What is typically Dutch when it comes to bicycling? Here are some traits that could be considered Dutch. More information in the blog post: bicycledutch.wordpress.com/20...
The couples cycling while holding hands reminded me of the most memorable moment from our trip to the Netherlands - a moment that defines Dutch cycling for me. Standing by the bike path in Arnhem. I see an elderly couple coming along side by side, riding at a fairly brisk pace. The woman is steering with one hand and has her other hand resting on top of the man's hand on his handlebars. My first thought: "Oh, how sweet". Then I realized that he was blind and she was guiding him.
Standing on the back of the bike is actually quite comfortable. Better than sitting, that hurts your butt. And the balance? That natural for us, we grow up with that. I read an American article about kids cycling and when it was safe to get rid of the side wheels. According the the article, six years of age was the right age because before that the balance of a child wasn't developed enough. I put a reaction under that article saying 'never been to The Netherlands?' Kids here ride their bikes without side wheels from the age of 3 or 4. Perfect balance.
Who hasn't driven with "no hands", I bet we all started trying that as soon as we could drive a bike. You learn your balance quickly with that. If I ride a strange bike (as in a new one or a loan/rental) I find the balance point probably within two minutes.
Don't let the helmet advocates find this one. They might just develop PTSD. :P I'm missing a couple of things though. The no-hands cyclist who can steer without touching the handlebar. The friend sitting on the handlebar cyclist. The kid with the play card rattling his spokes to make an engine sound. And the e-cyclist racing at mad speeds.
Helmets can be optional in a country where biking and car traffic is separated on faster roads. In North America you're expected to share a 40+ MPH BOULEVARD with F-150s and Silverados.
This reminds me of when I was young, some 30 - 35 years ago. In the afternoon my sister and I used to walk to this traffic light waiting for my dad cycling back home from work. When he arrived my sister would sit on the back of the bike and I'd sit on the bar between my dad and his steer and he would cycle back home with us like that. Good memories!
I envied the Dutch way of bicycling. I wish we have the same freedom and infrastructure just like yours so we can bike safely not side by side with motor cars who doesn't respect the bikers most of the time.
What amazes me is that nine people disliked this video. What's to dislike? They're hardly harming anyone. What's wrong with such people? The reality, is of course that the majority of harm is caused by drivers while driving motor-vehicles incompetently and dangerously. All motorists, even highly competent ones, cause some harm, because of air pollution (which kills), and yes that even includes electric vehicles. And yes I drive, but I cycle wherever and whenever I can.
Apparently not everyone realized that I was being facetious in my remarks. I fully expected a response like that from a helmet Nazi. While I think a helmet is a good idea for a sports cyclist riding at speed in traffic, I don't think it is at all helpful for upright, low speed riders who are not duking it our with cars. However, if a 3500 lb car hits you at 25+ mph, I really don't think a helmet is going to be that important, you're pretty much dead. As long as cycling is considered a sporting event for helmeted, lycra wearing athletes riding fragile, superlight, skinny tired road bikes, it will never generate the numbers needed to push our bone headed politicians to provide safe, separated bicycle infrastructure that can be used for utility and transportation by normally dressed people at 8 to 10 mph on comfortable, upright, Dutch-styled bikes. If we can do so, we will greatly improve the quality of life by reducing petroleum usage and dependency, noise, pollution and congestion in our urban areas. The best way to kill any chance of this change is to introduce mandatory helmet laws.
I think it's a cultural thing. The Dutch are very blunt. They say what they mean and they don't beat around the bush. Sarcasm isn't used much in the Netherlands. So they don't pick up on it some times. Besides, it's hard to pick up on sarcasm in print anyway.
Kevin15047 I have no idea what you are talking about but sarcasm is one if the key ingredients of Dutch culture. We are blunt and straight to the point if we want to have a meaningfull conversation but when we insult eachother, sarcasm is the name of the game, sarcasm and dark humour is something most Dutch grow up with.
There is roadrage. Mostly from bikers towards people walking/parking their car on the bicylce lanes. If you go to the Netherlands, DO NOT walk on bicycle lanes unless there is no sidewalk
FYI,im a dutchie in Florida and about 99% of the Dutch speak English since its mandatory at our schools to learn 2 to 4 languages and for the road signs,there is in app that translates road signs....and once you have seen them a few times,you will know what they are for,many are the same as in the USA.
@@taerial879 an anarchistic swarm of eyeballing and subtile signaling. that's what a world would look like if bikes were the main transport, instead of cars being dominant. We could do with way less rules in trafic...
Wat een heerlijk filmpje met deze beelden en muziek! Als Nederlandse geniet ik hier ook van 🌷 Kunt u op dit kanaal ook een filmpje zetten/maken over kleuters met n loopfietsje, zijwieltjes en leren fietsen? Dat blijft ook zo leuk om te zien, vind ik. Dit kanaal geeft ons ook een mooi imago in het buitenland. Oók heel goed in deze tijd van corona, nepnieuws, politiek gezeur, terreur, vandalisme en tegenstellingen. 👍🙂
They sure are. Afaik most bike racks a specified for 20kg or so. I've never really had issue with heavy loads though. With the rack itself that is, you do want to keep track of how much air is in your backtire and the tention of your spokes. Realising that your front wheel will have less grip is smart as well. Though, being realistic, you weren't going to be able to cycle at more that like 10km/h with say a 60kg load/person on the back of your bike anyway.
Oh, it's definitely over the rated capacity for the baggage rack, but that's been the case for many years, mainly since the introduction of lightweight aluminium racks (which are typically rated 20kg - 25kg). But baggage racks are more generally starting to disappear, unfortunately: decorrespondent.nl/10511/red-de-bagagedrager/2915898490934-2f723cfe
Yes, a traffic light is a thing. Things are less that humans. We made the rule stop for traffic lights, but when there is no one to stop for. Don't be a fascist, and stop because it is the rule.
No, but not very smart either. In general it is much safer to watch the traffic instead of the traffic lights. Traffic lights are only a help to cross busy roads. In the Netherlands it is often said that cyclists are color-blind.
Holland Disco from the New Dutch Organ Group. Year: 1979. Source: Blogpost of this video, look at the 1950's photo in Groningen. Underneath that photo in the 2nd sentence you read the words 1979 disco hit. Click at these words and you'll hear this music... And there I found the answer.
I've watched hours of cycling videos in the Netherlands and Denmark and I've noticed that in heavy traffic, recumbent bikes and trikes are very hard to see and seem to me to be hazardous. They also can't see very well over massed bike traffic and pedestrians.
Most bikers in my country are practical bikers, those kind of bikes just aren't very practical for daily use, especially not in city like environments.
Both sad commentaries because if you can't ride in the Netherlands, where can you ride? I own two trikes, one more utilitarian than the other, but still manage to accomplish several errands with both. Have ridden well over 20 years without an incident with automobile or cyclist.
You can ride them in the Netherlands, few just do because like I said, they're just less practical. Doesn't mean they're completely unpractical or dangerous, but they'll always be less practical than normal bikes. And because bikes are used so much here, practicality counts above everything else. They're also not very social as far as transportation goes. I regularly bike somewhere with someone or with several people, bike next to someone. I can't see myself doing that with a recumbent bike. And trikes take up more space on the road, and parking them here in the city is not practical at all. Here they're mostly only used recreationally, some use them to commute to work in light traffic areas, I rarely see them. You also see few mountain bikes and race bikes and such in the city or being used for daily use, also for practicality reasons.
Several people have allready given great answers, but the "on a bike before i could walk" *is* actually true. Mothers keep cycling when they are pregnant. It is not unusual to see a pregnant mum with one child in front, a bigger child on the back seat & a load of groceries in the panniers. So, yes, i was on a bike before i could walk, in the front seat of my mums & dads bikes, i remember that last one, feeling so so safe! Fun video; ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-34FyWCutqvw.html#t=56
I roll my cigarettes while biking. Sometimes I rest my elbows on the handlebar while doing it, sometimes I sit upright not touching the handlebar at all. And as long as it is not too sharp a bend here and there is no problem. As is already said: we learn to ride at a young age, and what's learnt in the craddle, lasts till the tomb. One does develop a certain feel for balance when you ride to school and back home every single day throughout your schoolyears. And that lasts forever.
Accidents do still happen in the Netherlands too you know, even if it's relatively safe. It's mostly the infra that makes cycling in the Netherlands safe, not the drivers specifically, especially not when they're not on that infra.
I think most drivers here are also cyclists another part of the day: Maybe this one wasn't? They do exist but are rare species in the Netherlands. There are even bikes to cycle with a partly paralised person! To get fresh air and enjoy the ride. Curing for both the 'driver' and the 'passenger' 🌷
SputTop Maybe I have chronic health problems!! You simply don't know and more to the point it's none of your business. The great thing about crass unthinking comments is the picture it paints. Anyone reading will know EXACTLY what kind of complete and utter fuckwit you are. Be careful now brainless .... try not to fall off your bike and land in front of a truck !! Lol, you bellend.
In the Netherlands electric bikes are mostly owned by old people. Which is scary because they go crazy fast and their reaction time is slow. I'm sorry for assuming, but you reacted very attacked to my question
This is NOW and It's the real freedom of riding bikes everywhere that makes us happy ! Feel the wind in your hair, breathing in fresh air and not being locked inside a metal cage called 'automobile' , that's what takes us in the top 5 of the happiest people on the planet ! (and no, it's not the weed smoking, that mostly done by tourists!!)
Ride with loose hands (literal translation of the often used dutch phrase which isn't linguistically correct: "Met losse handen rijden"). The real dutch way of riding a bike is with a beer in one hand and a joint in the other, wearing wooden shoes and steering the bike using weight displacement. Most dutch women more often have a bike between their legs than a ... uhh well ... never mind.
In some states you can't ride without one. Its odd, we make no allowances for bike riders, no fancy bike paths and the such yet we insist on extreme safety measures but over there it is the opposite.
It's because helmet use has no significant effect on the overall safety of cycling. What matters is the infrastructure. The Netherlands is the safest place in the world to ride a bicycle even though no one wears helmets. Meanwhile most places where helmet use is widespread have appalling death rates for cycling.
***** I wonder if you wear a helmet to watch TV? You might do, if you were forced to sit in the middle of a busy road to do it. Or maybe you would stop watching TV. And there we go, why cycling is more popular in the Netherlands. In any decent health and safety hierarchy, personal protective equipment (ppe) is always the last desperate measure after you've exhausted all other options. eg the illustration here: www.cdc.gov/niosh/topics/hierarchy/
That is something the uploader should have left out. It happens but as far as I know it's forbidden and you get hefty fine or at least a severe warning for that when the police sees it. Children on the rack is allowed as long as they have a good support for their feet and (for younger children) their back. And they have to sit.
That's obviously not a good idea. They have their daredevils just like we do, but ours are usually on motorcycles or in cars, both of which are much more dangerous.
People here grow up on bikes, it's their second nature. Unfortunately, that doesn't make everybody responsible. I've done the standing on the rack thing though, as a kid, but with friends, not parents. It happens.
As a dutchman, that was always what i thought when i saw it. But looking at and thinking about it now it kinda makes sence to me as opposed to sitting on the back without a seat. There is no risk of getting your feet in the wheel and if the person riding the bike should fall you can jump of in stead of the bike falling on the inside of one of your legs, giving you no change to prevent falling on the ground
All those kids on bikes without helmets. In US, we're constantly hammered that not wearing a helmet is signing your death wish. Unfortunately, that would be true as we are expected to share the same boulevards as F-150s and Silverados going at 40+ MPH.
Don t believe so quick fairytales. Traffic in the Netherlands is also very busy and dangerous for bicycles. But if you compare us with for example Cairo than you are right, The paradise is here, the really hell is there.
Netherlands is the safest country in the world to cycle in when you look at cycling injuries and deaths per distance covered. And that when, compared to many other countries, basically nobody wears a helmet. And more vulnerable groups like children and elderlies don't even cycle as much like they do in the Netherlands. So it might be busy, dangerous it is not.
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