Why this ride
A 93 km round trip from Alblasserdam - roughly 1 h 49 in the saddle. On the way it passes Van Nellefabriek, Voorburg-Arentsburg and back through Van Nellefabriek. It was put together for the scenery rather than the shortest line.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Mill Network at Kinderdijk-Elshout and Voorburg-Arentsburg
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 93 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 1 h 49
- 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
Zeeland Delta Works Route
For about 26 km this is Zeeland Delta Works Route, a road with a name of its own and a reason for it — expect company on a summer weekend. Early is better than fast.
Chapter facts
- Length
- 26 km
- Named road
- Zeeland Delta Works Route
Zeeland Delta Works Route
22 km through ground somebody thought worth listing. The road passes it rather than bypassing it. Speed drops and stays down. Park rather than crawl through.
Chapter facts
- Length
- 18 km
- Named road
- Zeeland Delta Works Route
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 Van Nellefabriek.
2. Van Nellefabriek
The Van Nelle factory, on the edge of Rotterdam, is one of the most beautiful industrial buildings ever made. Built between 1925 and 1931 for a company that processed coffee, tea and tobacco, it is a long, light building of glass and steel, with curtain walls that let daylight flood into the workspaces. The designers, Johannes Brinkman and Leendert van der Vlugt, created what became an icon of modernist architecture, a factory of light and air for its workers. It was added to the UNESCO list in 2014.
Read the complete Van Nellefabriek write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Van Nellefabriek comes up about 26 km into the recorded legs. Next is Voorburg-Arentsburg.
3. Voorburg-Arentsburg
Under the suburbs between The Hague and Delft lie the remains of Forum Hadriani, the northernmost Roman town on the continent, founded in the early second century AD and named after the emperor Hadrian. At Arentsburg, a country estate in Voorburg, excavations revealed streets, houses, a harbour and a canal, the Fossa Corbulonis, dug by Roman soldiers to link the Rhine and the Meuse. The site is part of the Frontiers of the Roman Empire, Lower German Limes World Heritage Site, listed in 2021, which follows the Rhine frontier through the Netherlands and Germany.
Read the complete Voorburg-Arentsburg write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
about 44 km into the recorded legs you reach Voorburg-Arentsburg. Next is back through Van Nellefabriek.
4. back through Van Nellefabriek
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Van Nellefabriek write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Van Nellefabriek, late in the day. Next is Mill Network at Kinderdijk-Elshout.
5. 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
Back at Mill Network at Kinderdijk-Elshout. That is the ride.
Leg by leg
Mill Network at Kinderdijk-Elshout to Van Nellefabriek
Mill Network at Kinderdijk-Elshout → Van Nellefabriek is 26 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Van Nellefabriek to Voorburg-Arentsburg
Van Nellefabriek → Voorburg-Arentsburg is 18 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Voorburg-Arentsburg to back through Van Nellefabriek
Voorburg-Arentsburg → back through Van Nellefabriek is 23 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Van Nellefabriek to Mill Network at Kinderdijk-Elshout
back through Van Nellefabriek → Mill Network at Kinderdijk-Elshout is 26 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.