Bike and Barge 2026

You'd Like To Know a Bit of Netherlands History, Wooden Shoe? Back in the mists of time, Celtic and Germanic hunter-gatherers  populated this area of Europe. In the Roman Era, the tribal lands of Frisians, Saxons and Franks came under the control of Charlemagne and his Frankish Empire. Present day Belgium and the Netherlands were administered as one. As early as the 11th century water management was required for people to carve out a living in the low-lying marshlands.  In the 16th century, King Philip ll of Spain took control. His heavy taxes and persecution of Protestants led to the Dutch Revolt in 1568. William Prince of Orange united the northern Protestant provinces and declared an independent Dutch Republic in1581. To this day all Dutch culture celebrates the colour orange.  The Dutch became a global Maritime power during the Age of Colonization, and was the financial centre of Europe. It's fostering of intellectual freedom, liberal outlook and religious tolerance a...

Meaningful or Transformational? I have had conversations with myself, cautioning me not to allow experiences living amongst the people in Vietnam to create expectations for this trip. Tourists come to see, travellers come to be .... In Vietnam I was a traveller. Living there was transformational. Within ten days of my arrival, I felt like Norm in the Cheers bar, "where everyone knew my name, And they were always glad I came; I wanted to be where I could be...." Will I will be more of a tourist this time? I will stay in tourist hotels, cruise and cycle with perhaps no Dutch citizens. I will try a variety of foods and beers, but certainly not legal drugs, or legal sex trade offerings. I will see the marvels of land reclamation and Dutch flood control technology, but probably not mingle with the locals in their daily lives as I did in Hoi An.  One can't help but develop a great respect for a culture who literally carved more than a quarter of their land from the sea and foug...

From Seed to Bloom Ironically, the genesis of the idea to experience a "flat and low land by the ocean Bike and Barge trip from Amsterdam to Bruges" was born at 4 100 feet in the Monashee Mountains in British Columbia. I was cycling with my BC cousins on the Myra Canyon Rail Trail near Kelowna - 18 trestles and 2 tunnels through solid rock -  on a warm, sunny July 2025 day. The panoramic views, the sounds of nature, a few snow capped mountains and cousin cameradie made for a most memorable ride.  At some point, our route was compared to the Bike and Barge excursion that Len, Sharon and Fran had enjoyed several years ago. The rail trail has a grade of no more than 2.2 % as bygone cars were laden with heavy ore. And the trails in the Netherlands have very little variance in height. Immediately, even at this altitude, surrounded by the peaks built by tectonic thrust, my brain was awash with visions of water, windmills and stroopwafels.  I had to quickly change the channel as...