shot of this vdeo (except for Haarlem) I've been so many times. it's fun to see an outsiders perspective. And yeah, most of use don't like those RAMs as well.
It was beautiful. Can't wait to go back. I only saw 3 American pickup trucks during my visit. I can look out my window any time of the day and see more than that 😅
There are two different kinds of Fietspad; scenic ones, on which you're not allowed with combustion engines for example, and compulsory ones as in; cyclists are required to use this and not the road itself. The former type having it written out "fietspad" on a sign and the latter will be the international sign with a bicycle icon on it. Compulsory ones I don't remember ever seeing without paving. Excellent videos, thank you for sharing!!
The main Church in Delft they you showed has great significance in the Netherlands as it is where the royal family members are buried (like Westminster Abbey in London or St Denis outside or Paris)
maybe a fun route to go from amsterdam to lelystad. there will be one route going through Amsterdam, Diemen, Muiden, Almere, nature reserve Oostvaardersplassen and in the end lelystad. is about 40 km
7:38 These rumble strips are used at normal roads also. This allows wide vehicles to use the side of the road at slow speeds without sinking into the ground. The rumbling signals to the driver that he is no longer on the paved surface.
If you do go back to Delft I would also recommended a night in the Hague, its a city that feels more like a village. The center has some nice beer bars etc (Paas, Fiddler, Rootz, Beer Garden, etc)
I rode this path in 2022 but in the opposite direction Delft to Leiden. It's an awesome ride. You are actually at certain points below sea level. All those dunes serve a purpose to stop Zuid Holland from flooding.
Glad you enjoyed biking around the area where I grew up! I can attest this is definitely a good representation of how it is. We don’t appreciate it enough ourselves though! I live in Belgium now and while it’s still good, the infrastructure is way less well done than in the Netherlands. Tiny bicycle paths right next to 90 km/h roads for instance (but they started to adopt the bicycle highway system as well). Thanks to your grandpa for his service. 🫡
Each Year at April the 13th, we remembering the Canadian Liberators in Meppel (northern of The Netherlands). The Dutch are still very thankful for these Liberators 🥰
Cycle highways are the best inventions. Rode the RijnWaalpad many times on my roadbike😂. There is also a nice cycling route between Nijmegen and Kleve(Germany)
Great video’s you make and my respect that you were driving a “regular bike” ( good work out) Living in The Hague (Den Haag) myself the route through the dunes is my favorite. Often after a working day, take my bike to enjoy the dunes and North Sea.
I think those rumble strips are there to let you know you're on the edge of the road. I don't think they are meant for cyclists but I could be wrong. I suppose they are for heavier traffic that needs to use these narrow roads now and then. Guest streets are a good concept but they need a lot of speed bumps and other infrastructure in order to make them work. Things like speed bumps and some kind of median barrier (of rougher pavement) are a must.
Great video. Don’t agree about the ‘fietsstraat’. The Fietstraat is only usefully if there are enough bikes. So you must see as and the last thing and not as the first thing.
they can also work with less bikes than cars, when car volumes are also low. However this design needs some basic level of driver responsibility. In North America, where many people drive, as if they don't even care about their own life (even less that of anybody else), I am quite skeptical about any success.
I hope your grandfather is still alive and in good health and if so, please thank him for us. If he is sadly no longer with us, may he rest in peace and know we will never forget and never stop appreciating our liberators.
@@nicthedoorI grew up in Apeldoorn, the Netherlandsin the 90s. I remember the yearly parade of Canadian veterans in our town. The times I attended I was so impressed and thankful, specially after hearing my grand parents horror stories of the war.. They are still celebrated each year in Apeldoorn, there is a beautiful documentary about it on TH-cam as well. Thanks for the video! Really enjoyed it!
Quite a well informed video. Good job! One thing I'm missing from your explanation of bike highways is the fact that many (if not most) people in the Netherlands have an electric bike nowadays. The higher speeds naturally fit well with dedicated and uninterrupted bicycle highways.
Great video! We spent our vacation last year cycling from Den Haag to Vlieland, following the coastal paths all the way. It really is a beautiful part of our country, glad you chose the long way round.
That was a beefy bike trip. More than I ever did in a single day. I hope the saddle is easy on the heinie, it's a night and day difference if they gave you a cheap one. I love the vids!
8:16 Lol, Voorburg is officially a totally different town from The Hague, but ever since they connected with each other Voorburg acts a lot like a suburb 😄
Cool to see so many familiar places in your video since im from The Hague and also lived in Voorburg and used the same routes to cycle to Delft sometimes.
these are grass stones to protect the side of the road, normally there is a side restraint, which can sink into the sand. Another fact is that the road surface is barrel-round and is laid in herringbone. this gives strength to the road surface, and are wedged between the curbs. the triangular stones are called bishop's stones
So _that's_ what those F# roads mean. I thought they were amusing, I saw them in the neighborhood with the same number as the motorway in the same direction. I like the idea. Maybe I should visit Delft sometimes... I'm living here my whole live :)
If you want another location to do a similar bike tour in the Netherlands, but with a different surrounding you could look at De Sallandse Heuvelrug. It's quite different from the coastline and also has a ton of quaint little villages and towns. I innitialy thought of it because it has a big graveyard and memorial site for the Canadians and the soldiers they lost during WW2, but it's also one of my favourite places of nature left in the Netherlands (although I'm somewhat biased because I grew up there and my grandfather maintained the natural reserve). Anyway, loved this video (and the former) a lot, seems you got a good format going seeing I ended up here at random.
I biked that route many times between Haarlem and Leiden through Zandvoort and the Langervelder Slag to go out when I was young. Back via the other route.
I have a bike trip through Zeeland and northern Belgium planned in September. Appreciate this content, very helpful and makes me that much more excited!
In case it hasn’t already been said. The reason for the non built up area near the ocean is that the dunes are a part of system that protects the Netherlands from water.
Skipping ahead to your visit to Middelburg: Did you visit the Sloedam? I can recall from my history lessons that Canadians fought heavily over there. You can still see the bunkers there too! My Grandfather also guided some Canadians near Hansweert, they were looking for the village and were kind of "lost" He was delivering bread on his bicycle (he was a baker) with some extra smaller breads hidden underneath for people who were in hiding from the Germans or were part of the resistance. He found the Canadians along the embankment hidden in the reeds. They whispered "boy, boy! Where is the village!?" From there on they head on out to the Sloedam and helped free Walcheren (on which Middelburg is )
I think rumble strips started out as loud warning strips alarming drivers they're leaving the road. But they also happen to make roads a lot more erosion resistant. Which is probably why it was used where you were.
The rumble strips are growing blocks. Meant for the plants to grow through anchoring the path on the surface. Sand will wash away or blown away in dunes, this way that is prevented.
Greetings from a Brit living in NL. So glad you enjoyed your trip. If you haven't already done it later in this series, maybe you could do something on Dutch way marking for bikes: red and white signs including toadstools, and the 'fietsnetwerk' with 'knooppunten', and the long distance 'LF routes', which are great for longer and multi-day trips. If you come here again, maybe you could ride one or two of these. My own favourite is the LF3 Hanzeroute, which takes you through all the old Hanseatic League cities along the river Ijssel.
7:51 the rumble stones are for fire fighting ambulances and when you paid enough attention the bike oaths are hidden paths from province or waterschappen. So not a municipality. So like in cities. 😮😮😮
I am born and raised in Noordwijk, it's a great little village with so much hidden nature. Unfortunately the high prices on the houses pushed out many young adults at the time. Really cool way to see the Netherlands through the eyes of a stranger ;)
The Atlantic Wall museum in Noordwijk can be available for private visits, if arranged in advance. Note in October, the Sothern tunnel has to be closed to protect the bats that nest in there for the winter.
Hey, its Delft! The church tower that is black as a kettle in the video has been cleaned recently, it looks a lot better now. The cycling route you took through the dunes is great, my favorite part is around Noordwijk and Katwijk, the dunes are very wide there, it feels really remote when you're out there.
august 2024 I will make a tour along the coast of my country. I am really inspired by the foreigners cycling here. we dutch sometimes forget how nice our bikeroads are, being able to bike all around. please finish your videoreport of the whole NL tour.
Rumble strips are for those of us who like to party "a little", ... to wake us up, when we deviate from the road, if we fall asleep at the wheel on our way home. 😅
![The Very Best Of Our Epic Rides [2+ Hour Compilation]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/wQrPp6kcd9E/mqdefault.jpg)
Man is here for his 2nd day and his breakfast is Redbull and Frikandelbroodje. Truly some people learn cultures quickly
Frikandelbroodje should be a UNESCO cultural heritage 😂
He will be a Havo student and change his name to Mitchell soon with that diet.
😂
I don't eat that stuff. Redbull is not Dutch culture. It is just full of chemicals why pay to put that in you?
The rumble strips are to make the road a bit wider for car traffic, so they don't get stuck in the sand, without making the road feel very wide. It keeps speeds down.
Adding to that - only Dunea (a local water utility company) and Staatsbosbeheer (state forestry department) staff cars are allowed to drive there.
@@French_fries_are_quite_alrightadding to that, it also makes the edge more sturdy in an cheap way.
@@glennvannunspeet5058 adding to that, The Netherlands is just great
Most of them aren't for slowing down the speed, especially in rural area's where the road is wide enough for 2 (normal sized) cars to pass each other. They're added so tractors and trucks which are wider don't destroy the green sides of the road. Having to fill up the holes with new sand/gravel on a regular basis can add up in maintenance cost.
Those rumble strips are called "grastegels", "grasstiles".
We owe a lot to those brave Canadians that liberated our country. My grandparents in Haarlem were liberated by the Canadian army as well. I remember the stories of my grandfather, who nearly died of starvation during the last winter of the war. He had to eat tulip bulbs to stay alive. The Canadians really saved his live by liberating the city! So thank you for that. Also nice to see my house when you drove through my street in Haarlem(around 01:05).
@@HappySativas yeah but the Canadians harbored our Royal House and Princess Margriet was born in Ottowa
@@gekkegerrit933 yeah lets just thank the one soldier the Germans surrendered to as well, and forget all the rest...
thanks Charles Foulkes.
@@gekkegerrit933 houd gewoon je domme bek.
We owe them absolutely nothing, almost 80 years after WWII!
If those who fought and died in WWII could see the country we, their descendants, have to live in today, whose side would they take?
Your bike is a real 'barrel' as we call it in the Netherlands. Respect for using this one for your journey
I wanted an 'authentic' experience.
That’s not authentic.
We only use those when we plan to get drunk.
@@barneyklingenberg4078 Or for parking it at a place like the station in a unguarded spot. To expect the chance it would get stolen, or borrowed and not returned...
It sounds like the chain can use some lube.
I also ride a barrel 😂
I'm a Dutchie living abroad and I'm watching this out of nostalgia (which may be the reason the algorithm suggested it to me...) I now live in Bavaria, German Alps, and still aim to get from A to B by bicycle and public transport - even though the people around me think I'm crazy. Everybody is talking about the climate crisis, but when I say I don't drive, they can hardly believe it. It's doable! I cycle between Easter and the Autumn break. Living abroad makes me realize what a cycling paradise Holland is. My nieces and nephew reach their secondary school by bicycle via a cycling highway. They have E-bikes though, because they don't like having the wind in their face... Whereas me and my brother did all that without an engine. And yes, we still use that saying when we want to tease Germans, but my generation says: 'Your grandpa stole my bicycle!' Although I stopped saying that since I live on this side of the border now... Thanks for these series, and your enthusiasm about this topic!
Dutchie! -- Bless you, here's a tissue.
I am almost 70, live in Haarlem and have always been my own boss. We have storms here, once or twice a year, and generally they blow from the south-west to the north-east. Sometimes the other way around. From about 20 years old I used the storms to take the day off. I brought my bicycle on the train and went to, for instance, Den Haag. There, from the station, it was kind off against the wind to get to the coast and it could be difficult. But once I got to the coast and turned right to go north, it was like flying on wheels. Very soon I'd enter the bikepath you showed us and all I would hear was the sound of the storm. Then it was just nature on that winding path. Bicycling would be effortless, the wind just pushed me hard.. At that speed it happened several times I flew of the path. Never a big problem. There came Katwijk aan Zee, Noordwijk, Zandvoort and Bloemendaal. After that it was about going east heading back to Haarlem. But often I entered the national park by Bloemendal beach and still cycled further. Quite stupid because then, going back was cycling against the wind . . . I wrote this in past tense, but should have used present tense. I still do this.
Still going strong!
My uncle still cycles at 93.
As a Dutchy I loved your way of capturing my country. It's funny, I ve been to all these places a lot and for me its normal but looking through your eyes I can see the beauty again.
Thanks man, wish you safe journey and you'll always be welcome in Holland...:)
I would love to bike it or something else one day. We need more bike paths.
Always good being out in nature.
As a southern neighbour of the Netherlands, I am really pleased we're very slowly beginning to adopt the wise bicycle policies of the Dutch. Thanks for showing the way!
Respect to your grandfather! Thanks to him we are free 👏🏼👏🏼!
As a fellow Canadian that moved here, I love revisiting that early wonder I felt at how welcome I feel as a cyclist. It makes such a difference being prioritized by the infrastructure. I cycle everywhere, and have only rented a car 3 times since moving here 2 years ago.
I though NL was a biking paradise in 1998 when I lived there, and it appears to only get better and better!
Building more lanes every year.
@ebrothen : I was an exchange student my senior year of high school in Maassluis (near Rotterdam) '78 - '79, and I thought then that Nederland was already a bicycle paradise. As it turned out, that was just the 'beginning'. That same year unbeknownst to me 25 kliks away in Delft was the actual very first comprehensive Dutch city-wide bike plan w/ substantial detail and a vision that became the template for what has followed the last 45 years. For instance, looking through the prism of 'connectivity' toward achieving functional bikeway networks, there were actually ~ half a dozen - prisms - from the hyper-local = how the 7 year old child could ride to school/ through to the contiguous improved streets and new pathways that would allow someone like me to easily bike to Delft from Maassluis for Market. As the saying goes: "The rest is history." :) bikeeric
This has been such a good series so far! I also want to pay respect to your grandfather, it is crazy to me that these men came all the way from Canada to Europe to save us, but it is really cool that you got to see him represented in the museum. I'm looking forward to the rest of this trip!
Well said and fully agreed.
Gosh! How I wish we could live in cities like I see on your videos. It just looks so much more pleasant and healthy than in our car dominated country (USA). I do my little part by riding a cargo e-bike and sharing info with those who ask but the impact is infinitesimal.
Great video. I now plan to bike the Netherlands purely due to your TH-cam post.
That's awesome! I hope you get out there and have an amazing time.
As German me and my wife often spend weekends at private B&Bs in the Netherlands. Nearly all of the hosts have bikes left which you can use for moving around for free. Amazing!
You found a stop sign! Now there’s the real MVP, they’re vanishingly rare these days, for bikes *and* for cars.
we gotta replace the last ones with the word "FAIL"
In that particular location it is very necessary. It's on the road to Wassenaarseslag and takes car traffic to the beach through the wonderful dunes of the Hollandse Duin National Park. At the place where the cycling path parallel to the coast crosses the perpendicular car road to the beach the visibility from both flows of traffic towards each other is quite poor due to vegetation. Without the stop sign there'd be accidents. Though it would be better if cars would yield to bicycles
Pretty sure that was the only stop sign I saw my entire trip.
We have way too many in North America.
@@nicthedoor also you were cheating there. I guess you realized that you just passed a stop sign and then decided to film it. because you were riding the opposite direction ^^
@@Jonathan-kraai Heheheh. Only a local would notice that.
Nice never knew this existed. On my list for world rides thx for sharing
8:17 This bus-stop is all to familiair for me. It's near Den Haag Laan van Nieuw-Oost Indien (Laan van NOI) train station! Apart from that, many thanks again - great video. A debt that can never be repaid, is too the brave men who liberated our country. Canadians, Americans, Brits, Polish and other allied troops made sacrifices that enabled the freedom we experience today.
i worked at Haagste Security Delta for years. So i agree. that stop and the clips from scheveningen down to NOI are very familar :D
Only difference: the sun. usually it rains
Lovely video. I hope one day these video's start to really make a difference in the rest of the world...
Today I watched the remainder of the video, loved it. As a resident of Voorburg, graduate of Delft University and a big fan of the path through the dunes it was a feast of recognition.
To be honest, I do feel privileged to have such great cycling infrastructure in The Netherlands. A few days a week I'll cycle from Voorburg to my work in Rotterdam and back, over 90% on dedicated / separated cycling paths. It is not even that much slower than by car, taking city traffic into account.
Thanks for the video!
Also interesting: that square in Delft used to be a parking lot 😱
And before that a market. But the parking lot looked really bad: www.google.com/search?q=delft+plein+parkeerplaats&udm=2&fbs=AEQNm0D2LG9gDjdzevzvhx2tFfQMgxuLKzL4I1JP5Nyqa4QAzRe37hUNqC2xvWoyWQ3D-bUG6Gf0sxx4Xv7pO2SypaN8dT9pI8GyUmjFFUjHbftTfemfLbiaDvUvZ1-b4jF3yGIDDt6clO3QlLBR9hEQARJzgx-5f1ibfDeX1AEYhp8OzwCc78lrGSlKoE1Fo0ULdnZOO7E5nSj62PhLkUjalbjSMk-l-Q#vhid=1f81HcgUtlyfqM&vssid=mosaic
Sounds like Neude, Utrecht. It was also a parking lot, not any more. Now a place for people to relax. 😊
In 1978, I cycle-toured from London to Kobenhavn via France, Belgium, Nederland, and Germany. Back then, ALL the city centers were overrun with auto parking and it was tough cycling. Fortunately, planning for humane sustainability in EU has tipped the scales away from auto-centric domination. Some cities and towns in England have finally started planned access to multimodal travel. Little has changed in U.S. unfortunately, where capital spending seems firmly skewed towards fossil-fuel-supporting infrastructure.
Which square? The market hasn't, right? Or at least not for the last 41 years as far as I remember (so vooruit, minus some baby years then). I went to the "Jan Vermeer" primary school which later turned into some sort of museum (Vermeer center). We used the market square as our play ground :)
@@B0K1T0 TH-cam deletes my posts with an url, so you have search yourself.
Great video! I was in The Netherlands in1998 on a work assignment. I absolutely love the country and would love to go back but haven't been able to. Thanks for sharing this wonderful trip with us!!!
Delft is also home for the renowned Delft Technical University and the many, many students make the city extra lively and active...
Maybe interested in some background in Dutch bicycle infrastructure.
Up until the 1970 there was no cycling infrastructure at all and cities where packed with cars. In 1972 a group of mothers in Amsterdam started a movement because of the high fatality rate of cyclists, mainly children going to or from school.
Now we design cities so that bikes get access to the fastest routes to town, if possible separated from car traffic. Cars are banned from old city centers (which were never designed for cars anyway). Cars can come (nearly) everywhere, but via a bit longer routes. Because of this infrastructure people tend to take the bicycle more than cars for trips within cities.
Bike lanes between cities and villages have a different story. The first bike lanes were put along busy "dangerous" roads. As the Netherlands is a very busy country, lots of roads could be considered as "dangerous" roads. Form the 1990's cycling became a way of recreation and to support that more dedicated cycling paths were build. The cycling highways are the most recent feature. The oldest was opened in 2010. A cycling highway is an (extra) wide cycling lane, with good lightning and ment to serve as a save way to cycle between two neigboring cities 24/7. As distances in the Netherlands are not that long, is often used by commuters and school going youngsters. The electric bikes makes it even easier to travel longer distances per bike.
In your video there are some road with red sidings, these red siding can be cycling lanes (if there is a bicycle painted on it), but these red sidings are also used to make roads optically narrower for cars, so they tend to reduce speed.
7:34 You are cycling through a drinking water production site :) It uses the dunes to filtrate water. I think that underneath that cycling path there are a couple water pipes running to the production plant for further cleaning. Those pipes need to be accessible, so you cannot use asphalt. The rumble strips are there to give personnel acces to the area. I will check on this coming Monday, I work at the water company :)
Oh and at the end of the shot, you can see the water tower :)
This is a piece of knowledge one can't easily get! So kind of you to share, I will appreciate your work next time I ride there!
@@atmamont Ah well I just checked, there are no pipes over there. I think it's a matter of style then 😅
@@RobinRense I'm pretty sure those rumble strips at the edge are to make the road juuust wide enough for two cars to pass each other if needed, given that Dunea (water utility company) and Staatsbosbeheer (state forestry department) are permited to drive cars onto there. The rumble strips give a little extra strength to the dike and a surface for the car tires to grip onto so they don't dig themselves into the grass/mud.
@@RobinRense Asphalt is an oil product that you don't want in a water production area.
Superb video that demonstrates the beauty and versatility of cycling infrastructure.
However, a big NO to red bull drink.
Stay healthy. 😊
FRIKANDELBROODJE MENTIONED RAHHHHHH 🔥🔥🔥🗣🗣🗣
(also I love Delft, glad you got to see it on the way!)
7:40
you probably already got the answer, but it is just there to warn motorists (or cyclists) if they get close to the shoulder. most shoulders are soft and if you are in a car you will feel and hear the rumble strips to get your attention to not end up in a ditch. And if you are on a bike (with no suspension) you get shaken up quite well haha. hope this helps
Making a "fietsstraat" isn't as easy as just slapping a "fietsstraat" sign on the road. In fact, that "fietsstraat" sign has no legal standing in the Netherlands, it's just a standardized informational sign without any regulatory meaning. What makes a "fietsstraat" a "fietsstraat" is that it is geographically laid out so that it is a convenient route for bicycle through traffic, while being only practical for residential access by cars. In other words, the cycling network needs to be set up such that this route attracts cyclists, while the car network needs to be set up to discourage through traffic or only allow local residential access. You don't start with a "fietsstraat". A "fietsstraat" is a natural emergent quality of a well-designed regional road network.
Many people assume that cyclists get priority on a "fietsstraat" but that is not the case for the Netherlands. Apart from a sign, and usually red asphalt, there is no actual rules. This is however different in Belgium. They have the same signs there, same roads, but in Belgium, cars are not allowed to overtake cyclists, and have to always give priority to cyclists. There is a strong desire to have the same rules in the Netherlands, but with expected pushback from motorists and difficulty in enforcing this behavior, we haven't gotten around to changing the laws yet.
Learned something new today. I thought cyclist got priority on a fietsstraat.
The town of Houten is a great example of this. It is the "fietsstraat" capital of The Netherlands, partly due to the urban planning of neighbourhoods all connected to one ring road, but critically: for cars the neighbourhoods are not connected to each other. Meaning cars have to use the ring road, while bicycles can cut through.
Indeed.
@@MarijnRoorda I take priority. I love holding up honking cars behind me. Enjoy my long legs, blonde hair and bakfietsmom dresses jerks!
Amazing what a effort you made to make this video ! Well done … Beautiful ! 👍
Fabulous videos … love cycling in Holland
at 1:49 a clear anti-tank wall as part of the Atlantic wall. ;-) Love your video. I love to ride my bicycle there too and visit the beach on a sunny day.
Liked and subscribed! Well done with the videos. It's a treat to watch. We habitually take cycling in the Netherlands for granted and it's lovely to see this land through different eyes!
Wow, I've lived here for over 5 years and visited for 20. I live in Amsterdam and work in Noordwijk (on the coast west of Leiden). I worked in Delft before that. You capture what made me fall in love about this country the most...."The journey". Of course, you do have good weather here. If it was November and raining with strong winds, it's different, but still beautiful! I love the cycle and walking infrastructure here. And I know EXACTLY what you mean with the Dodge Ram stepping on the gas pedal like that. I see it in Amsterdam too. Not sure what's up with those guys.
Why is this so comforting to watch 😅❤
Great editing. This is the perfect vacation in the Netherlands, everybody visiting our country should watch this!
I’m lost for words at how good this all is
It is fun to watch you riding our bike roads!! For me so well known!!!😁🥰🇳🇱👏
And yes the Atlantic wall is still there and it is all over the dutch dunes!!!! Thank you for sharing our history 😘
And the sides you have seen along the path are for the cars that drive there like the cars of dunea ( they control the dutch drinking water and the police drive there aswell) but also the rangers use this patch with there cars, thats way you see the ribbels beside the bicycle track……it’s just for the cars so they can make way for you the cyclists…….😜
Thanks Nic for visiting and filming our little country .
I love those bike paths.
I rode the complete bike route with my two kids on the back of my bike (surly big dummy)
Nice video Nick! And thank you to your grandfather for his service. We owe a great debt. Bless him and your family
As someone who lives in Leiden (and lived in Voorburg, Delft and The Hague) and love cycling I can say you made the right choice going through the dunes. On every shot of this vdeo (except for Haarlem) I've been so many times. it's fun to see an outsiders perspective. And yeah, most of use don't like those RAMs as well.
It was beautiful. Can't wait to go back.
I only saw 3 American pickup trucks during my visit. I can look out my window any time of the day and see more than that 😅
There are two different kinds of Fietspad; scenic ones, on which you're not allowed with combustion engines for example, and compulsory ones as in; cyclists are required to use this and not the road itself. The former type having it written out "fietspad" on a sign and the latter will be the international sign with a bicycle icon on it. Compulsory ones I don't remember ever seeing without paving.
Excellent videos, thank you for sharing!!
The main Church in Delft they you showed has great significance in the Netherlands as it is where the royal family members are buried (like Westminster Abbey in London or St Denis outside or Paris)
maybe a fun route to go from amsterdam to lelystad. there will be one route going through Amsterdam, Diemen, Muiden, Almere, nature reserve Oostvaardersplassen and in the end lelystad. is about 40 km
as a Middelburg raised man, i thank your father for his service and freeing us from the Nazi regime.
Great cycling network.
7:38 These rumble strips are used at normal roads also.
This allows wide vehicles to use the side of the road at slow speeds without sinking into the ground.
The rumbling signals to the driver that he is no longer on the paved surface.
we just love Canadians here, our liberators!
Liberators? WWII is almost 80 years ago. Wake up!
@@carsyoungtimerfreak1149 We are awake sir, and thankful to Canada. Forever. Cheers.
If you do go back to Delft I would also recommended a night in the Hague, its a city that feels more like a village. The center has some nice beer bars etc (Paas, Fiddler, Rootz, Beer Garden, etc)
I am loving the series so far and your perspective on cycling in my country. The pace of the videos is good aswell, great editting.
I rode this path in 2022 but in the opposite direction Delft to Leiden. It's an awesome ride. You are actually at certain points below sea level. All those dunes serve a purpose to stop Zuid Holland from flooding.
Cycling bliss! Such a shame this sort of thing doesn't exist in the UK in general.
You went right next to my home! 😂biking in the netherlands is so relaxing, i love it!
8:36 randomly watching this when I realize I hit that roundabout most days when I cycle to and from work, nice!
Glad you enjoyed biking around the area where I grew up! I can attest this is definitely a good representation of how it is. We don’t appreciate it enough ourselves though! I live in Belgium now and while it’s still good, the infrastructure is way less well done than in the Netherlands. Tiny bicycle paths right next to 90 km/h roads for instance (but they started to adopt the bicycle highway system as well). Thanks to your grandpa for his service. 🫡
Each Year at April the 13th, we remembering the Canadian Liberators in Meppel (northern of The Netherlands). The Dutch are still very thankful for these Liberators 🥰
Good stuff, Nic. A pity you had to forego visiting my town (Leiden), but Haarlem en Delft are certainly worth one’s while as well 😊
Cycle highways are the best inventions. Rode the RijnWaalpad many times on my roadbike😂. There is also a nice cycling route between Nijmegen and Kleve(Germany)
I lived and worked in Delft, great place to have a 2 day break, when your in the Netherlands.
Great video’s you make and my respect that you were driving a “regular bike” ( good work out) Living in The Hague (Den Haag) myself the route through the dunes is my favorite. Often after a working day, take my bike to enjoy the dunes and North Sea.
I think those rumble strips are there to let you know you're on the edge of the road. I don't think they are meant for cyclists but I could be wrong. I suppose they are for heavier traffic that needs to use these narrow roads now and then. Guest streets are a good concept but they need a lot of speed bumps and other infrastructure in order to make them work. Things like speed bumps and some kind of median barrier (of rougher pavement) are a must.
Great video. Don’t agree about the ‘fietsstraat’. The Fietstraat is only usefully if there are enough bikes. So you must see as and the last thing and not as the first thing.
they can also work with less bikes than cars, when car volumes are also low. However this design needs some basic level of driver responsibility. In North America, where many people drive, as if they don't even care about their own life (even less that of anybody else), I am quite skeptical about any success.
I hope your grandfather is still alive and in good health and if so, please thank him for us. If he is sadly no longer with us, may he rest in peace and know we will never forget and never stop appreciating our liberators.
Sadly he passed before I was born. I never met him but his story and memory live on.
Thank you 🙏
We’re grateful for his service 🇳🇱🇨🇦
@@nicthedoorI grew up in Apeldoorn, the Netherlandsin the 90s. I remember the yearly parade of Canadian veterans in our town. The times I attended I was so impressed and thankful, specially after hearing my grand parents horror stories of the war.. They are still celebrated each year in Apeldoorn, there is a beautiful documentary about it on TH-cam as well.
Thanks for the video! Really enjoyed it!
Quite a well informed video. Good job!
One thing I'm missing from your explanation of bike highways is the fact that many (if not most) people in the Netherlands have an electric bike nowadays. The higher speeds naturally fit well with dedicated and uninterrupted bicycle highways.
You don't really need a motor to go 25 km/h, and after that the motor support cuts off and the weight of the bike just slows you down.
@737 Those are for providing a hard shoulder without making the path wider, and because they have holes they also allow for plants to grow.
Frikandelbroodjes give you energy for at least 200km of cycling
Nice video, I live close to the Dutch dunes and love riding there too
Great video! We spent our vacation last year cycling from Den Haag to Vlieland, following the coastal paths all the way. It really is a beautiful part of our country, glad you chose the long way round.
Great video of day 2 Nic! I’m going to start planning my next trip!
Heck yeah! Do longer than a week if you can.
That was a beefy bike trip. More than I ever did in a single day. I hope the saddle is easy on the heinie, it's a night and day difference if they gave you a cheap one. I love the vids!
Wow thanks so much for the video. I just rode this last week and was wishing I had this kind of footage to share with family.
Another great one Nic… Congrats! 🙌
Thanks John!
Subscribed because it's interesting and surprisingly funny to watch a foreigner review things I have taken for granted all my life as a Dutch person.
8:16
Lol, Voorburg is officially a totally different town from The Hague, but ever since they connected with each other Voorburg acts a lot like a suburb 😄
Cool to see so many familiar places in your video since im from The Hague and also lived in Voorburg and used the same routes to cycle to Delft sometimes.
Nice video. Thanks.
these are grass stones to protect the side of the road, normally there is a side restraint, which can sink into the sand. Another fact is that the road surface is barrel-round and is laid in herringbone. this gives strength to the road surface, and are wedged between the curbs. the triangular stones are called bishop's stones
So _that's_ what those F# roads mean. I thought they were amusing, I saw them in the neighborhood with the same number as the motorway in the same direction. I like the idea. Maybe I should visit Delft sometimes... I'm living here my whole live :)
funny to see. i always take it for granted that i can train with my racing bike along the coast
If you want another location to do a similar bike tour in the Netherlands, but with a different surrounding you could look at De Sallandse Heuvelrug. It's quite different from the coastline and also has a ton of quaint little villages and towns. I innitialy thought of it because it has a big graveyard and memorial site for the Canadians and the soldiers they lost during WW2, but it's also one of my favourite places of nature left in the Netherlands (although I'm somewhat biased because I grew up there and my grandfather maintained the natural reserve).
Anyway, loved this video (and the former) a lot, seems you got a good format going seeing I ended up here at random.
I biked that route many times between Haarlem and Leiden through Zandvoort and the Langervelder Slag to go out when I was young.
Back via the other route.
I have a bike trip through Zeeland and northern Belgium planned in September. Appreciate this content, very helpful and makes me that much more excited!
Dutchie here , go to Schouwen Duiveland, region Burg Haamstede and Westenschouwen .So beautiful 😉 🌷
In case it hasn’t already been said. The reason for the non built up area near the ocean is that the dunes are a part of system that protects the Netherlands from water.
Skipping ahead to your visit to Middelburg: Did you visit the Sloedam? I can recall from my history lessons that Canadians fought heavily over there. You can still see the bunkers there too!
My Grandfather also guided some Canadians near Hansweert, they were looking for the village and were kind of "lost" He was delivering bread on his bicycle (he was a baker) with some extra smaller breads hidden underneath for people who were in hiding from the Germans or were part of the resistance. He found the Canadians along the embankment hidden in the reeds. They whispered "boy, boy! Where is the village!?" From there on they head on out to the Sloedam and helped free Walcheren (on which Middelburg is )
I think rumble strips started out as loud warning strips alarming drivers they're leaving the road. But they also happen to make roads a lot more erosion resistant. Which is probably why it was used where you were.
The rumble strips are growing blocks. Meant for the plants to grow through anchoring the path on the surface. Sand will wash away or blown away in dunes, this way that is prevented.
Greetings from a Brit living in NL. So glad you enjoyed your trip. If you haven't already done it later in this series, maybe you could do something on Dutch way marking for bikes: red and white signs including toadstools, and the 'fietsnetwerk' with 'knooppunten', and the long distance 'LF routes', which are great for longer and multi-day trips. If you come here again, maybe you could ride one or two of these. My own favourite is the LF3 Hanzeroute, which takes you through all the old Hanseatic League cities along the river Ijssel.
7:51 the rumble stones are for fire fighting ambulances and when you paid enough attention the bike oaths are hidden paths from province or waterschappen. So not a municipality. So like in cities. 😮😮😮
8:36 you cycled past my house. On the laan van nieuw oosteinde :). Great video
I am born and raised in Noordwijk, it's a great little village with so much hidden nature. Unfortunately the high prices on the houses pushed out many young adults at the time.
Really cool way to see the Netherlands through the eyes of a stranger ;)
It's really unfortunate. We're having the same problem here in Canada.
The Atlantic Wall museum in Noordwijk can be available for private visits, if arranged in advance. Note in October, the Sothern tunnel has to be closed to protect the bats that nest in there for the winter.
Bicycle highway are numbered.
All start with F (from Fiets).
We have the F15, F16 and F35....
Great video man, loving the series!
Hey, its Delft! The church tower that is black as a kettle in the video has been cleaned recently, it looks a lot better now.
The cycling route you took through the dunes is great, my favorite part is around Noordwijk and Katwijk, the dunes are very wide there, it feels really remote when you're out there.
Happy you liked the cycling in my country and backyard! For your next day I recommend you fix that chain and enjoy it even more!!
Nice video Nic, really love it.
august 2024 I will make a tour along the coast of my country. I am really inspired by the foreigners cycling here. we dutch sometimes forget how nice our bikeroads are, being able to bike all around.
please finish your videoreport of the whole NL tour.
Rumble strips are for those of us who like to party "a little", ... to wake us up, when we deviate from the road, if we fall asleep at the wheel on our way home. 😅