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Permalink Reply by Paul Lazzaro on November 28, 2015 at 4:39am

I'm and American who has rented bikes a couple of times and ridden through a good part of the city.  Compared to Chicago, the cyclists are more relaxed, they are far more competent in bike handling, and they show normal consideration toward other cyclists (unlike a lot of Americans).  The drivers are also more careful.

I thought biking was the fastest and least stressful way to get around the city.  But that will only be true if you are an experienced city cyclist.  It's not like riding on a forest preserve path.  You need to pay attention and understand the flow of traffic.

My thoughts on this from a few years ago: http://uptownbikinglife.blogspot.com/2011/07/chicago-is-not-amsterd...

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Permalink Reply by Steve Mac on November 28, 2015 at 6:33am

Thanks,, and great blog .

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Permalink Reply by Eli on December 4, 2015 at 5:38am

I returned from Amsterdam last night. We rented bikes the whole time we were there and they were our primary means of getting around. (Only €38 for two bikes from Monday morning through Thursday morning! Chicago bike rental places charge that per bike per day.)

The number of cyclists meant that you are always in the flow of traffic with bikes behind you, so you cannot hesitate too much at intersections, which is tricky when you're a tourist and not sure where you're going.

I've often heard the assertion that cyclists in places like Amsterdam with a strong transportation cycling culture and good infrastructure are more likely to obey traffic signals and I didn't really feel like this was the case. Just as in Chicago I often found myself waiting at a red light and watching many other cyclists pass during breaks in cross-traffic, even when it was a bike-specific red light.

In addition to the bikes there were a large number of motor-scooters, all of which use the bike lanes (at very high speeds), which could be a little nerve-wracking.

Drivers were simply much more willing to wait, in general. I rarely saw a driver going more than 15-20mph except on the ring road (I believe the speed limit was 30kph on most streets, around 18.5mph). Drivers would wait behind bikes when it was too narrow to pass (which was often). And bikes were not the only obstacle; delivery and construction trucks would often block the entire street and drivers were also quite patient with these obstructions. In general there seemed much less of the American driver's belief that he is entitled to drive at or above the speed limit 100% of the time.

I didn't see a single parking lot that I can remember, which made an amazing difference in the feel of the place.

Many intersections had no traffic control at all, or only a yield sign for the smaller cross-street. These intersections felt, if anything, safer than the ones with traffic lights.

I never quite got the hang of making left turns at busier intersections from the separated lanes. I tried to get into the lane with car traffic and make a left turn as I would in Chicago and it felt very dangerous. I think I probably should have crossed one street, then the other. In general, vehicular cycling didn't seem feasible on the larger streets with separated bike lanes (on smaller streets, such as those along the canals, there were no separated bikeways and space was shared by default, woonerf-style). If nothing else, the many longitudinal tram tracks on these streets made it seem very risky to ride in the car lane.

 

I saw shops selling go-fast road bikes and lycra (and a Rapha store where the staff followed us around in the clear belief that we were going to steal something) but didn't see any of these on the street (though there were a very few old 70s road bikes converted to transportation duty).

I very much recommend renting bikes if you visit, it makes it much easier to get around quickly, and it's just fun to ride there.

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Permalink Reply by Deni Mayer on December 14, 2015 at 4:01am

I agree with the other commentors, I found biking in Amsterdam fantastic and the best way to get around (and also why I fell in love with Dutch bikes and bought one for myself at J.C. Lind).

I will say that it takes some getting used to, being from America it is weird being surrounded by so many other bikes all at once. Rush hour was crazy to ride in. But allow yourself to go with the flow and you'l be fine.

I've done whole days in Amsterdam on foot/public transit and by bike, I'll never do anything but bike from now on. The difference in how long it takes to get around is quite amazing, the city became a lot smaller once I did it by bike.

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