by CCS » 01 Sep 2014 10:18
Well, since you ask (and since I am easing myself back into the office with some Monday morning work avoidance...).
The infrastructure was excellent. Where we were in South Holland, the cycle paths generally seemed to be separate from the roads - usually split into 2 lanes (for travelling in each direction), wide enough for cycling 2 abreast, and lovely smooth tarmac (which youngest child loved, seeing as I usually take her out on the muddy common, which is strewn with tree roots and pine cones). Some paths were a bit dangerously close to the water's edge (as there is a LOT of water around) - but no one fell into the Old Rhine (to my relief). There were loads of paths completely separate from the road network (for example meandering across the polder, or heading along the coast behind the sand dunes).
Loads of people were on bikes (of all ages) - it seems to be a major way of getting around, and there were bike racks next to the bus stops, which is presumably how people commute longer distances. Bikes seemed to be mainly of the sit up and beg variety, and there were some excellent contraptions for getting children around, from the normal sort of bike seats, through to what can only be thought of as the love child of a bike and a wheelbarrow, where a couple of children could be carried in what looked like a small skip in front of the bike.
Loads of the minor roads (for example outside our cottage) were extremely quiet, so kids could happily play in safety in bikes / skateboards (though very nearly had a nasty accident while cycling next to eldest child on a skateboard... luckily, I can confirm that a mountain bike can easily ride over the top of an escaped skateboard with no damage to either board or cyclist)...
No one, except for the odd roadie or small child, seems to wear a helmet - which gave us a big issue with teenage daughter, who didn't want to ride into any town, for fear of looking uncool.
I did also notice that when we stopped for a morning coffee, there was a bike club (all on road bikes) stopped at the same cafe - all drinking beer.
Road (or even TT) bikes would have been quite happy on all the surfaces available. Best gadget I took was my Garmin - very useful for answering the endless questions from the children ('how far have we gone'; 'how long have we been riding for'; 'are we there yet'; 'can I have a Haribo'... OK, so Garmin didn't help much with the last one, other than as the basis for a rationing system).
Talking to myself and feeling old