Yes, we really bike to school, work, grocery shopping etc.
[A reader told me the people of Denmark also do a lot of biking. I looked it up online, and they sure do. More about biking in Denmark. I'm not going to try and decide whether the Dutch or the Danish bike more - suffice to say that within Europe these are the two countries with most bike rides. It's probably not a coincidence that Denmark, like the Netherlands is very close to the ocean and has very few hills.]
Bike tracks ...
A Dutch girl on a bike
What does your bike need to survive the Netherlands?
Your bike absolutely needs the following - most of these will be standard fixtures on any Dutch Bike:- A bike lock, preferably two: one that locks the wheel to the frame. Another to lock your bike to something else - a tree, a lamppost or a fence for instance.
- a bike-bell. ask for a 'fietsbel' in your local bikeshop. This fixture is mandatory for Dutch bikes. (see the picture for an old-fashioned model)
- A headlight and a light in at the back of the bike. Again: mandatory (at night anyhow).
- Both wheels need to have side-reflection. Dutch bikes will have this as a matter of course
- Red reflector at the back of the bike
Bikes in storage - 'fietsenstalling' - on some busy location
Schools, train stations etc. have storage room like this
Bikes in jams - bike stals and bike flats
You have to look really well to see it - but this really is a picture of hundreds of bikes in one stall. and yes, that's a familiar scene on railway stations, near schools and on a smaller scale near shops.
Bicycling in the Netherlands
A normal way to travel
One reason why bikes work in Holland is that our country is so flat. What we call hills would hardly be recognized as such in most other countries.
Bikes are also very practical in our old, crowded cities. And we have a lot of those. But you will also find Dutch people riding their bike in the country-side during weekends. You will find bikes in villages. You will find bikes just about everywhere you go in The Netherlands.
Try crossing the street in Amsterdam - you won't be able to, if you don't pay attention to the bikes.
Men going home from the office - on bikes
Dutch bikes abroad
- Dutch bikes on Flickr - Photo Sharing!
- Dutch bikes. Dutch bikes by Kai Hendry. (img_0504.jpg). To take full advantage of Flickr, you should use a JavaScript-enabled browser and install the latest version of the Macromedia Flash Player. ...
- BikeSkirt » Blog Archive » Dutch Bike lust
- We have no Dutch bike shops in Alabama, and I am not sure we even have anywhere that sells Dutch bikes here. So I was really excited to get to see and ride these wonders on two wheels. I was not disappointed?at all. ...
- Dutch Bike Photos - Bike Hugger
- While at WorkCycles to pick up bikes for the Amsterdam stop of the Mobile Social Worldwide, @amsterdamized showed us his photos. This collection was recently included in a NYT feature, the NY 400 celebration, and he was hanging them on ...
Kids & their parents on bikes
Kids on bikes
The Netherlands - where is it?
Bikes on Trains
But you can also buy a ticket for your bike and go with your bike on the train. Sometimes there are several bikes in the train - but usually the landing where you can put them is quite empty.
Skirts and bikes
The answer is: yes, we do. It does take some skill though. When I'm in a skirt I will usually reserve one hand to keep it from blowing up. The other is enough to keep me going in the direction I want to.
Still, bikes could be one reason why Dutch women wear pants so much.
This woman is still wearing her high heals, her short skirt belonging to her work uniform - on her way home from work.
Nothing inappropriate about it :)
So you want to ride a Dutch Bike?
Fetching new data from eBay now... please stand by
Some Dutch woman on a bike
Bicycle tours in the Netherlands, Belgium and Germany
Bicycle Touring Holland: With Excursions Into Neighboring Belgium And Germany
Avg. Customer Rating: 
Amazon Price: $14.21 (as of 11/11/2009) 
Just an ordinary day in the country: bicycling to a country bar-restaurant and back...
Bikes and thieves
Personally I have a bike-bag for another reason: it decreases the chances of my bike being stolen.
Everybody in The Netherlands needs a bike. But for poor people like students the cost can be a problem. Also - students live lives in which bikes can very easily be stolen. You know: bikes out on the town on a Friday-night.
So what happens is: these bikes go through a cycle.
1) stolen
2) person no longer has bike, needs one, can't afford a good one
3) buys one off a thief
In order to prevent a bike from getting in this cycle it makes sense to 'disguise' it. Make it look less good than it actually is, for instance. Many students paint their brand-new bikes so that it will be less conspicuous when they're out on the town.
Also - it bears repeating - every bike needs a lock, or two
My grandmother on an adult tricycle
When I bike through Leiden with my grandmother, it's on this tricycle. As you can see, it doesn't fall over and we can sit side by side. You can imagine the look on people's faces when they see us. They're always amazed and we get a lot of comments from passers by too.
My grandmother loves riding the bike and it's usually my strength (or lack thereof) that limits the length of our ride. Unlike most people in her retirement home, for my grandmother age and infirmity are no reason to sit still...
I've put this picture here because it fits the topic of bikes in the Netherlands. However, this is a very uncommon bike. I don't think I'd ever seen one like this before I got to ride one with my grandmother.
Guestbook / Gastenbook
Anything I forgot? Ben ik iets vergeten te noemen?
Silver_Lotus wrote...
A lovely lens, and your grandma looks great!
I've had the pleasure of bike riding in the Netherlands - highly recommended that others try it if they have the chance.
Posted September 04, 2009
JaguarJulie wrote...
When we spent a day in Amsterdam on our return to the states, we got to see BIKES BIKES and more BIKES -- I've probably got a picture someplace -- what an awesome sight.
Posted July 21, 2009
spirituality wrote...
Brenda: as you might expect it depends on how far you live from the place where you work. People drive to work here enough that we have traffic jams, and many of them. But many people still bike to work or to the supermarket.
Posted April 07, 2009
Treasures-By-Brenda wrote...
I want to go biking in the Netherlands!
How far do you have to travel when you go about your daily business? If my husband had to bike to work, I'm not sure how long it would take to bike downtown. It takes 30 minutes on a bus!
I think this lens could be improved by a picture of Katinka biking in her skirt! Any chance that will happen?
Blessed by a squidangel :)
Brenda
Posted April 06, 2009
Ylliks wrote...
Being Dutch myself I can only subscribe to what's being said here: the Netherlands is a fun place to ride a bike!
Posted April 03, 2009
More of my lenses
My web design business (page needs to be updated, but where's the time?)-
Little known facts about The Netherlands
-
Learn about working women in The Netherlands, our royalty, or relationship with water, some history and a lot more. Like: isn't your country called 'Holland'? Well sort of, I'll explain below... Isn't half the country below sea l...
-
Katinka Hesselink - my other lenses
-
I'm a lensmaster, webdesigner an oldest child, an eternal student, a former teacher and single. Most of you know me here on Squidoo as lensmaster 'spirituality' - but I've also got a life outside my interests in spirituality (though perhaps that's n...
-
Korte Vlietpad - my favorite walk in Leiden
-
Giant squids were asked, as our final assignment of our summer school 2009, to make a lens about our favorite haunt this summer. Well, I've been living in my 'new' apartment for a year now, but it's only in the last few months that I've discovered t...
-
Leiden, university town in The Netherlands
-
Culture, shopping, poetry on the walls, European Dutch old town architecture, fairs and more. This lens shows you a bit of the history of Leiden, some pictures of the sights and a view into the local culture. Do take a look at the statistics so you k...
Thanks for all your support!
A big thank you to all of you who've supported my online work by:
- linking to any of my web projects
- voting on my lenses
- buying stuff from my lenses
- asking questions
- giving constructive feedback
- ... donating money :)
- and being generally supportive :) ;)
by spirituality
Explore related pages
Bianchi Road Bikes- Bianchi Bikes, where everything is homemade, from tests and experiments that tak...
Colnago Road Bikes- Count 2009 as another landmark year in the history of Colnago Bicycles. New high...
Fuji Road Bikes - Fuji bikes feature an array of engineering refinements - the result of years of...
Leiden, university town in The Netherlands- Culture, shopping, poetry on the walls, European Dutch old town architecture, fa...
Katinka Hesselink - my other lenses- I'm a lensmaster, webdesigner an oldest child, an eternal student, a former teac...
Little known facts about The Netherlands- Learn about working women in The Netherlands, our royalty, or relationship with...
