Monday 22 July 2013

Netherlands, Land of the Bicycle, Market Garden 70th Anniversary Road Trip 2014...



I am already planning and looking forward to my road trip a year next September in 2014 to Arnhem in Holland for the WW2 70th Anniversary of  `Operation Market Garden' .
Known as `A Bridge Too Far` It was the failure of a British mounted Paratrooper assault to capture the bridge at Arnhem to allow Allied troops to encircle Berlin and bring about an earlier end to the war and end the suffering of civilians starving in Europe.
Market Garden was the biggest airborne operation to date in WW2....



The Operation failed and cost many lives...
My bloodline grandfather - my mums dad,  David Mckellar was a Gordon Highlander who was killed in the battle on the 21,11,1944 and is buried in Venray Cemetery nearby.
I plan to cycle through Holland and visit my Grandfathers Grave, and tell his story, and the bravery of his sacrifice and his fellow soldiers who paid the ultimate sacrifice in freedom for Europe. I plan to take and place his war medals on his grave that he was awarded but would never hold. It will be an emotional journey...

Cycling across Holland will not be unfamiliar to me...
The Bicycle may have been invented here in Scotland, but another country can claim to be home to the bicycle....
Having cycled there when i had a Dutch girlfriend Hanneke, it is indeed an amazing place to live and cycle.
There is a reason Dutch woman are slim and fit, because they don`t sit about eating crap and driving cars everywhere! -:)

bicycles in the town of zwolle...netherlands from coastkid71 on Vimeo.


But as with all other European countries Holland nearly lost its cycling culture due to wealth and the motor car...

Here is a great film from the land of the bicycle,
In 1971, the year i was born, 3300 lives including children were lost in Holland to cycling/motorist accidents. Here is a great film of the rebirth of a cycling nation...






6 comments:

  1. So what bike are you taking? Surly Straggler?

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  2. Prob my Muddy Fox Courier Ped!, will stick on a new chain and semi slicks, it has a long enough chainstay for pannier clearance and is not worth much so no worrys leaving it parked up anywhere -:).

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  3. Hi. So glad you are planning on keeping your Muddy Fox I seem to remember you were planning on selling it a while back. I was wondering if you would mind me posting a picture of your Muddy with trailer attached on the "Early Muddy Fox Lovers Anonymous" thread (yeah. I know . Don't laugh) in the Retrobike forum. I would of course attach a link back to your blog.
    http://www.retrobike.co.uk/forum/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=59947&start=195
    Better still maybe you could post yourself and give us some e blurb about your bike.
    You can find me on the forum using the ID "Lebuski"
    Thanks
    John

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  4. Hi John, feel free to post a pic and i will register and add some comments on the bike

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  5. Hi,
    Thanks for allowing me to post your pic, you can see it here http://www.retrobike.co.uk/forum/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=59947&p=2014788#p2014788
    I'll keep an eye open for you on my travels as we are traveling around Europe for a year starting March 2014 with my Muddy Fox Courier and my VW camper. We may well be in Holland at the same time
    cheers
    John

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  6. See www.omg2014.nl (Operation Market Garden 2014)

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