Practical information
for foreign friends
2 Vrienden op de Fiets Foreword
Dear friends,
In recent years there has been
increasing interest from other
countries for Stichting Vrienden
op de Fiets. We are happy to
welcome visitors from abroad
and therefore provide you with
an English translation of the first
pages of our Address Guide.
We wish you a very pleasant stay!
Warm regards,
Eltjo Limborgh
The foundation and the history Vrienden op de Fiets 3
The foundation
Stichting Vrienden op de Fiets is a non-profit organisation whose aim is to promote recreational sporting journeys and treks. Our foundation manages a network of private addresses for overnight stays, intended for people who go on recreational trips by bike, on foot, in canoes and on skates.
Our organisation currently has over 80,000 donors and more than 5,500 host addresses. Our donors are known for being sporting, easy-going people. They appreciate the personal receptions and hospitality they receive at the host addresses. These private addresses offer one or more beds. Each overnight stay costs €19.00 per person per night (children to and including 12 years of age pay half price). This price includes breakfast but not tourist tax.
Every year we publish a complete overview of all of our host addresses. The majority of these addresses are located in The Netherlands and along the borderlands of Belgium and Germany. In recent years there has been increasing interest from other countries, not only from international travellers who wish to stay overnight in the Netherlands during their visits at one of the host addresses of Vrienden op de Fiets, but also from people living outside The Netherlands who offer their homes as host addresses. From Norway to New Zealand and from Portugal to Peru.
The history
A notebook full of overnight-stay addresses
Who wants to let a place to sleep for cycling holiday-makers? This question appeared as an advertisement in a Dutch newspaper, the Arnhemse Koerier. The sender: Nel de Blécourt. She wanted to create an alternative for youth hostels and thought her age group might be interested in letting their be-drooms for a modest amount. She turned out to be right: more than 80 people responded to her advertisement.
Nel entered these private addresses for overnight stays in a notebook. She then sold that list of addresses for five Dutch guilders, with the assumption that the buyer would also offer an overnight address. This marked the begin-ning in 1984 of the Stichting Vrienden op de Fiets. The first booklets were co-pies of Nel’s notebook. However, she soon had the entries retyped and copied by a photocopy firm. It did not take long before the photocopy firm could no longer handle the growing number of booklets. From that time on they were typeset and printed by a professional printing firm.
From the time he took early retirement, husband Hijbo became fully involved in his wife’s project. He took care of the contents of the booklet. Nel organised the social contacts with host addresses and cyclists. Every year, she rang up all the host addresses. Over time, Nel’s daughters also joined the activity. The foundation continued to grow. The breadbox used to store the information of donors began to bulge. The entire family was actively involved -- from answering the phone and applying address stickers to developing a computer system.
Nel and Hijbo stopped to work for the foundation in 2003. Their children took over. Since 2011, the foundation has been run by a small team under super-vision of an independent board.
4 Vrienden op de Fiets The organisation and the partners
The partners
Stichting Vrienden op de Fiets enjoys working with organisations that have comparable aims. Our criteria for collaboration are clear: we have to fit in with the activities of partner organisations and (potential) donors and guest addresses must derive benefit from such collaboration.
Such partnerships enable us, for example, to offer our donors discounts to the Fiets en Wandelbeurs (Cycling and Hiking Fair) and they receive 20 percent discount on the mobile bicycle repair services offered by FietsNED. You receive this service by applying for a pechpas (repair pass) issued by this organisation. If you need repairs, a FietsNed bicycle mechanic will help you resume your journey. If necessary, he will give you, your bike and your possibly travelling companions a lift to your desired destination.
Naturally, Stichting Vrienden op de Fiets also has close ties with the Dutch Cycling Federation, which looks after the interests of the 13.5 million cyclists in the Netherlands. Both organisations carry announcements about each other’s
activities and, where feasible and useful, reinforce one another’s work. Similar agreements exist with the Belgian Cycling Federation.
We sometimes work together for charity drives: for example, the Dutch Kidney Foundation, by way of thanks, offered all its collectors free membership of Stichting Vrienden op de Fiets. We would also like to draw your attention to special initiatives, such as Rest Areas. Rest Areas are situated on private estates along walking or cycling routes. There, you can stop for a cup of coffee, tea or glass of lemonade for the price of a voluntary contribution. There are also WCs and charging stations where you can re-charge your electric bikes.
At the back of this booklet you will find additional examples of related organisations and initiatives. Moreover, you will find up-to-date information about partnerships on our website, along with the terms and conditions for all activities that we organise with our partners.
The organisation
Since 22 July 2011, the board of Stichting Vrienden op de Fiets has consisted of independent volunteers. The board members, all enthusiastic hikers or cyclists, hold the aims of the foundation in high esteem. The composition of the administration is as follows:
Eltjo Limborgh Chairman
Fred Daane Treasurer
Irene Gosselink Secretary
Gert-Jan v.d. Nieuwenhuijzen Member
In addition to the board, there is an active Advisory Council. The director is responsible for the daily management of the foundation.
The rules Vrienden op de Fiets 5
The rules
Although Stichting Vrienden op de Fiets is large, members perceive it as small. We succeed at this because everyone follows several specific rules. In addition to these, you should follow the house rules of your host or hostess. Remember, friendship is a mutual undertaking.
Reservations
Reserve on time. Discuss the desired arrival and departure times, as well as any special requests such as bringing children or pets. When making a
reservation, always mention your donor’s number, name, address and mobile telephone number.
Prices
You can become a member of Vrienden op de Fiets for €10.00 per year (€8 per year for donors who live in The Nether-lands). You will receive a donor’s card and the booklet with host addresses. Breakfast and bed cost €19.00 per per-son per night (children to and including age 12 pay half price). The prices for all host addresses are the same, irrespec-tive of whether you sleep in a room on the third floor or in a detached house with a private entrance. Host addres-ses do not charge extra for people who travel alone. The prices do not include tourist tax (a municipal levy, the amount of which varies per municipality). Nor-mally, the amount will be between €0.50 and € 2.00. It is often possible to order lunch packets for a maximum price of €5.00 per person. Some host addresses offer hot meals for a suggested price of €9.00 per person. Host addresses are allowed to charge €0.50 for charging electric bikes. An extra maximum charge of €9.50 per person per reserved day may be made for failing to cancel reser-vations within 24 hours before arrival.
Overnight Stays
Our hosts make their homes available and do their best to make your stay a pleasant one. They do so in their own way. Please respect the house rules of your guest address. As donor, you should not expect any additional luxuries, except for a warm reception -- and, of course, a clean accommodation, good-quality, regular-size beds, made up with clean bedding. The bedrooms are fireproof and easily accessible via permanent stairs. The windows can be opened. Guests may use the shower and toilet, which may or may not be shared with family members. Lastly, there is a lockable, usually preferably covered bicycle shed.
On arrival, you should show your donor’s card and proof of identity. Couples that live together, live-in children up to age 18 and (great) grandchildren may stay overnight on a single donor’s card.
No smoking
Smoking is not allowed at host addresses.
Transport
You may only utilise our host addresses for overnight stays during a (multiple-day) journey by bike or on foot. If you wish to travel to a host address by car or public transport, from which point you plan to start your cycling, walking or hiking trip, you should discuss this with your host or hostess in advance. The Vrienden op de Fiets rates apply only to overnight stays combined with a bicycle or walking or hiking tour. In principle, you are making reservations for a single night. You should consult your host or hostess when you wish to stay longer, for example, if you are taking part in a four-day cycling or walking event.
6 Vrienden op de Fiets Donorship
Donorship
Payments
When you become a donor of Stichting Vrienden op de Fiets, you will receive the booklet with host addresses within eight week days, which includes a request for payment of the annual contribution. Cash payment of the annual contribution cannot be accepted. Stichting Vrienden op de Fiets accounts are per calendar year. If you become a donor later in a year, you will also have to pay an €10.00 contribution (for donors who live in The Netherlands, €8.00).
You should pay for your overnight stay at the host address.
Changes
If you would like to become a donor, pass on changes in your information or cancel your membership, you can do so via www.vriendenopdefiets.nl, where you can make any desired changes. If you move to a new address or make other changes in your registration information, please log in at the top right and enter these changes. Considering the size of the foundation and our desire to keep costs at a minimum, we ask that, except for exceptional situations, you do not pass on changes of address and the like to us by email or by telephone.
Complaints
Stichting Vrienden op de Fiets cannot and does not check all host addresses and donors. We count on the good will of our donors and host addresses. This works. Via Stichting Vrienden op de Fiets you will often get more than you expect: a nice reception, a delicious breakfast. In one or two cases, you might get less than you expect. Please report any complaints about host addresses to the host address itself and – if unresolved – to the Help Desk. Always mention your donor’s number or host address registration number when you contact the foundation. We take each complaint seriously. In case of serious, repeated complaints about a host address or donor, we will contact them. In extreme cases, we reserve the right to remove host addresses or donors from our database.
Giving donorships as gifts
Would you like to give a donor membership of Stichting Vrienden op de Fiets as a gift? It’s easy. Just log in at our website, www.vriendenopdefiets.nl, via the button at the top right. Fill in the details of the person to receive the gift. We will then send you a payment slip and a package that contains a Address Guide and a donor’s card in the name of the recipient. You can then gift wrap it and give it to the lucky person personally. A gift membership automatically expires at the end of the current year.
Reading guide and website Vrienden op de Fiets 7
Reading guide
Dutch provinces are listed alphabetically in the booklet, with the exception of the Wadden Islands. As in previous years, they are not mentioned under North Holland and Friesland, but listed as a separate ‘province’.
Towns are listed alphabetically per province. Several host addresses in one town are listed in random order, which could vary from year to year.
Listings of addresses outside the Netherlands largely follow this pattern. As most international overnight addresses are in Belgium, Germany and France, they are listed first. Belgium is divided into the Metropolitan Region, Flanders and Wallonia. France is listed by departments. Germany is listed by Federal states. This year the German address listings also show the districts. After these three countries, all other listings are in alphabetical order. All host addresses in the Netherlands and borderland regions are shown on the enclosed cycling map.
The figures in the first column of the booklet are the National Triangulation Coordinates of the host address. These coordinates show the location of a host address within an accuracy of one kilometre. The figures refer to the raster on the card where a specific host address can be found. In this way, you can easily plan your cycling route.
There are four types of accommodations: a guest room in a house, a town house situated separately from the main house, a caravan and a houseboat. The plus sign indicates that the accommodation has a separate shower / WC for guests. The number of rooms and beds at each address is listed. The small door sign shows the number of rooms (if known); the bed sign shows the number of single and double beds. A single bed can also be a raised bed or a bunkbeds.
Legend
q Guest room
w Town house
e Caravan
r Houseboat
q+ Guest room + sep. shower / WC w+ Town house + sep. shower / WC e+ Caravan + sep. shower / WC r+ Houseboat + + sep. shower / WC
1× a 1 room
2× s 2 single beds
3× d 3 double beds
The website
You will find a map with all host
addresses on our website. There, you can find the latest information about a large number of host addresses, including telephone numbers and email addresses and suitability for groups. There is also a listing of the GPS coordinates of all host addresses, as well as information about charging electric bicycles.
You can also manage your own personal information via the website. We ask that you report changes in address and other personal changes yourself by logging in via the button at the top right.
www.vriendenopdefiets.nl
Colophon
Stichting Vrienden op de Fiets
P.O. box 1024, 2340 BA Oegstgeest Phone number (088) 123 89 99 administratie@vriendenopdefiets.nl www.vriendenopdefiets.nl Bank NL90 INGB 0001 5388 57 BIC INGBNL2A KvK 41052534 (trade register)
Art direction and graphic design
Autobahn, Utrecht
Copy and editing
Schrijf-Schrijf, Utrecht
Photography
Simm + Huis, Den Haag
Production and distribution
Buijten & Schipperheijn, Amsterdam Published by Stichting Vrienden op de Fiets © 2015
Copyright / photos
No part of this publication may be copied, reproduced or otherwise used without the explicit permission of Stichting Vrienden op de Fiets.
Liability
Stichting Vrienden op de Fiets is not responsible, nor does it accept liability, for the quality of guest addresses, the conduct of donor members of the foundation, damage caused by guests at guest addresses; nor damage caused or suffered by guests en route or elsewhere, or for incomplete or incorrect information in the booklet or on its website.
