News

Tuesday 29 april 2025

New rating system for our cycling tours

We recently introduced a new rating system with two separate evaluation categories. You may not have seen it before.

Previously, all cycling tours were described with a single rating, usually "easy" and sometimes "moderate."
Starting in 2026, we will use two distinct ratings: Endurance and Agility.

  • Endurance is generally rated as "easy." Only tours with significantly longer distances or more hills will receive a higher rating.
  • Agility is set to "moderate" by default. We have noticed that some people tend to underestimate a cycling trip with Merlijn. Riding in a group and navigating busier paths requires more agility than simply saying, "I haven’t cycled since high school." Only tours that demand more agility than you may have experienced on previous Merlijn tours will receive a higher rating.

A good example is Merlijn's Taste of Eastern Europe. In this region, bike paths are sometimes of slightly lower quality than what we are used to, intersections can be less clear, and it is more common that there is no separate bike lane.

Tours with a higher agility rating are not extreme or vastly different from our other routes. However, we believe it is important to mention these aspects in the tour descriptions and ratings.

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25 april 2025

I cant say enough about this Barge and Bike experience. We were a part of a large group that attended Amsterdam tour. As a person who had never slept on a ship or boat or any kind it exceeded my expectations. We were met by the owner Coen our suitcases were taken by Catalina and Coens wife and partner in the full sense, Christina. We had a personal tour of our rooms and the prep for our daily bike. The cleanliness the attention to detail the food and the service was bar none. Unfortunate things were closed because of Easter when on our bike tour but our group made the best of it. Every day the 5 people onboard treated us like it was our home for 6 nights with a little extra icing on the cake I highly recommend Merlijn if you are considering a Barge and Bike in Amsterdam. It will be truly a trip you wont forget.