Cycling in Holland with Oli & Darren

Cycling in Holland 

First stop, we picked up our bikes for the week, made sure they were all the right size and set up properly for us before heading out on our first ride together! We took some time getting used to our new bikes but once we felt comfortable, we cycled off into the woodland and managed the to tackle the path giving us lakeside views and cool, shady forest areas. 

We met some furry friends along the way before the afternoon heat gave us the perfect opportunity to cool off with a swim in the lake and a chill  with a refreshing ice cream! 

Bikes at the ready we took on the 25km circular route through woodland, pastures, villages, along rivers and past beautiful buildings. We stopped a few times along the way to take in the views with the main stop about halfway round for a drink and a well-deserved ice cream! 

Our ride took us to a famous WW1 site on the Dutch/Belgian border and here we learnt about the history of this area.

Giving our legs a rest we had a greta time at the bowling alley. It was a very close game with some incredible bowling skills and several strikes and spares! But after 2 games our overall winner was Clare! 

Another beautiful day for a ride. This one took us a whole 37km through the forest, stopping at a nice cafe in a village called Leenderstrijp. This was the most challenging ride of the week, and everyone coped exceedingly well. 

The route also took us through Leende a quaint market town, then through some farmland to Valkenswaard town centre where we stopped for another drink. A reward for our efforts! 

There were some great evening entertainment with live shows & fabulous singers. 

 A morning was spent playing a great game of crazy golf! There were 18 holes in total and some brilliant shots played by all trying to get that lucky hole in one! Our overall winner was Rhys! Everyone had great fun and showed great sportsmanship.

Some of us decided to have a go on to the Aqua Park which is an inflatable outdoor water obstacle course floating on the lake. It was great fun and Luke mastered it in no time whilst Oli fell off into the water several times! We spent the afternoon on the lakeside beach sunbathing with drinks and ice creams. Another perfect way to spend the afternoon.  

Onsite we managed to take a pedalo out on the lake. We paddled all the way round the lake enjoying the views and peaceful nature. Afterwards we had a drink and watched people water skiing and wakeboarding.