Real bicycle culture

Amsterdam: It’s billed as the cycling city of the best cycling nation in the world and it’s not hard to see why. There is simply a culture of cycling which is quite wonderful. It’s just a natural thing there for people to use a bike to get around.

A major part of this is the provision made for cycling – there are cycle streets, cycle paths – people are catered for on bikes. It’s part of the culture because it has been accommodated – there is space for cycling, so it becomes a pleasant way to get around. More people get moderate daily exercise just from cycling to and from places resulting in a healthier population and better air quality as there’s less pollution from cars.

Why can’t we aim to develop a similar culture by building and incorporating such infrastructure here in NE Lincs?

Click to enlarge the photos:

The bike parking near the central rail station.

A cycle road, separate to the walkway and the road for vehicles.

 

In the queue of cyclists waiting for the change of lights on the cycleway in the busy centre of the city.

A father with his children in their cargo bike. It’s perfectly safe to travel this way because there is safe cycling infrastructure all over the city.

Another cargo bike.

This is a minor quiet one-way road where cars are guests and are expected to give priority to cyclists.

Steps in and out of a rail station with provision for wheeling a bike at the side. It’s little things like these that add to the bicycling culture. Nice to see the bike being wheeled here is a Brompton! 🙂

Bikes everywhere!

You can ride right through the Rijksmuseum (State Museum), recently reopened with a cycleway through the middle of it!

And to finish with a nod to Cycle Chic, the ubiquitous ‘girl on a bike’!

 

A roundabout in Amsterdam

A great article from Bicycle Dutch demonstrating how to ‘do’ a busy roundabout. The video says it all, but you can read the rest of the article here.

Why do so many Dutch people cycle?

This video and article appeared on the BBC in August, and looks at the reasons why so many people want to cycle in the Netherlands. Watch the video here.

There are more bicycles than residents in The Netherlands. In cities like Amsterdam and The Hague up to 70% of all journeys are made by bike.

This is because of a vast network of cycle paths that are clearly marked, with smooth surfaces, separate signs and lights, and wide enough to allow side-by-side cycling and overtaking.

So with rising levels of obesity, high fuel prices and increasing congestion, what is stopping the UK from going Dutch?