Travelling abroad

View on Old Ragusa, or Ragusa Ibla

Travelling in Sicily: part 1 – the south east World Heritage sites

May 23, 2017 Hansonthebike 4

Reading Time: 9 minutesKaren and I prefer to go on holidays outside the high season. Why not when nothing ties you to the school holidays? Our preferred month is April, when Ottawa tends to be pretty dreadful, with temperatures around the freezing point, rainy, windy, some wet snow and this year even flooding. But the choices are limited. Yes we could go to Chili or South Africa, but the less we can fly, the better. Plus, I’d like to see my family in the Netherlands once a year, so the options (I am not complaining) are limited to Southern Europe, particularly Southern Spain, [Read more…]

Dafne is an athlete from the Netherlands who holds the 200 meter world record sprint (photo Lee Jin-man/AP)

“Dafne Schippers” Bridge Ramp Built over a School

April 6, 2017 Hansonthebike 2

Reading Time: 3 minutesMark Wagenbuur wrote about it already a while ago when the bridge was being constructed, but now the new Dafne Schippers bridge in the Netherlands is officially in use. The bridge crosses the important Amsterdam-Rijn canal, connecting Amsterdam’s harbours with its hinterland in Europe. The canal is a considerable barrier and with a growing number of people living across the canal, this bridge was needed as part of the bike route from Leidsche Rijn (I loosely call it a suburb) to Utrecht Centre. The Amsterdam Rijn canal is a 72 km waterway and opened only in 1952. The part north [Read more…]

Rain water management in western Netherlands is vital.

Rain sensors to adjust bike signals before it rains

March 28, 2017 Hansonthebike 0

Reading Time: 2 minutesAlthough it doesn’t rain that often when I want to bike, I do try to plan around a rain shower if possible when there is even a threat of rain. One of my best sources is the weather radar at the Environment Canada website. By estimating the speed of the incoming rain from the 7 images displayed, I can usually work around getting soaked. Rain sensors in the Netherlands are going to help getting you home dry. Rain sensors installed Netherlands’ cities installed rain sensors already a few years ago. When they detect rain, the computer adjusts traffic signals in [Read more…]

Cycling to the Quintessential Dutch Windmills

September 13, 2016 Hansonthebike 0

Reading Time: 6 minutesNot far from Haarlem and Amsterdam, the Zaanse Schans is a bike-able destination. We checked out 17th century saw mills, old farms, Dutch skies, a ferry and passed a waste facility that looked like a luxury hotel.

Serviço Consular Holandesa com Bicicleta de carga

August 4, 2016 Hansonthebike 0

Reading Time: 2 minutesAt large events such as the World Cup soccer and the Olympic and Paralympic Games, there are always people getting in trouble. It can be drugs or alcohol related but also incidents such as loosing one’s passport, a serious collision or worse, a death. Holland Heineken House The Netherlands Embassy prepares for that by setting up a temporary office during those events, for example in the Holland Heineken House, a place that serves as the temporary location where everything and everyone Dutch comes together (medal events, Dutch radio and TV, spaces to hang out etc). Orange bicycles In Brazil, the [Read more…]