Bike Like the Dutch

 2022 DATES TBD

 


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Overview 

Designed for bicycle lovers/advocates, community leaders, business owners, planners, street engineers, community developers, elected officials, creative placemakers, and their spouses, partners, relatives, and friends, this tour will take travelers on a low-mileage, slow-riding bicyle journey to explore the comfortable streets of Delft, Rotterdam, Utrecht, and Amsterdam in the Netherlands. Why are we going to the Netherlands? Because when it comes to riding a bicycle for transportation and fun, there’s no more enjoyable place than the Netherlands. With a dense network of over 35,000 km (22,000 mi) of bicycle infrastructure, a national average of 28% of all trips by bicycle, about 75% of urban streets traffic-calmed to 30 km/hr (19 MPH), and government spending of about 30 Euros ($35 USD) per person per year on bicycle infrastucture, it’s no wonder the entire world looks to the Netherlands on how to improve bicycling access and safety. 

Our adventure includes short cycle tours (8 miles a day or less on average), using an experiential, multi-modal transportation approach to learning about the interconnectedness between people, places, and the way they get around. We’ll touch upon the Netherlands’ historic bicycle ridership and planning through the 20th and 21st centuries with in-person sessions with Dutch planning professionals, engineers, and public officials. Guided rides and personal exploration will further your understanding of how the Dutch have become so successful in building safe streetscapes and creating stronger neighborhoods. Throughout, we’ll have unique opportunities to network with the Dutch Cycling Embassy, Inspired by Cities, and the Urban Cycling Institute. 

To supplement your experience using the world’s best bicycle facilities and for those who want to ride longer distances, you can easily plan group rides in the evenings or mornings throughout the tour. For spouses, partners, relatives, and friends, there are more options beyond the central theme of bicycling. Basking in each urban area’s history, culture, architecture, and local foods are high priorities for the tour leaders as well. Further, we have created an optional explorer package that any traveler can add on to this tour itinerary - one that includes the Anne Frank House, Van Gogh Museum, Maritime Museum Rotterdam, Dom Tower, Museum Speelklok, and an Amsterdam Canal Cruise. 

Tour leaders Trevor Roark and Robin Rothfeder are excited to return to the Netherlands to hop on an opafiets (grandpa bicycle) and share this country’s people-centered focus to placemaking and life. Besides embracing the welcoming atmosphere and exploring the local landscapes on two wheels, they hope an experience like this can turn inspiration into action for travelers that are passionate about making change in their own home towns/cities.

 


Tour Leaders

Trevor Roark

Trevor Roark
Trevor’s the Program Manager for UWSP Adventure Tours and an experienced worldwide traveler and leader (including the Grand Canyon, New Zealand, Fiji, Costa Rica, Canada and many U.S. states). He is a frequent leader of the Grand Canyon Rim-to-Rim Hiking tour and changing socks often is his hiking motto. Yet, staying upright is his goal in the Netherlands while sharing the streets on two wheels. As a local active transportation advocate and Chair of the Stevens Point Bicycle & Pedestrian Street Safety Commission, Trevor understands well the struggles we face while shifting to more equitable transportation. He's eager for other travelers to become empowered through this Dutch experience.

 



Robin Rothfeder

Robin Rothfeder
Robin is an Assistant Professor of natural resource planning at UW-Stevens Point. He is an avid outdoor enthusiast (especially skiing, climbing, scuba diving, and whitewater rafting) and a certified yoga instructor. He’s traveled extensively to places including Central and South America, Africa, French Polynesia, Turkey, and throughout Western Europe. The Netherlands holds a special place in Robin's heart: it combines his love of active transportation, progressive planning and design, cities interspersed with water, classic art, and his wife, who visited there with him for their honeymoon. Robin is thrilled to return to share his planning background while helping to facilitate this inspiring adventure.


 



Itinerary, Details, and Booking


Itinerary & Program - Download PDF document to learn more about this tour
 
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