On the Dutch coast the sea and the sand come with a smell of salt and frying fish, and Noordwijk has plenty of both. It is a seaside resort between Katwijk and Zandvoort, with a long wide beach, a boulevard, and a line of dunes standing between the town and the bulb fields inland. The town is also home to ESTEC, the main technical centre of the European Space Agency, which makes it a rare place where the beach crowd shares the bakery queue with rocket engineers. The Dutch coast here is flat, windy and bright, and the light has the clean, washed quality that painters came for centuries ago.
For a rider, Noordwijk is a stop on the way between the flower fields and the sea, and its charm is in the contrast. The roads that approach it run along straight dykes, past drainage ditches and rows of poplars, often with a strong wind at your side. Cyclists are everywhere, in numbers that would shock a visitor from most other countries, and they have right of way in all sorts of situations that are not obvious. Speed limits are low, speed cameras are common, and the Dutch drive politely but expect you to know the rules. The reward is a smooth, easy day, with a coffee and a sea view at the end.
The coast road through the dunes is a lovely thing in good weather, but the surface can be covered in sand after a windy day, and a loaded motorbike should be treated gently on it. Spring brings tulip and hyacinth fields in the hinterland, and the whole coastal strip fills with people at weekends, so book ahead if you plan to stay, and expect queues of cars in April.
Noordwijk-Binnen, the inland half of the place, has twenty-four thousand people, so fuel, supermarkets and repair shops are all easy. On the beach side you will find fish sellers and cafés that serve a decent kroket and, in season, herring with onions. Try a stroopwafel from a market stall, still warm. If the weather is clear, ride the dune road at sunset and watch the sky turn orange behind the ships out at sea.