From Oostzaan to Landsmeer

This bike ride goes through pure Dutch landscape with the beautiful historic Zaan region and beautiful wetlands as highlights. You continue to enjoy the countless windmills, picturesque buildings and wonderful Dutch views. The starting point is Cafe de Driesprong in Landsmeer. 

Almost immediately after departure you arrive in the Oostzanerveld lake area, a nature reserve that encompasses the northwest and north of the municipality of Oostzaan. It borders the municipalities of Zaanstad and Wormerland. The Oostzanerveld is a peat meadow area, a landscape consisting of meadows on peat soil. The Twiske recreation area was created after the extraction of sand under the peat and the clay for the Coentunnel route. Het Twiske has relatively high natural values, consisting of ponds, swamps, reed land, sparse grassland, meadows and park-like areas with woods. The Oostzanerveld is without doubt one of the best meadow bird areas in the Netherlands. The vegetation is also special and valuable. The Oostzanerveld has large areas of vegetation that are difficult or impossible to replace. This has been the argument for giving the area Habitats Directive status. The Windjager is located in the middle of the water area and is a beautiful windmill in the typical style of the Zaan region. You will come across many beautiful viewpoints along the way. Be sure to bring binoculars to spot the meadow birds.
After you have passed the A7 motorway, head straight for Zaanse Schans. This is located on the Zaan, opposite Zaandijk and next to the Juliana Bridge. It is a well-known outdoor attraction with hundreds of thousands of visitors every year. But formally it is not a museum. It was set up with the intention of preserving the historical heritage. 

The houses are also rented out to residents, so that not only tourists come to the site. The typical, mostly green Zaan houses, warehouses and windmills were transferred from the Zaan region to Zaanse Schans with low loaders in the 1950s and 1960s. Only the substructure of the De Kat paint mill (originally an oil mill), the Bonte Hen oil mill and the Os oil mill are still standing on their original grounds. Buildings were also regularly moved to the Zaanse Schans later on.

The Zaanstreek is one of the oldest industrial areas in Europe. The inhabitants are called Zaankanters. You continue north along the Zaan and turn south again near Wormer. Wormer is one of the oldest places in the Zaan region. The place is mentioned in 1063 in a list of the abbey of Egmond, but is probably much older. From the dike towards Westzaan you have a beautiful view of the low-lying polder area. In Westzaan you pass Stichting Lettergieten 1983. Classic lead type is still supplied here for letterpress printing. And just outside Westzaan is a beautiful Water Tower. A few more pedals through the sometimes windy, open landscape and you arrive in the shelter of the built-up area of Zaandam. Zaandam lies on both sides of the Zaan. It does not have the structure of an ordinary city. It actually consists of two parallel dikes on either side of the Zaan: East side and West side.

The last place on the route is Oostzaan with some beautiful Zaanse facades. You cycle below the Oostzanerveld where the Twiskemolen fits nicely into the landscape, and you are back at the starting point.