Cycling the Canals of De Rijp, Holland 2017 🇳🇱

Travelled: 26 kilometres from De Rijp to Hoorn, Holland.

Visited: Cycled the canals of Eilands-Polder and De Mijzen-Polder around De Rijp (free) other than sore legs.

Stayed: Carpark next to the yatch-haven in Hoorn €2.50 per day (no facilities). N52.63414 E05.05680

We have a very pleasant evening at the Fam Stoop in De Rijp. We plug into electricity for the first time in nearly two weeks and re-charge everything on board. We could use the inverter but need to be considerate of our leasure batteries as they get milked by the coffee machine 2-3 times a day. We get the BBQ out and cook some Welsh sausages (magnificient) whilst Pam uses the microwave to heat up this and that. As the beer and wine is half the price of the UK even that more enjoyable.

Love a quality sausage on the BBQ with some portobello mushrooms 🍄. Just a dab of the old Lurpac on the underside to enhance the flavour !

Our neigbours are a couple from the east of The Netherlands travelling over this way to visit their grandchildren. They give us some advise on some cycling paths, recommending the Eilands-Polder and where to get a map. So after our usual coffee fruit we get the bikes off and get going. Unfortunately our neigbour didn’t say the tourist information doesn’t open until 11am !

Netherlands

We hit the cycling 🚵 paths and head for the tourist office.

Riding across this little lift bridge to the old town. It was just re-opening as we approached but the man was too quick and before I could stop it was down.

We find the tourist office but it’s closed ?

We ask a fello on a mobility scooter (of all things) who replies in perfect English that the tourist office doesn’t open until 11am, further he states nothing opens in Holland until 11am. This leads me to an interesting issue. Mobility scooters, in Australia they are speed limited to walking pace. As it is mobility scooters users are often in the news for knocking some other old lady over and breaking her hip or of less concern knocking some idiot off his skateboard and breaking his arm or a couple of teeth. No such speed limiting seem to exist in The Netherlands, you get overtaken on cycle paths by old people in a hurry to bingo or perhaps the passing of a friend. I digress…

We stop at the church for a quick picture.

De Rijp is full of Hydrangeas. This picture is for my neighbour Norm.

So for the next 3 hours we do the 35 kilometre loop around the wetlands north of De Rijp.

Over bridges (Pam loved this one), past the occasional car or tractor.

Its amazing how many of these old windmills we pass out here in the polder. Many seemed to have been converted into homes or perhaps holiday homes. Pam is getting a little anxious at this stage, we have been riding all morning and haven’t seen a single shoe shop !

Quick selfie 🤳 on the canal, goodness knows which one.

Back in the Hymer, very tired, but happy we visited De Rijp and cycled the canals. We would certainly recommend the Fam Stoop for a motorhome stopover. Anyway we relax for an hour whilst the bike batteries re-charge, have a very late lunch before packing up the Hymer and head the short distance to Hoorn and our next adventure.

Anyway we relax for an hour whilst the bike batteries re-charge before packing up the Hymer and head the short distance to Hoorn and our next adventure.

Michael and Pam

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