# Help! Biking in The Netherlands



## richjar (Jan 8, 2006)

I'm probably moving from the Uk to Amsterdam soon and am a bit worried about the biking in Holland! Does anyone know if there is any sort of mountain biking there, and if not where the nearest would be??
thanks!!


----------



## arkadi (Apr 11, 2006)

Head south to the brunssumheide near Heerlen and Brunssum. Vaals, Gulpen, etc. It's only about a 2.5 hour drive

I haven't been up that way since 02, but lived in Heerlen for 3.5 years. ANWB (I think that's the dutch version of ADAC) has tourist information shops where you can buy a book of all the mountainbike routes in South Limburg. Most of them are 30-35k. All the mtb routes in the book are well marked and several of them are easily linked together. My favorite was the Brunssumheide and Vielen routes. The one that starts near margraten was good to, 


There is also a flat but extremely interesting network of singletrack about 20k west of eindhoven, but for the life of me I can't remember the name.

I only went north a couple of times, the trails up there were extremely sandy.


----------



## richjar (Jan 8, 2006)

thanks for the info arkadi, sounds like there are at least some trails although I might have to trade in my bouncer.

cheers


----------



## eric (Jan 22, 2004)

Bit of a late reply, but there is enough riding to go around. De center of the country (east of Utrecht, into the Veluwe region and so on) has the most 'open' trails, where you can do more or less what you want. All within about an hour's driving of Amsterdam.

In the west there are a bunch of trails, although most of them are short and anything else in the area is no go for bikers. Schoorl (in the dunes, northwest of Amsterdam) is a good place to visit. Two other favorites of mine somewhat further south are Drunen and Best, again within about an hour's worth of driving. Zoetermeer and Bergschenhoek are basically covered over landfills with XC racetracks on them, but they offer lots of climbing and relatively technical riding.

The only serious climbing in the country can be found in the Arnhem area (Posbank) and in the southeast, in the province of Limburg. Lots of riding at any rate, and no need to ditch your FS rig. At the moment a lot of the clay trails are bone dry and some places are almost unrideable on a rigid bike or HT.  Anyway, the Ardennes are close enough for a weekend trip (3 hours drive from A'dam) and a 4-5" travel bike can be very useful there!

At any rate.... have a look on the Dirty Pages website: http://www.dirty-pages.net. You'll find enough detailed info there, and enough members speak enough English to help out. AFAIK there are three or four Brits hanging around there anyway.

Good luck moving!


----------



## richjar (Jan 8, 2006)

hey Eric

thanks for the detailed reply! sounds like theres a fair bit afterall. I'll check the site out. 
thanks again for taking the time, and maybe see you over there in a month or two!
Richard


----------



## arkadi (Apr 11, 2006)

aha. Best was the name of the place I was trying to think of. Nice. I wish I'd known that about zoetermeer when I live there. Still, I was spoiled with a trailhead to the Brunssumheide (50k of mostly singletrack) 3kms from my door. 

Definitely keep the FS bike. There are several routes down by Gulpen where you'll appreciate it.


----------



## eric (Jan 22, 2004)

Drop a line when you het around to it.

I'll be moving to Eindhoven soon 'cause of the new job, so I hope to find some good trails there as well.

@Arkadi: Best has to be one of the most fun prepared courses in the country, especially since they added an extra couple of km. Did a night ride there once... amazing!


----------



## Palomino (Apr 25, 2005)

*Biking sucks - luckily do does easyjet, vueling and transavia*



richjar said:


> I'm probably moving from the Uk to Amsterdam soon and am a bit worried about the biking in Holland! Does anyone know if there is any sort of mountain biking there, and if not where the nearest would be??
> thanks!!


I lived in the NL for about 12 years. I moved to Madrid about 1.5 years ago.

Despite what the dutchies may say, MTB'ing is limited, and dull if you dont choose carefully, in NL (unless you enjoy riding countless loops around a old garbage dump or repeating the same dune routes every week).

They do have some nice relaxed trails through the dunes, and as stated a few old tips that have been converted to "nature" (Bergschenhoek, Haarlem, Zoetermeer) but if you want a ride with more than 100m cumulative climbing (no, the actual altitude wont vary that much) I'd advise either Belgium or one of the airlines: Easyjet, transavia, vueling and even iberia, airfrance and klm if you buy online. If you buy smart it will cost you less to get a return to nice for a weekend than the petrol it will cots you to go to belgium...

Sorry to the dutch guys who will say i'm wrong. They believe what they say to be true because the dont know 3000M downhills (and climbs) exist.

Phill


----------



## eric (Jan 22, 2004)

Baloney!  

Obviously the country is almost as flat as a pancacke, being mostly floodplain. The highest point in the country is only 350 ft. above sea level or something ridiculous like that, but there are enough fun spots to go around.

The biggest problem (IMHO) is that the west is severy urbanized. You can't ride ANYWHERE without making countless miles by car or on paved roads. The south and east are a lot better in this respect.


----------



## richjar (Jan 8, 2006)

Well, I'm finally here. Havent had a chance to explore much yet but have been enjoying riding round town on my shopping bike. One question that someone might be able to help - I'm having trouble insuring my bike. I found one compay that will insure up to 3000 euro, but mines worth more than that. Also the minimum period is 3 yrs and its expensive! Anyone know of any good companies?
cheers


----------



## eric (Jan 22, 2004)

Cool. I'm unable to ride at the moment (season seems to be over....argh), so the miserable weather isn't too bothersome.

Insuring an expensive bike is pretty difficult, and many require you drill holes in the frame for a fixed lock. AXA, Unigarant, Enra.nl, ANWB and a few smaller companies offer specific insurance policies for bikes, but they are a) expensive b) very limited in their coverage and c) may not cover the value of your bike. Your best best is probably trying to get it covered in your home owner's, fire, etc. insurance.


----------



## richjar (Jan 8, 2006)

thanks for the info Eric. I definetly wont be drilling holes in my bike! I guess I need to start phoning around. Off to the Alps in a couple of weeks so want to find some cover for that. Wish me luck...!


----------



## eric (Jan 22, 2004)

Good luck! 

I'm off to the Alps this Friday night. If you're heading to Austria, try to avoid the road from Frankfurt to München during the daytime - quite some roadwork and traffic is always hell there.


----------



## richjar (Jan 8, 2006)

have a great time. 
One more question (sorry). Now I'm having trouble getting health insurance for biking (and insurance for the bike while on holiday). Do you know any companies?
cheers


----------



## The Sac (Jun 6, 2006)

Don't live there or anything but I just meet the great guys that run www.singlespeed.nl maybe they can help.


----------

