In October 2017, my wife Sian and I went on a tandem tour of Holland with Traveleyes – a holiday company that offers holidays all over the world for blind and sighted travellers. We’ve been riding tandems for over ten years now, up and down the Taff Trail near our home in Cardiff. Sian is visually impaired, so a tandem allowed the whole family to go for bike rides together. However, I had always wanted to go further and Traveleyes provided the perfect opportunity.
Our journey began at Gatwick Airport where we met some of the other travellers and our Traveleyes rep, Andy. We met the rest of our group when we arrived in Schiphol. There were 18 of us altogether, seven visually impaired (VI) and 11 sighted. We transferred to our accommodation for the trip, a charming passenger barge called Jelmar, who was waiting for us in Amsterdam.
Our accommodation for the week, the charming barge ‘Jelmar’.
The main advantage of staying on the barge was that we didn’t have to pack up every day. Once we were riding, the barge would sail to that day’s destination, taking our belongings with it.
On the first day, we paired up for the tandems. The bikes were the Dutch ‘sit up and beg’ type which you rode in a more upright position than on a regular road or touring bike. It didn’t take long to get used to the new riding position.
When we weren’t riding, we were paired with a different partner and this really helped the group get to know each other. There was a lot of laughter right from the start and there were so many interesting people to talk to.
Each day’s ride took about eight hours and we covered between 40 and 55km. We rode at an easy pace and stopped every two hours or so for a visit to a museum, café, shop, or other tourist attraction. We were led by our local guide, Marcel, who was an experienced cycle tour guide. Having a local guide meant that he could adapt the ride depending on our progress towards our destination.
Lining up ready for the off!
Marcel also led an evening walking tour of each town we visited. You could tell he had put some thought into these. As well as the local history, there was usually a tactile or scented element to the tour, as well as time for the sighted guides to describe the scene to their VI partners.
We visited six different towns and rode on designated cycle paths through cities, farmland, sand dunes, woodland and along canals and rivers. All of the other sighted travellers were experienced cyclists, certainly more experienced than me. They were very generous with their help, advice and encouragement. There was never any sense of competition, although certain teams preferred riding at the front while others were content to bring up the rear. However, we nearly always managed to ride as a group and we all supported each other.
Choosing our bikes for the day ahead!
Everybody thinks that cycling in the Netherlands is easy. After all there aren’t any hills! Well on the fourth day, we discovered that where Holland lacks altitude, it makes up for it with wind. We rode most of the 55km into a ferocious headwind. It didn’t matter which direction we were headed, the wind seemed to swing round to blow against us. For me, a headwind will forever be known as a Dutch hill. When we finally arrived in Gouda, nearly everyone felt they deserved a drink, so we headed straight for the bar!
Apart from the cycling, the other element to this holiday was to act as a sighted guide for the VI travellers. We worked with somebody different each day, & it was humbling to meet people with such determination to achieve what they wanted. They never saw anything as too difficult and their ‘can do’ attitude was inspirational! Nothing seemed to stop them from participating fully in the tour. Another had travelled from his home in Finland and had spent the previous week travelling around Belgium on his own. I would think twice about doing that with full sight!
Getting to grips with a statue along the way!
Although I went on the holiday principally for the cycling, being a sighted guide gave me the most memorable moments. The highlights included an ‘audio description’ of Amsterdam’s red-light district. Within only a few hours of meeting each other, one of the VI tourists asked his guide to describe what the girl in the window was wearing. Quick as a flash, she said ‘Well in my opinion, far too much make up and not enough clothes.’
Another highlight was the trip to the Delft Pottery and its showroom. My partner that day was John, who was completely blind and seemed to charge headlong at everything at 100 mph, but his approach to life must have worked because he had made it to 82 and was still going strong. Thankfully, John did slow down in the show room. We explored every loaded shelf, handled many objects and chose items buy and to take home!
So what did I learn from this holiday? I suppose the main lesson was that there are no excuses for not doing something that you want to do. There are no obstacles that cannot be overcome with a little creative thinking and also with the courage to just get on and do it. Age and disability are not barriers if you have the right attitude. I was also reminded of just how generous and thoughtful people are. It was a privilege to have been part of this group.
David Healey
Interested in a tandem tour with Traveleyes? Check out our next tandem adventure by clicking here.