Cycling Around the World in NL: Stage 1: "De Wereld" - Table Mountain (150km)

Join in an unforgettable bike adventure where you don't need to leave the country for a round-the-world cycling journey!

History of the idea
Inspired by the book "Fietsen rond de wereld in Nederland (http://www.fietsenronddewereld.nl/)" by Flip van Doorn, this event is the first in a long series of stages to cycle through The Netherlands while visiting America in Drente, Table Mountain in Bussum, Austerlitz in Utrecht, Bombay, Siberia, East-India, etc. All places in NL with a rich history how they got their names. All the while seeing some of the most beautiful parts of the country by bike.

http://photos3.meetupstatic.com/photos/event/9/b/0/3/600_449319683.jpeg

Official certificate
If you participate in all the stages and collect stamps along the way on your personal stamp-card you can get an official certificate at the end of Stage 9. You'll have cycled around 2000km by then!

How do I get the stamp card?
Download the A4-sized stampcards here. (https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/45487/FRDW-NOORD/Stamp%20cards%20A4.zip)

Stage 1: De wereld -> Table Mountain
This first stage is 150km in length and it will take two days of cycling. It will start at Hotel "De Wereld" (the world) in Wageningen and will end near Naarden-Bussum at café Tafelberg (Table Mountain). Day 1 will end in Amersfoort at a camping (see below).

http://photos1.meetupstatic.com/photos/event/9/e/b/7/600_449320631.jpeg

DOWNLOAD GPX (https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/45487/FRDW-NOORD/NRD%20ETAPPE1.gpx)
SEE ROUTE ON GOOGLE MAPS (https://drive.google.com/open?id=1Jjs3iuI4cN0rEtD8B7zpX0Oz8vk&usp=sharing)

Highlights of this Stage

• 🇿🇦 Kaapse Bossen (Cape Forests, Doorn)

http://photos3.meetupstatic.com/photos/event/2/f/0/600_449340752.jpeg

• 🇬🇧 Hyde Park (Doorn)

http://photos2.meetupstatic.com/photos/event/3/6/b/600_449340875.jpeg

• 🇺🇦 Crimea (Driebergen)

• 🇨🇿 Pyramid of Austerlitz (Austerlitz, NL)

http://photos4.meetupstatic.com/photos/event/3/f/c/600_449341020.jpeg

• 🇧🇪 Belgian First World War monument (Amersfoort)

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/ec/Amersfoort_Belgenmonument_200905.jpg

• 🇳🇱 Soestdijk Palace (Soest)

• 🇫🇷 Groene Kathedraal (a la Notre-Dame, Almere-Hout)

http://fast.mediamatic.nl/f/xqnl/image/026/335-630-411.jpg

• 🇺🇸 GateWay Diner (Almere-Stad)

http://www.htcadvies.nl/images/american-diner-advies-bedrijfs-analyse.png

• 🌳 "Air Castle" nature reserve (Huizen)

• 🇿🇦 Tafelberg (Table Mountain, Blaricum)

http://www.tripgems.com/images/tips/large/e4b83610dc044b8f8a474e41e2696be51169.jpg

What you can expect
We will cycle 75km a day, which means that we will probably spend about 7-8h on the bike each day. Therefore it is key we leave early, so we have time left to take breaks, eat, rest at the end of the day and have fun together. That's why we will start at 9am.

The overall pace of the ride will be between 10 and 15km/h. This leaves room for taking photos, peeing, waiting for the group to get together again, etc.

Lunch will be either a picknick where we all share our food or a pitstop at one of the many restaurants and cafes along the route. Expect to spend around 7-10€ if we stop at a lunchroom.

Dinner will be at the camp site, either at a local cafeteria or we can choose to cook for ourselves with pans, gas burners and such. It remains to be seen if everybody is up for that.

Where we will sleep

Camping "De Larikshoeve (http://www.larikshoeve.nl/)", Langesteeg 2B, Leusden. They have a living room, warm showers and a field where we can put our tents. The costs will be €10 per person, handed in cash to me and then I give it to the owner. This includes tourist tax.

Costs

The event itself is free of charge, however there are costs associated with cycling two days:

• Train ticket to Wageningen

• €6,10 for the bike supplement (per day)

• €8-15 for food each day (snacks, lunch)

• ~ €10 for the night at the camping

• €4-8 for dinner in the evening (depending on how we do it)

• Train ticket from Naarden-Bussum to your house

• A few Euros cash for some ferries that might be along the way to cross rivers and streams

What to bring
There is a good chance that we will be camping after day 1, so be sure to take a sleeping bag, a mat and whatever you need to camp. Arrange with other participants if you can share a tent, this way you have to carry less on your bike.

Apart from that, take clothes that allow you to ride in the varied Dutch weather. It can be sunny one moment and pouring down a moment later. Things like sunscreen, sun glasses and a hat can also be a good idea as it is almost summer by then.

Things to consider

• Be sure you are physically fit for this journey and that you know you can handle the distance and pace.

• Consider buying cycling pants and consult a bike shop about the conditions of your bike. Cycling for so long absolutely requires a comfortable bicycle position or otherwise you are not in for much fun. Especially saddle height and pannier bags (https://www.google.nl/search?q=pannier+bags&newwindow=1&espv=2&biw=1536&bih=1297&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiN0NSwnanMAhUKFSwKHaLtAjwQ_AUIBigB) are important.

• Although not required, it is more fun to complete all the stages so you can get your certificate. So be prepared to dedicate about 10-15 weekends of your time in the next year to complete the whole Northern route.

• Some stages are longer than others. The maximum cycling distance of any event per day will be around 100km. This means the pace of these events will be a bit higher. This also means that sometimes stages will be cut up in multiple events or shortened to fit in one weekend.