Once around the Vlietland lake to Leidschendamm

Bicycle: 34 km 
Riding time: 1:53 h
Total ascent: 38 m
Avg speed: 17.8 km/h
Max speed: 28.8 km/h

Route: Leiden - around the Vlieland lake to Leidschendamm and back to Leiden

Weather: Sunny and nice, 18 C

Today after work I thought that I'd just ride around without any specific aim, just riding for about 10 km in any direction and then back. My initial plan was to follow any kind of knooppunt into any direction and later on just see what is the best way back. Well, that is what I did at km 4, a nice path on a cycle lane with tall trees invited me. But after not so long I ended up in one of the industrial parks that line the Rhine in direction Alphen, and I had been in that direction already and it's probably not one of the nicest here around, so I decided to turn back and find some other direction. And this presented itself pretty soon: The Vlietland lake. And so I rode along the river, where is a nicely asphalted cycle lane on and on, until I ended up in Leidschendamm. Where I took a few pictures...

... before turning back and riding along the other side of the lake back to Leiden. 

Actually one hardly sees the lake from the cycling lane. Either because the cycling lane is too low (i.e. under lakelevel and behind some dike). But at a few spots one can see it:

For the next time riding in that direction, definitely the cycling lane along the river (i.e. Western side of the lake) is nicer than the one in the East where instead of a river one is riding along the highway.