Near the Veluwemeer, between Kampen and Harderwijk, the ‘Cycling month’ will be opened in the first weekend of May. The official opening is on 1 May at 13.00 hours at outdoor activities center FlevOnice at Strandgaperweg 20 in Biddinghuizen. The organization will then try to break the world record ringing bicycle bells. This will take at least 850 ringers. Subsequently you can discover the polders, woods and beaches of Flevoland along the Flevoboulevard cycling route while riding your bike (20-45 km). Participation is free. Please take your own bike- with a bell - as much as possible. Parking space is available, but there are no bikes for rent.

To enjoy proper dunes, you don’t need to go all the way to the coast. In the province of North Brabant you can tread through yellow sands for miles on end or put down a towel for a picnic or for reading a good novel. National Park De Loonse and Drunense Duinen lies between Tilburg, Waalwijk and ‘s-Hertogenbosch. It is one of the most extensive drift sand areas in Western Europe. When there is a hard wind blowing here, the sand gets moving so that new sandy hills are formed, while shallow hollows are blown out. This phenomenon is called ‘living sand’. Around the dunes lie vast woods, which were planted there in the 19th century to counteract the threat of drifting sands. There is an expansive route network that allows you to reconnoiter the area on foot. At most parking lots there are signs indicating routes. On Sunday 3 May you can also join a walk organized by nature organization IVN. At 10.00 a.m. a two-hour walk starts at café-restaurant Roestelberg at Roestelbergseweg 2 in Kaatsheuvel. You don’t need to register and it is free of charge.

Two different canoe trips can be made in the ancient river landscape in nature reserve De Malpie between Valkenswaard and Borkel & Schaft. For ten kilometers this trip, which starts at Borkel, lets you canoe along woods in which the river Dommel has eroded many bends. It is also possible to start in Belgium. That trip begins at a narrower section of the river Dommel in Neerpelt. As the current is a bit faster, this trip is more adventurous and longer (15 km, 4.5 hours). There are a number of canoe rental companies in Valkenswaard. From the terminal point of the canoe trip, the Venbergse Watermolen at Molenstraat in Valkenswaard, you are taken upstream by bus so that you can canoe back to the mill./.