“It can be tough sometimes,” says researcher Bernard van Gastel (Sustainable Digitalization), referring to the cycling holiday he takes every year with his partner and their children, now aged 6 and 8. “Especially when it rains.”
Bernard van Gastel’s summer: “Sometimes the scientist in me comes out during vacation”
Researcher Bernard van Gastel’s favorite summer tradition is just around the corner again: a cycling holiday with his partner and their two children. This year marks the tenth edition. “So far, we’ve only worn out two tents.”
That became clear again in May, when the family planned a practice weekend in nearby Groesbeek to prepare for the summer trip. Of course, that particular weekend brought torrential rain and heavy thunderstorms. The cycling weekend was literally washed out. “We’ve learned by now to play it safe and simply not go in those conditions,” Van Gastel says. “How do you keep it enjoyable otherwise? Those practice weekends are mainly meant to get the children excited.”
He vividly remembers another weekend with similar weather when they had already reached Amersfoort. The result: rain came not only from above onto the tent, but also seeped in from below. “Our daughter was also seriously ill. That really completed the picture.”
Bernard and his partner immediately fell into their usual division of tasks. He packed up the four-person tent and strapped it onto his bike, then squeezed all the children’s toys into the other side of his panniers. Meanwhile, his partner strategically packed away the cooking equipment. “Back home we went. You have to be willing to evaluate, adapt, and move on. That’s when the scientist in me comes out again, even during vacation.”
On another occasion, a campground owner rescued the family when the weather gods once again refused to cooperate. Van Gastel laughs as he recalls it. “Our tent broke because of the heavy rain. The owner handed us the key to some sort of shed. It turned out to be a youth clubhouse. At least we stayed dry, although people kept rattling the door all night.”
Mountain bikes
After hearing these stories, you might wonder why they keep doing it. “A lot of people simply don’t understand why we choose this kind of vacation,” Van Gastel says. “There’s still a lot of misunderstanding. We have a rough plan, but every day we decide what we feel like doing. Anything is fine. Our children now think riding long stretches on asphalt roads is boring. They much prefer mountain biking. So my partner and I have now bought mountain bikes as well.”
The family has even cycled to school fully loaded with all their camping gear. “There was an hour when parents could come into the classroom to talk about something. We told them about our cycling holidays. Our children did most of the talking.” Afterward, they pitched their four-person tent on the school playground together with the classmates. “It became clear that for our children, cycling holidays are completely normal but for their classmates, they’re not. They asked one question after another. “Long-distance travel is considered normal by many people. But there are so many beautiful places in the Benelux that we simply pass by because we feel we have to go far away.”
Van Gastel also notices people’s curiosity whenever the family arrives at a new campsite and unpacks everything from their bicycle bags. “People often come over for a chat when they see us arriving. They ask how we manage with just those few bags. I always find that funny, because to us camping means being mobile. Once we pack everything up, we’re ready to leave within an hour.”
Riding figure eights
This summer they’ll be taking their first mountain-bike touring holiday. “My partner and I needed mountain bikes too. Our touring bikes could carry much more luggage, but they had no suspension. They were really heavy. When we rode them on mountain-bike trails before, mountain bikers got grumpy and honestly, we understood why.” Their vacation starts with a week of mountain biking in the Netherlands. After that, they’ll briefly return home because walkers participating in the Nijmegen Four Days Marches will be staying at their house. Then they’ll head out again with their mountain bikes: one week in Austria, one week in Switzerland, and finally Germany. “When we travel abroad by car now, we park somewhere and ride what we call ‘figure eights.’ “We park the car in the middle of the figure eight and ride two loops, so we always return to the car. That way we have spare clothes and other supplies waiting for us.”
Packing Only the Essentials
This year’s trip will be their tenth cycling holiday together. It is also the eighth one since becoming parents. Back in 2018, about 80 percent of their bike trailer consisted of their three-month-old daughter and an enormous supply of diapers. Now she rides her own bike behind her parents, with a small bag attached to the rear carrying her own belongings. “Going on a cycling holiday with four people mainly requires one skill: mastering the art of not packing. We only take the essentials. For us that means a potty, the tent, sleeping mats, inflatable pillows, camping chairs, and cooking equipment. The advantage? We never lose anything!”
According to Van Gastel, you really don’t need much. “Well, except enough toys otherwise the children get bored. Last year we brought six kilograms of toys. Once we were on vacation, the children quickly discovered there’s so much to do outdoors that they hardly used them. We spend the whole day outside. Still, bringing toys is important. They each have a special place for them inside the tent. It helps make the space feel like their own and gives them a sense of familiarity.”
Foldable pots
Camping has been part of Van Gastel's life from an early age. As a child, camping with his parents during the May holidays was an annual tradition. "One thing I've really noticed is how much the equipment has improved. There’s so much lightweight gear available now. The pots we bring can be folded up, and just like that—they're completely flat."
He laughs in amazement. "The camping chairs we take now weigh only 500 grams each."
That said, he still values a bit of comfort. "As a child, I slept on an air mattress that was only two centimeters thick. I'm very happy that we now have air mattresses that are eight centimeters thick. Wow they're incredibly comfortable!"
Years of camping have also given Van Gastel a front-row seat to the growing presence of digital technology on vacation. As a researcher, he advocates for sustainable digitalization. "In the past, you paid for a campsite with cash in an envelope. Now we're sending payment requests through apps. There's Wi-Fi everywhere. Many people sit outside their tents on their phones all day. I do it too occasionally, but mostly to prepare for the next day's route. When everything becomes digital, I feel like some of the sense of adventure disappears."
Toward the end of every cycling holiday, Van Gastel reflects on what he hopes to achieve in the coming academic year. "It's important to me to make an impact. Not just by doing research, but by staying connected with society."
That connection also continues during his cycling holidays. "If there's one kind of vacation where you end up chatting with lots of strangers, it's a cycling holiday. Sometimes I tell people about my work. They're often surprised and curious. I notice that digitalization is something many people find difficult to grasp. The data centers that consume enormous amounts of energy so we can stream Netflix shows are everywhere, yet they're largely invisible to people. When I'm cycling, I see those data centers, power plants, and large industrial buildings, and I can't always tell whether a building is a data center or something else." He sighs. "The landscape is changing because of all this, and that has a significant impact."
Still, Van Gastel believes it's important to cycle through these places with his family.
"If you only cycle from one tourist attraction to another along scenic routes, you end up with a distorted view of the world. Of course, it makes me worry about my children's future, but it also gives me the motivation to work even harder when I get back to my job."
Want to follow the family's cycling adventures? Follow them on Instagram: @fietsvakantiemetkinderen.
Summer Series
This story is part of Radboud Recharge's Summer Series. In this year's series, we speak with researchers not only about their research, but also about their summer: the time when they recharge. What is their favorite summer moment? For Bernard van Gastel, it's going on a cycling holiday with his family and simply spending all day outdoors. Curious about the other stories in the series? You can read them here.
Contact information
- About person
- Dr B.E. van Gastel (Bernard)
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- Summer special