Rotterdam: Wuppertal 600

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• GPX track

  not yet available

  date

  23 May 2026

  start

  08:00

  finish

  00:00 (40:00)

  distance

  600km

  sign-up

  from 25 April 2026

  organiser

  Auke Jongbloed / Mark de Vos
  zuid.holland@randonneurs.nl

  start location

  Stayokay Rotterdam
  Overblaak 85
  3011 MP Rotterdam

  + Google Maps

• You cycle to explore, right? And even if that's not your goal, you'll always see new things and experience all sorts of things during a bike ride anyway.
  Especially when it's 600 kilometres long!
  
  This brevet starts in the heart of Rotterdam and passes Dordrecht, crossing the Moerdijk Bridge into the province of North Brabant. The landscape varies, and you pass heathland and dunes, forests and farmland. After 99 kilometres of cycling, you will find yourself in front of St. John's Cathedral in the centre of 's-Hertogenbosch. This is the first checkpoint, so take a nice selfie with the basilica in the background.
  When you leave here, take it easy. There are also shoppers walking around here.
  After the hustle and bustle of the provincial capital, you head towards the Zuid-Willemsvaart.
  You follow this canal for about 33 kilometres in a south-easterly direction. This is a great opportunity to cover some distance quickly because it is straight ahead. After all, your legs are still fresh.
  After this unexciting stretch, you turn off towards Deurne. After this Brabant municipality, you cycle another 15 km across the Helenavaart canal, entering the province of Limburg!
  
  After Pannerden, where you can easily stock up on provisions in the centre, you reach Baarlo with the ferry to Steyl. You can pay for the crossing in cash or contactless. Don't forget to take a nice selfie with the ferryman, because this is checkpoint number 2. In the middle of the river, you will have already covered a total of 180 km! You're doing great, because 5 kilometres later you will already be entering Germany.
  
  Next stop: Düsseldorf, the capital of the state of North Rhine-Westphalia. It's a very busy city, so finding the “right” route was quite difficult. Let's just say that not all roads there are bicycle-friendly.
  After the urban area and the airport, you wind your way through the Morper Bachtal. Then you cycle along the Düssel river and through the Neandertal. This is the valley where fossilised human remains from the Ice Age were discovered during excavations in 1856. No time for the museum, because Wuppertal is today's destination.
  
  The city in question winds like a ribbon through the valley with the river, you guessed it, the Wupper. If you've never been here before, you're in for a treat. Since 1901(!), this city has had a kind of suspended metro that floats above the city: the Wuppertaler Schwebebahn!
  Your CP3 photo should therefore be a selfie with this 125-year-old industrial heritage.
  
  There is another good reason to visit Wuppertal by bicycle.
  From 2006 to 2014, the Nordbahntrasse, a former railway line, was developed into a cycle route with highlights including six illuminated tunnels and brick viaducts up to 300 metres long. Although the Nordbahntrasse is primarily a car-free route for cyclists and pedestrians, it is also a meeting place for the city's residents.
  You will cover most of this 23-kilometre route during this brevet.
  And, of course, stop off at the Tanztunnel for a dance. We look forward to seeing the videos...
  
  You will be the last to drive through the Schee tunnel towards the highest point of this route.
  And what goes up must come down, so enjoy this beautiful descent.
  You'll whizz into the Ruhr area: on to the city of Essen.
  In this city, you'll find the former coal mine complex Zeche Zollverein. It would be strange not to take a photo of the Schacht XII pithead, because after all, it's pretty much the Eiffel Tower of the Ruhr area. (The creator of this route loves industrial heritage).
  Be careful of the tram tracks in this city, though...
  
  Next stop: The Tetrahedron in Bottrop. This is a lookout tower placed on a 90-metre-high slag heap. The slag heap consists of cinders that were brought to the surface between 1963 and 1980 during coal mining in the adjacent Prosper-Haniel coal mine, the last mine in the Ruhr area, which was closed on 21 December 2018.
  Take another photo at this point: CP4, hopefully with a beautiful sunset. Or sunrise if you decide to spend the night in Essen or the surrounding area.
  
  Head for Wesel, and then stay close to the River Rhine. At Spijk, you will re-enter the Netherlands. You will have covered about 420 km by then. Just 25 km later, you will roll into the capital of Gelderland.
  And, of course, stop off at the Tanztunnel for a dance. We look forward to seeing the videos...
  
  You will be the last to drive through the Schee tunnel towards the highest point of this route.
  From Arnhem, you cycle to Amerongen on the Utrechtse Heuvelrug, which is always beautiful.
  After cycling through various forestries and estates, you reach Austerlitz for an optional visit to the Pyramid. This is not officially part of the route because there is no cycle path leading there. Still, it's nice to see it once.
  
  With or without a photo of the Pyramid, pedal on to the Loosdrechtse Plassen for a view over the water. A little further on, you will pass the next official checkpoint: Breukelen railway station. A quick selfie at CP5 and then on to Woerden.
  From Woerden, head south-west to the next open water, the Reeuwijkse Plassen. To keep the tourist content of this trip high, you will then pass another St. John's Church and the town hall of Gouda, both dating back to the fifteenth century.
  But perhaps the best part is that the finish line is now less than 30 kilometres from this point.
  
  It's time to finish. Follow the Hollandsche IJssel, which flows into the Nieuwe Maas. Once you cycle under the Van Brienenoord Bridge, you are back on Rotterdam territory. Cruising along the Maasboulevard, you can enjoy the city skyline as this adventure comes to an end.
  
  
  

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