Hi all, it’s been a while (except for you who follow me on Twitter), things have been silent on here while I was working on the new Amsterdamize platform, getting it all ready for 2012, for a new adventure. As things go, that will take a wee bit more time. So bear with me :).

I also have to put it on hold because I’m in the middle of packing, as I’ll be heading for Melbourne on Sunday and it won’t surprise you when I say I’m really looking forward to it. 2011 granted me plenty of exciting endeavors, taking me to New York, Copenhagen, Reykjavik and on a few continental trips.

The (Un)5Boro Crew, New York

Copenhagen Posse

Iconic Iceland

Brussels Suits

Dutch Cycling Embassy launch, Brussels

Bike buddies, Brussels

But Australia is the icing on the cake. It will be the first time in my life. It had to happen at some point, as my older brother has been living there for years now.

It will be a 30 hour journey with a few layovers. First London, but time won’t allow me to go search for Little Britain on wheels.

Not to worry, I sense I will in the foreseeable future.

Then Singapore. Again, the window of opportunity is too small to be able to explore.

Touchdown in Melbourne. From the airport I’ll be transported directly to the mountains a few hours from the city, where I’ll spend a relaxing week with my family & experience New Year’s Eve in the wilderness. Right after that the second leg kicks off: returning to Melbourne, meeting up and riding with my bike friends in Melbourne and elsewhere.

Also, on Jan 4th at 5:05pm local Melbourne time I’ll be on Radio New Zealand, the national public service radio station. I’ll be interviewed about Dutch bike culture in general & New Zealands’ efforts. From the preparations for it, I can tell you this could be interesting. So if you have time, do tune in (on the website) and let me know what you think.

I leave behind a wet, windy & dark Amsterdam, diving right into a pool of summer fun. I know what you’re thinking: “There’s a helmet law there! Waddaya gonna do?” Maybe this outfit would be a tad too warm & inconvenient to pull off, but I like the idea. I’m sure I can think of something to circumvent the issue…

So, I hope y’all have a wonderful xmas, a NYE blast and I also hope to see you back here in 2012. BikePLANET-wise, it’s only just begun.

This evening I bumped into this magnificent video, ‘Earth | Time Lapse View from Space, Fly Over | NASA, ISS‘:

Time lapse sequences of photographs taken by the crew of expeditions 28 & 29 onboard the International Space Station from August to October, 2011, who to my knowledge shot these pictures at an altitude of around 350 km.

Meanwhile on the surface: sometimes I feel like I’m hovering in this urban space of ours, zooming in on the little things that we, more often than not, pass by on a regular basis, without noticing.

Like this scene: a mom trying to put her gloves on with her teeth, while riding home with her child.

She figured she could manage the last stretch by rubbing her hand over her upper leg.

She couldn’t, so she finished the job the way she started.

Life’s little observations. Precious.

In September BikeSnobNYC wrote about his family trip to this ol’ continent, cycling around Amsterdam on Henry Cutler’s Workcycles bakfiets & observing London’s day-glow extravaganza on top of a Boris Bike. Go on, read that first, it’s a good laugh.

In his post he succinctly & humorously describes the differences between his own American/NYC bicycle culture and that of ours (and the UK/London’s accordingly). It neatly amplifies and supports the ‘cultural’ context I elaborated on in my previous post ‘Bicycle Cultures Are Man-Made‘:

WARNING: Do not attempt international travel. Leaving the United States may provoke thought and result in reflection, dissatisfaction with the quality of your social services, and acute Arby’s withdrawal. The US Department of State shall not be held responsible for your imprisonment or death at the hands of a godless socialist foreign power. If you must visit another country, be sure to wear latex gloves at all times to avoid foreign currency-borne illness. Have a great trip!

“With that out of the way, I spent the bulk of my time in two (2) non-American cities, one of which was Amsterdam. When one thinks of Amsterdam, one thinks of the heady aroma of “Wednesday weed” wafting out of the coffee shops, the even headier aroma of human genitalia wafting out of the red light district, and of course the notorious feral cats that have taken to the canals over the centuries and evolved into strange flesh-eating otter-like creatures that have been known to bite off at the wrist the hands of unsuspecting tourists. But let’s leave all that aside for the moment and look at that other hallmark of “the big A,” which is bikes.”

“Simply put, in Amsterdam people ride bikes to go places. More than this, though, they ride bikes to go places without making any sort of fuss about it.”

“…and to say that riding around a city where cycling is a completely normal mode of transportation is to understate how pleasant it is to be someplace where you can simply get on a bike with your family without giving a shit.”

“Ironically, while I was in Amsterdam a bit of a kerfuffle arose on Bikeportland about how Fred Armisen of “Portlandia” is too much of a “woosie” to ride in the most cycling-friendly city in America. In particular, he’s afraid of the streetcar tracks:

“Armisen is young and healthy. If he’s too afraid to bike in the Pearl, what does that say about our city?”

“To me it says that the city of Portland should remove an entire mode of public transportation to make it easier for someone who probably hasn’t been on a bicycle since he was 9 to move there and ridicule them. I wonder if anything will ever be enough for the people of Portland–who, were they to be liberated from their hated streetcar tracks, would probably find some other cycling injustice to rail against, such as the high cost of Stumptown coffee or an overabundance of low-hanging tree branches. It seems to me that focussing on streetcar tracks as an obstacle to cycling is like saying the problem with living in Antarctica is that there aren’t enough Whole Foods. Anyway, Amsterdam is completely covered in tram tracks and it doesn’t seem to pose much of a problem.”

BikeSnobNYC…I mean Eben Weiss, has inadvertently entertained us with the notion how perception creates a certain reality. Many people with an equal interest for history and culture, aka the framework that entails describing and dissecting bike ‘cultures’, would agree with me when I say that it stems from a unprecedented decline in everyday cycling, fading from the public consciousness, shoved aside by prosperity, suburbanization and motorized transport, leaving one single vertical market for the sport cycling industry and ample growth of a zealous Health & Safety complex in a hostile urban traffic environment.

However, at the same time his post bridges that cultural gap, one step of many, taking us back to that place, to the perception that so many people around the world have forgotten about: cycling is a perfectly normal activity. Thus creating a ‘new’ paradigm for ‘perception creates reality’. Oh, the irony :).

I know I’m working on it and, naturally, in an unfazed and nonplussed kinda way, I’m very pleased to see that many more are and that it’s gaining ground & momentum around the world.

‘3 + 1′

‘Errands’ & ‘Out Of The Wind’

‘A To B’

‘That’ll Do’ & ‘Grace’

‘Unfazed’

‘Solitude’ & ‘Urban Fabric’

‘Someone Needs To Pedal’

‘Top Of The World’

‘Run, Darling, Run’, ‘Hop’ & ‘Anticipation‘

‘Lining Up’ & ‘Shuffle’

‘In One Go’

The European Cyclists Federation launched their new website earlier this month and for this occasion I did a guest post, which of course also belongs on Amsterdamize. Here it goes (with a few [add-ons]):

I was asked by the ECF to tell you a little bit more about Dutch bicycle ʻcultureʼ and Amsterdam in particular. And it starts right there: I use quotation marks for ʻcultureʼ, because thereʼs a big difference in how the Dutch understand this word and how itʼs defined and used abroad. To have understanding about the differences and commonalities there needs to be context, and this is an important context to start off with.

Outside the Netherlands (particularly in the English-speaking world) ʻbicycle cultureʼ is generally defined by its minority status: within the whole transportation & lifestyle spectrum, urban cycling forms very much a ʻsub-cultureʼ, eager to become mainstream. Either marginalized by society or just not overly prioritized on a policy level, there everyday cycling is far cry from ʻcycling is for everyoneʼ.

Cycling is so much part of everyday life in the Netherlands that not many Dutch people give it a second thought, let alone recognize the ʻcultureʼ part of it. Itʼs that normal. As normal as water from the tap. Itʼs just there and we use it. And yes, the Dutch take it for granted. Which can be tricky with regards to advocacy, but on a whole itʼs a very positive thing.

Following the popular discourse: Amsterdam is unlike any other city. In the same way any other city is not Amsterdam, but unique in itself. The same applies to the whole country. Allow me to explain.

Amsterdam has the reputation of being the Bicycle Capital of the World. Rightly so. In the world of everyday cycling there is no other place like it. Yes, Copenhagen is up there as well, but weʼll let wonks and data miners worry about the numbers. Whatʼs more telling is that the Netherlands on a whole have hundreds of ʻCopenhagensʼ. Cycling in the Netherlands is ubiquitous.

A population of just 16.7 million souls, owning close to 20 million bicycles. Virtually every Dutch person cycles, to a greater or lesser extent, be they young or old, rich or poor.

A few samples: 27% of all movements in the Netherlands are by bicycle. 80% of all Dutch cycle at least once a week. The average age for a child to cycle to school (or otherwise) independently is 8 years (which has the Dutch worried, as that used to be 6 years). On average, the Dutch make 14 million cycle trips a day, each covering 3,5 km on average. Per year, the Dutch travel well over 200 billion km by bike and the average distance pedaled per person is still rising. During rush hour, there are more people going from a to b (for all purposes) by bicycle than by car. Since 2007 the number of bike trips in Amsterdam is greater than the number of car trips. Amsterdam has a bike modal share of over 50% 60% in the downtown area, 38% in the greater city. The city of Groningen (the actual Cycle Capital of the Netherlands) has a modal split of over 60%. 40% of Dutch train commuters get to the station by bicycle. Train stations have a total of 200.000 bike parking racks. This is far from enough, as current and rising demand (over 10% each year) actually require a minimum of 400.000 racks.

Contrast these few samples with other places and most people will conclude (and actually have) they are unimaginable, ʻout of this worldʼ and, I hear and read this a lot: it would be unattainable, impossible to replicate. Hereʼs the kicker: nothing could be farther from the truth.

There are a few very persistent myths circling the globe about cycling in Amsterdam, and the Netherlands in general:

- the Dutch have, for some undefined reason, always cycled. Also known as: ʻcycling is in their blood/DNA’;
- the Dutch cycle so much because the city/country is flat as a pancake;
- itʼs a small country, everything is close by;
- the Netherlands have a moderate climate;
- car drivers are all well-behaved.

I could go on. Of course itʼs a very well-established human condition: the need to find excuses why some (the minority) do or have something the others (the majority) donʼt. Itʼs persuasive and powerful, persistent to a degree that it doesnʼt just dominate the general public discourse, many bicycle advocates and organizations abroad often donʼt allow themselves to look beyond these myths. This of course stems from being unfamiliar with the essence of Dutch bicycle policies, the many differences in social attitudes towards everyday cycling and the reluctance to divert from familiar paths, while feeling trapped within the status quo of car-centric policies and spending, resulting in bicycle-unfriendly infrastructure (to put it mildly).

By the logic of the aforementioned myths, we actually wouldnʼt be talking about the ʻuniquenessʼ of Dutch ʻbicycle cultureʼ, we would instead have seen hundreds, if not thousands of Amsterdams and Groningens emerge around the world by now. But we havenʼt. Instead, we often hear ʻBut this is not Amsterdamʼ.

When the majority of people feels itʼs unsafe to cycle, they wonʼt. Only the brave will. [The Dutch experienced that from WW2 to well into the 1970's]

As proprietor of the website Amsterdamize and acting as a Bicycle Ambassador on the global stage with the emerging interest for cycling, I try to show the essence of cycling in the Netherlands by recording this urban cycle life as it reveals itself to me on a daily basis [,relate that to existing and new policies & putting it in context of cycling in the rest of the world]. Nothing more, nothing less. I attempted to do the same when I wrote and produced the promotional film for the Dutch Cycling Embassy putting the Dutch success in a much-needed historical context.

Yes, the Dutch have been in that place where many cities and countries find themselves now. At the expense of too many lives lost and a degrading quality of urban life, they came to terms with outdated and one-sided urban/road design, citizens rose up and decided a different way was needed, putting people and livable cities first. Through trial and error, sustained efforts and a long-term vision the Dutch managed to reverse a downward trend and put bicycles back on the map & make them a viable part of our lives again. Fast, convenient, comfortable and safe.

My point: each city has its own particular history regarding design, architecture and social contract, but in essence humans behave the same way the world over. When you facilitate a particular mode of transportation and make it safe and convenient, people will use it. This was the case for automobiles and this is certainly the case for bicycles.

The bottom line: there are more similarities than differences between the Netherlands and the rest of the world when it comes to everyday cycling. Thereʼs more than meets the eye, too, you just have to have an open mind.

Bicycle cultures are man-made. Itʼs a choice. Cycling should be for everyone, not just the brave and few.

Going around Amsterdam it’s not particularly hard to capture people on bikes. They are everywhere. They take it very much for granted (a point I’ve often made, but meant as a positive one, what I call ‘the endpoint of building a bicycle ‘culture’, its nirvana) and I often have to take my time explaining my efforts to my fellow (and often puzzled) Dutchies when the subject comes up.

‘Time’ is the operative word here. If you take your time a little bit in Amsterdam, stop to smell the roses, if you will, you can witness all kinds of everyday, yet very entertaining scenes. The devil is in the details. Case in point: after crossing a junction to make good use of the beautiful fall light, I parked my bike and as soon as I looked up I hit the jackpot.

A woman, nicely dressed for a chilly but warm enough autumn Saturday, her broken left arm in a sling, stopping at the light. It was clear she had been doing her shopping rounds around town, accompanied by her Jack Russell. ‘Jack’ was clearly loved and pretty excited as she rolled to a stop, leaning on the edge of the front crate. She laughed at him and said: “Easy, boy, be patient. Yeah, be patient!” The best guess then is that Jack just likes to move. Quick observers of this scene would just think he wanted to get out or that he’d be very close to leaping out. Not the case. He just wanted her to get going already.

The streetcar..I mean the tram beside her was already accelerating, so she double-checked for green and off they went again.

Time was the operative word. It all transpired in less than 30 seconds. The best 30 seconds of the day.

Update: Xander of Toronto Cycle Style quoted it eloquently on Flickr:

Stop dog stop the light is red
go dog go it’s green ahead.

Dr. Suess

Meet Reuben. A young professional, climbing the ladder of the film industry. I met him after he was referred to me, hiring him to help us out with the ‘Cycling For Everyone‘ production.

For this shoot I had lend him my OV-Fiets card (transit bike share scheme). There was not enough room left in the production van, so he had to travel by train. This weekend he came by to return it.

We talked about how well the film had been received by the embassy’s target audience, which he was pleased to hear, of course.

This was also a good opportunity to take a closer look at his bike. A Batavus. As you can see, not of the transport-type that people usually associate this well-known Dutch brand with. Bottom line, the Dutch bicycle industry has a rich history when it comes to road bikes and Batavus was and still is no stranger to it.

His Champion is a beauty. Nice proportions, quality steel & it sure looks nice in white. It’s from the early 80’s. Reuben was able to buy it via the Dutch equivalent of eBay for practically nothing.

I told him about my plans to get into track racing on the Velodrome in Amsterdam, which includes getting a similar bike for the fun of it, getting me to the track & facilitating other enjoyable moments.

Yes, you read that right. There’s more to Dutch cycling than meets the eye :).

Yesterday my buddy & part-time co-author Álvaro and I met up at the Workcycles Octoberfietsfeest party (now I actually said ‘party’ twice in a row, but ok). He had just returned from Glasgow and he handed me a gift: the KLM in-flight magazine ‘Holland Herald’ (as a purist I have to mention that ‘Holland’ doesn’t exist, but history and habits are often cruel that way).

Anyhow, the incentive for him to bring me that piece of Dutch promotion became crystal clear once he showed the front cover, titled ‘The Dutch Issue’:

“Our cover this month is by renowned Dutch illustrator Piet Paris [my link insert]. The image refers to Dutch artist Piet Mondrian’s blocks of colour, the national love of bicycles [isn't it 'love for bicycles'?] and the nation’s relationship with the sea. His book Piet Paris: Fashion Illustrations is out now [another correction in this line].”

But let me not harp on about the sloppy editing. What an illustration. Timeless, refined, iconic, gorgeous. I wish it was mine. The least I could do was share it with you lot.

I quickly flipped through the magazine (still at the party) and Ronald Onderwater, creator of the infamous Onderwater family tandem tridemtandem bike (see photo below), was equally interested.

And lo and behold, 2 pages later, we were reading the special about the Wadden Islands up north, called ‘Isles of Plenty‘. A big part of that ‘plenty’: bicycles, of course. Bike tourists, locals and…families getting around on rental bikes…tandem tridemtandem rental bikes…right, Ronald’s bikes. Most of these islands are car-free or have tight restrictions and bikes are the main mode of transportation.

At home I went through Piet Paris’ portfolio some more and found one other bike illustration by his hand. Classy stuff.

Art imitating life.

I had first coined it The Bicycle Video Of The Century, but that was just my enthusiasm running wild. It doesn’t matter. What it is: it’s a gift from my best friend & creative genius Gabemac, a gift to me and all of you who follow and support Amsterdamize.

Gabemac traveled to Burning Man and he came back with so much more than this video. Actually, he said: “Dude, this video doesn’t really tell the whole story of Burning Man, it represents maybe 1% of what I experienced there. At some point I just had to put the camera away, it didn’t do it justice.”

I believe him. But this 1% sure as hell gives a fine impression of what the 99% entails. Enjoy!

I’m so going to Burning Man in 2012 and I’m bringing my bike.

Warning: this is going to be a long post. Why? Because this subject deserves all the space it needs. It deals with our neighbors just across the channel, a short distance away but light years apart when it comes to cycling. Which in itself is odd enough.

A week ago I was approached by Matthew Wright, contributor for the Guardian Bike Blog:

Dear Marc,

Hello, I am a journalist from London. I have enjoyed your site and have enjoyed cycling in the Netherlands many times.

I am writing an article for the cycling column (The Bike Blog) in the British newspaper The Guardian about the differences in cycling culture between Britain and the Netherlands, and I would be very grateful for your brief thoughts about the topic.

Most British cyclists think the Netherlands is heaven. I understand why. There’s no doubt that, overall, the facilities in the Netherlands are much better. But I think cycling in the Netherlands is also much more tightly controlled in a way British cyclists would find difficult to accept. I am going to suggest that if British cyclists want cycling to be taken seriously in the way it is in the Netherlands, they will have to accept more rules controlling their cycling.

While cycling in The Netherlands, I have been stopped by police twice, for not using the cycle path. This would never happen in Britain. Police very rarely stop cyclists even when they ride through red traffic lights or on the pavement. Rules about taking bikes on trains are also much stricter in the Netherlands: you have to buy a ticket, and can only take the bike at certain times. In Britain it is free to take a bike on the train, and though there are rules, no one takes any notice of them. As long as the bike will fit, you can usually take it.

I would be very grateful if you could send me a sentence or two of your opinion about the differences between attitudes to cycling in Britain and the Netherlands. These are the kinds of questions I will be asking in my article: if you have any other thoughts on the topic, please add them:

- Are there more rules for cyclists in the Netherlands?
- Do you think Dutch Police enforce the traffic law more strictly than British Police?
- Are Dutch cyclists more responsible than British cyclists?
- Do you think we can create a Dutch cycling culture in Britain without accepting more regulation and law enforcement?

If I can quote it in my article, I will give a link to your blog in my article. The Guardian website is the second most popular in UK, and many thousands of people read the Bike Blog.

Thank you very much
Matthew Wright

Of course I was thrilled to do so, but quickly concluded I couldn’t possibly sum this up in two sentences, so I decided to send him a couple more, then for him to decide on and pick from, hoping for the best:

The biggest difference between cycling in the UK and the Netherlands is that the Dutch take everyday cycling seriously and are provided the means to do so, for any type of user, often more so than for car drivers. An average Dutch person would not understand the fear of ‘losing the right to the road’ when the bike infrastructure is so much better, more convenient, comfortable, more direct and safer than riding in car traffic. Segregation is just one (important) part of bicycle policies in the Netherlands, complemented with integral spatial planning, traffic-calming, bike facilities & effective traffic laws that protect people on bikes (and foot).

Cycling in the UK is still largely unsafe, as (also) its (recent) bike infrastructure is well below-par, inconsistent and hardly inviting to the general public. Thus, when you sell bad infrastructure to the public that even ‘avid cyclists’ wouldn’t want to use, you’ve generated a negative sentiment that’s hard to spin your way out of, no matter the millions of pounds you spend on marketing that message. You can’t ‘encourage’ anyone to cycle when you give them a knife to a gun fight. It’s that simple.

The Dutch in the 70’s were where the UK is now, the similarities are striking. It’s safe to say that the UK can still turn things around, if people think it’s worth fighting for, building public and political support. With so many cyclists dying on the streets, you’d think it would be. The Dutch did and turned things around, massively. It can be done.

Matthew, I underlined ‘Dutch take everyday cycling seriously’. Could you link this to www.dutchcycling.nl, which has the Dutch Cycling Embassy promo video that I produced?

Also, ‘the similarities are striking’ would link to this post on David Hembrow’s blog, putting the above in further historical context, re: NL-UK-US.

He answered:

Your comments, and the links, are great. I will certainly link to you. Just what I need to give the Dutch point of view. We have a long fight on our hands here!

Great, it looked like the Dutch approach would finally be taken seriously in British mainstream media.

This morning he posted his article: ‘There’s more to ‘going Dutch’ than having a separate cycling lane – It has taken the Netherlands 25 years to build up its culture of respect among its road users, and the law plays a big part too‘

I read it twice to make sure I read it right. So I decided to send Matthew a followup e-mail. From here on I’ll be sharing virtually the exact exchanges we had. I do so, because I feel they are representative of the article, they were professional and we stuck to the subject at hand. I’ll let you decide whether these exchanges bring more clarity to the Bike Blog post.

My response:

Hi Matthew,

I’ve just read your piece, I like it, the premise and overall line is very good, but there’s one part, which I think is *very* important for your readers to understand the narrative around ‘Dutch bike infrastructure’, where things (Dutch perspective) get blown out of context:

1) “The safety of having separate lanes has often been questioned. Though there are many variables, and conclusions are contested, most studies suggest that separate paths, if anything, make cycling more dangerous, because junctions – where most accidents occur – are more complicated.

2) “In Germany, the law governing urban cycle path creation was recently changed. The ADFC (CTC equivalent) said: “Behind this change is a recognition, through research into road accidents, that physically separate cycle paths make the chance of an accident higher for cyclists than following the road.”

Re: 1) “The safety of having separate lanes has often been questioned.” > You need to make clear by whom. Questioning safety is good, but what are we talking about? ‘Having separated lanes’ in UK (as it stands now) is much different, obviously. Also, what *kind*? British? Dutch? Certainly not Dutch design. Any study on Dutch road design for bikes will show you that safety for people on bikes is very much enhanced. Overall: NL has the highest cycle rate in the world, yet the lowest casualty rate. There’s a reason for that.

Thus, the suggestion that separated paths are more dangerous because of junctions has nothing to do with the Dutch situation. Junctions in the Netherlands have proper bike-integral design, dedicated & prioritized, and are perfectly safe. (as you must have experienced it yourself…)
This paragraph doesn’t make it clear to the reader at all that there’s a distinction between the current state of junction design in the UK and NL.
That part being at least very blurry, you then link to Cyclecraft. That’s all fine but there lies part of the problem. John Franklin (who has built a vehicular cycling survival technique, but has been selling it as a cycling strategy for decades) has been anti-Dutch (paths) for decades (his influence on CTC policies has been enormous). So by using that Cyclecraft reference to back up your argument (which is very generally worded) you give that (flawed) piece of information the authority it doesn’t deserve, at all.

Plus: can you tell me what ‘most studies’ are?

Re: 2) So from the first paragraph you jump to Germany to support your earlier claim. The German situation is better than the UK, but far worse than in the NL. I know that story well. The ADFC have basically given up on building proper(!) bike infrastructure and lacked the imagination to move forward. Germany’s bike infra is of much lower quality and often lacking: not convenient, many conflicts with other modes & inconsistent in its connectivity. In short: junction design for bikes in Germany is a little better than UK, but doesn’t come near any situation in the Netherlands.

Bad design usually does make things more dangerous. But in those two paragraphs, you’ve connected Dutch bike infrastructure with the notion that separate infrastructure is dangerous, using examples that have nothing to do with Dutch road design. One is a very shaky piece from John Franklin, who hasn’t even set foot on one single path in NL, the other example is from a different country where its cycling federation has given up trying and uses a flawed design’s implications as argument against separated infrastructure.

I hope you take this to heart and consider some changes to your article.

Matthew:

Thank you for responding so quickly. I was about to send you the link, but you got to me first!

I would love to go into all of these things in more detail, but i have 800 words in which to present a complex topic: there will always be more to say. I have given many links to other sites, presenting a range of views, which readers can follow up for themselves. I think it’s a good think British cyclists appreciate the range of Dutch strategies (traffic law, speed limits etc), and don’t just assume lanes on their own are the answer.

You may be right about the ADFC’s lack of imagination, but they did tell me, last week, that they believe the evidence does not support separate paths. They haven’t told me which studies, but they are a reputable organisation, and I’m sure they have some. I think that’s important evidence for the readers to have. I also think the geography of the UK calls for a slightly different solution. London is a lot bigger than even Rotterdam, and the main roads are very unpleasant, even if there is a cycle lane. But there is loads of space through residential areas to cycle, in a way there perhaps isn’t in smaller cities. So the approach needs to be different.

I think the LCC campaign has focused on a very narrow range of the Dutch approach, and I am only trying to give a broader perspective. Personally, I believe the main reasons it’s safer to cycle in NL is that most drivers cycle, and are more careful, knowing that the presumption of the law will be against them in an accident. The speed limit is also lower in most urban areas.

Please log into the Guardian site and post these comments under the article. They won’t change the article now.

Me:

I understand the constraints, but I think my points about the 2 paragraphs have a lot of merit. When you reference information that should in essence back up your claim/assumption, it at least needs to be solid. What needs to prevail is the context. You have to agree that an average reader will not make out the much needed distinction that *should* have been pointed out; ‘Dutch separated bike infrastructure’ is MUCH different and of very much higher quality than anything in Germany or UK. If we want to present the British public with means to debate & understand the implications, this should be emphasized. The issue of dangerous junctions is very important in London and elsewhere, but the framing of those 2 paragraphs doesn’t really help the conversation, it only perpetuates the misunderstanding about sufficient bike infrastructure & pushes towards this notion that you should *by definition* question them…while Dutch bike infrastructure is a proven concept! I hope you understand this.

“I think that’s important evidence for the readers to have.” As I said: if you have insufficient bike infrastructure & you do research on them without recognizing available successful design in terms of safety, then of course you’re likely to come up with conclusions along those lines, it’s more a confirmation of the status quo than a real comparative study. I’ve been following ADFC for quite some time and I can provide you with information that backs up my assertions. (When I’d call the reputable CTC and ask them something similar, they’d also say ‘we believe the evidence shows our Hierarchy of Provision is solid.)

Geography is an often used argument, even to the point that CTC members told me that London is special because it’s much denser and has narrower streets (the ‘no space for bike paths‘ argument) than the center Amsterdam or in the heart of other Dutch towns. First, density has no direct correlation with cycle rates. Second, if there’s any country with dense cities/towns & narrow streets (while facilitating many modes of transport), it’s the Netherlands. It’s not about lack of space, it’s about lack of will to set priorities for that space.
Let’s also be clear that there’s a big difference between a cycle ‘lane’ (on-road) and a cycle ‘path’.

I’ve also criticized LCC for muddying the water on the Dutch approach, and they contacted me to ask to host them on their study tour in NL last week, but for some reason they (Mike) had a problem calling me.

Think of this, Matthew: why do you think it’s not cars vs bikes in NL? There are just people. Many people have cars (same as in UK) and the very same people also have bikes. Many of them also use public transportation. Hence, what turned things around from the 70’s (a time where we’d gotten to the point that virtually all road space was allocated to cars and space (that was left from before/after WW2) was taken away from people on bikes), was the notion that you need to curtail the use of cars (through carrot-and-stick policies) and make others modes pleasant, convenient, comfortable and safe ‘alternatives’. So you’ll have people who commute to work by car, but pop into town for shopping on their bikes. You’ll have people who commute to work or school (or shops etc) by bike, but use their car only for longer distances or in case of moving certain cargo etc. You’ll have people who commute to work or school by train, but they get to the train station by bike (very popular, you may have heard of the ever present lack of bike parking & the consequent continually renewed investments in efficient bike parking at train stations). I could go on.

The point: we would not be having this conversation had it not been for putting in and building all this infrastructure, these wide-ranging policies, facilities, legislation, education, etc, aka leveling the playing field. We’d be where UK is now, tinkering around the edges and stopping short of demanding to be taken seriously. (The Blackfriars debacle is a good example of the disconnect between the people who are supposed to provide for safe road environment and the reality on the ground. With TfL’s mindset, it’s no wonder they’re being sued for manslaughter.)

In NL it’s been made possible for everyone, anytime, any means. I understand where you’re coming from, but you’re putting the horse behind the carriage. The main reason why it’s safer to cycle is because people are given the opportunity in a proper way by facilitating their presence on the streets and roads, giving them at least equal infrastructure or prioritizing them in case the road environment requires this.

Regarding Strict Liability: in the Netherlands that went into effect *after* mass cycling was established, as an extra layer on top, *because* cycling had become such an integral part of the transportation system.

I’m not saying you shouldn’t want it now, but on the whole it won’t work independently of the aspects I mentioned above.

I will certainly add some of the things I mentioned in the comment section.

Matthew:

I’m not sure our points of view are so different, really. I’d love London to have the facilities of NL, but it doesn’t, and if we want to make it safer and more efficient, as quickly as possible, then we need to design ways that can happen as soon as possible. With some intelligent closure of streets, use of parks etc, and effective sign-posting, it would be possible to get anywhere in London without riding on busy roads. It just requires some joined-up thinking. In smaller towns, where the only road is the main road, then a separate lane is necessary, but in London, it isn’t.

Many smaller towns I’ve cycle through in NL don’t have separate lanes, just quiet streets, along the lines of the Woonerf, a great Dutch idea. Much of residential London could be like that, with a bit of careful planning. I believe it would be faster and more effective than waiting for a full network of separate lanes in London.

I asked the Dutch Cycling Embassy specifically whether cycle lanes are in themselves safer, and they just told me they create the ‘perception’ of safety. That’s great as a way of encouraging new cyclists, but not very sensible as basis for a whole policy across a huge city. How can you be so sure that it is specifically the lanes which makes NL safe to cycle in, and not the speed limit & strict enforcement of it, liability, driver awareness, etc?

My point about geography is that there is more space in the backstreets, parks etc of London than in smaller cities like Amsterdam. You really can get anywhere in London without using a main road, but at the moment it takes more time and care to plan than people have to put in. If it was properly signed, I believe it would work very well.

I completely agree that the playing field needs to be levelled, but I think building separate lanes is only a part of the solution, and in London, quite a small part.

Me:

Let’s agree to disagree. Nobody expects London or UK to be able to implement Dutch-like infra overnight. It takes a good long-term plan, sticking to it and connecting the dots. London and the UK have been dealing with just awful design guides and urban planning and to say that because of a time-frame you’re forced to continue to tinker around the edges, is basically a fallacy. What would you rather invest in: more of the same that really won’t get you to higher cycling rates and thus waste these efforts and money or invest in something solid that will actually provide that? Short-term thinking or a vision for better?

They are not ‘just quiet streets’. You have streets (purposefully traffic-calmed for cars) and roads where cars are restrained. This is designed that way. Rerouting through traffic and prioritizing people on bikes. Same is done in historic center of Amsterdam, where the streets along the canal are a hazard to drive through. People on bikes share the road with cars, but not the way you would see ’sharing the road’. Cars are basically guests and people on bikes are prioritized. At the same time, that car traffic is stuck with one-way streets, rerouted, with routes far less direct than where bikes can go. Despite the historic character of these streets, that was done by design, because this was not the case up until the late 70’s.

The Woonerf concept is often mistaken for something else in the UK. Woonerf is not about calming main traffic, but calming residential neighborhoods by making streets smaller/tighter, making through-traffic impossible (dead-ends) and slowing cars (that have a reason to be there) down to a walking pace.

I’m very closely associated with the Dutch Cycling Embassy and I know their stance on these things and I’m 100% sure they didn’t mean that it enhances JUST the perception of safety. Either something got lost in translation or you picked up on just that, because Dutch bike paths and lanes have proven to improve both subjective AND objective (real) safety. I know all the people at DCE so I can verify if you’d like.

That and specific spatial planning, traffic-calming, liability, prioritizing of bikes in general etc, makes the whole package.

I hear ya now, currently you’d do better avoiding the main roads, but like car drivers, others want to go the desired short routes (read: all want that ‘convenience’) as well.

Putting so much focus on just separate lanes trying to come up with solutions for London, makes it actually all sound like a cherry-picked argument against the Dutch approach.

Matthew:

If I’d had 2000 words instead of 800, I’d have said more about Woonerf. With some political will, that system could be implemented in most of residential London within a year. It would make a huge difference for kids cycling to school, people going to local shops etc. It’s not a short-term plan, it’s just more practical for the majority of London, which consists of quiet, residential streets where, with a 30kph speed limit, there would be no need of a separate lane.

It’s LCC which turned the Dutch approach into a slogan about cycle lanes. I am trying to show that it’s much more broadly based and needs to change attitudes, traffic law, signage, planning etc etc. I’m not against the Dutch approach at all, but it needs to be adapted to the environment of London, and considered in its totality, which is what – in a short space – I have tried to do.

The first email I had from Tom [***] talked about the ‘perception’ of safety, so I asked him specifically about the safety of the lanes, and he didn’t reply. I’d happily have included a thorough study confirming objective safety benefits of paths but no one was able to provide one.

Me:

I’m sorry, but you misunderstand the Woonerf concept, it is really not that broad that it enables kids to cycling to school or going to the shops, it’s *purely* a concise residential measure, not for through traffic implementation. Like I said: woonerf entails walking-speed for car drivers (who have a purpose for being there, not to get someplace else)

I’m of the opinion that when you want to lay that out in the article, you can’t, on one side, cherry-pick half-checked/corroborated information from other countries/cities that lack the quality of the Dutch approach, not mention that distinction, spreading doubt about the safety of this infrastructure and THEN make it out like you’re talking about the same thing, when you’re clearly not.
And to point out that ‘it needs to be adapted to the environment of London and consider in its totality’ is a bit rich, as you don’t apply that reasoning in the former, making it sound like London or the UK is somehow ‘exceptional’.

The fact that Tom didn’t reply to that specific question doesn’t mean that the Dutch Cycling Embassy is of the opinion that bike paths *only* have a placebo function/effect. You really don’t get to Dutch cycling rates with infrastructure that only *looks* safe. That’s why these rates are still growing and the casualty rates are still falling.

I have some basic information for you to generally back up the claim that bike paths are objectively safe:

NL:
- highest cycle rates in the world
- lowest casualty rates in the world
- nr of children killed on Dutch streets in 1973: almost 400
- nr of children killed on Dutch streets in 2010: 14

I still hope you’ll reconsider making some changes.

Best, Marc

I think the article is well-meant, but muddied and very flawed in its execution, both from a technically journalistic viewpoint and with regards to what’s what in ‘Going Dutch’. What does it really want to say? Go Dutch & you’ll have to worry about losing your right to the road? Go Dutch, but you can’t be sure it will work? Go Dutch, and you’ll feel the burden of more responsibilities? Go Dutch, but it will take forever and London is a special case? Go Dutch, but the LCC doesn’t *really* want it? Etc.

I had high expectations and it didn’t turn out the way I had hoped. A feeling often shared by my British followers, I imagine.

Update: the LCC has responded to the article as well.

Let me know what you think in the comment section, cheers. Before or after that, read Jim’s take on it and watch this video he made, ‘Compare And Contrast’:

Today I read this. Then I browsed through a few folders. Which led me to putting together this little token: We’re only human.

Sometimes a cycle life gets in the way of …, well, you know, actual bike blogging. So, long overdue, but here it goes. Before I arrived in New York at the end of April I anticipated riding with my #bikeNYC friends & possibly joining well over 30.000 other individuals from around NYC & the US on the Five Boro Bike Tour. Best of all, combining the two.

As you’ve read here, the first part never fails, including the part where online friends become the offline equivalent. Cycling just unites that way, easy.

So here it is, part two of my #bikeNYC adventures in 2011.

May 1st, the day after the New Amsterdam Bike Show (which will be part three). Sunshine galore. Ignoring my jetlag, I cycled from my hotel in Soho to 6th Avenue/W Houston St & observed the 5Boro crowd cycling from down- to uptown. Quite a sight and good fun, as the film will show.

Half an hour later I met up with Ronald (Dutch expat, Research Associate at The Street Plans Collaborative) , Carina (Danish expat, freelance video reporter), Liz (Pilates instructor & advocate for Livable Streets), Noah (Mr NYC Cycle Chic), Steve (bicycle advocate/lawyer) & Noel (Asoc. Director of Engagement Technologies for the World Economic Forum) right across the street.

This was me for the day (not unlike on any other day at home):

And my hosts for the day:

Liz & Noah

Steve playing around with his 5Boro vest & Carina was ready to roll.

So we did. Setting out for our self-proclaimed ‘Un-5Boro’, circumventing a few things we couldn’t be bothered with and perhaps just join the Five Boro Tour at some point. Yes, naughty us, crashing the party ;).

Grab yourself a beer/glass of wine/a cocktail, sit back, relax and ride with us for the next 52 minutes, if you will. Roll the tape:

I know, right? Quite an awesome day, despite getting stuck on the BQE for 2,5 hours. Oh, the irony :).

Here are just a few of my favorite pictures I took along the way:

Can you say ‘I Am Legend’ & BikePeaceNYC, you look fab? ;)

You can always count on the NYPD…

Me, hard at work going up Queensboro Bridge…

Arriving at the waterfront in Queens.

Stuck on the BQE, but smiling.

You’ll always find a few Dutch around.

In a massive bicycle gridlock it’s easy to get acquainted with the nearby residents.

Stand out much? Nah..

The United Nations On Wheels #bikeNYC rat pack!

Last pit stop before Verrazano.

Noel didn’t want to freeze his toes off on Verrazano Bridge..and I figured you’d not often catch him in this position.

As I mentioned in the film, the NYPD, in this case a very bad-tempered cop, yelled us off our bikes. Steve tried arguing with him, but to no avail (and no surprise), he wouldn’t budge. Through some banter, Noel found out the cop was not on the payroll of the City of New York, which was odd, but it could easily explain his mobster-like behaviour. Anyway, it was quite entertaining.

Steve lent me his bike helmet (historic moment, I tell ya) saying he’d done 5Boro before and wanted me to finish it (thanks again for the sacrifice, Steve!). Noah & Liz also said goodbye, as they were not ‘packing gear’. Finally, Noel happened to have an extra 5Boro vest, so we were on our way, up and over the bridge, to the finish line on the other side on Staten Island.

Noel and I rode right on, towards the ferry.

But not before stopping for some brew.

Where you, predictably, bump into like-minded/familiar people.

Police started wrapping up their long day…

We caught the Staten Island ferry back to Manhattan…

Which allows beers AND drinking on board. Perfect. After all, you don’t have a utility bike with basket and panniers for nothing, aight? PS: Noel had the Heineken, I had the local flavor, in true UN-style :).

Riding along the East River…

Noel heading back to Brooklyn and me to Soho, thinking: “Wow. Just wow.” Yes, epic.

We escaped reality, tasted ‘what could be’. We Were All Legends.

Thank you, #bikeNYC. With love, from #bikeAMS.

You remember Rose from my video posts ‘Rose Loves #bikeAMS TV’ & ‘Fishing To Catch A Bicycle’.

Last Monday was her birthday. She came round to show me what she had treated herself to…

As you know her best:

Naturally, this happy occasion deserved another Bicycle TV video:

Again, happy birthday, Rose! xox

As you might have heard through the grapevine, not so long ago I was busy creating the film ‘Cycling For Everyone’ that officially launched & introduced the Dutch Cycling Embassy.

It was quite the process. Challenged by a very tight time frame before it was supposed to be presented (at the Dutch Embassy in Brussels during the Smart2Wheels Forum), I was scrambling to put both a team together and plan things accordingly.

The weather forecast wasn’t very promising. But we struck some much needed luck; nice temperature, mostly sunny and just a ‘bit’ of wind.

Of course this project was right up my sleeve. Amsterdamize has grown into something solid (albeit, I really need to catch up on posting affairs), I have years of experience in online marketing & particularly in combination with video, I’m no stranger to the historical context of things and I like to think Amsterdamize has contributed to the idea of this embassy :).

I managed to put together a great team. The creative, subtle & insightful camera skills of Erwan van Buuren, the charming presence of my friend Mi-Ah Roediger as ‘Girl On Bike’, production assistence by Reuben Hamburger and the smooth editing of one of my best friends and film director Gabe Bauer.

On day 1 we shot scenes in Amsterdam:
At the Workcycles shop…

At the underground bike parking garage (of which there are many) at Zuid WTC train station…

At the Apollolaan/Stadionweg junction, where we were often blocking people going from A to B…

Contrary to common use & customs, we sometimes put the Omafiets in the back of the van…

…to get to the infamous Nescio bicycle bridge (of British design(!)) on time, that connects Amsterdam suburb Diemen with IJburg…

Day 2 had us:
Shooting the morning rush hour on De Lairessestraat/Jacob Obrechtstraat, dominated by the school run…

Then we moved to the Nieuwe Spiegelstraat/Prinsengracht area, which included a stop-at-a-shop scene that I ended up not using…

On to Houten for the train station’s ‘Fietstransferium‘ and junction scenes…

And at the end of that busy day we moved our equipment to the majestic Erasmus Bridge in Rotterdam. Unfortunately, these scenes were entirely cut from the film, due to playtime constraints.

On day 3 I had to fly to Reykjavik to be a keynote speaker at a cycling conference organized by the Icelandic Cyclists Federation (on which I’ll post soon), so the crew went ahead and worked with my instructions. And they did great, filming a tongue-in-cheek scene with a representative of the Fietsersbond (Cyclists Union) & their ‘measure bike’ and putting academics at ‘work’ at the ITC of Twente University.

Luckily (for you), I had also reminded myself to shoot a few videos along the way, for a modest ‘behind-the-scenes’ edit:

As traditions go, I also couldn’t resist assembling the footage we either didn’t use (as I said, often you have to ‘kill your darlings’) or cut it up beyond recognition. Hence: here are the outtakes. Warning: it’s almost 24 minutes long ;).

Oh, and of course, here’s the final product of all our efforts: Cycling For Everyone. Enjoy, if you haven’t already :).

And thanks to all who helped spreading this video, the counter now stands at over 45.000 views on Vimeo & the Dutch Cycling Embassy received a very warm welcome on Twitter and all the blogs!

Here are the YouTube links of two of them:
- Cycling For Everyone
- Cycling For Everyone – Behind The Scenes

And here’s the complete Cycling For Everyone photo set.

When you come from a sunny place like Madrid, with summer days that seem never ending, it is all too easy to give good weather for granted. But here in Amsterdam you learn your lesson soon enough: if it’s sunny, go out and enjoy it! Some Sunday not too long ago we decided to do just that and explore Amsterdam Noord. To get to Noord, there are small ferry boats that take you and your ride from Central Station every few minutes. You don’t even need to get off your bike.

Once you roll off the ferry, you only need to ride for a couple of miles along a canal before you leave the city. Of course, in The Netherlands you are never short of options when you want to ride somewhere, and it gets even better when you want to ride no where in particular. You just pedal easily along the better looking path or shared country road, and enjoy the scenery

This configuration is very common on smaller roads. Cars have to share the central lane and yield to cyclist at all times. If two cars meet, they may invade the bicycle lanes, but only if no one’s coming. If there are cyclist near by, the cars just stop and wait. This way, everyone can enjoy the road safely.

On a sunny summer day, you will meet plenty of tourists on their rental bikes exploring the region, sportive cyclists training, people walking and even riding horses.

After a nice relaxed ride, we went back to the lively Amsterdam bicycle traffic.

But only after stopping to smell the flowers, of course.

With love, from the bicycle city, Álvaro

I arrived at the Workcycles shop today to have a tire changed on Lauren’s bike and I entered an all too familiar scene: two of the mechanics decorating one of the rental cargo bikes. The customer’s name is Marnix & he was pressed for time, as his sister Brechtje was going to get married to Jeroen on the other side of town…and he was in charge of arranging the bride & groom’s ride before & after the ceremony. So the guys helped speed up the process of making that procession even more stylish and festive. Have a look.

You have to know that this is quite a common, aka traditional thing in Amsterdam & the Netherlands to do. Hell, I’ve seen 30 pedicabs for wedding guests parked outside a church at one point. My summer’s favorite picture is of the soon-to-be-married couple below, which I took in Vondelpark. Also a Workcycles rental cargo bike, but the bigger flatbed one.

I’m sure Brechtje & Jeroen’s wedding photos will turn out great. Life on two, or in this case, three wheels is bliss. Marnix, I know you’ll be reading this, you’ll have to let me know in the comment section whether you made it on time :).

Meet my good friend Rose. A free spirit, a talented artist & a lover of Amsterdam. Today I helped her out at one of the locations that displays her art. After finishing up we hopped on our bikes and rode back into the center. An off the cuff, yet perfect moment to get her on the record: Rose loves #bikeAMS TV. Enjoy.

Random bits and pieces from the month of August that I caught along my cycle ways that are worth posting. Top photo: after over 6 months of nudging my Swedish-Egyptian expat neighbors, they finally acted upon it and got themselves two 2nd hand, practical bikes. With crate. For their French bull terrier Baby.

The rain, oh the rain. The summer of 2011 went down as the wettest on record since 1906. Harsher winters, spring turns out to be our summer (yet again) and summers turn to fall. Nothing to see, moving on.

‘Never A Bike Bridge Too Far’.

Two friends making things tidy for the ride.

Putting my GoPro camera to good use while testing the Brik Brut bicycle (more on that in October), for the obligatory ride down the bicycle parking garage at Central Station.

‘Strolling In The Red Light District’ & ‘Mr Fr8 Got A Brand New Crate’

‘Canal View’

‘A Bike Is A Terrible Thing To Waste‘

‘A View From The Cycle Path’. “Sorry I’m late…the bridge was open.” A very valid excuse in Amsterdam.

On Nieuwmarkt. Tom of Workcycles polishing my Fr8 (first time since I’d bought it) for a special photo shoot. Roos of ‘Ride With Me NYC‘ fame assisting.

Friends joining us for drinks.

Pannier action: ‘Unloading’ & ‘Loaded Up’.

‘Parting Ways’

‘Stack’

‘Bird’

Fire Department Ordinance: ‘Don’t Park Your Bike Here. Parked Bikes Will Be Removed.’

‘Meeting Point’ & “Who’s Going Side Saddle, You Or Me?”

Stay tuned for August posts with a more themed approach.

On August 18th I had a meeting in Utrecht. As usual, I got there by train and I had brought my bike. Stepping outside Utrecht Central Station and riding towards the center is always a joy, despite the ongoing road works & the obstruction by the building sites.

This video spans about 10 minutes of recording around the tip end of the morning rush hour. When I say ‘rush hour’ & ‘Utrecht’, you immediately think of Mark Wagenbuur’s famous videos. He’s done plenty of them, rain/snow or shine. This is no different. Just my drop in the media bucket of covering Dutch people on bikes. Going from A to B, conveniently.

[Update] Can’t believe I forgot to mention this. ‘Speaking of the devil’, Mark coincidentally happens to be IN this video, turning right on the bike path intersection after the first light, with the yellow/blue plastic bag hanging from his handlebar, 26 sec into the video. :)

PS: Utrecht has a bicycle modal share of 35% of all trips. Recently the city council voted on a new investments to raise that nr to 55% and reducing car use by 50% by 2025. This is no hogwash or PR spin. They really put their money where their mouths are. Why wouldn’t they…funding of bicycle infrastructure & provisions has a real return on investment. It’s an economic decision above anything else, with far-reaching positive effects, building a livable city.

Humid, warm. Buzzy, dusk. People gathering. Men in frogs and high heels. Limelight, glory. Performance and just play. A jury & drinks. Laughs.

Yes, a gay evening. Joyful & carefree. Also car-free. Naturally. Just ask Jeroen…I mean Julie.

It has cleared up a bit in Amsterdam and the rest of the country, two weeks of what seemed like never-ending downpour was clearly enough for most. People moaned, sighed and bitched like there was no tomorrow. But whaddayagonnado? Shit happens. At the same time we completely and conveniently forget about the absolutely gorgeous months of April and May (record droughts). Alright, alright, it’s supposed to be summer in July, not feel like the end of November.

Anyhoo, tomorrow I’ll be getting on a plane (gasp) to Copenhagen, on business. Last time I paid the Danish Blues a visit it was for leisure and I took the (slow) train, as I had to bring my bike along. It was cool. I serenaded ladies in red, competed in a slow bicycle race (and let my opponent, who was coming of age, win, of course) and drank way too many expensive beers. Emphasis on ‘expensive’, not ‘too many beers’.

Referred to by the aforementioned, herring-eating individual I was invited by Wonderful Copenhagen to cover the UCI BMX World Championships in my role as an inquisitive journalist, who expect me to insightfully peel off the layers of one of the sportiest of ’street bicycle cultures’. Naturally, I’ll try not to disappoint them.

Accredited by the UCI, yes m’am, there’s a first for everything. You see, there will be all sorts of street events going on all over town, all evolving around our two-wheeled (if not more) friend, the arts, the urban life, etc. I’ll be all over it, trust me. Lauren is joining me, so she can see for herself how cheap Amsterdam really is for shopping. ;)

My lack of BMX-cred doesn’t mean I won’t attempt to sneakily attach my GoPro camera to the BMX of one of the Dutch contestants, because I will. Or whoever will indulge me. Either that, or they’ll most likely rip off my press card and toss me in the Søerne to go look for bikes there.

As you might know or have been able to assess, I have NO knowledge whatsoever of who’s what in the BMX universe. Doesn’t mean I don’t admire these rascals. It will be intriguing to dive back into this semi-sub-bike-culture which I left behind at the age of 10. Oh, the memories.

I leave you with photos..I mean postcards, as many often tell me I live in one. From a, as you by now have guessed, VERY wet Sunday in July.

I’m charging 3 cameras as I type this, cross your fingers it will be a dry weekend in Copenhagen.

That, or I just might convert and ask this fine craftsman and fellow Dutchie if I can join him on his maiden voyage…when the moment is right. And only if I can bring Lauren, of course.

Croix De Beaucaillou.

Wanna GAGA?

Tourists will ride their rental bikes, no matter what. In style.

‘Double Dutch’ – summer contradictions.

In NYC I hooked up with professional photographer Dmitry Gudkov of BikeNYC Portraits fame. As it often goes, we found out about each other’s existence through the interwebs, given our mutual interest for people on bicycles, bike culture & photography. Subsequently, it was an even bigger pleasure meeting him in real life.

It took some time for me to do this post, but now it’s even more relevant, as Dmitry’s efforts were put in the lime light as a feature on the Flickr blog this week. Greatly deserved & no small thing, when you consider Flickr has millions and millions of photographs to choose from.

From the middle of Soho we rode towards the Hudson shore, where Dmitry was keen on finding a nice spot to take my #bikeNYC Portrait, as he’d insisted on via Twitter ;).

He lead us to Pier 54, in front of the High Line.

Dmitry started his art direction, I positioned myself behind my Workcycles Omafiets (which Julie from Adeline Adeline was so nice to let me borrow for the weekend), fiddled with my bag for #bikeAMS exposure, and this was the result:

Dmitry still owes me the picture of me lifting my Omafiets over my head, in true hipster style…you know, just to bust another myth about Dutch bikes ;).

We continued our ride on the Hudson Greenway and a few minutes later I spotted something familiar up ahead on the bike path: a black Dutch granny bike, a long haired woman riding it, in normal clothes, without a ‘magic mushroom’.

To Dmitry: “Look, I think that’s a Dutch girl.” “Yeah?” I immediately shift into gear: “Let’s catch up, go go go!”

I passed her, turned around and said: “You MUST be Dutch!” “Huh?” She had music on, so took out her earplugs. “Sorry?” “You MUST be Dutch!” Haha, no, I’m Danish!” “Ohhhh, so close!”

There was nothing left for her to do than stop and have a chat with us. We introduced ourselves and the reason for chasing after her. It turned out her name was Carina Jensen, a Danish expat living and working as a video journalist in NYC. Coincidently, she was hired to cover the New Amsterdam Bike Show that would take place the next day.

Dmitry wasted no time and asked if he could take her bicycle portrait. Of course he could. And of course I captured that process.

Dmitry could appreciate the humor of it a few days later:

His #bikeNYC Portrait catch:

Together we rode back into town, chatting up a storm.

Just so you know what all that stalking looks like, here’s another ‘behind the lens’ moment, me photographing alongside Carina & then spotting Dmitry taking a picture of me…and shooting that. ;)

A perfect start of my NYC weekend, a great time with new-found friends. We went our separate ways, into the city jungle, with the knowledge that we would see each other again the following days. My cliffhanger for the upcoming posts…

On occasion I get asked to explain the side saddle hop, because to quite a few people it looks complicated & the Dutch make it look so easy. Or my guests want to try riding along on the back of my bike & but they’ll settle for getting on while stationary. So here it is, an instructional video, the anatomy, if you will, of the genuine Dutch side saddle hop. A three-act. Perfection in motion.

No pressure, of course. Practice makes perfect, that’s all :).

UPDATE: Ricardo Javier sent me the following video of him and his girlfriend cycling around Amsterdam (it starts in the same area as where I shot my video), it includes some very nice side saddle action too. Thanks, Ricardo!

PS: riding side saddle is illegal in many countries, including Germany and Denmark. That’s also the case in Australia (unsurprisingly), but little birds told me that some Ozzies continue to break this law and that they call it ‘dinking’. Winners.

Now, this is a funny concept. Commuter jeans? How come so many Dutch and millions upon millions of people of other nationalities have been getting about on their bikes without them up until now?

I guess as a symptom this is a good thing, bicycles are going mainstream and everybody wants a piece of the cake, not in the least Levi’s

Just to be sure, remember, your closet is already full of perfectly fine ‘bicycle specific clothes’. Put on your favourite jeans (or [insert here]), jump on your bike, and enjoy your day.

With love, from the Bicycle City, Álvaro.

Work is done. It’s a warm & sunny evening. Taking it easy. Grab a bag with picnic goodies and flick it in a basket. Stop along the way to pick up some tasty burgers & find that sweet spot in the sun. That’s what Lauren and I did not too long ago.

* It’s been pouring this last week, so it’s only fitting that I’d edit and post this today, to keep our spirits up :).