WE FINALLY BOUGHT BIKES IN THE NETHERLANDS 

A 5 minute bike ride instead of a 20 minute walk is a perfect example of how to use a bike.

The covered part are actually so your wheels dont fling a bunch of water on your back/shoes when you end up driving trough the rain/puddles, you can get aditional cover for the side of the rearwheel that do protect against stuff getting in the spokes they call them jasbeschermers which translates to coat savers, the upright sitting is not only more comfortable but it also safer you have a better view of other traffic and it easier to check behind you when upright!

Congrats at becoming half Dutch, once you both get your second bike you have become fully Dutch.

I am impressed how fast your "inburgering" is going! You even found "Marktplaats". That's the true Dutch commercial spirit. Have fun with your brand new bikes!

Regular bike: the right choice. Destination options: 1. Dordrecht - Biesbosch (pontje kop van't land) - Lage Zwaluwe (pontje) - A16 - Dordrecht 2. Dordrecht - Baanhoek - Papendrecht centrum - Alblasserdam - A15 - Hendrik Ido Ambacht - Zwijndrecht - Dordrecht 3. Dordrecht - Kiltunnel - Strijen - Maasdam - Pontje(Puttershoek) - Zwijndrecht - Dordrecht.

My recommendation would be to explore the Dordtse Biesbosch first (Kop van het Land area). Beautiful countryside relatively close to the city centre (approx 45min if you take it slow). Now here's a pro tip: if you're planning to go on a bike trip, carry a mini bike pump and a tire repair kit with you. They usually come with a manual on how to fix that flat tire.

For the Sausigerol: next time ask the shop owner if he can warm it up for you and if he can not, take it hope and stick it in the oven for like a minute or 2, then they are excellent to eat ;) From a friend in Utrecht ^^ Thanks for the entertainment

Take the Waterbus to Kinderdijk and make a nice bike ride along the iconic windmills.

Good choices. This really is the type of bicycle you would want in the Netherlands while living in a smaller town. Most people in Amsterdam go for a second hand refurbished beater. with little extra on it. And the uglier, the better! I agree with always using two locks. I have always done it, and never had a bike stolen. Also try and always attach it to something when locking up. If both of you are going somewhere, locking the bikes together works great. Oma and Opa fietsen are basically old style bicycles. I wouldn't call yours this. But simplicity is where it comes down to.

Make sure you have a bike pump so you can keep the tired nice and inflated. The difference between soft and hard inflated tires is HUGE! Also tightening loose screws and doing small fixes around the bike will make it last a lot longer.

Just so you're aware: you're not allowed to take a normal bike into the train or metro during rush hour. Only folding bikes are allowed during rush hour. And you'll have to buy a separate ticket for your bike, for the train, and the metro. You don't have to buy tickets for folding bikes.

As a dutch viewer it is so much fun to watch these video's. What is totally normal for us groing up, can be weird for an outsider.

This is what "Going Dutch" really means, getting a bike 🙂

You made the right choice! With handbrakes, some gears and not to heavy you can get around easily. Although a lot of bikes get stolen in all my 40 years of owning a bike and living throughout the Randstad, mine never was *knocks on wood. So it’s not that inevitable, but maybe highly probable ;-) Have fun riding and exploring!

The Veluwe is a nice place to cycle, its a lot of nature and a bit hilly.

De Betuwe is beautiful on a bike. It's essentially fruit farming country with a ton of orchards. The rivers also facilitated a lot of trade since forever so there's also a lot of (medieval) history there.

Just get on your bike and explore the area. It is a really good way to explore a small city like Dordrecht. If you follow the dikes, you'll be able to follow the river. A pedestrian ferry can easily get you on the other side as well. Once you're a bit more experienced and less anxious, you may go for a day trip, to for instance Kinderdijk which has a large cluster of windmills and is not overly touristic. Taking a ride through the Biesbosch should be nice. It's a nature reserve and you may even see some beavers building their dams there.

Probably too late now, but if you have a wheel lock that has a mysterious 1 cm hole in it, that's for a chain, so you only need one key! Anyway, I'm so happy to see you guys go all-in on our culture. Good that you picked up on the eye contact, we like to look out for each other. You also look very relaxed, love it.

The bikes that you have is not a Omafiets. You have more like a city or tourbike. And they look good. Have a lot of fun riding the bikes

9:30 "There are no stop signs in the Netherlands" ; "Everyone just looks out for each other" -my favourite part of this video🤣 especially on beautiful summer days, i notice strangers passing each other , greet each other ; making it even a better day😁!

Drenthe is famous for being the biking province. Little villages, lots of trees, and lots of interesting routes. But, our entire country is suitable for biking.

If you guys want to plan a route, you should use the fietsknoop system. There's a numbered system on the bike paths that you can follow, and it's all over the country. In Dordrecht you can also get to the Merwekade and take the waterbus when you're ready to go a little further afield. We live along the waterbus route between Dordrecht and Rotterdam and we use it all of the time when we plan a longer ride because you can take your bike on it and it saves us having to cross bridges. Another thing that might be good to learn is how to take a bike on an escalator, because you'll need it here sometimes. If you can figure out the fietsknoop system you can keep from getting lost because you just have to look out for the signs along the bike path.

Taking the Waterbus to the Kinderdijk windmills is indeed a very nice option. But as a test ride there are also beautiful cycling routes on the island of Dordrecht. For example, you can cycle via de Dordtse Biesbosch and de Elzen naar de Zuid Haven and take a walk along the river. From de Zuid Haven you can cycle via Kop van 't Land to de Wantijdijk. When you cycle down this dike along the river Wantij, you automatically end up in the Wantijpark. Have fun!

I'll be moving to the Netherlands in about 2 weeks for job expected to be for 2 years. I'm 64 and an experienced cyclist so I'm looking forward to bicycle commuting, again as I did previously in Germany. I was happy with the German bicycle infrastructure but I can only see the Dutch model being even better, especially their integration with public trasit. Thanks for the pricing guide too. 15 years ago in Friedrichshafen, DE, I bought a used 16-speed (2x8) bike for 240 Euros, rode it for 9 months, thru the Fall, Winter, and Spring and sold it back to the same shop for 200 euros. 40 Euros for 9 months of daily riding and zero mechanical issues was great! I expect a similar experience in Alkmaar. Thanks for sharing your experience.

You made a very good deal with these bikes.👍👍 Tip: Be sure that the lock on the chain is close to the frame when locked, so they cannot smash/bang it on the pavement until it breaks. Tip2: Just take you bikes on the train and visit all the other provinces.

From Dordrecht you should goto the Rottemeren, which is a lovely place close to Rotterdam. Also I really really really recommend you to go to the Biesbosch, which is very close from your place...if you like nature, trees, water, climbing, picnicking, etc of course. Njoy your bikes! You rock!

This is great news!! I'm looking forward to seeing videos that show where y'all go and how you enjoy getting there on two wheels. Having a bike really expands your options for social activities and fun destinations within a 15 minute ride compared with walking.

If you ever get tired of cycling through Dutch polders, my suggestion is Nationaal Park Veluwezoom between Arnhem and Dieren in the province of Gelderland. After that it is off to the hills in the south of the province of Limburg, between Maastricht, Valkenburg and Vaals! Or just cycle around the province of Drenthe in a week or so.

Really nice, congrats guys! Finally, you are truely Dutch :D Buying a "normal" bike is a good choice, also choosing hand brakes is the best choice. The only thing I was a bit surprised about is the "derailleur" type gear shifters, instead of the more common 7-speed hub gear, like a Shimano Nexus. Of course the derailleur type rides more smoothly and is easier uphill, but hey, we don't have real hills here. The hub gear is almost maintenance free, you have to check, clean and lube the derailleur shifter more often. Anyway, you chose a great bike. One final tip to avoid your bike getting stolen: always use the ring lock provided with the bike to lock it, and always (I mean always) use a second, good quality chain lock to secure the bike to something fixed like a street lamp or fence. It sounds so obvious, but the simple thing is that bikes will mostly only be stolen if they scream value or if they are less well locked compared to the bike parked next to it. Safe journeys!

Congratulations with your bikes! It’s fun to see you’re happy with it.

Congrats on having bikes! I am looking forward to seeing more of your trips.

Where to go during summertime? Hop on a train to Vlissingen and just ride along the coast and relax on a couple of beaches near Dishoek, Zoutelande, Westkapelle and Domburg.

Since you’re living in Dordrecht now, and want to experience and enjoy typical Dutch rural scenery with typical windmills, you should try cycling from Oud-Ablas along the river De Alblas to Bleskensgraaf, Molenaarsgraaf and so on. Could start (or end) at restaurant de Krom

While I'm living in a village in between Rotterdam and Dordrecht myself and been biking around I can say there are plenty of options from taking routes that are more urban to routes that are more rural/in nature. If you want to explore near Dordrecht, you could bike to the national park the Biesbosch, also biking to/or at Kinderdijk along the windmills is nice, on a beautiful sunny day it's specially nice around sunset and if you struggle with the distance you could take your bike on the water bus from/to there. As some other also suggested Fietstassen (bike bags) can be very handy for doing groceries or just packing in a blanked, food and drinks etc. if you go on a bike ride and have a picknick somewhere along the way. If you are unfamiliar and want the aid of a navigation assistant like google maps, many of those can be set to biking and as an accessoire you can find phone holders for on bicycles. Many cities also have a VVV store (information for both tourists and residents) and yours would be called indordrecht on the website you can also find suggested bike routes, which often have multiple options with shorter and longer distance, with options to download the routes in a PDF or have them opened in google maps, in the store they also sell paper bike maps. You can also find a city map there with marked (tourist) sites and points of interest which might also be handy for you being new to Dordrecht.

I understand you might want to take them on the train, however I have only done this a couple of times in my entire life here in the Netherlands. (Usually to move the bike to my new place). I do have a ‘vouwfiets’ as well, and even this one I hardly take on public transport. (Now use it to easily store it near my door in stead of my storage box that is in another street) Taking a bike on the train costs 7.50 euro (vouwfiets / folding bike is free), while hiring an OV fiets at the train station costs 4,45 euros for the entire day. And and OV E-BIKE costs 10 euros a day. You will quickly notice how inconvenient it is to take a bike on a dutch train. Especially if you both take your bikes. Not a lot of space, and doing a quick ‘overstap’ to another train is also a hassle most of the time. It can obviously be done, there are elevators, and special areas on the train to store the bikes. But you have to stay with them, so you can show the ticket for the bikes. I once have seen the conductor remove a bike from the train, after he asked over the intercom who stored them there. He needed to see the ticket. One tip, Action has a bike basket on sale starting tomorrow for around 7 euros. With an adapter for the steering column, so you can easily remove it for shopping for example. I also have special bike bags that can be easily attached to the bike quickly. Made from leather in a messenger bag format they are great to use for going to work. I use KLICKfix as a system, which has hundreds of options for bags, baskets or any other add ons you might need to transport stuff. And be careful with parking, because the city council is often the one who takes it away. (Not sure how this works in Dordrecht)

Those look nice!! I especially like the light blue one. And the 20 minute walk example is the best example you could give. I even go to my local shops by e-bike because it gets me there in 1-2 minutes while walking would be something like 5-7 minutes.

Nice video! Go with Waterbus to Kinderdijk and enjoy the windmills over there. Happy cycling!

Congratulations, welcome The Netherlands, and thank your for trying out bicycles here. You will find all sorts of destinations open to you now that would inconvenient by foot, car or, public transport, (bus, tram and, train.)

Congratz!! One step closer to becoming a real Dutchie !! And there is enough to explore in and around Dordrecht.

We are just back from a 2 week holiday in the Netherlands, we went specifically to test out our new e-bikes (we are older than you two!) and we found the Netherlands wonderful compared to the UK. The 'node' system for mapping bike tracks is great (and has a proper Dutch name!) and all the intersections between bike tracks are mapped for all of the Netherlands, a lot of Belgium and some of Germany. We used Topo GPS with the full node map that we got for about €3 . If you just pick where you want to go the map gives you the node numbers you have to follow and makes journeys really easy

The cover up on the back is for rain, and dirt. There are separate clothing protectors that your bike does not seem to have. And technically an original 'omafiets' has no handbreaks and different steering, but that's...just nitpicking

Cycling with less energy tips: Put the ball of your foot, or where your toes start, just behind the axle of the pedal (you'll feel the sweet spot). Keep your knees pointing straight forward, so not bowlegged or x-legged. Now push down the pedal down with the front of your feet in stead of pushing the pedal down with your upper legs (this also prevents your body moving back and forth). Only use your upper legs if you need some extra power, like going uphill. Have fun cycling!

Good thing, buying bikes! Be very careful in Dutch bike trafic, you're not alone! 😉👍

Nice bikes! Enjoy them🎉

You would be amazed by the real 'Oma Fiets'...mine is over 50 years old and cycles like no other bike. Big wheels and so comfortable, unlike any new bike you buy today! And she is still so amazing. Kudos to you guys with the way you handle immigration, Dutch language is a thing but you are doing well on all fronts! Michiel has great pointers for Cycling in the area!! Pontje is always great ;). Betuwe is great, Veluwe (Posbank near the city of Arnhem) is probably the most iconic place to ride a bike, but it is not near Dordrecht.

Hallo lovely people, you can go to Kinderdijk for the windmills with the fastferry.

At 41 I don't own a drivers license. I bike or walk everywhere, and that should say enough about the infrastructure of the Netherlands. :) Oh and I had a Oma fiets for many years, just recently switched to a bike with gears(old one was worn down), quite the change but I'm very happy with it now. :) I'm glad you guys are enjoying the biking culture here. 😊🌷

Enjoy your new bikes. They look good! It will give you maximum freedom.

Great, finally mobility for you two. Yes, you "can go anywhere", so ... go everywhere. You cannot go wrong 🙂

You should eat the "Saucijsebroodje" warm

Take your bikes on the train to Winterswijk and experience the beauty and tranquility of the Achterhoek. Book a hotel or a B&B there for a few days. From there you can cycle daily through the hamlets with the many forests, meadows and sandy roads along farms and streams. Places where you sometimes don't see anyone. All a stone's throw from the center of town. You can even easily cross the border into Germany and experience how the landscape there is slightly different. You can visit the Mondriaan museum there. Afterwards you can go for a swim in the historic open-air swimming pool and then have something to eat or drink there or on one of the terraces around the square around the church of Winterswijk.

New, subscriber and follower! Looking at moving me and my family to the Netherlands, so I will be binging your videos! Hope to run into you guys once we move there!

Congrats. You made a big step into dutchhood. Next step.. appropriate cursewords. Very handy as a biker in the netherlands 😊 We are more than willing to help you on the way

good choice on what kind of bike you got's, usually a lock on the rear wheel is sufficient to keep it from getting stolen. im sure you both will get the ins and outs of dutch biking in no time...

When using a cable lock or a chain lock, make sure you attach it to something solid and....try to attach it as high as possible. That will make it harder to use a cable cutter as all pressure needs to be applied by pure muscle power rather than making use of solid surfaces, putting one leg of the cutter on the ground.... Hope this makes sense ? 😊

There are some bikepath apps that can give you cool bike tours true out the netherlands. Most of the time you can select distance or time. Most of these tours also have fysical signs so you can just follow them once you are on the right path. I think you should go to the "veluwen" it's like a big nature reserve, in the east of the netherlands. You can make a great weekend out of it. But do go in summer so you can enjoy the landscape on your bike. Most dutch do these day trips when the have multple stops and relax on a terras. First stop around 10 you have coffee and applepie than you just hop on the bike agian, second stop you go lunch third stop you have some beers or whine with a "bittergarnituur" and than you go to your hotel freshen up and have diner. Great day of exercise, food, great views and beeing outside.

Its been a while since you posted this - so you've probably had this recommendation already - but if not I recommend the paths behind the coastline through the dunes. From Dordrecht its a breeze to get to Hoek van Holland by rail and riding north to Den Haag and beyond is some absolutely superb riding. this route should be on the bucket list of any cyclist (I've ridden along the entire coast about tn times) - highly recommend it.

You have several bike routes in the Netherlands were you start at a point and leads you round al nice sights and get you back to the start. Often they start at a train station like "de Peel en Maas route" you see lots of nature and you can get those routes digital or you just follow the signs by the road.

I love cycling in de Achterhoek! You might too. Just take the train to Doetinchem, Zutphen or even Winterswijk. There are plenty of nice routes to cycle there.

You can go to the bridge over the Noord, parallel to the A15 highway. When you're on the bridge, you can look down (on the north side) and you will see a wharf. It's the wharf of Oceanco: they built superyachts there. Some 6 months ago, I crossed that bridge a few times and there was this (almost finished) yacht moored at the dock. I didn't know it at the time, but later I heard that it was Steven Spielberg's new superyacht. So, if you can find a source that gives info and updates on what they are building there, you can see some interesting boats. Also nice: along the river Giessen

Cycling in nature is definitely recommended

Yay finally! Congrats on the new bikes. I noticed there was no jasbeschermer on the bikes. I highly recommend getting one so you can cycle in flowy dresses and stuff.

Very nice bikes!! Just a tip buy yourself a Simson repair kit and good hand pump for tires, because when i go biking i always have a flat one. Hahahaha. Good luck with da bikes and i will watch the progress.

Next to the Oma Fiets (Grandmother Bike) you also have the Opoe fiets (Grandfather bike). They both have history here in the Netherlands.

Take the bike and hit the 'biesbosch' on a early morning or early evening. It's lovely

Good for you. We have some old (real 😉) omafietsen for short daily trips into the city and e-bikes if we want to tour for 50-60 km. Enjoy your bikes and especially the freedom! You can bike anywhere you want in NL. It’s all connected. Don’t be afraid. Take it slow and make eye contact and you’ll be fine!!

As others mentioned, those are actually not oma- or opoefietsen, which are typically black with coaster brakes. Also, traditional men's bikes usually have an additional horizontal bar. Glad you didn't get helmets, though. Very Dutch 😉 Someone mentioned taking the watertaxi to Kinderdijk, great idea. You could also take the watertaxi to Rotterdam instead of the train, for a very different perspective from the river. If you intend to commute a lot by train with a bike, it might be worth it to look into a foldable bike. It's not uncommon for Dutchies to have multiple bikes, e.g. a regular city bike, a race bike, etc. My grandfather was an avid biker and he had a 'fancy' one for long-distance trips and an old plain one (i.e. less likely to be stolen...) for everyday errands.

😉😊 take a nice dune trip on your bikes

Have fun with them! Only thing I would have suggested was going with an internal gear hub instead of derailleurs because they aren't as messy and the chain is more protected, less fragile when the bike is parked in crowded bike racks and require way less maintenance. Nice bikes to start off with though :)

Welcome to Dordrecht (first time hearing you moved here). Hope you'll have a good time here and maybe I'll see you around.

hello alex and michelle have fun with your new bikes and make many km with your bikes for example loonsche and drunense dunes

You might want to add in a "jasbeschermer"(coatguard), a plastic cover that sits on both top sides of your back wheel that stops you coat or skirt from getting caught in the wheelspokes. Or some nice double "fietstassen" (bikebags) that do the same job and add storagespace to your bike.

Now I really want a saucijzenbroodje, yum!

I'd take the ferry towards Werkendam and then rent a canoo, then spend the day canooing in the Biesbosch, its realy nice this time of year

You could take the Blue Amigo to Rotterdam, and then cycle around at strand Nesselande in the afternoon. Altho cycling in Rotterdam can be a bit intimidating, the area at Nesselande is really nice to cycle around.

Good choice on the bikes: simple and on the cheaper end is perfectly fine for most people (just don't go under €250: can't make a decent bike for less than that). For more luggage you can get a fietskrat in the front or bike-bags on the back.

Handy get some ‘fietstassen’ (panniers) for stuff to take on your trips or for groceries to take home.

when i lived in holland there was a bike in front of my house for months all decrepit and rusty , no lock , so one day i decided to fix it up an use it . i fixed the flat tires (both) and oiled the chain new saddle ect. and i even bought a lock !!! it rode wonderful for one day , the very next day it was stolen ! bummer !

Enjoy your bikes…you even can get special bags for your bikes to carry your shopping…. Nice trips would be Kinderdijk, Biesbosch or just visite the small villages in the area of Dordrecht. Great video again.

As a nice starter expedition. Cycle to the Biesbos national park. Just south east of Dordrecht. As a day trip or an overnighter

Once you're a bit more experienced riding bikes, riding along the dunes at the coast is beautiful. Especially up on Texxel or Terschelling. Being along the coast and high up on a bike in the dunes means you're exposed to constant wind, which is not easy for beginners. But once you've got the stamina and bike control it's one of the more amazing places to cycle.

I have 3 bikes and 3 unicycles. 1 bike for work, 1 bike for other stuff, 1 bike in case 1 of the others breaks down. My unicycles, 1 unicycle is at the circus where I teach, 1 is for groceries and public transit (it fulfills my folding bike needs, for free and on any form of public transit) and 1 to loan/teach others.

Now you're living in Dord and have bikes, you can visit Villa Augustus and Huis ter Merwede, which is the ruins of a castle.

Good thing you buy your bike in the summertime, so by the time Autumn comes, you wil more convidence and Energy , to ride on the wind days.. have fun

Interesting bit of info on the wheel lock - to claim insurance if your bike gets stolen, you need to provide both keys that came with that lock. You can't remove the key without locking it, so that way the insurance company knows you didn't just take out the key and sell the bike, or left it unlocked.

Welcome in the Netherlands. The bike you have chosen is nice but defenitily not a omafiets. A omafiets has a certain type of frame. A omafiets is also called a hallelujah fiets.

I'd visit Vuilendam and further, towards Gouda. Nice stuff.

Riding a bike in the Netherlands is relatively safe because almost every car-driver also rides his/her bike often enough. So many car-drivers can kind of predict how bicyclists will behave (when crossing the street etc). As for great rides: take the train to The Hague Central and from there you can ride your bike to National Park Hollandse Duinen. On their webpage there are some wonderful bike-routes varying in distance.

Yield (look look) .. I hope you guys understand that on a clean crossing, traffic (bike car ) from the right always goes first. Nice bikes 👍🏼🙂

Here's something you may not know: the cover on the rear wheel does not only protect your clothes from getting stuck; in wet weather the rear part prevents the wheel from showering you with water that it picks up from the road. As to destinations, I'll tell you again: take a train to Gouda, and cycle Gouda-Oudewater-Montfoort-Utrecht on a nice sunny day. Try to follow the route along the dykes, instead of following the main car roads. Oudewater is a lovely small old city that is not a major tourist destination because it does not have a train station.

Very good decision but lock them very well everywhere 😉 From Dordrecht you can bike to Kinderdijk Windmills or to the Biesbosch

I think there is a cycle around the island option in Schiermonnikoog.

Ride along a typical work commute from burbs to downtown 😊

Those are really nice bikes. It's fun to see you're enjoying our country so much. My tips as a Dutch person: always use the second lock even if you're only 5 minutes inside a store. Also use the chain lock to attach the frame to the bike rack or fietsnietje (nietje = staple and they look like big staples). Don't put the chain in the front wheel because the wheel is easy to remove and sometimes you only see a front wheel still there and the rest is gone.

Eindelijk!!!! Another hurdle taken. I would start with getting yourself familiar with your bikes, before going for trips. You should be more relaxed on your bikes, otherwise you won't enjoy them. I always preferred to take my own trips into the South of Limburg (The Dutch Mountains), or around Nijmegen. We had flat country all around, so some elevation was welcome. PS. For pedalling, use the ball of your feet. Your bike will ride in a straight line more easily, and it costs way less energy and injuries.

FYI an omafiets is actually a specific type of bike. This is just a regular stadfiets (city bike)

Your "doei" sounds really good Michelle!

Love the scenic cycling routes in the Netherlands! 🚴‍♂️ Any recommendations for must-ride paths or hidden gems?

If you're living in Dordrecht you can easily and should bike to the 'Biesbosch', a big natural reserve with lots of waterways and creeks. You have the Hollandse Biesbosch which is on the nothern side of the Merwede river, but more impressive is the Brabantse Biesbosch on the southern side of the Merwede. You can take the ferry at the 'Kop van het land' from the Dordrecht side to reach the Brabantse Biesbosch. It's beautiful! 😊

I have a Cowboy 4ST and its a great bike. Fully ensured offc.