Thinking about an Amsterdam bike trip.

Hollis

· #2 · Jul 18, 2004 (Edited)

Fly...

a legal Safety Meeting at a Cafe

...then go for a "Ride" in the Red Lite District.

A motto to live by, "When in doubt, whip it out!"

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roadiegonebad

· #3 · Jul 19, 2004

there's a few Dutchies that occasionally hang on the SS boards that might be able to help... Cloxxi & Setzer are two.

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Panacea

· #4 · Jul 19, 2004

Although they provide a nice hard sole avoid using the cleated cloggs and don't smoke to much pot before the ride. Afterwards is a different matter!

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Pete

· #5 · Jul 19, 2004

kitchenware said:
Obviously we'd fly over and THEN ride bikes, but you knew that. Anyway, this is still in it's early stage, but I was wondering if anyone had info, like what to see, time of year to go... where to stay... personal experiences... etc...

Flat as phuck.

That's my impression after flying into and out of AMS.

They do have cool urinals that are kind of tulip shaped though.

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radair

· #6 · Jul 19, 2004

I thought Am was all about hash dens and prostitutes. But then I've never been there.

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Jisch

· #7 · Jul 19, 2004

kitchenware said:
Obviously we'd fly over and THEN ride bikes, but you knew that. Anyway, this is still in it's early stage, but I was wondering if anyone had info, like what to see, time of year to go... where to stay... personal experiences... etc...

TIA

I saw that "World Traveller" show last night, the dude was in Amsterdam. Interesting fact: there are 500,000 bikes in Amsterdam, 1 million get stolen every year. Yep, on average every bike gets stolen twice. Amsterdam is 5 meters below sea level. Looked kinda interesting, not sure its worth the trip though.

John

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Fast Eddy

· #8 · Jul 19, 2004

Hot Singetrails

http://content.mtbr.com/pscTrails/E...her/,Hot,singletrials/PRD_167058_4538crx.aspx

I was going to ride at this place (Herentals) near Antwerpe, but got diverted to a tourist place the day I had free (Brugge, check out the bike link, we didn't) . I've never been to Amsterdam, but Antwerpe is a great party town.

http://content.mtbr.com/pscTrails/E...o,Kempische,MTB,Route/PRD_166996_4538crx.aspx

And Brussels isn't that far away either:

http://content.mtbr.com/pscTrails/E...,OVERIJSE,-,OTTENBURG/PRD_167104_4538crx.aspx

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derby

· #9 · Jul 19, 2004

Friendly town and beautiful women

I haven't been there since the late '70's, maybe it's all a big commercial now but I doubt it. They ride townie bikes everywhere, masses of them. It's so flat anyone can ride, it was very rare to see fat people. Heineken was available in coin dispensing machines like soda is here. Everyone seems so kind compared to other Euro cities. Everyone speaks a funny and kind of sloppy sounding British English as well as Dutch, so it's easy to talk with anyone. It's a fashionable place with much ancient and modern art and music and a variety of quality foods coffees and, of course, chocolate.

Sounds like a fun trip. I'd like to go up to Denmark next time I go, I hear lots of good things about Copenhagen too. There would likely be more opportunities for mountain biking in their hills and mountains. And Germany is very into mountain (and road) biking with opportunities to ride trails from town to town for days just carrying money for food and lodging.

Have a great trip!

- ray

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Hollis

· #10 · Jul 19, 2004 (Edited)

Hey Pete

Pete said:
They do have cool urinals that are kind of tulip shaped though.

Did they have a little fly in the bowl?
A little sumpin sumpin to help you aim Little Elvis.

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fonseca

· #11 · Jul 19, 2004

Pete said:
They do have cool urinals that are kind of tulip shaped though.

They also have the only water fountains I've ever seen in Europe.

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Brown_Teeth

· #12 · Jul 19, 2004

Lowlands are easy peddling but want some blond bombs with nice hills, head N,wish I could but 2 kids makes another blond just tooooo much

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Pete

· #13 · Jul 19, 2004

Hollis said:
Did they have a little fly in the bowl?
A little sumpin sumpin to help you aim Little Elvis.

No flies in the AMs bowls but they had the flies in the urinals at the microbrewery ($30 pitchers!) in Trondheim, Norway.

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Velophile

· #14 · Jul 19, 2004

kitchenware said:
Obviously we'd fly over and THEN ride bikes, but you knew that. Anyway, this is still in it's early stage, but I was wondering if anyone had info, like what to see, time of year to go... where to stay... personal experiences... etc...

TIA

Summer is nice for riding. Take a really good lock (or 2) & as stealthy a bike as possible.
Maybe take a townie if you're not touring or looking to MTB. Accomodation can be expensive & scarce in peak season. Don't toke too much then ride & the price goes up when the curtain closes.

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Biking Viking

· #15 · Jul 19, 2004

kitchenware said:
Obviously we'd fly over and THEN ride bikes, but you knew that. Anyway, this is still in it's early stage, but I was wondering if anyone had info, like what to see, time of year to go... where to stay... personal experiences... etc...

TIA

Do it.

Then when you're tired of navigating through hordes of cruiser bikes along paved pike paths that feature 0.1ft elevation gain per mile and headwind in both direction, you could fly two hours north...

...and ride som real trails.

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<narlus>

· #16 · Jul 19, 2004

first off, i've never been to amsterdam, so take my advice w/ a large fistful of salt. that said, if trail riding is yr main objective, there are far better places to go. culturally, the dutch are very laidback and easy going, at least the dutch contractors i've worked w/ . aside from the obvious vices, the van gogh museum is supposedly to be top-notch, as is the anne frank site. plus the pictures i've seen show it to be a very nice looking city. friends who have been enjoyed their trip, even the non-smokers/dosers.

i echo the person's comments re: copenhagen. great city, very easy to get around (and plenty of bike lanes too). but, trails are not so close. in fact, of all the european cities i've been to, i can't really think of any which would complement good trail riding too (depends on yr main reason for doing the trip).

oh yeah, bring yr $. the euro has been pummeling the greenback, and VAT is about 20% in most countries, so there's a ~40% premium right off the bat.

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chuffer

· #17 · Jul 19, 2004

if you wanna do a vacation in amsterdam, leave your bike at home. rent a bike, steal a bike, borrow or buy a bike when you get there, but dont bring your max-bling mtb with you. oh yeah dont forget your bike lockS!

if you wanna do a bike vacation (like riding cool trails), go somewhere other than amsterdam.

i know i am gonna get flamed for this, but here goes. as an azzhole north american who lives in europe, i have to say the riding is way better in n-america. dont get me wrong i have found some sweet riding here, but the population density is just way too high for the type of epic rides found in the states. my opinion, nada mas.

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Biking Viking

· #18 · Jul 19, 2004

<narlus> said:
i echo the person's comments re: copenhagen. great city, very easy to get around (and plenty of bike lanes too). but, trails are not so close. in fact, of all the european cities i've been to, i can't really think of any which would complement good trail riding too (depends on yr main reason for doing the trip).

I think you are right, you can't have both. Oslo offers great mountain bike trails right outside the city, but downtown is a ***** to get around on bike compared to Copenhagen.

Trondheim, where I live, offers both. Killer mountain biking within 10-15 minutes of riding from downtown plus 150 miles of paved bike paths within city limits. It's probably too small and too remote to be of interest to most people though. Once Pete gets done editing the vids he shot at Thor's Hammer, you'll understand what I'm talking about.

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max-a-mill

· #19 · Jul 19, 2004

if you wanna get real high and cruize around i would suggest a smaller city in the netherlands for such an adventure.

amsterdam really just seemed to harsh my buzz.... to much **** goin on to really enjoy the world through your rose colored glasses. and no shopping for hookers while high is not my idea of fun.... if your into that, this might be just the spot!

that said if your there, don't miss the van gogh museum and the heineken tour (boring tour with intense drinking immediately afterwords).

if i were to do it again i'd roll to delft (smaller pretty little dutch city near belgium), set myself up for the trip (wink, wink, nudge, nudge), then bike down into belgium.... definitely hit brugges, belgium again for a couple days, the brew in belgium is better than anywhere i've ever been.

as for what saeson to travel: spring for flowers, summer for tourists, fall and winter for some rain.

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daveM

· #20 · Jul 19, 2004

Nice photo...

And is that guy wearing a MET Parachute helmet, if so, do they seem as good/better than a Giro Switchblade? And are they manufactured in Europe?

And, and, what is the airspeed velocity of a coconut laden swallow, uhh, european

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Thinking about an Amsterdam bike trip.

kitchenware

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Hollis

roadiegonebad

Panacea

Pete

radair

Jisch

Fast Eddy

derby

Hollis

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fonseca

Brown_Teeth

Pete

Velophile

Biking Viking

<narlus>

chuffer

Biking Viking

max-a-mill

daveM

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