The Discovery Of Heaven

It was a lovely day yesterday and the cycle-paths of Drenthe were calling so I decided to make the journey to the Dwingelderveld to eat my lunch next to the somewhat famous radio telescope. Why there in particular ? I'm currently reading Harry Mulisch's "De Ontdekking van de Hemel" ("The Discovery of Heaven"). The author stayed in the area of the radio telescope during the time when he wrote the novel and the telescope features in the book as well as in the film adaption of "The Discovery of Heaven".

This was cycling for no reason other than it was pleasant to cycle so I looked at the map and roughly picked out a reasonably scenic 70 km round trip including the aforementioned planned stop for an extended lunch...

On the way out I stopped at a village bakery to buy some of their delicious, sourdough bread for my lunch.

Continuing onward, a reminder of the continuous progress being made. This country road isn't very busy, but it is used by some heavy vehicles and this cycle-path, which I followed for about 6 km before turning in a different direction, is a big improvement.

Cycle-paths which provide safe and direct routes make cycling accessible to everyone.

"For your and our safety, 60 km/h". A reminder that some places are yet to be improved.

The many cycle-paths through forests are a highlight of cycling in Drenthe

Sometimes cycle-paths through woods need bridges over areas of wet land.

The most beautiful cycle-path in the province, according to the local paper.

The destination

I made sandwiches with the bread I bought earlier and read a couple of chapters of the book.

A popular spot for hungry cyclists.

Europe's radio telescopes are linked to a centre near here, one of the many excellent things funded by the EU. The EU also contributed funds to build some of the cycle-paths along which I rode to arrive here.

On the way home, a reminder of what keeps us safe from the danger of large vehicles. It's not that Dutch drivers are especially skilled or careful, it's not that large vehicles don't exist here (for example, larger trucks are allowed here than in the UK), or that they're not allowed in to the same places as cyclists. We are safe because we rarely interact with those vehicles because both cycle-paths and the road junctions are designed to eliminate conflict and city centres exclude through traffic.

Also on the way home, the man in a fluorescent jacket is directing traffic in one direction at a time past the cherry picker. Cyclists were not hindered. Road works need not inconvenience cyclists. 

I returned home about three hours after I left, having had a good bit of exercise and a very tasty lunch. A very enjoyable extended lunch-break, re-discovering a little bit of heaven here on earth, using nothing more than my muscles and one of the most efficient means of transport to do so.

Over the hills and far away - Drenthe has built a hill for cyclists

Steve, Peter and myself on "our" new hill: The "Col du VAM". It's the highest point in Drenthe at 4800 cm above sea level !

Each week, a small group of recumbent cyclists ride together from Assen on short touring rides. This morning three of us went on a 70 km round trip to ride up a new hill which Drenthe has created for cyclists of all kinds to ride over. "Our" new hill is now the highest spot in the province, reaching 48 metres above sea level. If you want to climb higher than this in Drenthe then you have to do it more than once.

Posing in front of the visitor centre before we properly begin our second descent.

This hill has been quite a long time in the making. While professional cycle races have also used the hill for many years (watch a video of Marianne Vos on the hill five years ago) it's been closed to everyday cyclists with a gate at the bottom because there was a potentially dangerous conflict on the only path which used to exist between pedestrians and cyclists descending quickly. That's why the general public were restricted to walking until yesterday when the new cycle-paths over the hill were officially opened.

Optional cobbles on the climb. There are a lot of
these around Drenthe for cycle-racers to use.

In total we now have 2.1 km of cycle-path on this hill which provide several routes up to the top and back down again. The climb has an average gradient of 10% and a maximum of 15% so it's a fairly good challenge. I've enjoyed riding over many larger hills in the past, but never before has there been a hill like this which was made especially for cycling over.

The quality is excellent: Wide and incredibly smooth asphalt paths are provided both for the ascents and the route back down again (where it's even more important).

It's really well thought out: A one-way system is used to prevent conflicts between those climbing and descending.

There is even a section of Kasseien (Kinderkopjes) to allow those who wish to to emulate their heroes in the Paris-Roubaix and other classic races, but because that's not everyone's cup of tea it's provided as an optional extra for those who want it while the rest of us can ride on asphalt.

Peter chasing someone else towards the steep part of the
descent. We saw many other cyclists on the hill today. I
expect it'll be even more popular on sunny Sundays.

My recumbent touring bike isn't really set up for hills. I've use a single front chainwheel with 60 teeth and the largest sprocket on the cassette at the back has 28 teeth so there's a minimum speed which it's possible to cycle at because going any slower will mean that I'll stop and never get started again and would have to push. As it worked out, all three of us reached the top, twice by different routes, without any problems in a reasonable amount of time.

The descent is marvellous, a unique experience in this area. It's deliberately been made less steep than the climb but 60 km/h is reached before you know it. This gives your brakes some work to do before the corners, but you always have the security of knowing that going off the asphalt doesn't mean crashing into anything hard because there's grass on both sides and you also have the certain knowledge that no car will ever get in the way of your safety as you descend because there are no cars allowed here.

While we were eating sandwiches at the top, this chap arrived over the cobbles with a handbike, having ridden from a village 10 km away to go over the hill. Cycling should be for everyone, including people with disabilities.

The visitor's hut at the top has an explanation of what lies beneath

It's Rubbish !
The VAM-berg is actually a pile of rubbish. Literally. It's a landfill site which has now been turned into a useful facility. It's not only useful to us cyclists, but these days, between 4000 and 5000 cubic metres of useful gas are extracted every hour from the waste. A fifth of the gas is burnt in a power station next to the hill while the rest of it is injected into the gas pipelines of the Netherlands and used by consumers at home to cook and heat their homes.

Recreational cycling and hills
Hills are not a problem for cyclists, they make cycling more enjoyable. If you go up a hill on one part of your journey, you get to ride back down again a little later on. No hill lasts more than a few kilometres. On the other hand, flat countryside means you can ride all day long against an endless and unbroken headwind, which costs you just as much energy as a hill without the reward of a descent.

Recreational cycling is often overlooked by cycling campaigners, but it is important as it provides more options for cycling. In my case it's one of the things which helps me to remain healthy. Recreational riders don't need much special infrastructure. They mainly use the same infrastructure as is used by local people to make everyday journeys. We just typically use more of it in a single day, benefiting from how everything is joined up across the Netherlands. Cycling infrastructure which doesn't allow people to make longer journeys also won't really allow them to make short journeys everywhere.

Our route to and from the VAM-berg included new sections of top quality cycle-path which are so new that I couldn't use them when I last cycled in this direction a few weeks ago. Other sections were part of a route which I've used for more than ten years to collect stock for our webshop from a supplier 40 km away.

Elsewhere, priority should first be given to providing infrastructure which allows specifically for everyday journeys, focusing on city centres and safe approaches to them, but a comprehensive cycling policy results in more than that. Journeys in any direction will be possible if a comprehensive go-everywhere grid of high quality infrastructure is built. In that context, a mere 2 km of cycle-path which exist for no reason other than to allow people to smile as ride up and down a hill especially built for them appears as part of a comprehensive policy. It should be seen everywhere, but actually it's only seen here.

This is an excellent and unique piece of infrastructure, in a province which prides itself on being the best place in the world for cycling.

As part of the official opening event, local school children rode up the hill and left pictures behind which are now on display in the visitor's centre.

Summer's here! Three days of cycling in Drenthe

At last winter seems to be over. The sun really came out this week and the temperature crept up to nearly 30 C. Touring through the countryside became so irresistible that I took two half days off and went out on Friday evening as well.

Through the forest with Steve on Wednesday afternoon's 90 km ride to the South of Assen.

Gloriously smooth cycle-paths run through many of the natural areas of Drenthe

A fellow recumbent rider on Wednesday.

A very old mushroom style directional signpost for cyclists. These provide a few more useful service to cyclists who are trying to actually go somewhere than the much hyped knooppuntennetwerk.

Cycle-path through heath

One of the many hunebedden (dolmans) in Drenthe.

Not all of our route was spent on cycle-paths through forest and heath. We also used some very small rural roads without motor traffic and cycle-paths like this which provide direct routes alongside major roads all across the province.

Everyone cycles in the Netherlands in one way or another. That includes older people riding electrically assisted bicycles and people with many kinds of disabilities, including poor hearing or deafness (which is what SH indicates)

We stopped for a break by one of several lakes on the route

This bench is a cycling facility. It was installed to give people a view of the lake.

A poem on the bench:
Cycling in Drenthe,
So simply, relaxed,
refreshing and surprisingly beautiful.

Everyone cycles in the Netherlands, including racing cyclists who use the same cycle-paths as everyone else. Why wouldn't you when these offer shorter distances to destinations, excellent surface quality and a very pleasant experience away from motor traffic ?

Art at a farm. It marks an area where land use was reformed. "What happens to people if the law is applied arbitrarily"

We're back in Assen, a city which sets many good examples for cycling infrastructure.

The width of cycle-paths like this one, connecting a suburb to the city, make cycling safe, attractive and convenient for all.

The next morning, heading North for an 80 km ride with Theo

Excellent quality concrete cycle-paths like this reach out in all directions from the city.

20 km further on we've swapped sides but still have the same excellent wide concrete path

Recreational paths (on routes which don't get used much for commuting or school traffic) can be narrower. This one just fits between the trees.

A lake in North Drenthe.

Let's not forget which country we're in. I'm happy to say that I'll be a Dutch citizen very soon now.

Recreational path selfie. Very smooth concrete.

Dogs like cycling too.

You might have heard that there are a lot of windmills in the Netherlands. Even by Dutch standards, this is a particularly nice example.

Super smooth wide recreational path shared with very occasional agricultural vehicles (we didn't see any).

This path is made unattractive to normal through motor traffic because there is a good surface only for cyclists. Tractors can of course be driven through the mud. This design removes motor traffic, unravelling routes in the countryside so that rural cycling is made more attractive and pleasant.

Just before the two paths merge again, into very wide smooth concrete.

Video of this path, heading towards Groningen (we left Drenthe for just a few kilometres)

Entering Groningen. The space under bridges in the Netherlands is usually allocated quite equitably for cyclists.

Concrete cycle-path leading towards the centre

Mum and baby

Our destination for today. Chips from De Belg (recently immortalised in a music video ;-)

Fresh potatoes fried in 100% vegetable oil (vegan). Excellent. Note that to the Dutch, fried potato chips (friets) are known to come from Belgium. People from other countries often think they originate elsewhere.

On the way back home, passing a school. As always, almost all students cycle to the school.

Friday evening's after work ride was just 20 km in length and there are just two photos. This shows a "hazard" on a recreational cycle-path next to the golf course in Assen - a golf cart. It's perfectly entitled to be here. Presumably a condition of the cycle-path being constructed through the golf course site.

To close, what could be more Dutch than tulips, bicycle and bicycle-path in the same photo ?

Of course I didn't start cycling on Wednesday or stop cycling on Friday night. Cycling is an everyday activity for us. Earlier in the week, and also on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday, I took parcels to the post office for our business. On Saturday I used my bike to go to the market for vegetables and today Judy and I went on a recreational ride this morning before gardening in the afternoon.

Drenthe was deservedly made the world's first UCI bike region a few years ago. We made our lives here because having looked around extensively this is the best place we found in the world for cycling.