Day 02 - Haarlem to The Hague

67.3 km - Total so far 91.2 km - Route pedalled - Part 1.     Route pedalled - Part 2

We left the hotel at 6:36am heading towards the Santos Bikes factory. At that time, we had Haarlem all to ourselves. The Grote Markt, the narrow streets, the stately homes and the numerous wooded parks. I thought about riding off road unto a park trail but had a flashback of a previous experience riding a trail with 56 lbs of luggage. It did not turn out well!

Keen to get to Santos, we got there very much ahead of time. This gave us time to do bike maintenance and install our Canadian flags

Friendly welcome at Santos with coffee, chatted with the founder who commented positively on our bikes and our touring set up. Yvonne was assigned as our host for the 2 hour visit. We got a tour of the factory right down to the assembly stations. One technician is assigned to one complete bike build. No assembly line at Santos. Each wheel is built by one wheel specialist. Initial assembly is assisted by a machine but the final truing is done by hand on the work bench. The completed bike is then turned over to quality assurance for certification.

The factory walk ends where the demo bikes are kept. Yvonne picked out 2 bikes that met our needs in all but colour. She fine tuned the set up, suggested a route and off we went. Your test ride is as long as you need it to be. We were gone for a half hour, made adjustments and added our large panniers. Suffice to say it was a very positive experience. 

After Santos, we passed by Keukenhof Gardens. Being early in the season we viewed fields of crocuses, daffodils, hyacinths and early small tulips in bloom. We saw loads of traffic staff in fluorescent suits, directing a large number of busses, bumper to bumper cars and visitors on rental bicycles. It did not have the peaceful contemplation of an Ottawa Tulip Festival.

Our final destination for the day is The Hague and meet up with our friend Nicole. It was an interesting ride along the Dunes with a slight head wind and intermittent rains showers near the end of the days ride. We were very very happy to hear Nicole's powerful and welcoming voice coming from her top floor balcony.

Giuseppe, Nicole's boyfriend, joined us and we were off to "La Tabla Restaurant". Great food and experience.

Here is a short video  Europe 2025 Day 02