Also see:
A view from the cycle path - our blog about cycling in the Netherlands
The Netherlands (Holland) is the world's most cycle friendly country. We are based in Assen, the capital of Drenthe - the "Cycling Province" of the Netherlands. This is the ideal location for a cycling holiday, and is where many Dutch cyclists take their holidays.
Drenthe is an uncrowded province with vast areas of heath and forest. Riding through this landscape you will also see evidence of the effect of human hands on the many farms and the beautiful villages and cities.
Our routes make use of the thousands of kilometres of cycle paths in Drenthe to provide interesting tours for young and old, fast and slow, experienced and less experienced cyclists.
We will ride along bike paths through woods and heath. Along dikes by canals and across bridges. To farms and windmills, cafes and restaurants, museums and monuments, flower fields and hunebedden.
We are an English family who relocated to what we consider to be the most beautiful area in the Netherlands. Let us show you around.
Use the buttons on the left to select the type of holiday you are interested in.
Self-lead tours
These rides are suitable for solo cyclists or groups and can be taken at any time of year. They are especially suitable for families who wish to ride together at their own pace. We have two suggested sets of routes on the web pages below, but we can also tailor these tours to suit your needs. As well as the routes, we organise your accommodation and (if needed) bicycle hire. Please click on the links below or ask for more details.
Guided Tours
By appointment we can organise guided rides in the Netherlands. The tours can be customized to suit any ability of cyclist and we can also lead you on some days while you are self lead or have other activities on other days. We organise the routes, the accommodation and (optionally) bicycle hire and we take care of the navigation by going along with you each day. Let us be your guides to the cycling culture of the Netherlands. Coffee and lunch stops are planned into each day's ride. Guided tours are more economical with larger groups. We recommend a group size between 4 and 12 people, but can provide If you are a member of a group who would like such a tour, please contact us for more information. Note that while have a recommended group size we can also offer guidance for smaller or larger groups. Speciality cyclingWe can also offer speciality tours for adults who are nervous about joining a group, starting cyclists, and cyclists with disabilities. Judy has considerable experience with children and teenagers who have Downs syndrome and austism. |
Study Tours Assen boasts some of the best cycling infrastructure in the world and has a rate of cycling which is beyond most countries. We offer tours here for transport professionals and campaigners which show off the infrastructure and the methods of planning which have achieved such results. We have been organising Study Tours since 2006. For 2010 there are no fixed date study tours, but on the same basis as the group rides we can organise tours for groups. The best dates for Study Tours are in Spring and Autumn, avoiding school holidays so that the extent of school cycling can be observed. However, we can also accommodate other dates. Study Tours are normally of a three day duration. New for 2010 we can also offer a self-lead one day study tour for interested individuals as part of a self-lead holiday. There are more details of the Study Tours on the Study Tour web page. About usJudith and David Hembrow are experienced English cycle tourists and campaigners who now live in Assen in the Netherlands. We initially visited because it is such a wonderful place to cycle. We came here to live after finding the Dutch people to be so very friendly and agreeable. It took us a lot of visits before we decided that Assen was the place to live. In the past we have toured, raced and commuted on our bikes. We've ridden alone, with each other, with friends and with children and we have worked in cycle promotion in the UK. We've written up some of the cycle tours we have made both in the UK and in the Netherlands and links to a few of them are below: 2006 Land's End to John o'Groats Touring stories from our blog. 
How we tourWe don't like to be too hurried on holiday and we don't think you want to be either. We will start each day after leaving plenty of time for breakfast. We'll stop somewhere nice for coffee & lunch and we will return to the hotel or B&B in plenty of time for an evening meal. In most cases we do not plan exact distances each day. Our routes are flexible so that they can suit the group. If you have special dietary needs, such as being a vegetarian or vegan, we can help. Just let us know. We also have a page of photos of Dutch cycling facilities some of which are featured on the tours. We also have a page with more information about Assen. For those with an interest we have links to articles on Cycle friendly design and Cycle Promotion in the Netherlands. |