Why this ride
From Alblasserdam it runs 189 km to Alblasserdam; allow about 3 h 22 of riding. It goes by way of Woerden-Centrum, Rietveld Schröderhuis, Fort Werk IV and back through Rietveld Schröderhuis.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Mill Network at Kinderdijk-Elshout and Fort Werk IV
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 189 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 3 h 22
- 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. Mill Network at Kinderdijk-Elshout
Nineteen windmills stand in two rows along the canals at Kinderdijk, their sails turning slowly against the wide Dutch sky, and it is one of the most iconic sights in the Netherlands. They were built in the eighteenth century to pump water out of the Alblasserwaard, a low-lying polder between the rivers Lek and Noord, which would otherwise be flooded. Each mill lifted water from a lower canal to a higher one, and from there it was let out into the river. Over time steam, diesel and electric pumping stations took over the job, and the most recent ones still keep the polder dry today. The mill network was listed by UNESCO in 1997.
Read the complete Mill Network at Kinderdijk-Elshout write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Mill Network at Kinderdijk-Elshout is where the day begins. Next is Woerden-Centrum.
2. Woerden-Centrum
Woerden is a small Dutch town on the Oude Rijn, the old Rhine, halfway between Utrecht and Leiden, in the middle of the Green Heart of Holland, a landscape of polders, meadows, ditches and cows. Its centre is a compact old town ringed by canals, with a castle, a big church and a windmill on the old ramparts. The Romans were here too: Woerden lies on the line of the Lower German Limes, and the remains of a Roman fort lie beneath the town centre.
Read the complete Woerden-Centrum write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Woerden-Centrum comes up about 42 km into the recorded legs. Next is Rietveld Schröderhuis.
3. Rietveld Schröderhuis
On a quiet residential street in Utrecht, a few minutes from the centre by bicycle, stands a small box-shaped house made of white and grey planes, with black frames and touches of red, yellow and blue, which looks as though it had been made from a Mondrian painting. This is the Rietveld Schroder House, built in 1924 and inscribed by UNESCO in 2000 as a masterpiece of the De Stijl movement and of modern architecture. The old centre of Utrecht, with its cathedral tower and its canals, is under two kilometres away.
Read the complete Rietveld Schröderhuis write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
about 66 km into the recorded legs you reach Rietveld Schröderhuis. Next is Fort Werk IV.
4. Fort Werk IV
The Gooi, the area east of Amsterdam around Bussum, Naarden and Hilversum, is one of the few places in the western Netherlands with hills, if you can call low sandy ridges hills. It is a region of heathland, woods and wealthy villages. On the edge of Bussum, close to the fortified town of Naarden, stands Fort Werk IV, a small fortification that was part of the New Dutch Waterline and the Defence Line of Amsterdam, and is now part of the UNESCO-listed Dutch Water Defence Lines.
Read the complete Fort Werk IV write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Fort Werk IV, about halfway. Next is back through Rietveld Schröderhuis.
5. back through Rietveld Schröderhuis
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Rietveld Schröderhuis write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Rietveld Schröderhuis sits at 120 km, about halfway. Next is back through Woerden-Centrum.
6. back through Woerden-Centrum
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Woerden-Centrum write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Woerden-Centrum comes up about 146 km into the recorded legs. Next is Mill Network at Kinderdijk-Elshout.
7. Mill Network at Kinderdijk-Elshout
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Mill Network at Kinderdijk-Elshout write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Mill Network at Kinderdijk-Elshout closes the day.
Leg by leg
Mill Network at Kinderdijk-Elshout to Woerden-Centrum
Mill Network at Kinderdijk-Elshout → Woerden-Centrum is 42 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Woerden-Centrum to Rietveld Schröderhuis
Woerden-Centrum → Rietveld Schröderhuis is 24 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Rietveld Schröderhuis to Fort Werk IV
Rietveld Schröderhuis → Fort Werk IV is 28 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Fort Werk IV to back through Rietveld Schröderhuis
Fort Werk IV → back through Rietveld Schröderhuis is 28 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Rietveld Schröderhuis to back through Woerden-Centrum
back through Rietveld Schröderhuis → back through Woerden-Centrum is 24 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Woerden-Centrum to Mill Network at Kinderdijk-Elshout
back through Woerden-Centrum → Mill Network at Kinderdijk-Elshout is 43 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.