Tour de Pays-Bas Day 12: Rotterdam Noord to Noord Brabant!
After finishing our 11-day Tour de Pays-Bas, we went on a wonderful trip to London, Liverpool, York, Madrid and Valencia. When in Europe, it’s great to take advantage of the fact that you can be in another country with an entirely different language and culture in the time it takes for us to get to another city in this province (or, often, less)! But as much fun as we had seeing family and friends and visiting places we’d never been before, we always thought of our two-wheel adventure and, honestly, kinda missed being on our bikes.
So when our friends Rutger and Maud invited us to spend a night at their farmhouse in North Brabant, we knew there was only one way to get there. But this time we’d be back on Justin’s parents’ old stadsfietsen (city bikes). They’re good sturdy bikes, perfect for short errands around the city, but they’re definitely heavier and slower than the fancy Kalkhoff trekking bikes we rented for our 11-day trip. They’re the same bikes we used for a couple of long-distance treks on our honeymoon 11 years ago, and while we have fond memories of those rides, they weren’t easy! With our destination of Standdaarbuiten a good 60 km away (longer than many of our previous day trips), will we be able to make it, or will we have to turn back after 3 km and take the train instead?
Rotterdam - Standdaarbuiten, Noord Brabant: 65 km
Google Maps time: 3 hr 28 min minutes Our time: 7 hrs 30 min (with long stops in Dordrecht and Zevenbergen)
Skeptical but also inspired, we set out. … And we’re flying! The weather is mild and there seems to be no sign of our old foe tegenwind. If anything, the wind seems to be behind us and pushing us onward. From our previous longer excursions on these stadsfietsen, we recall having to really push it to reach speeds above 20 km/h. But that seems to be our average and we hit speeds of 30 km/h at points (OK, we did have to push it to hit that mark!). We’re not quite sure to account for how well it’s going. Is it the lack of wind? Is it not being saddled with four 20-litre panier bags? Are we just in such amazing shape following our previous trip that we should consider going pro? … Probably a combination of the first two factors.
We left at 10 a.m., giving our friends an ETA of 4:30 p.m. But at this pace we’ll be there in time for lunch! As we have so much time on our hands, we decide to take a longer route that will take us through the beautiful city of Dordrecht.
Our bike route for the most part is quite scenic getting out of Rotterdam. Interestingly, we join up with a major five-lane highway about 9 km into the trip … and it’s also kinda relaxing? With enough separation between the motorway and bike lane (and again, a pleasant lack of tegenwind for such an exposed area), we leisurely pedal alongside cars. It’s the kind of setup I wish that we had here. We also join our motorized friends crossing the Van Brienenoordbrug, a major motorway bridge crossing the Nieuwe Maas waterway. With our own bike path on such a major road, it’s another satisfying experience of feeling just a valued a commuter on two wheels.
We make really good time coming into Dordrecht around noon, allowing us to have a leisurely stay there to explore and have lunch. Yet another location that has been dubbed the Venice of the Netherlands, the many small canals with residential and commercial buildings rising from the water is a picturesque sight to see. Alison treats herself to a freshly made stroopwafel and Justin gets a cone of fries and we later have lunch at Centre Ville, which seems to have the most happening terrace in the city (we’ve been to Dordrecht once before and it was packed then, too). We sit inside to enjoy the old-school café ambience (with Persian rugs on every table!) at a window seat alongside a canal and enjoy our last Twaalfuurtje of the trip (which has become a lunch favourite of ours. … Although to share! We just can’t eat that much bread after a bread-heavy breakfast every day as well!). Centre Ville is especially charming in that there seems to be no sign of any adults running this place but rather staffed by high-school kids working for the summer (and doing a great job!).
Well-nourished and relaxed from our stay in Dordrecht, it’s a little tough to get the momentum going on our bikes again. But we look ahead to crossing the border between Zuid Holland to Noord Brabant – the ninth province we will cover on our bikes!
If we feel a little sluggish setting out from Dordrecht, it doesn’t take long for us to get inspired as our bike path takes us through parts of the Biesbosch National Park, on a raised dyke alongside extensive wetlands and waterways that lead into the Hollands Diep river.
We’re headed toward the Moerdijkbrug, which will take us over the Hollands Diep river and into Noord Brabant. And if the ride through Biesbosch was inspiring, our trip over the bridge is equally so – just maybe not quite as peaceful! The Moerdijkbrug dates back to the late 19th century, and while it has been updated and modernized to allow for car traffic, it seems as though they’ve neglected the outer railing for the bike lane, which feels dangerously low and open. It’s a bit of a harrowing ride across the bridge, and once again we’re so grateful for the lack of tegenwind on this journey!
But we make it across in one piece and pull over to a little area where we admire the view and a sign welcoming us to Noord Brabant. Heading on, Moerdijk itself is a quiet town. Maybe a bit too quiet. We see almost nobody as we bike through on this quiet Saturday afternoon. Although we do admire an old clock tower (that chimes three times as we ride in) as well as an old church, the external framing of which has been turned into an outdoor basketball court.
It’s 3 p.m. and we’re still a little early. With a closed bridge on our route forcing us to take a detour, we make our way to the town of Zevenbergen. We figure it might be a good idea to cool down and have something to eat and drink so we don’t show up as sweaty ravenous monsters when we get to our friends’ place!
Zevenbergen has surprisingly a lot to see and do for a city of less than 15,000 people. The town centre terraces are packed, there’s a charming walk along a canal (and a mermaid statue that Alison admires) and there’s some kind of festival they’re setting up for that night. Looks like fun, but we have to move on as we’re now technically running late!
We’re even more late as Google Maps gets a bit confused with directions (nearly leading us onto a motorway at one point – our friends did tell us they were living a bit more off the grid these days!), we finally make it to their street … and ponder aloud if we’re at the right house. All to the amusement of our Rutger and Maud, who are sitting in their walled garden listening in on our confusion! It’s so great to see them again and we’re super inspired as we tour their new digs. It’s an ongoing project to completely refurbish this old farmhouse into their dream home. But it’s already a beautiful and cozy place where we enjoy the rest of the night over drinks, great conversation and an absolutely delicious barbecue dinner, including fresh produce from their garden and some of the best tasting local fish we’ve ever had. Thanks again for the wonderful stay, Rutger and Maud!
We’re beat from our long bike ride and ready for a good night’s sleep. We decide we’ll bike the 25 km to the city of Breda the next day and take the train back home from there. Rutger also has a tip for a pretty crazy sight to see en route. We go to sleep already looking forward to another half-day adventure on our bikes.