Why this ride
A 175 km round trip from Haulerwijk - roughly 2 h 58 in the saddle. On the way it passes Frederiksoord-Wilhelminaoord, Ir.D.F. Woudagemaal and back through Frederiksoord-Wilhelminaoord. The line favours views over speed.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Colonies of Benevolence and Ir.D.F. Woudagemaal
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 175 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 2 h 58
- Journey
- Recorded itinerary
Distance and timing basis
Ordered leg totals agree within rounding. Stop distances are approximate sums of rounded legs. Stops, delays, approach and any separate return travel add time. Basis: producer-declared routed record.
Reading history stays on this device. My road watch requires a separate selection; opening it does not subscribe this ride.
Distance and riding time are measured on the routed road. Check local closures and conditions before you ride.
Waypoint introductions and full write-ups
1. Colonies of Benevolence
In 1818 a former army officer named Johannes van den Bosch had a plan to cure poverty with heathland and a spade. His Maatschappij van Weldadigheid, the Society of Benevolence, bought up wasteland here on the border of Drenthe and Friesland and settled poor families from the cities on small farms, with a strict regime of work and discipline. Frederiksoord and Wilhelminaoord were the first colonies, and Veenhuizen, a little further east, later became a penal colony. UNESCO listed the Colonies of Benevolence in 2021, a rare case of a World Heritage Site that began as a social experiment.
Read the complete Colonies of Benevolence write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Colonies of Benevolence is where the day begins. Next is Frederiksoord-Wilhelminaoord.
2. Frederiksoord-Wilhelminaoord
In 1818, after years of war, famine and poverty, a former general named Johannes van den Bosch founded the Society of Benevolence in the Netherlands, with a radical idea: to take poor families from the cities and give them a new life as farmers in the empty heathlands of the north east. The first colony was established at Frederiksoord, in the south of Drenthe, and others followed at Wilhelminaoord, Willemsoord, Veenhuizen and elsewhere. Each family was given a small house, a plot of land and training in farming, and children were educated in schools, an unusual provision for the time. The Colonies of Benevolence, in the Netherlands and Belgium, were listed by UNESCO in 2021.
Read the complete Frederiksoord-Wilhelminaoord write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Frederiksoord-Wilhelminaoord comes up about 34 km into the recorded legs. Next is Ir.D.F. Woudagemaal, 40 km on.
3. Ir.D.F. Woudagemaal
The Netherlands has always had to fight water, and Friesland's battle was won in part by a single building on the shore of the IJsselmeer near Lemmer. The Ir. D.F. Woudagemaal, a steam pumping station opened in 1920, is the largest steam-driven pumping station ever built that is still in working order, and it was inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1998. When the water in Friesland's canals and lakes rises too high, the old steam engines can still be fired up to pump it out.
Read the complete Ir.D.F. Woudagemaal write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
about 87 km into the recorded legs you reach Ir.D.F. Woudagemaal. Next is back through Frederiksoord-Wilhelminaoord.
4. back through Frederiksoord-Wilhelminaoord
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Frederiksoord-Wilhelminaoord write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Frederiksoord-Wilhelminaoord, late in the day. Next is Colonies of Benevolence.
5. Colonies of Benevolence
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Colonies of Benevolence write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Back at Colonies of Benevolence. That is the ride.
Leg by leg
Colonies of Benevolence to Frederiksoord-Wilhelminaoord
Colonies of Benevolence → Frederiksoord-Wilhelminaoord is 34 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Frederiksoord-Wilhelminaoord to Ir.D.F. Woudagemaal
Frederiksoord-Wilhelminaoord → Ir.D.F. Woudagemaal is 53 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Ir.D.F. Woudagemaal to back through Frederiksoord-Wilhelminaoord
Ir.D.F. Woudagemaal → back through Frederiksoord-Wilhelminaoord is 53 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Frederiksoord-Wilhelminaoord to Colonies of Benevolence
back through Frederiksoord-Wilhelminaoord → Colonies of Benevolence is 34 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.