Good on you, Chris. My wife is also Dutch and we’ve recently relocated here from London. Couldnt agree more with your observations...it is cycling heaven. Safety, or feeling of safety, due to extensive cycling infrastructure is another massive plus for me. Anyway, enjoy your rides and put out as much content as you can manage. 👍
@@chrisopie87 I did LEJOG five years back and the first day, up and down those short Cornish ramps, was the hardest bit by far. Dartmoor Classic wasn’t exactly easy either, on an 11/25 cassette😖. Im built for The Low Countries, not the West Country🤗
I loved Netherlands and spent 2 seasons racing for Koga Miyata and Het Twentse Ros (91/92).... Based near Hengelo. I did have problems training on bike paths to start with but soon got the hang of it. The racing there is amazing with 80km crits !!!!! Great vid Chris
Just come back from cycling around Belgium on our first cycling holiday, we loved it and it was stunning. We have a plan to ride around part of the Netherlands next year for a cycling holiday there. Just gathering places to visit and pass through then I she’ll have my head in kamoot and my wahoo for a few weeks 😂😂😂
Thank you for sharing your ride with us! I visited the Netherlands in 2012 and I was amazed at the number of people on bikes, by how comfortable they looked on bikes, as sure of themselves as I was on my own two legs. Yes, it's an amazing country for cycling, with an amazing infrastructure for it.
Welkom in Nederland! I hope we're treating you well. And thanks for all the nice things you said about cycling here! Looking forward to more videos about your time in our country👍
Freaks me out to hear you speak Dutch, even more to see you plan a route in the same region I train throughout the week. Even knowing your wife is Dutch, it's still weird :P. But awesome to see! We dutchies don't always appreciate what we have, always nice to hear it from a foreigner.
Road surface probably better because they arent driving on them as much, weight kills roads. Also towns aren't bankrupted trying to keep up with maintenance.
@@chrisopie87 Yeah finished a day early =) So enjoyed a day off doing sweet fa. 6 days 16 hours. Only one mechanical, dirty reiver a week earlier had loosened a component that sits off the saddle rails (anti-sway saddle bag thing) - saddle bag literally sat on back wheel. A short trip back to the nearest town to a bike shop for re-adjustment/seized bolts and I was away again.
Love it Chris! Would love to have heard you speaking a bit of Dutch! How is Meike getting on with her progression with her FTP? I am sure that over in the Netherlands she could probably put you in the gutter with her impressive improvement! 🤣 Speaking of.. what would you say was your favourite race that you had done whilst in the Netherlands? Look forward to seeing more videos! Thanks!
Haha, I can still speak it. Just wasn’t sure there was an audience for it. Meike is now cruising around with an ftp over 200 after finishing her season of Zwift racing. She’s now looking forward to Grimduro Wales in July…. Favourite races was probably Ronde van Midden Nederland, closely followed by Ronde van Drenthe and Veenendaal Veenendaal…
We Dutch like it too. Both for practical and recreational purposes. I saw that you have biked some parts fietsknooppunten routes. You have showed lovely parts. And fietsknooppunten routes are the most beautiful routes via all the bike lanes and paths. We usually don’t understand anglophone people who try to speak Dutch. Main reason is that their intonation, both for sentences and words, sounds weird when used in Dutch. Melodies in both languages and sound of letters and letter combinations differ quite a lot.
Hey Chris! Leuk om te zien dat je om de hoek bent in Nederland. Hoe lang ben je nog in Nederland? Zou leuk zijn om een kleine groepsrit te doen met wat kijkers uit Nederland. Ik woon in Utrecht, en heb morgenmiddag een rit van 4 uur op de planning staan. Als je zin hebt kan ik je meenemen op 1 van mijn mooiste road/offroad routes. rondom Utrecht.
Hey!! Ik heb er zeker zin in, maar we zijn met de kinderen dus wordt nu even lastig om nog te veel te fietsen. Dinsdag avond rij ik weer op de berg en heel misschien nog kans op Woensdag of Donderdag te kunnen fietsen. Maar van de zomer zijn we er waarschijnlijk weer!
Haha.. my take away of your video...@5:20 We still have above ground electricity wires for domestic use..? 😅😂🫢 I truly believed we abounded those all years ago. For the rest.. nice to see you enjoying our bike culture
Good on you, Chris. My wife is also Dutch and we’ve recently relocated here from London. Couldnt agree more with your observations...it is cycling heaven. Safety, or feeling of safety, due to extensive cycling infrastructure is another massive plus for me. Anyway, enjoy your rides and put out as much content as you can manage. 👍
Thank you, hope you enjoy your new life after relocation!! My wife absolutely misses the ease of everything on a bike, Cornwall is very different.
@@chrisopie87 which Abus model helmet are you wearing?
@@chrisopie87 I did LEJOG five years back and the first day, up and down those short Cornish ramps, was the hardest bit by far. Dartmoor Classic wasn’t exactly easy either, on an 11/25 cassette😖. Im built for The Low Countries, not the West Country🤗
The Netherlands, it’s a MUST! Absolutely beautiful country. 1st on my “To do”-list. 🚴🏻♂️🚴🏻♂️
100% worth it if possible!
I loved Netherlands and spent 2 seasons racing for Koga Miyata and Het Twentse Ros (91/92).... Based near Hengelo. I did have problems training on bike paths to start with but soon got the hang of it. The racing there is amazing with 80km crits !!!!! Great vid Chris
The wind is your friend: it either helps you, or it makes you stronger!
Just come back from cycling around Belgium on our first cycling holiday, we loved it and it was stunning. We have a plan to ride around part of the Netherlands next year for a cycling holiday there. Just gathering places to visit and pass through then I she’ll have my head in kamoot and my wahoo for a few weeks 😂😂😂
I agree! I was on a bike tour many decades ago there. Very windy with limited wind breaks though. A feeling of safety.
Yes, very limited wind breaks haha. But once you overlook that it is really quite something.
Thank you for sharing your ride with us! I visited the Netherlands in 2012 and I was amazed at the number of people on bikes, by how comfortable they looked on bikes, as sure of themselves as I was on my own two legs. Yes, it's an amazing country for cycling, with an amazing infrastructure for it.
Welkom in Nederland! I hope we're treating you well. And thanks for all the nice things you said about cycling here! Looking forward to more videos about your time in our country👍
Thank you, so far it has been a lovely week, seeing friends and family again!
Enjoy the family trip,Chris!
Thank you!
Great video Chris. Been to the Netherlands last time in November and loved riding there!
Awesome video, I live nearby and ride these roads quite often. Enjoy your stay.
Thank you for the amazing videos Chris! Definitely one to add to my to-do list!
Father-in-law is a fit fella! That looks like my sort of terrain, might have done more racing, no hill's to get dropped on ! Enjoy your holiday mate.
A design for life. So much to admire the Dutch for. 👌
That's such a good way of looking at it. I just hope the rest of us can benefit from am similar design one day.
Fantastic video Chris! Makes me want to go back and ride there!
Freaks me out to hear you speak Dutch, even more to see you plan a route in the same region I train throughout the week. Even knowing your wife is Dutch, it's still weird :P. But awesome to see! We dutchies don't always appreciate what we have, always nice to hear it from a foreigner.
Haha, that's not a bad thing, nice to speak it when I have the chance.
Flat roads for miles & miles... Now that is heaven to me... Might have to swap the Mourne Mountains for Holland 😂. Weather looks pretty good too Chris
Great video! Such a beautiful place. I find I have to work on not bracing riding in the winds. Otherwise I get a sore neck.
I love the Netherlands. Great place for holidays. Home of the Amstel gold race and many others.
I'd love to join you on these roads.
That is such a good race to watch too, just a shame they moved the finish 😅
Road surface probably better because they arent driving on them as much, weight kills roads. Also towns aren't bankrupted trying to keep up with maintenance.
That's a good point, I hadn't even considered that!
Awesome video!
Thank you!
Finished the Race Around the Netherlands a few weeks ago, 2000km around the place. Worst bit... coming back on to British roads! :-(
Ah wow, that sounds brilliant, Richard!! Hope you enjoyed it and all went well?
@@chrisopie87 Yeah finished a day early =) So enjoyed a day off doing sweet fa. 6 days 16 hours. Only one mechanical, dirty reiver a week earlier had loosened a component that sits off the saddle rails (anti-sway saddle bag thing) - saddle bag literally sat on back wheel. A short trip back to the nearest town to a bike shop for re-adjustment/seized bolts and I was away again.
Bike shops are everywhere =)
You should cycle in the hilly southeast of the country in the province of Limburg. So beautiful.
Love it Chris! Would love to have heard you speaking a bit of Dutch! How is Meike getting on with her progression with her FTP? I am sure that over in the Netherlands she could probably put you in the gutter with her impressive improvement! 🤣 Speaking of.. what would you say was your favourite race that you had done whilst in the Netherlands? Look forward to seeing more videos! Thanks!
Haha, I can still speak it. Just wasn’t sure there was an audience for it. Meike is now cruising around with an ftp over 200 after finishing her season of Zwift racing. She’s now looking forward to Grimduro Wales in July…. Favourite races was probably Ronde van Midden Nederland, closely followed by Ronde van Drenthe and Veenendaal Veenendaal…
Have you tried a ride through the dunes along the coastline yet?
Enjoy your stay! Groetjes..
brave to be riding in the wind with wheels that deep
Great video! 👍👍
We Dutch like it too.
Both for practical and recreational purposes.
I saw that you have biked some parts fietsknooppunten routes. You have showed lovely parts. And fietsknooppunten routes are the most beautiful routes via all the bike lanes and paths.
We usually don’t understand anglophone people who try to speak Dutch. Main reason is that their intonation, both for sentences and words, sounds weird when used in Dutch. Melodies in both languages and sound of letters and letter combinations differ quite a lot.
Hey Chris! Leuk om te zien dat je om de hoek bent in Nederland. Hoe lang ben je nog in Nederland? Zou leuk zijn om een kleine groepsrit te doen met wat kijkers uit Nederland. Ik woon in Utrecht, en heb morgenmiddag een rit van 4 uur op de planning staan. Als je zin hebt kan ik je meenemen op 1 van mijn mooiste road/offroad routes. rondom Utrecht.
Hey!! Ik heb er zeker zin in, maar we zijn met de kinderen dus wordt nu even lastig om nog te veel te fietsen. Dinsdag avond rij ik weer op de berg en heel misschien nog kans op Woensdag of Donderdag te kunnen fietsen.
Maar van de zomer zijn we er waarschijnlijk weer!
@@chrisopie87 aah nice man! Dan komt het van de zomer vast nog wel. Geniet van je week!
Nice place 😊👍🏻👍🏻
It really can be!
The offroad cycling is even better here in the Netherlands
I’m yet to experience this 😅
@@chrisopie87 Limburg and Noord Brabant is the best for offroad cycling
Limburg lijkt me inderdaad wel leuk!!
@@chrisopie87 is het zeker
Opie: Why The Netherlands Is so Good For Cycling?
Also Opie: Best place to for in-laws jokes😅🤣😂!
🤔😅
I absolutely hated cycling there as a climber 😅
Moved to Spain now and it's the best choice I have ever made haha
Haha, I can understand that! I've always loved the feeling of flat fast roads 😅
Isnt he the guy from gcn?
Over de Nederlandse taal.
Als ik in mijn geboorte dialect ga spreken, dikke kans dat je schoonfamilie denkt Duits spreek 🤣
haha, dat is het mooie aan dialecten! Gellukkig kunnen ze je nog verstaan, Fries was moielijk geworden haha
@@chrisopie87 ik kom dus uit Twente, dus mijn dialect zit dichter tegen het Fries dan het ABN 🤣
😅🤣🤣
This is no cycling, this is racing and you make it dangerous for many people on the cycle paths.
Haha.. my take away of your video...@5:20
We still have above ground electricity wires for domestic use..?
😅😂🫢
I truly believed we abounded those all years ago.
For the rest.. nice to see you enjoying our bike culture