It started in the Spring of 1998 when my wife came upon a section in the Elderhostel catalog titled Active Outdoor Programs and selected a two-week bike program in the Netherlands (1, 2) - north, east, south, and west - starting in Amsterdam!

Later, I repeatedly asked her whether we shouldn't transfer to a less physically demanding program but she kept saying no. They told us up front that we had to be able to peddle 12 mph for 30 mins without stopping! After months of training at the health club, I was not confident I could do this every day; so, I was stuck with the prospect of a long bike ride and a sore butt!

Well, we had fun peddling over ??? miles, met a lot of nice people, saw a lot of interesting sights, and learned new information about the Netherlands. My wife says she'd like to do another one someday but maybe a golf program in Florida would be better...