Tour of Westland with Cyclone

Some things are just ‘good’. As I, Sander, from Cycling Destination, social rides As soon as planning begins, Jelle will send me a DM with the question: ‘Man, should we organize one together?’ Jelle and I have mostly spoken online. But we don’t know each other. Still, there’s a shared love for cycling that creates a natural connection. The location is set, the route is planned, and the visuals are great. Everything is in place. The Westland Tour with Cycloon is already a success in advance, and we haven’t even ridden a single meter yet. How was it in real life? I’ll take you along.

Oh, oh, The Hague!

When the doors at Lola Bikes & Coffee open at 10:00, the first participants are already streaming in. The atmosphere is immediately good. Everyone is secretly watching each other’s bikes and the coffee with cake is a good start. Host Jelle has made the route and outside the ‘pieces of city’ in The Hague there are beautiful, long stretches in nature and along the water. The climb at the Maeslantkering is a must. After all, you don’t have to be in the Westland to measure altitude.

Beautiful city behind the dunes

The Hague is a chic city. Or at least, it is a city with a chic heart and a rough edge. Because besides the inner courtyard, Noordeinde Palace, and the many embassies, it is also the place where the Schilderswijk is not known for its beautiful murals, where Duindorp and Scheveningen more often make headlines negatively than positively, and where the football club invariably is mentioned in a sentence with the word ‘risk match’. ‘Oh oh, The Hague, beautiful city behind the dunes, the Schilderswijk, the Lange Poten and the Plein’, sang Harry Klorkestein (Harry Jekkers) once. If you want to love The Hague, you sometimes have to do a little more than just enjoy it.

Between dunes and greenhouses there is a path

To get out of the city, you have to take a detour. Turn, turn, sometimes over beautiful bike paths, then again over a somewhat dangerous road. The adage ‘we are building the future’ is fully lived out here. Can you find a street that isn’t open? Once at the harbor you can smell the sea and the sunbeam that caresses you, that’s where we all shine. This is where the beautiful path begins. Between the dunes and next to the greenhouses of the Westland. The path that leads through beautiful nature. That on weekends is deathly busy, but where everyone still wants to cycle and hike together. 

Sun, sea, sand

We roll towards ‘de Hoek’, the mouth of the Nieuwe Waterweg. To our right we see the sea. Today it is relatively calm, although there is a strong wind. The coastal wind will probably contribute to this. To our left the first greenhouses soon appear. The land of green in glass, the Westland. Where one puts it more like ‘pick it up while you can?’ Here everything is ‘best’. Would the Kromme Jongens still perform? The path is undulating a bit. Could there be height meters here in the dunes? The group finds its rhythm and we talk about the love of cycling. About planning new adventures and also about equipment. It remains a hobby where N+1 is the rule of thumb. 

England is there!

At Hoek van Holland, we turn around and head towards the brand new station, which was ceremoniously opened a few months ago. We follow the Nieuwe Waterweg, on its way towards Rotterdam, where it will become ‘the Maas’. We pass the Stenaline, where the boat to Harwich is ready. England, 1 km, is indicated on the sign. That feels close, even though the actual distance is longer. 

Maeslant barrier

The wind is against us now, but the sun is also shining brightly. We are getting ready for the Maeslant Barrier, the most important hill in this area. While I drive forward to take photos, the wind blows fiercely in my face. Oh, no wonder that Westland Wil Vooruit (the local cycling club) always produces good riders and riders. You’ll hear a lot of whistling. The scene on this hill is beautiful. Everyone gives their all and that against a backdrop of beautiful water, the sun, and the almost idyllic giants of wind turbines. I miss a shipping container as a backdrop. 

Good joke Adriaan!

From here it’s on to Maassluis, the birthplace of the duo Bassie and Adriaan. Brothers Bas and Aad van Toor conquered many children’s hearts as clowns and acrobats in the 70s, 80s and 90s. I sometimes still wonder how ingeniously their series and programs were put together. 

As a child, I got completely into the story of the B&A boys, robot Robin, dog Lara, the bad guys (with B2, B100, the Baron, Handy Harry and of course Speedy Japie) and the wonderful adventures like their trip through Europe.. Why a clown and an acrobat are being chased around the world by three shady figures is still a mystery. The many expressions, the songs and the life lessons that acrobat Adriaan invariably explains to Bassie, have remained. The duo has now been out of the spotlight for years and now only appears in the news due to declining health.

Toy factory 2MOSO

Maassluis is also the place where we stop for a tour of the showroom. 2MOSO. The distributor of high-quality brands such as Wahoo, Princeton CarbonWorks, Titici, Aftershokz and the power supply Pure Power They are happy to open the doors to us. They are showing off the Italian frames and the wheels from PCW. The coffee tastes great, with a nice snack included. With a well-filled back pocket and the new Wahoo Element Roam richer, we're going on a trip again.

Between the greenhouses

It's now a matter of turning and turning. Our way back is more or less through the greenhouses. The infrastructure here is primarily designed for fast transport from the greenhouses to the auction. The car and especially the truck have the upper hand here. That is solved for cyclists by a network of tunnels and side roads, but those often wind around, under, and between the rest of them. It's no different. 

Again in the dunes

With only 15 kilometers to go, we return to the dune road, which we also rode on the way there. Now the wind is blowing diagonally and that’s still a bit of a struggle. The sun is even starting to shine a little and when I stop for a short while, I take off my hiking boots. I look to my left and see the sea. I look to my right and then I see the dunes. In the distance, The Hague looms. Actually, it’s quite beautiful here. I’m starting to understand more and more why this piece of land is so popular and why land here is so incredibly expensive. To be able to buy it here, you have to have some money in the bank.

Final part

The group splits up and with the last bit of distance we head back towards the start. In the city, you really have to be careful, because other road users also have rights and make good use of them. 500 meters from the finish line, I still narrowly miss an open door of a car. The ‘Dutch reach’ isn’t known to everyone yet. 

Why go? 

Then the question arises: why would you go cycling here? Well, quite simply: I find the dunes unique. It’s beautiful there and if you go at a good time (that is, not at 12:00 in the afternoon on a sunny Sunday), you have the entire area to yourself. If you’re like me and love water, then the Rondje Westland is a very nice option.

Tour of Westland with Cyclone – Route

See here the route we have taken. For more routes and inspiration, go to our komoot page as well.