Amsterdam is built on water and wood. The city was founded in the thirteenth century as a fishing village on a dam across the Amstel, and in the seventeenth century it grew into the richest trading city in the world, and the canals that circle the centre in concentric arcs were dug in that Golden Age. Merchants built tall, narrow houses along them, with gabled fronts and hoisting beams so that goods could be lifted to the upper floors. The canal ring is on the UNESCO list. The houses lean forward slightly, partly by design, and sink on their wooden piles, so that some visibly tilt.
Riding in the centre is a poor idea, and Amsterdammers will tell you so with some feeling. The streets are narrow and shared with trams, bicycles, scooters and pedestrians, and parking for motorbikes is limited and sometimes charged. A good approach is to park on the edge of town and walk or take a tram. Bicycles rule here, and a cyclist who has the right of way will use it without hesitation. The ring motorway, the A10, can be heavy with traffic during rush hours, but the roads in and out are well signed.
The ride that begins here heads toward the Roman frontier. The Rhine in the Netherlands was the northern limit of the Roman Empire, and the line of forts, watchtowers and roads that ran along it, the Limes, is now a UNESCO site. The old river road near Utrecht runs along a levee, with farms, orchards and low houses, and there are traces of Roman forts at places like Vechten, near Utrecht. It is a gentle, flat ride, with wide skies and a pleasant, rural feel. Wind off the polders can be strong, and rain comes and goes.
Fuel is plentiful on the outskirts, and food ranges from cheap fried snacks to world-class cooking. Try stroopwafels, thin waffles filled with caramel syrup, sold fresh in the markets, and pickled herring, eaten by tipping your head back. Spring is the best time, when the tulip fields near Lisse bloom and the days lengthen. In winter, the city is damp and dark but the canals look lovely under a dusting of snow.