This is an interesting photo essay taken over a 73 minute period in front of an open market in Amsterdam. Photos are sorted by category illustrating the difference between cyclists from Amsterdam and from the authors home town of San Francisco.
Category #1 - Formally dressed cyclists. From three piece suits to pearl necklaces. Folks in Amsterdam know how to ride in style!
Category #6- Widespread use of GIGANTIC REDUNDANT chains on bikes of marginal quality. That’s a shame. Looks like there is a little ding in that paint job. I wonder how that happened.
I once saw a report of bicycle usage by country, and the Netherlands was at the top of that list, something like 40% of the people there use a bicycle for transportation.
The USA was almost dead last, even behind Iceland at something like 0.01%
Helmets:
No cars, less risk (it is called “pedestrian zone”) There is a walking speed limit for residents and delivery vehicles.
Most people ride their bikes faster
Chains:
Everybody there can pick a cheap lock (you learn it in pre-school ;-).
The specific problem with Amsterdam is the Junkies. They steal the bikes not for transportation, but to sell it for dope.
This is very similar to what I observed while visiting Switzerland last year. It is so refreshing! I had a 80-something year old woman run me off a walking path and I could only laugh; it was so great.
The reason they can get away with not wearing helmets in Amsterdam is because they are riding kids bikes and are riding on areas safe from cars and other cyclists, unlike the maniac taint faces in San Fran.
Helmets:
No cars, less risk (it is called “pedestrian zone”) There is a walking speed limit for residents and delivery vehicles.
Most people ride their bikes faster
Virtually no one wears helmets in the Netherlands. Not on open roads either. “The Shift” hasn’t reached us yet. Thank !!
IN the last decade there has been a increase in people who make their children wear helmets. But anybody above 12 is leaving the helmet at home, in most cases not to get their asses kicked
The owner of the shop I work in is Dutch. We were actually discussing this very topic the other day and he told me a few very interesting things…
Holland is a very proactive country, and greatly encourages it’s citizen’s to commute by bike. So much so that they provide incentives! If you commute 200+ days a year to work (he said the figure may be different now, he hasn’t lived there in years) the gov’t will give you a 1000euro voucher for a new bike!!
He said that EVERYONE rides, regardless of age, sex, or class.
While the typical Dutch commuter bike looks clunky and slow, they are actually very comfortable and easy to ride. We recently became a Batavus dealer, and can vouch for their rideability. They even offer a bike now with a Neuvinci CVT hub! Definately the coolest thing I have ever ridden on two wheels!
The US should be more like Holland. Maybe more people would commute via bike and actually (gasp) get into shape!! Maybe it would take the US gov’t giving out vouchers or tax breaks, but wouldn’t that be worth it?? Why not spend it on biking rather than oil?
