General Cycling Discussion - Trip to Netherlands / Sweden tips

Hi,

My wife and I will be taking a trip in late July and early August to Amsterdam and to Sweden. Any tips would be greatly appreciated!
We are thinking about renting bicycles in Stockholm to get around. Does anyone know where this can be done?
Any other ideas, like cheap places to stay or things to do (especially non-touristy things) are welcome.
Thanks in advance!
Brian

i've actually only travelled in Holland, but i think it should be simlilar in Sweeden too. and hopefully you'll get some native responses too...

but renting a bike should be super-simple in the Netherlands and there are rental shops in almost every train station. and it is pretty cost-effective as they rent lots of bikes so the price is decent.

but, one thing to remember is that the common bicycle in Holland is a big heavy city bike that most cycling enthusiasts would consider archaic. my girlfriend and i rented a tandem and it weighed something like 50lbs with no suspension or anything. we rode what i consider a modest distance (like 30-40 miles) one day and i was dead-tired even though it was flat... either my girlfriend was really lazy or the bike made a huge difference, or both! on the good side, most bikes come with fenders, racks and lights, often a bell.

if you are used to riding a fast quality road bike or lightweight suspension mountain bike then it may be much more difficult to find - i was surprised that about 90% of the bikes in Holland looked like they were about 50 years old -- then i saw trhat the new ones in the shop were still sold looking like that - heavy.

Originally posted by nathank
i was surprised that about 90% of the bikes in Holland looked like they were about 50 years old

Truly ... the understatement of the year! :D

The gag in Holland (at least in Amsterdam) is to scream ... "hey, that's my bike!" @ a crowd of people on bikes; and undoubtedly, many in the crowd simply drop their bikes and run!

Re cheap places to stay: there's a concept called "everyman's rights" in several Nordic countries that basically allows you to hike and put up a tent almost anywhere you like. In Finland that means anywhere except in somebody's garden (I prefer out of sight of any houses), no open fire (cooking stove is ok), and leave the place as it was. Any Swedish natives here should be able to tell you the exact limits in Sweden.

--J

A word of warning, bike theft is very common in Amsterdam. - 1 million a year according to statistics, although there is only 500 000 bikes in the city!!! Although it could be cheap to rent a bike, replacing it when it is stolen is another thing.....make sure your travel insurance covers the theft of rented bikes.

Lastly, Denmark is the most bike friendly Nordic country, please visit and see for yourself. This is me and the missus trying some beach cycling on Fanø, a small island 2 miles from Esbjerg, West-Jutland, Denmark

Originally posted by nathank
i was surprised that about 90% of the bikes in Holland looked like they were about 50 years old

:lol:


my girlfriend and i rented a tandem and it weighed something like 50lbs with no suspension or anything.

But Nathank, what do you want with a suspension tandem in the Low Countries? :D

We have over 17.8 million bikes at the population of 16 million people, no other country in the world has this rate (not even China)
The reason why they sell more citybikes instead of MTB`s is because its FLAT around here :)
And off course Dutchies are economical, so they don`t trow away old bikes, but repare them!

Some info on Amsterdam;

http://www.cwi.nl/~steven/amsterdam.html#transport

Good site for all info, even bikerent


http://web.inter.nl.net/users/Paul.Treanor/cycle-list.html

Cycle routes through Amsterdam


http://www.tromm.nl/start.htm

http://www.presto.nl/index_nl.htm

Some quality bikeshops in Amsterdam


Site of Hostelling International

http://www.njhc.nl/language.cfm

The storys about bike theft are unfortunately very true, if you take your own bike, don`t leave it allone!
Don`t lock it up dispite your good lock, prevent theft, stay with the bike!

Hi,
Been gone for a year!
Anyway - we ended up renting bikes in Stockholm. It was cheap and so fun!
They have a different way to lock their bikes - there is a sliding key-lock thing which immobilizes the rear wheel. No need to carry a lock since it's built in (though we always chained them up too, since we didn't want to pay for the bikes just in case).
If anyone wants more info, I can find it.
Brian

Welcome back! Do you have stories, pics, etc. to share with us about your travels?

Koffee

When we went to the Netherlands a few years ago we stayed at a Dutch campground that had "Trekking" huts that were quite cheap. We were able to rent bikes at the campground and used them as our transportation while there. The staff at Familyland B.V., Groene Papegaai 19, 4631 RX Hoogerheide was a little shocked to discover that middle-aged Americans would vacation this way, but they were more than helpful in helping us read train and bus schedules and locate grocery stores. We had a great time and came away with a strong feeling of really having been in those small towns. We spent a week there for what we spent in 3 nights at a B&B here in MA. I'm sure Amsterdam is more expensive, but you might be able to find a similar campground near there.

Holland: flat terrain but can be very WINDY!
Natuurlijk, gij moet ook nog een beetje van on bier drinken en kaas te eten!

Hi,

My wife and I will be taking a trip in late July and early August to Amsterdam and to Sweden. Any tips would be greatly appreciated!
We are thinking about renting bicycles in Stockholm to get around. Does anyone know where this can be done?
Any other ideas, like cheap places to stay or things to do (especially non-touristy things) are welcome.
Thanks in advance!
Brian
PM skitbraviking...he know Sweden well

I think he's already returned and was updating us on what he did for his trip...

Koffee