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October 2017

CultureLifeSustainability

For the love of bicycling in the Netherlands: Part 2

written by Sarah

So, I’ve talked a little bit about how much I absolutely love bicycling here in the Netherlands, how easy and convenient it is, and how excellent the infrastructure is, but that’s far from the end of it!

Life by bicycle

The bukfiets!

As you can imagine, with all of this impressive dedication to and infrastructure for bicycles, the Dutch put it all to good use. Commuting by bicycle is common, and rush-hour bicycle traffic is definitely a thing! Its estimated that 27% of trips taken in the Netherlands are made by bicycle, which is pretty impressive in itself. In Utrecht 43% of trips under 4.6 miles are taken by bike, and it is estimated that 125,000 bicycle trips are taken each day in the town of 330,000 people!

Bicycling is also part of the family experience, and there are numerous ways to bike as a family – from piling toddlers and young kids on to special seats on your own bicycle, to letting them ride out front in the bucket of a ‘bukfiets’, and graduating to riding on their own two wheels next to their parents when they are ~5+ years old.

My morning commute is often shared with numerous families biking their children to school, and on weekend afternoons there are many families out and about on bicycles – shopping, heading to the park, or to get an ‘ijsje’ (Dutch for ice cream!). Teenagers also seem to benefit from the bicycle culture – traveling together with a great amount of autonomy, while getting some good exercise at the same time.

In fact, our Dutch friends confirm that the transportation of choice for students in the higher elementary and high school is indeed the bicycle, and tell of biking to school as a group with their friends for quite a distance – perhaps 30-45 minutes each way – especially if they lived in the suburbs or outside of town.

They all seem to look back on this fondly as a pleasant part of youth. Most Americans I know who have observed this comment that these kids have a significant amount of freedom that they don’t see in the US today. People of a slightly older generation also remark that it is what life was like when they were growing up…a return to a simpler time. (Though this doesn’t mean these kids aren’t texting and biking, generally horsing around, and sometimes making (hopefully harmless) trouble just like they are everywhere else in the world!)

Healthy living

One great impact of all of this bicycling is the public health influence of so much free and passively collected exercise on Dutch citizens. With my commute, I get more than 20 minutes of certifiable exercise per day (and when I am in a rush in the morning, it’s definitely cardio!).  Although this isn’t an incredible amount, it happens whether I have energy or time to go the gym or not, and really adds up over the course of the week (especially including the other errands I do and trips to town that I take). I have been impressed that all of this biking makes a noticeable impact on my fitness (and my ability to eat all those frites and mayo, without too many significant consequences! ;)).

You can see this result in the whole population as well…even my German family comments that the Dutch are in great shape compared to their average countryman, so they must be doing something right. The government is aware of this as well, and estimate that the country can save $23 billion in health care costs due to reduction of mortality and number of deaths prevented in the population from bicycling. And all of this comes before even talking about the carbon emissions saved by riding bicycles rather than driving gas powered cars, which is significant…not bad for an activity that brings me so much joy!

Safety first

The other key factor for bicycling being so enjoyable here, is that it has reached a critical mass and collective importance that it feels (and apparently is) considerably safer than bicycling back home. Here drivers know to watch out for bicycles everywhere (in fact it can be a bit nerve-wracking to drive a car!) and are well aware of bicycle lanes, habits and dangers. It is my impression that traffic laws also favor bicyclists in the case of an accident, which also keeps things safer – important when you are traveling with your whole family along with traffic! (I am not sure about the details of this though, so if anyone knows more, please let me know in the comments!)

At any rate, having bicycled in a few different cities in the US, I can say that all of this affinity for and awareness of bicycles, as well as the prolific infrastructure for bicycling, make the experience here feel significantly safer, pleasant and more convenient. This, combined with the increased amount of exercise I get, and the pleasant moments it brings to my day, add up to this being my absolute favorite part of life in the Netherlands.

What about you? Does this still sound like something you would like to try? If you’re Dutch (or living here), have I represented the Netherlands love of bicycles well? Or is there anything you would add? And in what sort of ways can we encourage bringing this experience to other parts of the world? It would be great to be able to share this awesome experience in more places…Let me know what you think in the comments – I’d love to get your input!

For the love of bicycling in the Netherlands: Part 2 was last modified: May 26th, 2020 by Sarah
October 8, 2017 1 comment
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CultureLifeSustainability

For the love of bicycling in the Netherlands: Part 1

written by Sarah

When people ask what I like most about living in the Netherlands, my immediate, no-thinking-required answer is, ‘The bicycling!’ This doesn’t mean that there aren’t tons of things I love about living here, of course – but it does mean that, hands-down, the thing that stands out the most is how pleasant, convenient and easy it is to get around here on two self-powered wheels.

When we arrived, even though we were expecting bicycling to be a big thing, the sheer magnitude of bicycles was a bit overwhelming. Leaving the train station, it was immediately clear that bicycles ruled the road, and that both cars and pedestrians were lower in the pecking order (the possible equal to the bicycle is public transportation, mainly because the buses can fill the narrow streets so completely that bicycles often must make room!). At any rate, one of our first orders of business here was buying secondhand bicycles, and although we had a bit of a learning curve, we quickly became adept at bicycling nearly everywhere we go.

Freedom and joy

The thing I love most about riding a bicycle is that it feels like flying. When you’re pedaling along on a nice flat road, with your wheels whirring smoothly underneath you and the wind blowing through your hair, it just feels like freedom to me. Especially if I’ve had a stressful day at work, I love the feeling of getting on to my bicycle and pushing off – leaving my cares and the awkward plodding of two feet behind. There is sometimes rush hour traffic, but usually I find a bit of open road where I can relax a bit, while enjoying the feeling of floating home.

On top of this, I really enjoy being able to bicycle everywhere and for everything. It always feels special to bike to a dinner and movie date with Phil, or to meet up with friends on a Saturday night. It is also fun to ride home with friends after a night out – continuing good conversations by bicycle, and calling goodbye as they peel off, one by one, on their own individual paths home.

Downhill both ways – in all kinds of weather

At any rate, somehow the Dutch have fully embraced the love of bicycling, and have made it part of their cultural identity, which is amazing to experience. There are more bicycles than people in the Netherlands (one bicycle apiece is clearly not enough!) and life here seems largely built around the activity. One of the benefits of bicycling in the Netherlands is that the country is notoriously flat (as the ‘lowlands’ that give the country its name). This means that the only ‘hills’ one generally experiences are those created by bicycling into the stiff wind (though these are not to be underestimated!).

The other benefit to biking here is that the warmer water of the Gulf Stream and proximity to the North Sea keep the climate quite mild and regulated. Much like the weather on the West Coast of North America, the weather is seldom very hot in the summer, or very cold in the winter, making it relatively easy to bike through (compared to the challenges of bicycling in the winter in Minneapolis – possible, but not for the faint of heart!). Although the geography is also notorious for producing a lot of rain, the Dutch are quite adept at dealing with it all – throwing on a rain suit and getting out there no matter what the weather.

Bicycle infrastructure

Having fully embraced the bicycle as a central mode of transportation, the Dutch have also worked to make the experience as easy and pleasant as possible here in the Netherlands, which is a dream.

First, most roads have a dedicated bicycle lane. Most city thoroughfares have a well-marked bike lane going in both directions along with traffic. Often the lane is completely separated from the road – either by a curb, or sometimes with a median between traffic and the bike lane. Other times it is on the same plane as car traffic, but is well delineated with painted lines or red-colored paint or bricks. There are also ubiquitous traffic signals for bicycles, along with those for cars and pedestrians – so bicycles always have personalized traffic instructions to keep them operating smoothly and safely with the rest of traffic.

In addition, the roads connecting towns and villages nearly always have a well-maintained bicycle path running separately and parallel to the road – so if you can drive there, you can bike there! On our second Thanksgiving here, a Dutch friend very kindly invited us to a full-fledged Thanksgiving dinner at his place in the next town over from Utrecht. Being November, it was a cool, blustery, ~45-minute bicycle ride there – but the food and hospitality was so welcome when we arrived, and the post-dinner food coma was so completely vanquished on the bicycle ride back home, that I decided a Thanksgiving bicycle ride would be a great annual tradition!

Not only is there excellent infrastructure for riding bicycles here, but there’s excellent infrastructure for parking them. There are many municipal bicycle parking garages which usually allow you to park free for the first 24 hours. In these and other epicenters of bicycle parking (like the train station or the university) there are rather ingenious double-decker bike parking racks. Here you can lock your bicycle in a rack below, or lift them above with a mechanically assisted rack. (Phil loves these, and although I have a bit more trouble throwing my heavy bike up there, it is nice to have the option when needed.)

Utrecht has also made the international news lately, for building the world’s largest bicycle garage, in conjunction with an ongoing project to completely renovate the central train station. The garage is opening in phases, and although the first 6,000+ spaces are available now, by the end of 2018 there will be 12,500 spaces for cyclists to park on their way to the train. Phil and I stopped by the newly opened garage for the first time last weekend, and it was really quite impressive – with tons of spaces already in use, and curving ramps allowing you to bike between levels, just like in a car parking garage. Again – it is all free for the first 24 hours, which is incredibly convenient for people like me, who need a place for their bicycles during the workday when commuting by train!

At any rate, there is quite a bit more about bicycling in the Netherlands that makes it enjoyable – including how seamlessly it is worked into daily life, and how it impacts Dutch society as a whole –  but I’ll talk a bit more about it all next week.

In the meantime, I am interested to hear what you think. Have you biked in the Netherlands? If so what were/are your impressions? If you haven’t, does it seem like something you would like to try? And would it be possible to bring any of this experience back across the  pond? Let me know in the comments – I’m interested to hear your thoughts!

photo by: Travis Hornung
For the love of bicycling in the Netherlands: Part 1 was last modified: May 26th, 2020 by Sarah
October 1, 2017 5 comments
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About Me

About Me

Hi, I'm Sarah.

From the minutia of daily life, to cultural perspective and grand adventures - I love experiencing this little life in Europe and sharing my observations here.

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  • For the love of bicycling in the Netherlands: Part 2
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