The story of Lydia and Geert Putter
Oostvaardersplassen is not only a beautiful nature reserve for plants and animals, cyclists in Flevoland can also enjoy this unique piece of the Netherlands to the full. On the Gassen langs de plassen cycle route, however, they do so at full speed, although you can of course ease off the throttle a little to enjoy the natural beauty on this route for longer.
Name: Lydia Putter and Geert Putter
Residence: Lelystad
Bike: Cannondale K optimo 2 (Lydia), Specialized Tarmac 4 (Geert)
Strava name: Lydiaputter & geertputter
Mother and son
The Putter family moved to Lelystad in the year 2000. Previously, Lydia and her husband Teun lived in Brabant and mainly cycled in circles towards Belgium. Since they moved to Flevoland, they have racked up many kilometres of asphalt on their racing bikes. Meanwhile, the couple also had a son named Geert. When he too started cycling, a lot of laps through the polder were cycled together. Geert has since outgrown his mother's pace, so they don't cycle together very much any more.
Speed difference
Especially for 'Gassen langs de plassen', an exception was made and old times revived as mother and son both got on their racing bikes for one of the most popular cycling routes in the Flevoland Top 10. Lydia: "As a trained speed skater and cyclist, Geert can obviously cycle much faster than me, but he managed to hold back very well during our lap so that the difference in speed that is normally there was not noticeable for me for a while."
85 kilometres
Those who want to crank up the throttle while cycling through Flevoland should definitely give 'Gassen langs de plassen' a go. This 85-kilometre route can be cycled from both Almere and Lelystad. In fact, the real starting point is exactly between these two places. The Oostvaarders nature experience centre is the start in this description. The route takes you directly to the beautiful Jan van den Bosch path. This cycle path introduces you to the distinctive views of the Flevoland marshes, beautiful water features with untouched nature strips in the Oostvaardersplassen.
Storming into Lelystad at full throttle
That said, for many cyclists, enjoying nature is just a nice touch. It's all about spinning the big gear, pumping up the wattages and scoring a high average speed. And you can do all that once the turn to the Oostvaardersdijk is made. So where you prefer to have the wind at your back to storm full throttle into Lelystad.
After this explosion of power on the pedals, it is delightful to coast along the winding cycle paths of the Hollandse Hout. Via the Praamweg, the Grote Trap on the Ibisweg near Zeewolde, the Vogelweg and the Vierbruggenpad, you cycle back into Almere. There you cross several top locations such as Stadslandgoed De Kemphaan, the former Floriade site and a real dune path as you pass Strandwijk Duin. The Noorderplassen are the prelude to a thrilling finale where the speed can increase again considerably. The way back over the Oostvaardersdijk, preferably with a tailwind this time, ensures a banging finale of this 'Gassen langs de plassen' route.
Counterwind
Mother and son chose not to cycle the entire route, but instead went together to cycle only the stretch along Oostvaardersplassen and Knardijk. Lydia: "That was fun despite it being windy that day. On the dike, that's nice when the wind is with you and a lot less pleasant when you have to cycle with a headwind. So the wind direction is always something we take into account. On the way there, we prefer to have a headwind and not via the dike, so that on the way back we have a tailwind when we cycle back home over the open stretches along the dike. The Markermeer is really beautiful, but then we like to have a tailwind."
Full house
Geert has been cycling since he was eight years old, first on a mountain bike and later on a road bike: "The Oostvaardersplassen never gets boring. There are very nice stretches along the route where you can look around well and take in the surroundings. And if you want, you can ride full speed everywhere and I really like that. A big advantage is that there are also large stretches with good shelter along the way, which means you can still keep banging away when the wind is against you", says the now 16-year-old Lelystani.
The Great and Little Stairs
One of the points Lydia and Geert really enjoyed during the route were the Kleine and Grote Trap near Zeewolde. There too - as in the rest of Flevoland - the wind is always a factor. Geert: "We now also cycled the Grote Trap and the dike off the wind, because I wouldn't like to cycle that stretch against the wind. We've done that once in a while, because I came out that way or because we just wanted to try it, but it's not really fun then. But if you just take that into account, this round is just doable for everyone, both novice and experienced cyclists. The whole 'Gassen langs de plassen' stretch is just a nice little lap. Of course, I had cycled most of the sections before during my cycling training sessions for the skating club. But I particularly enjoyed seeing the familiar and unfamiliar stretches now combined into one route."
Tour Club Flevoland
A well-known name in Flevoland cycling is Wil Dennissen. Member of TC Flevoland and, among other things, initiator of Omloop Flevoland. Some time ago, he introduced the term 'De Muur van Woei' referring to the steep Belgian climb 'De Muur van Huy', which serves as the executioner in the cycling classic De Waalse Pijl.
Tour Club Flevoland
The experiences of the Putter family on the round trip along the Oostvaarderplassen have since been shared with members of TC Flevoland and it is in the pipeline that TC Flevoland will also ride the route with a group of cyclists. Lydia: "When we came to live here in Lelystad, I saw the old clubhouse of Toerclub Flevoland. That was the signal for me that there is also cycling here. And I don't like cycling alone and certainly not in a barren, flat, vast polder so I immediately signed up. Cycling here is totally different from Brabant or North Holland; where I also lived. And that was more than 20 years ago now."
New tour
During the tours with the tour club, Lydia found out that if you know your way around Flevoland, cycling can also be very beautiful here. She therefore thinks the new 'Gassen langs de plassen' round trip is a good initiative to familiarise cyclists with everything Flevoland has to offer: water, peace, space and nature. "If there is no route mapped out, you have to know a bit where to go. Over the years, many beautiful cycle paths have been added, although there are also stretches that are now less beautiful because trees have been cut down, for example. But cycling in a group of TC Flevoland is just great fun every time. We hardly ever cycle the same route. We haven't yet done the 'Gassen langs de plassen' route as a club, but I have already told our cycling group that we should definitely do that one day. So that will happen soon and then even more people will get to know this surely beautiful, versatile route."
Cycling for exercise
Geert trains with one of the selection groups of the ice rink Amsterdam and so now cycles mainly in that region, but in Lelystad, too, people still regularly take to their bikes: "I've actually done all the roads in and around Lelystad. And a lot of the roads in Flevoland as well. I also really cycle to train, increase my speed and try to set good times on the Strava segments. For training for speed, Flevoland is very suitable. Actually all the roads are dead straight, the cycle paths and roads are nice and wide, which is ideal for setting a nice Strava time, grabbing a KOM." Riding the route was an enjoyable experience for both of them, which may yet be followed up: "Perhaps as a result of this round we will cycle together more often, because this was great fun after all," they chorus.