jppe

Finishing up a week long cruise on the Rhine River and we added a couple of days in Amsterdam. Even with 40 degree temperatures, rain and 15 mph winds folks are still cruising around. Not only are there cyclists on the bike paths, there are scooters and covered scooters that look like miniature cars. You REALLY have to pay attention crossing at intersections to avoid a collision.

People of all ages ride. Carrying kids, cargo pets etc. It appears pretty flat so I’m sure that helps. Bikes and shops are everywhere. If you leave your bike in a rack too long it will be confiscated.

Now about the red light district and those marijuana shops!?!?!?



A covered scooter.


Bicycle Highway along the River during a low use period.

Tandem Tom

We have cycled toured in Europe and twice we ended in Amsterdam. But we have gone out if the way as in riding around the city to avoid cycling in the city. Way too aggressive especially if you are trying to find your way through on a loaded touring bike.

FiftySix

Loving the covered scooter. Makes a Japanese Kei car look downright American in size.

Flip Flop Rider

what's the helmet situation over there?

jppe

My wife made the remark that she was surprised that hardly anyone wore a helmet. I probably saw 1 helmet per 200 cyclists. Plus they ride very fast and aggressively. They must be very skilled the way they are able to maneuver through vehicular traffic, bike traffic and pedestrians. It scared me to pieces. I’d probably cause wrecks riding so slowly. Plus it’s a little difficult to notice bike paths running alongside sidewalks. It’s very easy to just step out in front of a bike flying right along.

Morning commuters


These troughs make it easier to get a bike across stairs


Thousands of bikes everywhere

There was one fella this morning riding his bike very fast one handed, with his suitcase sitting on top of his handlebars that he could hardly see over the top of it. Just crazy.

jppe

Very smart on your part from what I’ve seen!

mr_bill

While I don't want to spread the rose colored glasses view of cycling in Amsterdam, nor do I want to damn it.

Please don't tell me you didn't ride a bike?

I went back to Choux (cabbage) after a couple of years, and even though I never ever thought I'd enjoy a meal plated with tweezers both meals are unforgetable. And Stout! was wonderful too, and I learned how to make a Dutch Apple Pie (nothing like American Dutch Apple Pie) from a local coffee shop (real coffee shop, not "coffee" shop).

(The "coffee" shops are one of my asthma triggers, so....)

But don't get me started on EU Nike not selling Dutch Women's National Team jerseys in men's cut.....

-mr. bill

SpinClassSara

After my sister - not a cycling enthusiast - was in France during Le Tour de France, she and her husband toured Amsterdam. She wanted to get around by bike for convenience but wasn't as adept a rider as those she saw. Maybe next time, if she practices !!!

zacster

I was in Amsterdam a few years ago and we used the hotel bikes and were surprised by how much a free-for-all it was, but after a little while we got into the rhythm of it. And nobody wore helmets. After A'dam we went to Copenhagen and rented bikes there and they were our main form of transportation and it was much more orderly, people stopped, yielded, signaled, stayed on the lanes. While a lot of people biked in Amsterdam, it felt like EVERYBODY biked in Copenhagen. It helps that we were there in June. The next stop was Oslo, and it looked like biking just wasn't a thing there. The few we saw were mostly roadies out for their rides, not for transportation. It makes some sense since Oslo is hilly and A'dam and CPH are flat as pancakes. Our last stop was Bergen and I don't remember seeing many cyclists there either. The best stop on the trip though was in the small town of Balestrand on the fjord. While my family did a kayak trip, I took a bike instead and it was absolutely spectacular to ride there. The woman at the rental was giving me some places to stop, but I had different ideas and I just went as far as I could in an hour and a half and then back. If we didn't have a ferry to catch I'd have gone further. She was surprised when I showed her my RidewithGPS map of how far I'd gone.

John_V 

We did a river cruise from Amsterdam to Budapest in 2015. Our flight from DC to Frankfurt had mechanical problems after takeoff so we had to turn back causing us to miss our connection in Frankfurt. We made it to Amsterdam about 1.5 hours before our boat left. Since we missed the shuttle bus from the airport, we had to take a taxi to the boat. Couldn't tell you how many times the taxi almost hit a cyclist due to their aggressive riding. Had we not had the mechanical issue, we would have arrived in Amsterdam around 10:00am giving us much of the day to look around. I was hoping to rent a bike and ride around the city but after seeing how they ride there, I'm glad I didn't.

bargainguy

Helmets in Amsterdam: About 15 years ago, I visited Amsterdam with my Bike Friday folding bike. Rode it all around Amsterdam while wearing my helmet, which had a mirror attached to the visor.

Nobody stopped me about my bike, but a few people stopped me to ask, what was that thing on my helmet, and what was it used for? Had to explain, where I'm from (US), traffic comes up on you fast, and it helps to know what's coming. Befuddled looks on that one. Helmet mirrors are not on their radar.

John E

I refuse to ride without a helmet with attached mirror.

zacster

Helmet yes, attached mirror no way.

John_V 

Some more bikes in Amsterdam. This is taken in the area where the river boats dock.

jppe

Johnv we walked by there every day. Our hotel was just a couple yards from there on the water front

canklecat

Somewhere online are some street view cameras with realtime video of Amsterdam. So you can get an idea of the frenetic style of cyclists and pedestrians. It does look like it would take awhile to adapt to.

One thing I noticed is when motor vehicles did come through, they drove differently from the cyclists, and very differently from American drivers. Americans in motor vehicles tend to expect everyone else to yield to them. The video of Amsterdam drivers indicate they tend to yield to cyclists and pedestrians, even if it takes much longer to negotiate an intersection.

In my Texas neighborhood some drivers won't wait a split-second at an intersection even for a disabled person on a walker or in a wheelchair. Doesn't matter if the pedestrian as the walk signal. If the driver has right on red or left on flashing yellow, they interpret that to mean "GET OUT OF MY WAY!" Walk signals for pedestrians are just cruel tricks to entrap the unwary.

I also notice it's pretty much unheard of in some countries for drivers to accidentally-on-purpose sideswipe cyclists filtering through traffic. Drivers seem to recognize it's normal for cyclists (and some scooters and motorcycles) to filter through traffic. But you can't depend on driver courtesy in much of the US. They'll deliberately veer toward you or open a door, then pretend it's an accident.

zacster

It was particularly crazy in plazas. There are few enough cars in A'dam that they aren't as much of a problem. The canals make it difficult to navigate in a car.

blacknbluebikes 

Fifty years ago, Bejing was full of bikes with few cars. NYC was full of cars with few bikes.
hmmm.

John_V 

That photo was taken from the balcony of our stateroom on the river boat. We did a 15 day Viking cruise through Germany, Austria. Slovakia and ended up in Hungary. One of the best cruises we've done to date.

jppe

We enjoyed it so much we’re booked for the Danube next. Probably some of the same stops you did.

Doug64

A few more bikes in Amsterdam. We usually leave our bike at a motel in Lieden, and take the train into Amsterdam.

mr_bill

This year:



Afternoon rush:

Two years ago:


Morning rush (same corner):


-mr. bill

davester

There's really no reason to wear a helmet in a bike and pedestrian oriented city like Amsterdam. Mostly the bikes are moving at a fairly leisurely pace (not much faster than a fast runner...and who expects runners to wear helmets?) and are not trying to navigate car-dominated streets with high speed traffic. Also, they are so dominant on the road and in such large groups that the car drivers are extremely aware of them. Not to mention, the city infrastructure there is designed to accomodate cyclists en masse. The hazards of fast traffic, poor cycling infrastructure and drivers not expecting to see a bike rider (i.e. US cities), or high speed descending on steep hills virtually don't exist there. However, if you get out in the countryside and see sport cyclists riding at high speed on trafficked roads, you will see that those folks are generally wearing helmets.

zacster

And while I always wear a helmet here in NYC, the one effect is "helmet head". Can you imagine an entire city full of people with that doing their normal business?

mr_bill

Except on Koningsdag, any kind of hat means you are not from around here.

(On Koningsdag, any kind of hat must be orange, and it means you are not from Amsterdam, but you are Dutch.)

-mr. bill