Gordon Henry Hembrow

My father was born on the 7th of February 1939 and died in the early morning of Friday 20th of March 2009.

It was sudden and completely unexpected. My mother and father had spent the previous evening with my sister and Dad felt healthy at that time.

None of us expected this to happen at all. A holiday was planned for Monday, and we were looking forward to my parents visiting us again later this year.

The first photo shows my father cycling here in Assen in October last year. He wasn't a very enthusiastic cyclist these days, but we went for short rides together when my parents visited. He told me tales years ago of riding with a full milk churns balanced on the top bar his bike, and making a trailer to carry more of them.

This photo is of my mother and father with me in their garden in Burnham-on-Sea in July 2006, just before I got on a train to head for Land's End. I was back with them by bike a couple of days later by bike, passing through again on the ride.


This photo was taken at the Bath and West show in Somerset. My father was selling baskets and my niece, Gemma, was helping out.


Looking out to sea from Burnham sea front, with Gemma and our eldest daughter, Eliza.

I miss my father. He was really a great person. Kind, helpful and hard working.

Somehow he seemed to know how to do almost any job. I can remember him doing everything from repairing the TV, plumbing, welding, woodwork. He was the best basket-maker I've met too.

He taught me many things. Including how to ride a bike (I remember being terrified that he'd let go, then he did and I was fine), how to repair a bike, how to make baskets.

There are some more photos of my father and his work here.

Crescendo Cycling Showband (The Bicycle Band)

I've occasionally told people that every possible kind of cycling is popular in the Netherlands. It really doesn't matter whether you're interested in road racing, utility cycling, recumbent bikes, antique bikes. It's all here. Here is another, completely different, type of cycling:



The video shows the Crescendo Cycling Brass Band from the village of Opende, just a few km from here. They formed in 1973, taking over the activities of a former military bicycle band. There's an Assen connection in that the first performance took place here in Assen at the TT race (Assen has a famous motorcycle racing circuit).

It's really very impressive how they ride in formation while playing their instruments. You'll note that specially adapted bikes are used for many of the musicians so that they can, for instance, drum and steer at the same time. The bikes used have back-pedal / coaster brakes.

The photo on the left shows the Nederlandsch Wielrijders Muziekcorps just prior to the second world war. Click on the photo for some more images.

Many thanks to Mark Wagenbuur for suggesting this video.

On bogeys, gaps, juu-juu and being told to f-off...

Other bloggers have yet again been writing about drivers and how they behave towards cyclists.

I recognise all these problems from when I lived and cycled in the UK. What's more, the friend with whom I rode from Land's End to John o'Groats reminded me this morning of a shop in Cornwall in the UK at which we bought refreshments. As we were loading them onto our bikes outside, the owner came to the door to tell us to "fuck off" because we were cyclists. Most people we met on that ride were reasonable human beings, but he wasn't the only unpleasant one. I've known pubs in the UK to shut their doors when cyclists arrive. They'd rather not have our money, rather than let in what they think are outlaw cyclists. It's really very sad, and of course makes no sense at all.

Anyway, the thing is... none of this happens over here. Not at all, ever. Cycling here is always a pleasure.

Take my commute today. A 63 km round trip, which as always was completely uneventful so far as drivers were concerned. As is normal, they gave way to me at the side road junctions where the law says they should. They also gave way to me at most junctions where they have priority over the cycle path and the law says they don't need to. White van man who this morning had pulled a bit too far out of a side road in order to join the road parallel with my bike path pulled back to let me past, and did so early enough that I didn't have to slow down.

Everyone smiled. No-one shouted. Lots and lots of people cycled.

Another normal day in the Netherlands.

In related news, a recent survey reveals that three quarters of Dutch cyclists sometimes sing as they ride along.

Railway station car and cycle parking

I've written before about the cycle parking at Assen railway station. How it is to grow to 2300 cycle parking spaces this year or enough for one in 28 of the population to leave their bike at the station. This time I'm covering it from a different angle.

There is also car parking the railway station. You can see cars parked at the far end of the cycle park in this photo. They are in a position a bit further from the platform and ticket office than the cycle parking. At present there are 40 car parking spaces at this location and a similar number on the other side of the tracks. There is only room for around one in 800 residents to drive to the station, and 15 of these spaces are being lost this year to make room for more cycle parking spaces.

The car parking is inexpensive to use, though with the limited spaces I suspect that drivers can find it difficult to get a space. It's an example of carrot rather than stick. People are being encouraged to cycle by choice for the sake of convenience, not charged out of their cars.

The bus station is adjacent to the railway station, so it is also convenient to combine bus journeys with train journeys.

You can see a video of walking from the railway platform to the cycle park in the photo here.

Riding to "England"

Yesterday I went to collect some more front bicycle racks, which sell quite well especially combined with a basket for people to carry their dogs on their bikes.

I took the same 40 km route to Hoogeveen to collect the racks as I've taken on several other occasions, but came back by a longer route to explore some places that I'd not been before, and get some more ideas for holiday routes. We've more routes this year than last, and have been able to refine some of the routes that people took last year.

That's me in "Engeland" (the Dutch spelling for England). It's a small village just a few km south of here. Unfortunately, "England" was a bit of a washout. It was a bit too small even to have a sign to announce its existence, so I could not take a photo next to a sign post.

The BOB YAK trailer basket contains 9 racks, and there are a further three in the rear basket on my bike. I had this 35 kg load for the 55 km return journey.

The road at this location seems to be in the process of being narrowed. This is in accordance with the policies generally to reduce speeds in the countryside.

This was the only car I saw on this section of road, and it stopped on the temporary passing place to let me go by. In general, car drivers are discouraged from using small country roads in this area.

The sign in this heath area asks people to switch off their mobile phones in order to avoid interference with a radio telescope which operates here.

The heath is also offically a "Stilte Gebied", or "Silent Area" in which there is generally no sound other than that of nature. We've quite a lot of these areas around here. It's really great to be able to ride in places where you can't hear motor vehicles.

And here is the radio telescope in question. This is one of a number of telescopes in the area, all of them now linked together in an international effort called "JIVE".

There are many such areas of heath in the area.

"JIVE" is a really high tech project, based in the middle of the Drents countryside.

A specialised supercomputer in this location receives information from telescopes across the world and combines it with clever software to give much the same result as that which would result from a planet sized telescope.

Now a more traditional type of picture. One of the beautiful churches in the area.

I passed through several small villages on the way home. Places that will definitely find their way into cycling holiday routes, and by the time I got home, the next dozen racks for stock had been on a great tour of the Drents countryside.

Once home, I loaded up the Xtracycle and took some baskets (and a rack) to the post office.

It's always a pleasure to cycle here, and this was once again a splendid day out. Also, you'll see how we really do use all the stuff that we sell. That goes not only for daily use of the bicycle baskets but also one of the racks was used to take parcels to the post office, and of course I spent half the day riding through the area in which our holidays are based: the same area as we selected to live in because it is so exceptional for cycling.

Finally, a photo from the direct route which I took for the last 25 km or so of the return journey. This was splendid, as ever. Cyclists (including these children returning from school) on one side of the canal, motor vehicles on the other:

Who's afraid of the big bad bus ?

Scene from a Dutch suburb built in the 1980s: The dreaded Bendy Bus. Many cyclists really dislike these, and they have been blamed for an increase of injuries in London. Quite apart from the real danger, it is quite obvious that the articulated nature of them leads to a reduction in subjective safety for cyclists, and we already know how important that is.

Over here, buses rarely get close to cyclists as we're on the cycle path (red) while the buses are on the roads, with the speed bumps to try to keep them and the other motor vehicles under control.

Note also the way the road rises up a little at the position of the crossing for pedestrians (and cyclists just off the right of the photo). Just enough to give drivers a hint that they should slow down at this location, but without causing cyclists (on the cycle path) any problem at all.

Getting "knocked down by a bus" is not all that uncommon where buses are mixed in with cyclists. Large vehicles don't ever really mix very happily with bicycles, and that's one reason why I have never thought much of shared bicycle / bus lanes. The only time I've ever had to ride in a bus lane in the Netherlands, it had been converted into a bike lane because of road works.

Ligfietsopstapdag 2009 (recumbent bike try-out day)

On Sunday the 5th of April we have the 4th Northern Netherlands Ligfietsopstapdag (Recumbent Bike Tryout Day) here in Assen. Just 1 km from my home, in fact. There's a lovely bike path from my home to the venue.

There are many Dutch recumbent manufacturers. The following of them will be at this event: Rainbow, Challenge, M5, Sinner, Nazca, Flevobike, Altena and Whike will have bikes (and trikes) for the public to try out.

Here are some photos of bikes from last year's event:

M5 recumbents.

That in the foreground is a very light and very fast machine of carbon fibre. This is a real racing machine, no mudguards and nowhere to carry luggage. Others in the range (behind) are aimed at more practical use.

Inside a Sinner Mango. You'll have seen a few pictures of these if you've read my blog posts about riding on Sundays with the huneliggers group. They are also what I have been helping to make in a part time job working for Sinner (a video of my commute is here).

Very quick, very practical and of course it keeps you clean and dry in bad weather (when the top is on).

A low and fast bike from Nazca, but practical as well as fast (note mudguards, luggage rack, suspension etc.)

Below you'll find a video of last year's event posted by Pjotr, who lives just around the corner. Much better than my boring stills: