While guides are great things, I wasn’t looking for one here. Two unicycles, a map, and some extra caffeine would make for a fine adventure. 
Can we take the discussion off here? Tom you can email me on my unicyclist.com email. The address is of the usual form firstname.lastname@unicyclist.com . I am subscribed to this thread so anyone replying here will still be heard.
Okay, time to resurrect this thread. The ride didn’t happen last time, but I will be over in Amsterdam again shortly. I have a free day in the city on Saturday, September 15. This time, I will be able to pack along a 29" road uni, so as not to be a uni-less burden on any locals that might want to ride. I’d be interested in some riding in the city, with a little tourist action thrown in if possible. Ideally morning to mid-day, so I can spend the afternoon enjoying some of the famous coffee in the local cafes. But afternoon would work too.
Anyone game?
TB
i will be on amsterdan in november for the cannabis cup
Tom, I’ve PM’ed you.
I’m happy to be able to resurrect this thread to actually talk about a ride, instead of just about trying to arrange one.
Saturday was a perfect, golden late-summer day in Amsterdam, and perfect conditions for some uni-touristing of the city. I had the good fortune to be welcomed by three locals: Klaas, Sybren, and Leo. It was a great progression…Klaas and I started out in the morning, striking out from Central Station into the western part of the city.
Klaas riding along one of Amsterdam’s many bike lanes.
After zig-zagging our way along numerous side streets and canals, we ultimately turned into Vondelpark to enjoy a nice tree-lined loop with lots of joggers and bikers, and no cars.
The unis enjoy a rest while espresso is consumed in Vondelpark.
Klaas and Tom in front of Wester-kerk
Following our espresso break, we headed back into Central Station to meet Sybren. Sybren took us on a ferry over to the part of the city where he lives, and we added some more miles before catching the ferry back and saying goodbye to Klaas. Despite having communicated by mail for some time, this was the first face-to-face meeting for Klaas and Sybren, so I’m glad I could help in arranging that.
Sybren and Klaas humming along.
L to R: Sybren, Tom, Klaas on the ferry back to Central Station
After Klaas’s departure, Sybren and I decided ale was more important than riding, so we stopped for some beer and live music at the concert hall near the Central Station. From there, Sybren had to go, so I did some solo riding in the eastern sector near the red light district, then enjoyed a walk along the Amstel and some side streets, enjoying the setting sun across several of the city’s canals.
Late day sun along the Amstel River
As evening came on, it was back to Central Station to meet Leo. What amazing energy! He’s been riding twice as long as I have, but he’s way more than twice as good a rider. He was also a great guide, and we logged some night miles out to a nice Turkish restaurant he recommended. Mmmm…braised lamb shank and cous-cous.
Leo test-driving the GB4 29
It was a long day and I was dead tired by the end of it all, but it was also one of my best days of urban riding ever, thanks to my new-found Dutch friends. International uni-touristing is truly a great thing, and it’s one more reminder of the value of this forum. My thanks to Klaas, Sybren, and Leo…it was great to get to know each of you, and you gave me a day I’ll remember forever.
For a look at more photos, check out my smugmug gallery here.
I’m happy to be able to resurrect this thread to actually talk about a ride, instead of just about trying to arrange one.
Saturday was a perfect, golden late-summer day in Amsterdam, and perfect conditions for some uni-touristing of the city. I had the good fortune to be welcomed by three locals: Klaas, Sybren, and Leo. It was a great progression…Klaas and I started out in the morning, striking out from Central Station into the western part of the city.
Klaas riding along one of Amsterdam’s many bike lanes.
After zig-zagging our way along numerous side streets and canals, we ultimately turned into Vondelpark to enjoy a nice tree-lined loop with lots of joggers and bikers, and no cars.
The unis enjoy a rest while espresso is consumed in Vondelpark.
Klaas and Tom in front of Wester-kerk
Following our espresso break, we headed back into Central Station to meet Sybren. Sybren took us on a ferry over to the part of the city where he lives, and we added some more miles before catching the ferry back and saying goodbye to Klaas. Despite having communicated by mail for some time, this was the first face-to-face meeting for Klaas and Sybren, so I’m glad I could help in arranging that.
Sybren and Klaas humming along.
L to R: Sybren, Tom, Klaas on the ferry back to Central Station
After Klaas’s departure, Sybren and I decided ale was more important than riding, so we stopped for some beer and live music at the concert hall near the Central Station. From there, Sybren had to go, so I did some solo riding in the eastern sector near the red light district, then enjoyed a walk along the Amstel and some side streets, enjoying the setting sun across several of the city’s canals.
Late day sun along the Amstel River
As evening came on, it was back to Central Station to meet Leo. What amazing energy! He’s been riding twice as long as I have, but he’s way more than twice as good a rider. He was also a great guide, and we logged some night miles out to a nice Turkish restaurant he recommended. Mmmm…braised lamb shank and cous-cous.
Leo test-driving the GB4 29
It was a long day and I was dead tired by the end of it all, but it was also one of my best days of urban riding ever, thanks to my new-found Dutch friends. International uni-touristing is truly a great thing, and it’s one more reminder of the value of this forum.
For a look at more photos, check out my smugmug gallery here.
Just before leaving Amsterdam (see att.).
Thanks to the tipsy stranger who was willing to make the picture
Yes, very usefull. So a little thanks to Gilby as well.
Yes indeed, the ride was on this time and it was a real pleasure. I knew Tom only through his forum postings but sure enough he was every bit the nice guy I had expected. We met up in Leiden and traveled together to Amsterdam by train. The first few hundred metres out of Central Station were too crowded to even think of riding.
Here we are readying ourselves to hop on the unis and continue our touristic tour riding. BTW, Tom could find a job as “native speaker” (you can just about read the sign).
http://www.unicyclist.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=22399
More text
Yes indeed, the ride was on this time and it was a real pleasure. I knew Tom only through his forum postings but sure enough he was every bit the nice guy I had expected. We met up in Leiden around 9:00 am and traveled together to Amsterdam by train. The first few hundred metres out of Central Station were too crowded to even think of riding.
Here we are readying ourselves to hop on the unis and continue our touristic tour in riding mode. BTW, Tom could find a job as “native speaker” (you can just about read the sign).
We made kind-of-planned touristic dismounts every now and then. This is Tom in front of a “draaiorgel”. The operator shakes his copper coinbox invitingly in front of passers-by, in tune with the music. In the pic he just collects a coin or two.
Tom cruising along a cycle lane. It’s hard to see his helmet in this picture:
Like Tom said, Sybren joined us around 12:30 or so. We took a pedestrian/cyclist ferry across Het IJ (a wide canal, about 200 - 500 metres), then cycled through the northern part of Amsterdam. On this pic we are on a (longer) ferry ride back to the centre:
Due to other commitments I had to leave at this point. Tom said in his post that Sybren suggested that taking in some ale was more important than continuing the ride. Well, I can assert that Tom had just about the same focus, because just as I left I heard him saying to Sybren “Sorry, I didn’t understand what you said after beer”.
As you can see in some of Tom’s pics, I carried my GPS on top of my helmet. This is a map view of where we rode, there’s a scale bar at the bottom right corner:
We did a total of 21.6 km (a bit over 13 mi) including the two ferry trips.
Finally, for the real nerds, I attach our speed profile. Vertical scale is km/h, horizontal scale is datapoint number (I could do distance or time too). The red dots bsically signify where we stopped. The last bit in pink is (mostly) the ferry back, somewhat faster than our typical riding speed. As you can see, we rode at our leasure, typically 12 - 14 km/h. We dropped it to about 10 km/h when Sybren joined us with his somewhat smaller wheel:
If you travel abroad and can pack or borrow a uni, or if you have some foreign unicyclist(s) visiting your area, I can really rcommend you try and set up a ride. I’ve done it a handful of times now and it has always been a wonderful experience. Today was certainly no exception! Thanks Tom for initiating the ride.
End of August 2008
Hi, I’d like to resurrect this thread if possible to see if anyone would like to ride later this month. I’ll probably have some time in Amsterdam on Friday and Saturday (29, 30), and will have ALL DAY free on Sunday (31).
I figured I’d bring my 29"Guni.
looks like fun, I cant’ wait!
Roland
Good thing I’m still subscribed to this thread, or I’d have missed this.
It’s always nice to meet foreign unicyclists. I think I’ll have some time available in that weekend, and I may be able to drum up some others. What is your idea? A touristic city ride like we did with Tom (see pix in this thread)? Alternatively, we might want to do some countryside touring, either around Amsterdam (which I don’t know well), or around where I live which you can get to by train in about an hour. It would depend on the weather though, I’m not very fond of riding in rain. If you email me at firstname.lastname@unicyclist.com we can take the discussion offline.
If anyone posts here though, I’ll see it.
Riding in the city is a blast, and the 29-er is perfect vehicle. I had long cranks on mine, and was wishing they were shorter to keep up with Klaas, who was running pretty short on his 29. But a guni would have been just as good or better.
I loved zipping around the various parts of town, especially in the district around the Ouderkerk. Ride, stop at coffeehouse for coffee etc, ride more, stop at ale house for Amstel, ride more, repeat.
LMK by PM if you want suggestions on any fun places for touristing. I am very jealous I won’t be there riding with you.
(Hi Tom)
I had 125’s at the time. I’ve got 102 on the 29’er now because I raced at Unicon. But for a city ride I’d put 125’s back on, or maybe 140. ISTR Tom had 152 mm cranks which indeed are a tad too long for flat terrain. I do have a Guni 29’er too but I think I wouldn’t have enough control to waive through the traffic. Fixed is better in city traffic, for me at least. But I’m not very good at riding Gunis in general - although I’m improving.
Writing with short report on an excellent week of riding in the Netherlands.
I brought my 29Guni which was a great wheel for the trip. Easy to take on the plane (checked it as luggage, without a box) and the right speed for riding the abundant bike lanes in that country. I was able to keep pace with bikes most of the time either in high or low gear, found it kind of interesting to get caught in cycle traffic jams, don’t see those in the states. I managed to keep my luggage relatively light, so I could really use the uni to get around, even lugging my stuff from the train to my hotel.
I brought a lock, which was handy when riding around town. I also brought a helmet, but ended up only wearing it on my long ride, falling to the peer pressure of the fact that NO ONE riding bikes around town wears a helmet. In the future I think I would bring the lock but not the helmet to the Netherlands, if I could borrow one for the odd long ride. I continue to always wear a helmet at home.
After a week of riding around I had the feeling I wasn’t getting as warm of a reception on the Uni as I’m used to in the States. It wasn’t a big difference I guess, but surprised me a bit, given that everyone in the Netherlands rides a bike. I wonder if this just reflects a more reserve nature of their society? Anyone else notice that, or was it just my imagination?
Highlights included meeting up with Leo Vandewostijne in Amsterdam. We cruised around town a bit on unis, had a nice dinner, then out to a cafe for dinner. When Leo was giving me tips on how to do a certain trick some guys came over and offered to pay us to give their friend a unicycle lesson. Despite it being a bachelor party, they weren’t obviously drunk, so we did it. Kind of fun, easy money!
The next day I took the train out to the countryside where Klaas Bil picked me up and led the way for a great 80km ride. This was my first close look at the farmland, canals, windmills, etc… Klaas was super hospitable, and entertained my endless questions about his country, many thanks for that.
This was my second road-trip with the uni and confirmed that its a great way to travel and meet new people. Many thanks to Leo and Klaas for taking time out to ride with me and show me around.
Extended photo collection on fickr
Ro
Way to go Ro!
I can’t wait to do uni trips again. It looks like the next one for me is Panama with you guys.
Now I wish I could travel more… thanks Roland 
Great write-up and photos. I’m glad to hear you were able to hook up with some of the same great riders that hosted me during my visit. They are VERY hospitable, and fun to ride with. And Leo gets some serious speed on that little blue 20", doesn’t he?
Klaas and I did downtown Amsterdam riding, but I see now that I should have tried to con him into taking me out into the countryside. Next time I go, I will have to try that one.
Uni traveling is the best, because the uni riders you get to hook up with are the best.
PS: Klaas…nice garage. 
Ha… your query reminded me of one of my favorite movie quotes. From Austin Powers: “There are only two things I can’t stand in this world. People who are intolerant of other people’s cultures… and the Dutch.”
Looks like you had a great time!
It was a great pleasure to host Roland on a country side tour. We had never met but he was a very nice guy to talk to and to ride with. We were both on geared 29’ers but it seemed Roland had to ride below his usual speed because I wasn’t quite that fast. When I learned that he would do a 100 mile ride back home in the next weekend, I plotted a scenic 80 km ride in a wide circle around my home town (Zoetermeer), which was actually the longest ride that I had ever done on a single day. The ride (9:30 - 16:30) sampled the kind of scenery that we have in the western part of the country: windmills (both traditional and modern wind power types), sailing boats, meadows with cows/sheep/horses. Most of the day we were on dedicated cycle lanes, either along a regular road, or just on their own. The gorgeous weather made it all very enjoyable, except maybe that this weather (on a Sunday afternoon at that!) drew big crowds of bicyclists. Imagine bicycle traffic jams and careful planning to overtake some slower cyclists.
Being a zoologist, Roland wanted to know all kinds of things about local wild animals, in fact more than I really knew about it. At one point in the ride, he spotted a dead weasel along the road side, and of course jumped off to take a closer look. I never even knew we had weasels! Riding in front I had seen the roadkilled animal and thought it was a tree squirrel (if that is the correct translation of “eekhoorn”).
Of course the ride was very flat, but on the occasional road bridge or dyke Roland would ride away from me, saying “Can’t pass up on a good downhill”.
We compared our Schlumpf hubs since I had a problem shifting. Often when I thought I hit the button quite well, the gear wouldn’t shift. We discovered that my button requires quite a bit more force to be pushed in than his. Don’t know if this is somehow by design (I have one of the first square-tapers hubs, Roland has a MUni-type hub) or that there is some problem with mine. I have since tried to contact Schlumpf about it but haven’t gotten a response yet.
I forgot to take pictures (have just one series of which I attach one) but I’ll compensate with a map and speed profile of the ride from the GPS that I carried on my helmet as always.
It was a wonderful day of riding, and a good reminder of my long-standing recommendation: if you ever have the chance to meet and ride with foreign unicyclists, either by hosting one or when visiting another country, go for it!
Thanks Roland for being such good company, and for the beautiful T-shirt of your Panama research project!
