We’re in the midst of planning a bike tour through Denmark, and in our research we came across this video of one couple’s cycle trip there.
It’s always interesting to hear someone else’s experience – where the good campsites were, the scenery was beautiful or the roads were crowded. Thanks Michèle and Benoît for sharing your route!
Our camping spot is shared with a field of sheep, so it’s the rustle of a big, warm ball of wool brushing against our tent that wakes us up for the second day of our tour around the IJsselmeer.
A grey, misty morning greets us when we emerge from our tent but there’s no rain, so we’re happy for that. In our quest to do a relatively lightly loaded tour, we haven’t even packed our rain gear. Instead, we’ve put all our faith in the good weather report for the weekend. If it rains, we are going to get really wet.
After a quick breakfast of muesli with apples and a strong cup of coffee, we’re on our way. Our route takes us through a series of small but unremarkable villages. We get most of our amusement from trying to figure out what all the Dutch signs say, waving to little kids and keeping an eagle-eye out for anyone wearing klompen, traditional Dutch clogs.
This last quest isn’t so successful. We only count 4 pairs of wooden shoes on the feet of local Dutch folks and none of them are too interested in a picture. Next time, maybe. Our next bit of excitement comes from this cool bicycle drawbridge. Now that’s a first!
Things get even better when we spot a small field with two ponies. They are real characters, and spend several minutes posing for the camera. How can you not smile when you look at a face like this?
Once we’ve had our fill of ponies, we carry on through some typical Dutch countryside (canals, cows and fields), until we come to the pretty town of Weesp. By now, we’re hungry! Time for lunch, and what else would you have on a Dutch bike tour but a typical lunch of fresh herring?
If you’re not Dutch, you’ll probably find this lunch either absolutely amazing or totally disgusting. We fall into the first category and so we quickly locate the nearest fish shop and order 6 herring, with fresh onions and pickles, for our lunch. It’s May, the time of year when herring are in season, so these ones are particularly big and fresh. They’re simply beautiful.
We lift them up by their tails and lower them in, one by one…
Now it’s early afternoon and the sun is shining strongly as we cross a long bridge into the province of Flevoland. There’s a saying about this part of the country: “God created the earth, but the Dutch created the Netherlands.”
The phrase refers to the fact that Flevoland didn’t exist until the 50s and 60s. In fact, it wasn’t even officially recognised as a province until 1986. The whole thing used to be underwater and it was only recently, after the Afsluitdijk was built in 1932, that the Dutch reclaimed the land and started to build there.
There’s not much to see… very few people live here and the roads are all totally straight. The province is mostly farmland and after a few kilometers we can almost imagine that we’re in the Canadian prairies. We almost expect to see a grain elevator on the horizon.
One thing reminds us that we’re in the Netherlands: the excellent bike network signs.
It’s about now that the headwinds kick in. We don’t take many more pictures because, frankly, there’s nothing to see! Just the long, long roads of Flevoland. The wind whips around our ears. There’s nothing to stop it here. By the time we get to the town of Lelystad, it’s all we can do to pedal the last few strokes to the campsite where we collapse. This bike touring thing can be hard work sometimes!
The Day Before: Day 1 of our tour around the IJsselmeer
The Day After: Day 3 of our tour around the IJsselmeer
The next time you think your panniers are too heavy, just imagine how much they’d weigh if you were a bike touring band!
That’s exactly what the Ginger Ninjas are: a troop of musicians that travel by bicycle, carrying absolutely everything with them. Their instruments, speakers, even the stage – and that’s in addition to the normal bike touring load of equipment, cooking gear and clothes.
Not only have the Ginger Ninjas chosen bicycles instead of the standard van to carry their gear but they also get the audience to pedal bikes during each show, providing the energy needed to power the concert.
We recently learned that the Ginger Ninjas are touring Europe this summer, along with several other bike-powered artists (see tour locations and dates). They’re calling it the Pleasant Revolution. We were able to catch up with Ginger Ninjas band member Joey by email recently, to find out more about this amazing group.
1. Why did you decide to use the bicycle as a way to take your band on tour?
We’ve chosen the bicycle because it’s the most efficient tool for getting around without polluting. They power our sound system, they carry all our stuff, and bicycles are just plain fun.
2. In 2007, you toured 8,000km from California to Mexico. Can you give us a few highlights from that tour?
Wow. Where to start? Here are some highlights:
And that’s the tip of the iceberg of experience.
3. What about any unexpected challenges you had to overcome? How did you deal with them?
There were many unexpected challenges. The pedal power system wasn’t finished when we left. It was actually built and finished while on the road by Dante Espinosa. It also had never been road tested and thus had to be fixed a lot as we traveled.
Peoples’ knees hurt. Dante got a concussion on the first day (wore his helmet every day after that!). Many things came up. We stuck together and figured things out. People took a train if their knees hurt and there was a train option. People cried. We hugged. That’s how we dealt with unexpected challenges. Hugs and hard work!
4. How are the group dynamics on such a tour? Sometimes it’s hard for 2 people to tour together, let alone 15.
The group dynamics were, to say the least, interesting. We all got along really well, even though a lot of us had never met before the tour. Tensions rose, but we had group meetings occasionally that sometimes lasted hours where we’d talk things over. Some people decided to leave the tour for personal reasons. Other people would join up for a short while and in some cases, the rest of the tour. We had our fights and our blowouts, but all in all it was like a mobile bicycling yoga music party while we were touring. We feasted on excellent food and enjoyed the views.
5. What kind of a packing list do you have? Do you skimp on the normal bike touring gear because you have to carry all the musical equipment?
Because we have Xtracycle Free Radicals, Surly Big Dummies and Yuba Mundo cargo bicycles, we can carry the normal cycling tour gear plus our musical equipment. Some people skimp on their personal gear and that is encouraged in the group. The less personal stuff you have, the more group gear you have room for.
For this tour, we have 2 professional chefs who are carrying a whole kitchen. We have a bike mechanic who is carrying a mobile bike shop (tools, parts). We have a tour artist/blogger who is documenting. Then there are all the musicians. Two people have to carry our 40 pound JBL EON hyper-efficient speakers. Most of our bikes weigh between 150 and 200 pounds.
Check out the Ginger Ninja website to find out more about the band. You can also help with their fundraising efforts for the International Bicycle Fund, a group dedicated to encouraging bike transportation worldwide, or donate through the band’s own fundraising page to support their tour.
You can also see a video of their travels from California to Mexico.
We’re usually pleased with the gear we’ve chosen for bike touring but there’s one item in our panniers that just hasn’t made the grade: the REI Campware non-stick frying pan.
It looked good at first glance.
The deep-dish profile of the frying pan meant we’d be able to stir-fry plenty of veggies for our evening meal, the folding handle meant it was easy to pack and, in general, we’ve had excellent experiences with REI equipment.
With all that in mind, when we forked out $25 U.S. for the 8″ version, we expected many years of cooking pleasure. After all, our previous frying pan – bought from a supermarket for just $5 – had survived two years of constant use.
Unfortunately, the REI pan left us disappointed. After just a few months the non-stick coating stopped working and we could no longer make omelettes, pancakes or anything else that required a non-stick surface. Now, just 11 months since we bought it, we’re ready to throw it in the trash and go back to a cheap supermarket model.
Watch the video review for more of our thoughts on the REI frying pan.
This review is based on a REI frying pan, bought with our own money. We were not paid or bribed to give this review and it reflects our honest opinion of the products concerned.
For an inspiring story of bike touring with kids, it’s hard to beat the Vogel Family, also known by their website name Family On Bikes.
Parents Nancy & John are cycling with their twin sons Davy and Daryl from Alaska to Argentina. When they reach the southern tip of South America, Davy and Daryl will become the new Guinness World Record holders as the youngest people to cycle the Pan-American Highway.
The family have made it as far south as Peru and during a recent trip back to New York, Nancy did this interview about the journey for a New York television station. After you watch the video, you can also listen to a podcast interview we did with Nancy in December.
10 Questions: Cycling America’s Southern Tier
Making The Perfect Camp Coffee
Overpacking: What One Bike Tourist Left Behind
Cycling The Dutch Tulip Fields
Stephen Lord: Author of the Adventure Cycle-Touring Handbook
Making A Cargo Trailer From A Kid Carrier
Merino Wool Cycling Socks
Planet Superflash Bike Light
Straps, Nets and Cords: Attaching Stuff To Your Bike
Trailers For Bike Touring Merino Wool Cycling Socks
QStarz SR-Q2100 GPS Tracker Planet Superflash Bike Light
Why I Love Trangia Campstoves
Going Soft: Adding A Pillow To Our Bike Touring Gear
10 Questions: Bike Touring In Vietnam
Show 37: Rick Gunn’s 3-Year World Bike Tour
10 Questions: Bike Touring In Central America
10 Questions: Bike Touring In Bangladesh
The Sweet Life Of Bicycle Touring
10 Questions: Bike Touring In EthiopiaStephen Lord: Author of the Adventure Cycle-Touring Handbook%7Cutmccn%3D(direct)%7Cutmcmd%3D(none)%3B%2B__utmv%3D20713646.-%3B)
