On 5/21/2020 10:05 AM, wrote:
On Thursday, May 21, 2020 at 2:56:08 AM UTC-7, wrote:
Maybe as a welcome distraction from the political and Covid-19 related mudslinging. We closed our Vancouver BC branch a year ago. Some colleagues moved over here and one of them is a close colleague now. I asked him what he found was special about The Netherlands. The first thing he mentioned: 'it is so incredibly flat'. Hmm... i didn't knew that ;-) and I paid attention during my 114 km ride yesterday in which I managed a total elevation gain of a whopping 124 m (Strava corrected value). I took a random picture along the route:

https://photos.app.goo.gl/1ssWbEvubmNiMxXf8

Yeah it is really flat I must admit.

have a nice day

Lou

Holland is so flat that most of the cargo is moved by barges on their many canal systems. Most of their cities and industries are built around the canals. While there must be some high spots they are few and far between. The windmill systems used to pump the water around so that they could go from lock to lock and keep the canals filled.

There are many places in the lowlands where there are hillocks that are incredibly steep as is often demonstrated in the Belgium classics and are also present in relatively flat Pennsylvania, but the majority of these places are flat. Those places are geologically unique.

"Relatively flat Pennsylvania?"

Honestly, I do try to let most of Tom's weird statements go by, but that
one is just nuts. I ride in PA quite a lot. I've ridden across it with
full camping gear twice. It is anything but flat.

I guess Tom has never heard of the Appalachians. Like most bike
tourists, I found they were much tougher than the Rockies, even though
not nearly as high. Passes we rode in the Rockies tended to be very
long, but mostly moderate grades. The Appalachian climbs are often much,
much steeper, and when you've conquered one, you're immediately looking
at another. (FWIW, Devon, England was much the same.)

We host Warm Showers travelers. We once had an interesting couple
contact us. They had just retired in the San Francisco area, and had
celebrated by biking cross country to Maine, their original goal.

They contacted us from Maine and said they had such a great time they
were continuing on to Texas, and asked if they could stay here on the
way. We agreed.

On the day they arrived, they looked absolutely beat. They said that the
hills of Pennsylvania, and especially the endless sharp, rolling
foothills in Western PA, were the toughest days they had their entire trip.

As to Netherlands: We biked there just a bit during a four day visit. I
think the toughest climb we had was a ramp on a ferry.


--
- Frank Krygowski