Bike Heaven! If you haven't been, I'd highly recommend a visit --

I recently returned from a trip to the Netherlands and have dubbed myself the Unofficial Dutch Ambassador.  What an amazing place!  One of the main reasons for my new love is the bike culture.  You can see all the details below, I won't clog up the discussion board with my waxing-ons, but oh my goodness -- what a special special place for bicyclists.  If you're ever able to go, I recommend a jaunt to Haarlem, a small city that's a 20 min train ride from Amsterdam; an amazing national park on the North Sea, complete with forestry, dunes, beaches, and wonderfully paved and marked paths.  Heaven!

http://macncheeseproductions.wordpress.com/2010/08/03/holland-vs-am...

Has anyone else biked in the Netherlands?  Would love to hear your take!  Definitely plan on returning.

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Permalink Reply by milesperhour on August 4, 2010 at 10:50am
i love the multi-level bike parking lots they have there.

Copenhagen is even more amazing. Commuters can travel into the city with green lights the entire way. I wish all cities would do this:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZtX8qiC_rXE&feature=related
Permalink Reply by Will on August 5, 2010 at 3:50am
Great blog post, but I do hate the way Dutch bikes are so huge, they seem to tower over other bikes on the rack. I'm sure it's not an issue in Holland as most/all bikes are Dutch, but over here they seem to me like the SUV of the bicycle world. My take on them has been colored by the fact that I once spent about 10 minutes getting my bicycle untangled from a Dutch bike that was locked way too close to mine.
Permalink Reply by Amber K on August 5, 2010 at 5:01am
Where's LarryN? He's been to the Netherlands.
Permalink Reply by Anne on August 5, 2010 at 6:22am
Belgium is even better :)
Permalink Reply by Lisa yeah on August 5, 2010 at 7:19am
I used to live in Amsterdam just off of Niewemarkt. I don't remember ever seeing a single "Dutch Bike", at least not in the city. There were those old Mary Poppins looking bikes everywhere. They definitely weren't the $1200 variety. I bought one for around 25 guilders, or about $13 in 1998, on this one bridge in the Red Light District.

I absolutely loved biking there, and that's probably the main thing that prompted me, at first, to start biking here.

Will V. said:
Great blog post, but I do hate the way Dutch bikes are so huge, they seem to tower over other bikes on the rack. I'm sure it's not an issue in Holland as most/all bikes are Dutch, but over here they seem to me like the SUV of the bicycle world. My take on them has been colored by the fact that I once spent about 10 minutes getting my bicycle untangled from a Dutch bike that was locked way too close to mine.
Permalink Reply by Julie Aberman (Hochstadter) on August 5, 2010 at 8:18am
My thoughts exactly!

Amber K said:
Where's LarryN? He's been to the Netherlands.
Permalink Reply by Duppie on August 5, 2010 at 9:08am
I lived the first 29 years of my life in various parts of the Netherlands. Noteworthy is that most bicyclists ride because it is an economical, fast, and safe way to get around. Unlike here in Chicago, it is rarely about making some sort of statement.
Permalink Reply by Michael A on August 5, 2010 at 10:21am
The lights are times at 20 kpm, that is about 12 miles per hour... I would lose my balance at that slow speed and just fall over

milesperhour said:
i love the multi-level bike parking lots they have there.

Copenhagen is even more amazing. Commuters can travel into the city with green lights the entire way. I wish all cities would do this:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZtX8qiC_rXE&feature=related
Permalink Reply by Juan 2-3 or more mi. on August 5, 2010 at 2:18pm
Nice thread, I wonder, How does it compare to Portland?
Permalink Reply by djm on August 5, 2010 at 5:44pm
I had a wonderful time riding across the Netherlands along the North Sea and spending a few weeks commuting in Amsterdam. Its great being respected as a cyclist. I enjoyed the off-road bike route system, too. Like Chicago, its flat, but beware the headwinds!
Permalink Reply by Juan 2-3 or more mi. on August 6, 2010 at 6:43am
Thanks! We are waaay behind! I hope to visit bike heaven before I go to heaven.

H3N3 said:
Portland at its peak had a bicycle trip share of around 6%:
http://blog.oregonlive.com/commuting/2010/01/its_official_portland_...

Dutch cities seem to range from about 25 to 50%:
http://blog.oregonlive.com/commuting/2009/06/in_amsterdam_more_trip...

So, re: Portland-- better than other US cities, but still barely scratching the surface.

Juan Dominguez said:
Nice thread, I wonder, How does it compare to Portland?
Permalink Reply by Don Sorsa on August 6, 2010 at 6:50am
Add Barcelona and Valencia (Spain) to the list of cities actively encouraging cycling by adding bike lanes, inexpensive rental bikes, bike racks, and cars that always stop for pedestrians and cyclists in intersections. Cycling would have been suididal in both places ten years ago, so this is a great change.

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