My name is Wil Ransz. I’m a cyclist. Most Dutch ride a bike, but not all are cyclists. In the Netherlands, the bike is the premier means of transportation for short distances. I learned to ride a bike when I was in kindergarten.
I guess, I became fond of cycling when I bought my first road bike. That bike was not for transportation, but for sport and exploration. A whole new world opened up for me. As soon as I got on that bike, I felt free.
A bit strange may be, but true to this day.
In 2015, I sold the road bike I had at the time. For some reason I lost my joy of riding on that bike. I wanted to focus on exploring the world on my trekking bike. At least I thought so.
Mid June 2017, I bought a second hand Koga Team Carbon Edition 105. A road bike indeed. In fact, it was my first carbon bike. October that year, I rode a century with that bike. I was hooked again.
Most of my bike adventures had been day trips. Since I started thinking about hiking by bike, making multi-day trips, I wanted to replace my 20 years old trekking bike.
So February 2021, I ordered a Koga Grandtourer S, which was delivered surprisingly fast – within five weeks.
The last Saturday of August 2021, the road bike was replaced by a Koga Kimera Premium Beat. I had to wait 46 weeks for that bike to get delivered!
So now I have a Koga Kimera road bike, and a Koga Grandtourer trekking bike. And a thirst for making multi-day trips with these bikes.
What do I like more? Bikepacking with the road bike, or bicycle touring with the trekking bike. I really don’t know yet. My multi-day adventures with these bike have just begun.
At this stage, I’m really not thinking about cycling other continents yet. However, I would love to tour all, or most, European countries. Hence the name of this blog; pedalling Europe.
To gain some experience, I focus for 2022 on the Netherlands. A mistake will probably be easier to resolve closer to home than far, far away.
Some ideas are a tour around the IJsselmeer, the Fietserpad (Cycle path) from Sint Pietersberg to Pieterburen along the border with Germany, and a trip around in all 12 provinces – one by one.
And with this blog, I want to share my experiences with you. Feel free to respond. Do you have something to share? Any questions to ask? Just do it, and let me know.