Why this ride
309 km from Heemstede to Heemstede, about 4 h 47 of riding. On the way it passes Works along the IJ before Diemerdam, Utrecht-Groot Zandveld, Tiel Inundation Canal and Elst-Grote Kerk. The line favours views over speed.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Fort near Heemstede and Elst-Grote Kerk
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 309 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 4 h 47
- 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.
Scenic road chapters
Dutch Flower Route
Expect company on a summer weekend. Early is better than fast. For about 35 km this is Dutch Flower Route, a road with a name of its own and a reason for it.
Chapter facts
- Length
- 35 km
- Named road
- Dutch Flower Route
Waypoint introductions and full write-ups
1. Fort near Heemstede
Between Haarlem and the bulb fields of the Dutch coast, near the town of Heemstede and the hamlet of De Glip, lies a squat, grassy fort surrounded by a moat. This is the Fort near Heemstede, built around the turn of the twentieth century as part of the Defence Line of Amsterdam, a ring of forts, dykes and flooding zones around the city, and now part of the UNESCO-listed Dutch Water Defence Lines.
Read the complete Fort near Heemstede write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Fort near Heemstede is where the day begins. Next is Works along the IJ before Diemerdam.
2. Works along the IJ before Diemerdam
Just east of Amsterdam, where the city's suburbs give way to water and polders, a narrow strip of land runs out along the old shore of the IJ and the IJmeer toward Muiden. The Diemerdam is an old dike, and the works along the IJ before it are part of the Dutch Water Defence Lines, the system of forts, dikes, sluices and inundation fields that the Dutch built over centuries to defend their cities by flooding the land around them. The Defence Line of Amsterdam, a ring of forts around the capital, was listed by UNESCO in 1996 and later joined with the New Dutch Waterline into a single site.
Read the complete Works along the IJ before Diemerdam write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Works along the IJ before Diemerdam comes up about 35 km into the recorded legs. Next is Utrecht-Groot Zandveld.
3. Utrecht-Groot Zandveld
West of Utrecht, where the old city fades into meadows and a newly built suburb called Leidsche Rijn, a flat green belt of polder and ditches runs between the villages of Vleuten, Veldhuizen and De Meern. The low land here was part of a defence system that worked by water, the Dutch Waterline, and the Groot Zandveld label refers to this country.
Read the complete Utrecht-Groot Zandveld write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
about 70 km into the recorded legs you reach Utrecht-Groot Zandveld. Next is Tiel Inundation Canal.
4. Tiel Inundation Canal
Tiel is a river town on the Waal, the main branch of the Rhine in the Netherlands, in the middle of the Betuwe, a region of orchards, dykes and meadows between the Waal and the Lower Rhine. Just outside the town, a wide, straight channel runs through the fields, crossed by bridges and lined by dykes. This is the Tiel inundation canal, built in the late nineteenth century as part of the New Dutch Waterline, the defensive system of controlled flooding that protected the heart of Holland, and it is now part of the UNESCO-listed Dutch Water Defence Lines.
Read the complete Tiel Inundation Canal write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Tiel Inundation Canal, about halfway. Next is Elst-Grote Kerk.
5. Elst-Grote Kerk
Elst is a commuter town in the Betuwe, the flat river island between the Rhine and the Waal, halfway between Arnhem and Nijmegen. At first glance there is nothing remarkable about its big brick church on the market square. The surprise lies underneath it. Excavations in the twentieth century found the remains of two Roman temples beneath the floor, built one after another on the same spot, dedicated to a local god adopted into the Roman world. The site belongs to the Frontiers of the Roman Empire, Lower German Limes, inscribed by UNESCO in 2021, and the foundations can be seen in the church cellar when it is open.
Read the complete Elst-Grote Kerk write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Elst-Grote Kerk sits at 161 km, about halfway. Next is back through Tiel Inundation Canal.
6. back through Tiel Inundation Canal
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Tiel Inundation Canal write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Tiel Inundation Canal comes up about 193 km into the recorded legs. Next is back through Utrecht-Groot Zandveld.
7. back through Utrecht-Groot Zandveld
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Utrecht-Groot Zandveld write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
about 240 km into the recorded legs you reach back through Utrecht-Groot Zandveld. Next is back through Works along the IJ before Diemerdam.
8. back through Works along the IJ before Diemerdam
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Works along the IJ before Diemerdam write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Works along the IJ before Diemerdam, late in the day. Next is Fort near Heemstede.
9. Fort near Heemstede
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Fort near Heemstede write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
The route ends here after 309 km.
Leg by leg
Fort near Heemstede to Works along the IJ before Diemerdam
Fort near Heemstede → Works along the IJ before Diemerdam is 35 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Works along the IJ before Diemerdam to Utrecht-Groot Zandveld
Works along the IJ before Diemerdam → Utrecht-Groot Zandveld is 35 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Utrecht-Groot Zandveld to Tiel Inundation Canal
Utrecht-Groot Zandveld → Tiel Inundation Canal is 48 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Tiel Inundation Canal to Elst-Grote Kerk
Tiel Inundation Canal → Elst-Grote Kerk is 37 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Elst-Grote Kerk to back through Tiel Inundation Canal
Elst-Grote Kerk → back through Tiel Inundation Canal is 38 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Tiel Inundation Canal to back through Utrecht-Groot Zandveld
back through Tiel Inundation Canal → back through Utrecht-Groot Zandveld is 47 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Utrecht-Groot Zandveld to back through Works along the IJ before Diemerdam
back through Utrecht-Groot Zandveld → back through Works along the IJ before Diemerdam is 35 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Works along the IJ before Diemerdam to Fort near Heemstede
back through Works along the IJ before Diemerdam → Fort near Heemstede is 34 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.