Cycling in the forest

Today no trips for visits to old friends and family + nice weather to cycle, so I spend a few hours on the old bike in a forest area between Soest (where I stay with my sister Han) and Bilthoven (where I grew up during the 1955 - 1974 period). This area has a good amount of protected forest areas with private estates which receive federal subsidies to keep the nature clean and maintained.

When I was young, I remember this was a road for cars from Bilthoven to the small town of "Lage Vuursche" where we would go to eat large pancakes (more about that in a moment). It is one of the many small rural roads turned into recreational cycling paths. Next to the road crossing a sign indicates the name of the private estate and mentions a website with information of the conservation agency which finances the upkeep of these natural treasures in a heavily populated country.

The little house at the street corner is probably also a monument with a well-kept garden next to a combination of small size farming land and protected forest area. The road towards "Lage Vuursche" is one like many in this region. Narrow and traffic goes slow for passing and with respect for cyclists.

It is an autumn school vacation week, so many people enjoy such a nice day at terraces, even though the coats stay on. I picked for lunch one of the "Pannenkoekenhuis" (house of pancakes). 

Sorry, only Dutch language menus (not too many foreigners have taken a liking of this typical Dutch dish). But it gives you an impression of the many different pancake topping combinations. I picked one which was new to me, with tuna....

Big size meal. Kind of a Dutch pizza, maybe. Lighter, but still a bit too much to eat it all with my slowly shrinking stomach. But it was "lekker"...! Afterwards back on the bike ....

Parallel to the cycling/walking paths in the forest routes, there are also many separate paths for horse riders, a sport very popular in this part of Holland. My mother took me during my 6 years of elementary school many times to Lage Vuursche for a pancake meal, often combined with a game of mini golf (here in Holland called "midget golf"). I passed that place today on the bike, and there were a lot of visitors because of the week of school vacations.

Next to the midget golf a few happy horses. Large old farms - like the one on the photo below - are now horse farms, where staff look after horses owned by families. This farm still has the original design but must have been nicely renovated in more recent years. 

After a few hours on the old - one gear - bike, my muscles and sore butt were happy to see this bench for a little rest. Next to the bench was a map of the region's cycling routes. Despite the great service of modern electronic maps and route finders on phones, I can still very much appreciate such maps on which you can see the larger perspective. This map has Soest, Bilthoven, Lage Vuursche and several smaller towns on it.