Fine bike ride along the dikes of North Holland

The trail starts in Andijk, located right on the IJsselmeer and thoroughly rebuilt and renovated a century ago, after a severe January storm that literally turned everything upside down. Andijk has a famous Duck Museum, focused entirely on the development of the famous Citroen 2CV. After this exploration, the route heads south, toward herring town Enkhuizen, which of course more than warrants a visit. Enkhuizen is the center of seed cultivation and flower bulb trade and has the famous and well-visited Zuiderzee Museum, where interested parties can learn all about the history of the inland sea which has been reclaimed for 100 years. Then we cycle via the hamlet of De Hout to Broekerhaven, a polder village that has often been at odds with Enkhuizen, including during the Hook and Cod Wars in the 15th century. These and other wars, added to the massive polder activities in the area, have shaped these landscapes into what they are today, a succession of characteristic villages, vistas and waterways with leafy sheltered break spots for hikers and cyclists. Through some inland, the bike route heads north again, via Hoogkarspel to the village of Bangert. The landscape here is formed by ditches and canals up to the coastal route, right along the so-called Proefpolder, once a kind of test site for polder activities, now renamed a recreational area.