bikes and windmills
 

Someone a while back posted this:

Neat Bike & Windmills Experience

Take a train to the lovely historic city of Gouda ('how-dah') and rent a bike at the train station, get a detailed map at the tourist office (VVV) and then ride the flat 10 miles or so to Kinderdijk, a UNESCO World Heritage Site and mesmerizing grouping of windmills - the largest in Holland.

You can ride your bike thru the string of huge windmills as a national park surrounds them in a watery setting.



I was just wondering if anyone has done this ride and if so how do-able is this?

I don't have any experience of the bike trip but it sounds doable to me, if you are fairly fit. I don't know if it is marked as a route or if you can get a leaflet on it in Gouda.
Otherwise hire a bike in Rotterdam and go from there - the VVV (tourist information) in Rotterdam has a bike tour leaflet which overs Kinderdijk I believe.
Kinderdijk is well worth a visit. When are you thinking of going?
Oh and I would pronounce the G in Gouda if you can't manage the Dutch "G" sound, which is a bit like the ch is Loch, rather than using an H.

If I remember well, the distance between Gouda and Kinderdijk is farther away that just 10 miles.....

Or go to Zaandam, rent a bike at the station and bike to Zaanse Schans, which is maybe just under 10 miles.
http://www.zaanseschans.nl/

Also be sure to check the 1-2 day weather forecast...I hired a bike for four days outside Amsterdam once with the idea of doing lots of day trips, and on the afternoon of the first day the temperature dropped to the low 50's and it howled for three days. Needless to say, biking was not on. This was in late June as well, so these patterns can come out of nowhere. It has been miserable in the UK and northern France the past few days...morning temps around 10C which is around 50F..brutal for summer. Rouss.

The distance from Gouda to Kinderdijk is probably more than 10 miles by car, but bike tracks take off across country so 10 miles could be right.
The shortest route from Rotterdam is 19.5 km, the longest 35km round trip.
I just checked with the VVVGroene Hart site and they have a booklet which includes the trip you want to make. I don't know though if it is available in English - the website seems to be only in Dutch. Try e-mailing them:[email protected]

Can you go inside any of the windmills at Kinderdijk?

We will be in the Netherlands starting the 16th of July for four days. My family really enjoys bike riding and I thought this would be a nice way to see some of the countryside. I am open to another scenic type bike trip along the canals or the countryside(only lasting less than a day) if anyone has any suggestions?

As I am not really familiar with the area, is the ride from Rotterdam to Kinderdijk a scenic type ride?

One windmill is open I believe - it costs about 3 euros.
An alternative way to see Kinderdijk is by boat, but you can also get there by bus.
cmf46, Rotterdam to Kinderdijk is not wildly scenic. Maybe you would enjoy the ride from Amsterdam to Marken, or along the coast more. There are so many lovely bike rides available away from Amsterdam/Rotterdam, if you are prepared to get the train and try them.

I wrote the original post and have done the ride - very doable - flat you only have to worry about the winds.

Get a map at the tourist office and ask for advice.

hetismij:

We are staying in amsterdam and prepared to take a train out of the city and rent bikes at a railway station or whereever. Do you or anyone else have any suggestions as to where is the best place to go get off and ride for the day to see the countryside?

Two suggestions:
First, rent a bike and then:
1. Take the ferry (it's free) from Amsterdam to North amsterdam and then start riding.
OR
2. Follow the Amstel River out of town as far as you are willing to ride. Very scenic.

Tuscanson is right on in the two starting from town possibilites - very nice rides.

We had a great time biking in Leiden. First we visited the windmill in town that is a museum, where there's a video about the history of windmills and you climb up inside it. Stepping outside on the deck near the spinning sails is surprisingly terrifying. Then we walked to the train station, stopping at the VVV office to buy a map of the local bike paths. Rented bikes and rode out of Leiden and through an area of beautiful lakes, farms, windmills, etc. Even crossed a canal with our bikes on a tiny ferry. The rental, the ride, plus a picnic lunch only took a half day, and I'm one of the world's slowest, worst bike riders. Full account of the journey is in the trip report: www.fodors.com/forums/threadselect.jsp?fid=2