Gooiroute

Hilversum

Hilversum is just half an hour from Muiderpoort, my local station, on the Sprinter bound for Amersfoort. The 'Gooiroute' is a 40 km jaunt via Hilversum, Naarden, Huizen and Laren, with forests in between. I'm sort of training for a late-summer tour, which will probably be to Belgium. Is it already mid-August?

(original date of this entry: Aug 14, 2018)
A nerdy woman (black-frame specs, black sneakers) chatted me up on the train, offering random tips on the route. At Hilversum station she told me I should leave by the front of the station. Instead I exited at the rear and took the fiets tunnel to the front.

Dudok's triumph, Hilversum

kp 54 - 55 - 11 - 10
This route takes you through the town of Hilversum up to the iconic town hall (1931), by the architect Willem Marinus Dudok, whose bold contours looked good in the bright sun. Warm and sunny, but as predicted, it's clouded over. A turn toward kp 11 takes you into Dr Costerus forest, then continues through the woods to the Spanderswoud. This is between Hilversum and Bussum. So far it is ideal cycling, along a sandy path through a serene patch of birches and oaks. A fair number of touring fietsers are on the trails today.

Naardermeer nature reserve

kp 37 - 34 - 33

Naarden Fortress

To the west of Bussum is the Naardermeer. Emerging from the forest you hit flat fields of grass, then enter Het Naardermeer Natuurreservaat (kp 37), where you turn right to traverse an old rural landscape of swamp and fields of swaying reeds that fringe the lake's east bank. Quite a pleasant landscape, particularly on this warm, humid, overcast day tempered by a steady breeze. Then enter the town of Naarden (an urban appendage of Bussum), and at kp 33 the old star-shaped fortress, which contains a museum. The complex is truly massive, another link in the Stelling van Amsterdam (Defense Line of Amsterdam), the next one west being Muiden. I've cycled almost this far from Amsterdam (to Muiderberg). Here I pick up the LF-23 east to skirt the Gooimeer en route to Huizen.

Gooiroute

kp 33 - 78 - 77
This is turning out to be a terrific ride, close to home but unexplored territory for me. At kp 33 you don't just see the fort but ride right through it, skirting the moats under rows of trees. The main gate holds a tourist info shop with some good maps of the region. Leaving the fort complex, you go along a narrow path atop a dike, then tunnel under the A1, then follow a slender dirt path at the edge of the forest, reaching kp 78; from here it's 6km through a green corridor to Huizen.

As depicted on the map, the route is a superb woodsy corridor alongside a horse trail. The sandy path is a nice ramble; turning left at a 'kinder-farm' it turns to a narrow dirt strand with a gentle roll. Then you emerge at the bank of the Gooimeer, which seems vast from this angle. Convenient benches at this fine lookout, about 2km west of Huizen. An island of coots on the rippling surface of the lake. What a lovely spot.

It's clouded over and turned cool and breezy, feeling like autumn. Despite the beauty I feel morose and cranky. The typical demographic on the fietspad is taciturn middle-aged couples on matching bikes.

Admiring the heath

Now 3.8km east of Hilversum at 8:11 pm. The sun has emerged under the clouds and there is a golden glow on the lindens. This crossroads appears to be a gateway to the heath. A Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris) stands beside the gateway and the bench next to an English oak. After I finally found the way to kp 80, all was well again—back down a sandy path through the forest, which then turned to little cobblestones and inclined downhill. I went zooming into the dull outskirts of Laren. It being late, I kept going, seeing the spires in the distance. The route continues toward kp 51 south of town reaching this left turn through the heath.