A new noise barrier

I've written previously about how noise barriers are used to make sure that residential areas are not spoiled by the noise which comes from motorways. The combination of quiet road surfaces, lower speed limits near residential areas and noise barriers is very effective.

However, noise isn't only a consideration for residential areas. Drenthe has many large natural areas of heath and forest and these also can be spoiled by noise.

Our local TV station covered the story of a new noise barrier being constructed along the side of the A28 motorway. It will be 5 km long, and protect the nature area known as the Dwingelderveld.


The red line shows the position of the new noise barrier. No-one lives close by the western edge of the motorway in this position, so this barrier is not to protect homes from the traffic noise.

It looks a little ugly at present, and has required chopping down some trees to make space for the noise barrier. However, this damage won't last for long. The section of the noise barrier by the forest will itself be masked by trees so that it is visually in keeping with the forest. The section by the slightly hilly heath area will be covered in the heath plant, and landscaped so that it also is nearly invisible.

There are many radio-telescopes in this area. This telescope was once the world's largest and this place is now the centre of the current world's largest radio telescope

The Dwingelderveld is one of ten Stiltegebieden, or "silent areas" in Drenthe. However, measurements taken in 2005 showed that 2/3rds of the time, sounds could be heard, and that the main cause was the A28 motorway. This is what led to the new barrier being planned and built, because otherwise the area could no longer be considered to be silent.

This radio-telescope is in the Dwingelderveld. I've been there a few times. Read newer blog posts about the Dwingelderveld.

A Saturday ride through quiet countryside

I went for a ride through the countryside yesterday. It took just an hour and a half to make a ride from home, through one of the heaths nearby, and back again. In Drenthe, it's very easy to find somewhere quiet to go for a few minutes:


There are many stiltegebieden or "silent areas" within easy cycling distance of Assen. Even though they are just a short distance from the city, they are about as quiet as it is possible for anywhere to be. The cycle paths don't stop at the city boundary, but continue in all directions through the countryside, so every location can be reached without having to ride on busy roads.

On the way out of Assen I came across a bridge which was opening for a boat. There was soon a queue.

Heading into the heath. This is the start of the stiltegebied. When you stop, you have only the sounds of nature to listen to.

If passing cyclists make the cycle path not quite quiet enough, there are places to walk to and seats to sit on where it is even quieter.

It's like being in the middle of no-where

It was a very nice day, so lots of people were cycling.

Cycling is something the entire population does. On average, Dutch people use bicycles just short of 6 times a week.

Even though this is only a 15 km ride from Assen, it feels remote, as if it is much further away.

The building in the background is in the city.

Some of the cycle paths in nature areas are made of crushed shells. When you read of the 29000 km of cycle paths in the Netherlands, note that recreational paths like this are not included in the total.

Some have been upgraded to concrete.

All sorts of people ride. Here a group of women on racing bikes have stopped at a cafe.

My bike on the other side of a field full of poppies

We came to live in this part of the Netherlands because we found it to be both beautiful and wonderful to cycle through. Our routes go through all the most scenic parts of the area. Book a holiday and you can experience it for yourself.

Cycling Province of the year 2011: Drenthe

Our local paper reports that Drenthe, the province of which Assen is the capital, has been voted as cycling province of the year for 2011. "Recreational cyclists find Drenthe the most attractive".

One of the areas of Heath in Drenthe. Beautiful, and with no motor access.

5000 people voted in an online poll, giving a score for such things as the attractiveness of the countryside and the quality of cyclepaths. Drenthe scored well due to the amount of space (it's the least densely populated part of the country) and quietness.

Talking to a customer in May in one of the ten Stiltegebieden or "silent areas" in Drenthe. This place is about 10 km from Assen and can only be reached by foot or by bike. It's very nearly completely silent. You have to get off your bike and stop to notice this. Usually you can't hear anything at all.

Drenthe really is a fabulous place to cycle. That's why we moved here.

We organise cycling holidays in Drenthe.

Queens Day recreational bike ride

Yesterday was Koninginneddag. It's a nice event, very sociable. Judy and I decided that instead of staying in Assen we'd go to the village of Vries this time, have a couple of beers at the cafes, listen to a friend's music, and take part in the cycle ride which one of the cafes had organised. This was 33 km long, to be taken at a fairly relaxed pace.

Judy riding through the "desert" a few km from Assen

People celebrating in the middle of no-where.

We stopped at a bench to eat our sandwiches. At the left end of the
bench is space for a tree to grow through.

The plaque on the bench reads "listen to nature". As this is a stiltegebied,
or "silent area", nature is all you can hear except for the sound of passing
cyclists.

It turned out to be a very good spot for people-watching.

So we made a video showing some of the other participants in the ride we were taking part in.

Many of the riders were quite elderly. Over 65s make a quarter of all their journeys by bike in the Netherlands. They don't only ride short distances to the shops and back, but also quite often go for tours in the countryside. Retired couples are often seen on matching "his and hers" bikes, and increasingly these days they'll buy electric bikes to make tours like this a little easier.

Some of the other riders on the same route

Teenagers going in the opposite direction

And of course there was also plenty of evidence of people at the opposite
 end of the age range also cycling today.

The worst cycle path in Drenthe

Our local paper, the Dagblad van het Noorden recently listed the 12 worst cycle paths in the province of Drenthe (we live in Assen, the capital of Drenthe).

The winner was a recreational cycle path near where we live. While most cycle paths in the Netherlands are wide, smooth and a pleasure to ride on, this one is narrow, not properly surfaced and a bit bumpy. However, it's recreational ! No-one forces you to cycle along it.

Actually, I quite like it. I've ridden along there a few times, and it's a nice change from the normal "perfect" bike paths. It's very much a recreational path.

The winners of this prize, the Natuurmonumenten organisation, are somewhat displeased, as they see it as an old cart track which they made accessible, and which the ANWB then made a part of the local fietsknooppuntennetwork of recreational routes. This caused it to be used more often than it used to be due to signs and maps telling people to use it for recreational trips.

Anyway, here's a short film, which we made back in March when we rode along this path:


See more about normal standards for cycle paths.

Update 2012 - work to improve the surface has made a considerable difference

Thanks to Frits for sending the article - I missed this copy of the paper. The newspaper title reads "Old people fall here in bunches". No doubt a bit of an exaggeration, but it reflects the fact that in this area it's quite normal to come across bunches of old people out in the countryside enjoying riding their bikes. "The worst cycle path in Drenthe" is included on one of our cycling holiday routes :-)

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: