Why this ride
259 km from Utrecht to Utrecht, about 3 h 46 of riding. It goes by way of Fort near Heemstede, Van Nellefabriek and back through Fort near Heemstede. It was put together for the scenery rather than the shortest line.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Watchtower at the reduit of Fort Vossegat and Van Nellefabriek
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 259 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 3 h 46
- 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 66 km this is Dutch Flower Route, a road with a name of its own and a reason for it.
Chapter facts
- Length
- 66 km
- Named road
- Dutch Flower Route
Waypoint introductions and full write-ups
1. Watchtower at the reduit of Fort Vossegat
Fort Vossegat stands at the eastern edge of Utrecht, close to the university campus of De Uithof, and its watchtower tells you a lot about how this country once planned to survive. A reduit is the central stronghold of a fort, the last place you fall back to when the outer works are gone. At Vossegat it is a tough brick block rising out of a moat, with a tower from which a sentry could see over the flat land toward the approaches east of the city.
Read the complete Watchtower at the reduit of Fort Vossegat write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Watchtower at the reduit of Fort Vossegat is where the day begins. Next is Fort near Heemstede.
2. 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 comes up about 63 km into the recorded legs. Next is Van Nellefabriek.
3. 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
about 129 km into the recorded legs you reach Van Nellefabriek. Next is back through Fort near Heemstede.
4. back through 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
back through Fort near Heemstede, late in the day. Next is Watchtower at the reduit of Fort Vossegat.
5. Watchtower at the reduit of Fort Vossegat
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Watchtower at the reduit of Fort Vossegat write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Back at Watchtower at the reduit of Fort Vossegat. That is the ride.
Leg by leg
Watchtower at the reduit of Fort Vossegat to Fort near Heemstede
Watchtower at the reduit of Fort Vossegat → Fort near Heemstede is 63 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Fort near Heemstede to Van Nellefabriek
Fort near Heemstede → Van Nellefabriek is 66 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Van Nellefabriek to back through Fort near Heemstede
Van Nellefabriek → back through Fort near Heemstede is 64 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Fort near Heemstede to Watchtower at the reduit of Fort Vossegat
back through Fort near Heemstede → Watchtower at the reduit of Fort Vossegat is 65 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.