Holland cycling guidebook?

[m-gineering]

Touring in Netherlands and Belgium with just a list of numbers is kind of strange but works well. Each node usually points to the direction of other nodes so your can just cruise through the nodes confident you're in the right route. Takes trust in the system though.

My experience is that whilst the system is quite good its not perfect and can send you on quite pointless diversions! This can be particularly annoying if you are trying to get from a to b at more than walking pace. I do use the system but i also use other roads - allow an hour each evening for writing out your list of nodes and checking there isn't a better way that does go into the village you want to get lunch at rather than diverting you around it!

I can't stand it, as at every intersection you have to hunt for the haphazard placed sign ( which is attached wherever they found something convenient) instead of concentrating on traffic and keeping momentum. If you have a GPS, the routeplanner at Fietsersbond.nl is the way to go

[Steve X]

I can't stand it, as at every intersection you have to hunt for the haphazard placed sign ( which is attached wherever they found something convenient) instead of concentrating on traffic and keeping momentum. If you have a GPS, the routeplanner at Fietsersbond.nl is the way to go

Whilst what you say is correct, I found that the more we used the Node network, the more instinctive it became.
For me the downfall of your approach, is that it goes against the very essence of touring. Yes you will get to were you intended to get, but without the Fiets Atlas, or other maps, you could lose the serendipity of Cycle Touring. That little diversion to an interesting sounding village, or a an odd symbol on the map. Does it really matter if on a tour one does 30, 300 or 3000 miles, its what I see and do and who I interact with that counts.
Obviously with 2 days to go and a ferry to catch, a route planner and GPS can be the way ahead, but then thats why there are Trains
Different strokes, different folks, and there is no right and wrong in this.

[m-gineering]

Whilst what you say is correct, I found that the more we used the Node network, the more instinctive it became.
For me the downfall of your approach, is that it goes against the very essence of touring. Yes you will get to were you intended to get, but without the Fiets Atlas, or other maps, you could lose the serendipity of Cycle Touring.

I just use the GPS for tracks, so if i decide ' that road looks interesting' it won't start bleeping and it just shows where I can pick up the suggested route if so desired. But the Fietserbond routeplanner is really good, and goes way further than the fastest between A and B (which is just one of the options). It usually picks the same roads you would have chosen if you know the region plus a few you hadn't considered but should have!

Obviously with 2 days to go and a ferry to catch, a route planner and GPS can be the way ahead, but then thats why there are Trains

Trains? Here they just switched off the whole raiilnetwork because a computer fell over. NS just hates cyclists, even more than ordinary travelers

[st599_uk]

Trains? Here they just switched off the whole raiilnetwork because a computer fell over. NS just hates cyclists, even more than ordinary travelers

Compared to some UK train companies, taking a bike on an NS train is heaven.

No rotating through 90 degrees, deadlifting it on to a meat hook and then using your coat to pad it from damage.

[Steve X]

Trains? Here they just switched off the whole raiilnetwork because a computer fell over. NS just hates cyclists, even more than ordinary travelers

Compared to some UK train companies, taking a bike on an NS train is heaven.

No rotating through 90 degrees, deadlifting it on to a meat hook and then using your coat to pad it from damage.

To be fair, you pay €10 and you can take your bike, but it could be Bike Jenga, with 12 bikes piled up. I would not describe it as Bike heaven.

[Galactic]

I'm a bit late to the party, but I just wanted to mention the maps I've had experience of in the Netherlands.

The ANWB (equivalent of the AA, but with a cycling wing) used to do a 1:100k cycling atlas of the NL, showing all the node numbers, but it seems to have been replaced by the Falk Fietsatlas Nederland at 1:75k https://www.anwb.nl/webwinkel/p/35310/f ... -nederland - sadly without any images of what the maps actually look like. It is very clear.

On the downside it's spiral bound, quite heavy (plasticised, waterproof pages) and annoying when planning routes because you have to flip between pages.

Since I last cycled in NL the German publishers BVA working with the German cycle club ADFC have extended their excellent range of cycling touring maps to the Netherlands. At a scale of 1:150k these maps are a perfect compromise between detail and having to refold your map/dig out the next map every half-hour. The mapping is very clear, allowing navigation within cities and include useful details such as campsites and bike shops.

They cover the Netherlands with two maps: https://www.fahrrad-buecher-karten.de/k ... 3870739461 and https://www.fahrrad-buecher-karten.de/k ... 3870739478 (have a look at https://www.landkartenschropp.de/Niederlande-Sued for photos of the mapping).

BVA also do 1:75k maps of some areas that are useful if you are based in one place and just want to do day trips rather than cover some distance.

(You may have guessed I'm a huge fan of the BVA 100k (edit: I meant 150k, of course) maps and am glad they're extending coverage into neighbouring countries. Hopefully they'll get round to doing the UK one day because as much as I love OS maps, the 50k maps cover too small an area, and smaller scale maps don't have much detail).

[Ron]

When you get over there, look for offices of the VVV(vay vay vay) and/or ANWB these organisations have no precise equivalent in the UK, but have information for travellers in NL, maps, books, brochures ,guides etc.