This is a variant of my route "Through the Green Heart", where variant refers to some separate bike paths that have been removed from the route because they can be partially underwater after a rain period or because you have to pass through swing gates.

The route starts from the Tourist Transfer Point (TOP) Linschoten, just south of Woerden. You follow the route counterclockwise. First, you cycle through the picturesque Linschoten with its historic center and then you cycle through polders to Harmelen and Vleuten. Next, you cycle to the largest castle in the Netherlands, De Haar. Through the polders and past the picturesque Kockengen, you cycle to the winding river Kromme Mijdrecht. You follow this river in a northwestern direction along the eastern bank, and after 4 km you go over a narrow bike/pedestrian bridge (bike bridge De Hoef) to follow the western bank in a northwestern direction. Upon reaching the northernmost point, you go along the Hogedijk by the Roerdomp pond (Groene Jonker). You can skip the (by the way beautiful) section along the Kromme Mijdrecht at Woerdense Verlaat entirely, which shortens the route by 19 kilometers. You can also choose to go directly back to the south along the Roerdomp (Groene Jonker) at bike bridge De Hoef, which shortens the route by 10 km.

Then you cycle along the Nieuwkoopse Plassen, and then you cycle along the winding river Meije. Through Bodegraven, you cycle through the winding Oud-Bodegraven to the Reeuwijkse Plassen and then along the Hollandse IJssel. You cycle right through the picturesque and historic center of Oudewater (absolutely worth a visit), and then you follow the winding and narrow road along the river Lange Linschoten back to Linschoten.

In good weather on weekends, it can be busy on dike roads (along the Meije and Kromme Mijdrecht) and on the separate bike path along the Reeuwijkse Plassen. Other separate bike paths in the route are between Linschoten and Woerden, between Woerden and Harmelen, near castle De Haar, and between castle De Haar and Kockengen.