It’s clearly red. Yet so many bicycle campaigns try to convince me otherwise it’s disturbing.

What it really is, is the best way to get from A to B. It is so for many reasons, not least because Amsterdam has made a big effort in making it convenient. Using a bike for getting around also happens to be green, economical, chic, fun, healthy, practical… you name it. Yet, as Marco quite brilliantly says over at Münchenierung, it can never be only marketing.

Take for instance the bicycle parking at train station in Amsterdam Zuid (WTC). You go, get a ticket, lock your bike, and off you go. Your bike will be there when you get back, safe and dry. It’s even free for the first 24 hours! After that it’s only 50 cents a day, so I tend to leave my bike there when I go to the airport.

You will have a hard time convincing people to ride a bike because it’s green -or economical, or chic, or fun or healthy, if they don’t find it convenient and safe. At the end of the day, most people will simply do what it’s easier for them to do. Nothing wrong with that, life’s hard enough as it is.

Amsterdam loves it’s bikes, no matter what colour they are.

Top photo: ‘Ayuntamiento de San Sebastian’. Courtesy (cc) of Fernando Arconada /

The bicycle will be San Sebastian’s official vehicle if designated European Capital of Culture for 2016. Orbea, a Spanish bicycle manufacturer, will participate with San Sebastian 2016 in projects combining business, culture, research, innovation and creativity, placing the focus on joint collaboration in developing new business and artistic initiatives.

Photo ‘Mastiles y bicicletas’. Courtesy (cc) of ‘Bichuas‘.

I quote from the official press release:

For years now, San Sebastian City Council has been leading the way in sustainable mobility policies promoting the bicycle as a method of transport in its committal to a healthy city and lifestyle, values shared by Orbea and the cultural programme designed for San Sebastian 2016. This is based on the ability of culture to transform as an essential element for consolidating coexistence in European cities.

San Sebastian also leads the way in the network of bike-friendly cities, an organisation fostering the use of this means of urban transport which contributes to developing strategies permitting public administrations to be more efficient in promoting bikes.

Photo ‘donosti_9162f’. Courtesy (cc) of ‘Rafa Espada‘.Photo ‘bike lane’. Courtesy (cc) of ‘
Mike_el Madrileño‘.

Donostia, as the city is called in Basque, has been indeed a pioneering city in Spain in terms of bicycle policies. Back in 2008 the city refurbished a 850m long old train tunnel as a bicycle path that links different parts of town. Here’s a little video showcasing this fine example of bicycle infrastructure.

I’ve tweeted many times about my Australian cycling friend Paul van Bellen from Sydney & his cycling tour project ‘Cycling Dutch Style‘:

“If you want to get more people cycling in Australia, you need to make it more attractive, easy and convenient.” – Paul van Bellen.

In May 2011 Paul will lead 30 Australian cycling thinkers over a 500km, 13 day tour in The Netherlands, the world’s most cycle friendly country. Filmmakers Rowena Crowe and Paulo Alberton will follow and record van Bellen’s tour as his team studies innovations and attitudes in cycling. Rowena and Paulo will shape the material collected into web friendly stories and information for a website called www.cyclingdutchstyle.com.au, and also into a documentary, once participants of the tour return to their homes and routines in Australia. Our website will be fully functional by early March 2011, in time for us to engage with our audience.

The Impact
Major cities around the world are embracing cycling as a way to commute, in a bid to combat pollution, save petrol and avoid traffic congestion. While cycling groups in Australia are trying to promote cycling as a sustainable transport alternative through initiatives like Ride to Work Day, our major cities are lagging behind the rest of the world in infrastructure investment. The Netherlands has invested heavily in bicycle infrastructure over the last 30 years. The result is today 30% of all trips are done on a bicycle throughout the country, whilst in Australia many cities are aiming towards 5% by 2016.

These stories will not only entertain broader audiences but they will also contribute to a valuable and unique online resource that may inform policy making in Australia and inspire other city planners around the world.

The Tour
The 30 participants meet in Dieren, the Netherlands on May 10th 2011 to begin their tour. Over the next 14 days they will ride an average 50 km per day. Our cameras will follow their journey, recording the sights and sounds and seeking their views on the state of cycling in these cities.

We will meet Dutch people who use the bike infrastructure daily as they ride to work, school or to the shops. We will meet with experts who are involved in developing and maintaining this infrastructure. Together these stories will help us better understand the positive effects of investing heavily in cycling infrastructure.

Each day we will be reporting from the saddle, bringing knowledge from the road. We will invite our audience to engage with our findings and consider how these ideas could be adapted to Australian conditions and way of life.

Key moments on the tour will include a visit to: Groningen, the world’s number one cycling city with 60% of all trips done by bicycle; Utrecht where they will meet the cycling infrastructure experts from Fietsberaad, the Dutch centre for cycling policy; Houten, which is recognised as a yardstick of a liveable sustainable city, where the direct route to town is on the bike path and cars are forced to use peripheral roads. For full break down of the itinerary go here.

What We Need & What You Get
We are asking US$ 8,000 (not Australian dollar) to cover the expenses of the plane ticket and accommodation, so we (Rowena and Paulo) can participate on the tour and create content for both the website and documentary. Our professional and creative work is voluntary. Also in order to offer you these fantastic and irresistible prizes, we have accessed the support of Gazelle Bicycle Australia who is offering Gazelle products (Gazelle bikes and accessories) as prizes at cost value, only for this project. This means a great return for your contribution!!! The monetary value of your contribution is just over to the value of the prizes. Check the prizes underneath. And if you prefer another bike, Gazelle is flexible and happy to discuss this with you. Please be aware that contributions are made in US dollars. Currently A$ and US$ are nearly the same value, but please check for up to date exchange rates prior to making your contribution.

This project desperately needs to get documented, thus funded & supported, so go click!

FFFYI (Fun Facts For Your Information):
- ‘van Bellen’ is a Dutch surname
- the verb ‘bellen’ means ‘ringing’, either calling on the phone, ringing the door bell or…wait for it…ringing your bike bell :)).

AND…look at Gazelle’s famous print ad series from the early 20th century that came in the form of a cartoon called ”t AVONTUUR van PIET PELLE op zyn GAZELLE.’, which translates into ‘The adventure of Piet Pelle on his Gazelle’. Both rhyme, and so it does when you exchange ‘Piet Pelle’ for ‘Paul van Bellen’…

I rest my case, there’s only so much that can be written in the stars, I suppose ;).

Coincidently, I hooked up with Rowena Crowe late November when she was in town for the IDFA. She’d bought a crappy but lovely bike to get around. Crappy as many other beater bikes, but lovely all the same, because…it got her around ;).

We rode together, she asked the questions and filmed for prosperity. As Rowena writes: “This film gives you a sneak preview of the kind of people we will be meeting on the cycling Dutch style study tour in May 2011.”

Of course we stopped for beers as well. Like the ride, we took it slowly, as her jet lag was starting to kick in. I’m looking forward to springtime, to give that part of cultural integration another shot.

In September of last year the good people of Dublin Community TV hopped over to Amsterdam, here to film for The Pedal Project:

Rob Carr to me:
“The TV Series is 3 part documentary on cycling in Dublin. The main premise of the series will be to look at how a cycling culture can be developed in Dublin and what that might look like. To that end, one programme will be a kind of travelogue where we go on a journey from Dublin to Amsterdam via London by bike, ferry and train. We will follow Ciaran Fallon (the new Cycling Officer at Dublin City Council) on his journey as he meets various people involved in the cycling cultures of London and Amsterdam to see what is happening from a cycling perspective in those cities and what Dublin can learn from them. We are of course hoping you will be one of these people…

From DCTV:
“As Dublin has grown wealthier we have become carcooned basing our personal and city transport system on the car” said director Barra Hamilton. “We know this isn’t working – but what is the alternative and how do we get there? That’s the question we set out to answer with this documentary. We spent months talking to academics and elected officials, council planners and staff, campaigners and cyclists – and through the production process of TV we’ve constructed a convincing case and viable plan to recast Dublin as a cyclable city.”

“The Pedal Project is an ongoing debate emerging into public view in all its complexity and variety for the first time” said co-director Rob Carr. “We are inviting people to contribute to the process. From the reasons we should, and shouldn’t, insist on cycling helmets to how we design our roads to create dedicated spaces for cycling while ensuring ‘permeable’ road systems with a mix of transport forms – The Pedal Project offeres a tool for people to use in instigating wide ranging discussion on what we want from our city.”

The end result is fabulous. The Pedal Project does indeed make the case for much needed change and does so by covering all the important angles. And I think it’s safe to say that in this series Dublin is interchangeable for many other cities around the world.

Go watch and after you finish, don’t hesitate to see the other parts: One Less Car & Two Wheeled City (those are external video links, but you can instead navigate to those parts inside the embedded player). Oh, and just fyi, the Amsterdam part starts at 13:43, but don’t skip ahead, watch it in full.

The video ‘Beauty and the Bike’ has been spreading like wildfire in the bike blogo/twittersphere and was well received, I don’t think anyone missed that one and neither did I. Yesterday reader Gerco pointed me to it, and instead of just acknowledging its existence, I’m now posting it too:

This is an 8 minute version of our 55 minute documentary Beauty and the Bike. The film follows two groups of young women from Darlington and Bremen. Between them, they discover what makes – and stops – teenage girls from cycling. The answer? “It’s the Infrastructure, stupid!” The full DVD is available from www.bikebeauty.org.

Up until now I had nothing to add to this excellent video. It’s all true, true to life. Just ask any Dutch girl. Or boy, woman, man, the elderly, etc.

Last Friday I was shooting pictures around town (for the upcoming post ‘Winter Cycle Wonderland’) and I think four of these pictures basically represent that ‘beauty’ and so many other values. Quite universal, wouldn’t you think?

Via Bakfiets.co.uk, via the Workcycles group on Facebook, a video report by Radio Netherlands on the popularity and dislikes of bakfietsen in the Netherlands.

Henry’s response to a group member:

There’s no movement against bakfietsen; There’s just always somebody with a superior attitude. Bakfietsen have gone from work vehicle to hippy and squatter transport to über-hip fashion for young families to yuppie minivan to “it’s just plain old practical so I ride one’ in the last couple decades.

Always practical, always opting for convenience. Yes, the Dutch are pretty boring and predictable that way. Well, most of them.

Enjoy this video. As David Hembrow noted:

“The remarkable thing about it is how familiar all of it looks. There’s exactly the same level of cycle helmet wearing as in the country now, roughly the same number of people riding on back carriers, children on bikes, “ordinary clothes”, practical bikes and smiling faces.”

You think these people were talking about ‘going green’ or ’saving the planet’? Nah…so, what other reasons could there be? :-p.

Found through NewAmsterdamize, via David Hembrow.

Not too long ago I had the pleasure of hosting some good people from abroad. This happens quite often, something I really enjoy. I mean, what’s not to like about showing people around in your home town and having even the smallest impact on how they experience cycling in the Netherlands. Well, in this case ‘hosting’ is a big word, as I was asked to participate in a cycling documentary for Dublin Community TV.

Producer Rob Carr explained it all in his request:

The TV Series is 3 part documentary on cycling in Dublin. The main premise of the series will be to look at how a cycling culture can be developed in Dublin and what that might look like. To that end, one programme will be a kind of travelogue where we go on a journey from Dublin to Amsterdam via London by bike, ferry and train. We will follow Ciaran Fallon (the new Cycling Officer at Dublin City Council) on his journey as he meets various people involved in the cycling cultures of London and Amsterdam to see what is happening from a cycling perspective in those cities and what Dublin can learn from them. We are of course hoping you will be one of these people…

Others we are hoping top interview are Ria Hilhorst, Directorate of Infrastructure at City of Amsterdam and Theo Zeegers from Fietersbond.

In Amsterdam we will look at the infrastructure – the bike lanes and the integration with public transport. We also hope to highlight the notion of the bike as a normal, easy, fashionable (of course), everyday means of transport (the idea that one just cycles in their everyday clothes is still a hard thing to get across to people in Ireland). The majority in Dublin do not yet view cycling in this way although there is a hint that things are starting to change (Ciaran Fallon, the Dublin city Cycling officer, is a very progressive guy who sees an Amsterdam type cycling culture as the way to go for Dublin). We also want to examine the issue from a cultural aspect. We in Ireland seem to have a very American attitude towards cars – hence making our cities very car dependent while in Amsterdam it seems to me that the culture has a better understanding of shared space for pedestrians, cars and bikes and that has lead to a more liveable city – something very positive to highlight in our documentary.

As a long time follower of your blog it would be great if we could interview you for the documentary.

Hurrying back to continue inside..

After work I hurried (I think I’ve never cycled this fast before, I actually sweated…) to our rendez-vous on Nieuwmarket, shook hands and the TV crew, Ciaran Fallon and I went on our way. In part it was to be an interview on wheels. The cameraman positioned in a rental bakfiets, the audio technician steering it and Ciaran had me chat up a storm (quite literally, as very dark clouds moved in and blanketed the city).

Almost naturally our conversation went from the obvious to the more intrinsic/historical aspects of Dutch bicycle ‘culture’, leading to some important myth busting (not towards Ciaran, but the general perception abroad):

• No, this cycling Nirvana hasn’t been around for centuries, it was man-made.
• No, people don’t cycle this much because the country is flat, but because it’s practical, convenient and fun, rain or shine.
• No, we’re not high on anything, tourists are. (this is a bonus entry, just had to put that in :-p)

Just as we arrived at one of Amsterdam’s pivotal ‘infra grids’, the rain forced us inside for the second leg of the interview, which was equally fun and interesting. We wrapped it all up with a few lagers (the Irish and Dutch also have so much in common) and an invite to Dublin was born.

Typically enough, this morning a friend of mine from Dublin sent me this news article, ‘Wheels start turning as city gets saddled up’, covering the launch of the Dublinbikes bike sharing program.

Photograph: Bryan O’Brien

‘Ugh’ was my first response to the article’s first paragraph’s and main focus on the absence of helmets, a smile came next. Somebody enlightened at Dublin City Hall has clearly injected some sanity into the decision making process…I think it’s someone I recently met. :)

Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have to unlock Mr Freight as I’m meeting up again with cycle trotter Anthony from Memphis, Tennessee.

Cycling, bicycle parking facilities [which include services such as toilets, bicycle repair service, lockers and nappy area for babies] and public transportation, this combination should continue to be the prime urban and intercity transit solution. Watch my personal experience, one of my daily commutes from Amsterdam to Utrecht, 50 km south of this fine city.

[I filmed this with my phone, so please forgive me for the lack of quality]

Convenience from Amsterdamize on Vimeo.

Last Friday morning a 12-year-old boy named Boris was fatally hit by a truck turning left on Marnixstraat, not far from where Lauren got caught in the tram rails.

Reports tell us that Boris had stepped off his bike (on the right side of the road, on the bike lane), waiting to cross the junction (to his left), when the truck driver, who was turning left from the opposite side, overlooked him and ran him over. Boris died shortly after.

Flick photo by @ikbendaf

There are very few fatal incidents in Amsterdam, so this particular one immediately grabbed the public’s attention. Not just that, but more importantly the ire of the people living on that street and the schools close by, people who also knew Boris.

View Larger Map

This long street and its intersections have always been considered ‘tricky’, ‘hazardous’ and often outright dangerous, specially for children and the elderly, as they accommodate so many modes of traffic in a very dense residential neighborhood, without real traffic calming measures.

Here trams, city buses, taxis, cars, mopeds, bicycles, pedestrians all have to share a limited road grid (which is often the case throughout Amsterdam), but the Marnixstraat (and square, where the accident happened) setup has been controversial for years. Actually, one Neighborhood Action Committee member (interviewed by the local TV station AT5) will tell you that this street has caused problems for decades and that they have been trying to have the city change this dangerous situation since 1983, to no avail until 2002, when the city council promised to handle it…

You guessed it, no such thing happened and here we have the result. Sure, political party officials have rushed to the cameras to express their outrage, but nobody will take their pleas seriously until actual improvements are made.

One could argue it’s unfair to judge it this way. Accidents like this one are statistically insignificant compared to the overall. It’s a good and valid point. But let’s zoom in on this: the point here is that of the few fatal bicycle accidents that happen each year, this particular kind is the most dominant one. Just a day earlier a tourist from the US was killed on her rental bike by a cement truck turning the corner. Very unfortunate and again the consequences of a truck driver’s blind spot.

Flickr photo by @ikbendaf

Meanwhile, people of the neighborhood and from elsewhere (also through Twitter), showing support, got together and made a desperate statement by painting a zebra crossing where there should’ve been one in the first place. Just one of many more much needed measures.

Flickr photo by @ikbendaf

Boris’ dad pleaded with the city council to do something about this situation, so others don’t suffer the same consequences and hopefully his death will not be in vain.

Me? I’ve always taken that intersection for granted, knowing my way around it, etc, but it did occur to me it was an ugly duckling compared to Amsterdam’s general level of infrastructure. Now I feel embarrassed about the backdrop of this horrible story and saddened by the thought of how easy (and early on) this kind of risk could have been dealt with.

Let’s see if our Amsterdam elders are really listening this time…

PS: the police officer in the ending of this video is having a discussion with one of the people painting the zebra crossing and ironically points to the fact that ‘they don’t have a permit to do this’, as ‘there are liabilities and building codes involved’. Uhm, yeah, well….doh!!!!

Sigh.

View Larger Map

One thing that stands out (for me, at least) in Wilhelmina Park is that beautiful curvy bike lane, enabling people to cross the park, making it a popular short cut. Very popular.

When I stopped to try and catch the light of the emerging sun, I was hit. Hit by what I will now call Cycle Chic Trains. Hundreds and hundreds of people riding in line, at quite a pace, approaching from a busy roundabout (with bike lane) and crossing the street (right of way over approaching car traffic) and steering into the park. Or exiting. Either way, the combination of the frost, the sun and these people in motion was too tempting not to take time for.

Give or take a few isolated pics, I tried to capture that with depth and off-center focus. I think they came out well. I also think these people started their work day as well as I did.

My favorites sequence:

I’d like to use a real life image of everyday cycling as a point of reference, so that nobody, and I mean anybody that lacks the aforementioned cortex tune up job, cries foul play.

Our specimen:

Location: the Netherlands, downtown Amsterdam, along a busy shopping street.

Weather conditions: 31 degrees Centigrade, high % humidity, no wind.

Cycling speed: approximately 15 km/h.

Observations:

• Both subjects appear to be adult.
• Both subjects show a more than average sense of confidence and/or self.
• The male subject wears flip flops, shorts and shirt.
• The female subject wears a lovely dress, drapes a matching handbag and could easily attend a cocktail party, if it wasn’t for the flip flops dead giveaway.
• The subjects ride side by side.
• The subjects ride on bicycles that seem to enable a very comfortable and upright position, contrary to mountain bikes.
• Neither of the subjects wears either a so-called bicycle helmet, lycra bicycle clothes, other gear such as bright yellow fluorescent vests or feel worried about getting.
• During the observation the subjects were engaged in a conversation.
• Observing this and their posture, it’s safe to say the subjects were not intimidated by the cyclists up ahead or the ones behind them. The highly visible bicycle traffic lights up ahead show a green signal.

These observations can be explained, both empirically and by way of common sense:

• There is an extensive, mostly segregated bicycle infrastructure put in place. Segregation from both the sidewalk and the road.
• Both inside and outside urban areas this infrastructure has nurtured cycling as the most practical form of transportation for short and long(er) trips.
• Mountain bikes are not the norm, quite the opposite, people mostly ride bicycles that come standard with chain and spoke guards, no need for.trouser clips or any other add-on which needs to masquerade deficiencies in cycling. It’s utility for style & convenience, baby.
• Historically, the Dutch start riding bicycles before they can walk properly…and don’t stop at the age of 11.
• People of all ages and any social status use their bikes to go to school, to work, to the supermarket, to go out, etc etc, every day. Come rain or shine.
• Cyclists don’t consider it a culture. It’s just there, they don’t know any better.
• There’s absolutely no need for bicycle helmets. Alright, don’t be scared, I’ll throw some science at ya. You’ll see it’s more dangerous for a pedestrian to cross the street.
• Leave the science for what it is when you have generations of people in a nation being one with the bicycle, using a segregated cycling infrastructure, you DON’T need helmets. Not the young, not the old. Yeah, but what if shit just happens? You know, how about leaving the fear-mongering to less enlightened people and trust us. We also learned to just get back up and go. (Psst: it means we’re not very anxious about riding and/or accident-prone)
• Car drivers are also cyclists.
• If you don’t give way to or ignore cyclists during your drivers test, you fail immediately. And it doesn’t come cheap here.
• Netherlands: 16.5 million inhabitants, 18+ million bikes.

These are outdated statistics, NL cycle death rate has dropped since

Besides these practical observations I can tell you, dear reader from presumably a car-dominated culture, that this is not at all an isolated case for Amsterdam. All over the Netherlands you’ll encounter this phenomenon. However, it’s not something of late or something that’s been there for centuries. This infrastructure was built and improved over the last 45 years. Through public(!) and political will and determination, coorporation and vision (and a big bag of pragmatism). Nothing is easy, but it sure isn’t impossible.

The same developments can now be seen all over Europe (besides bicycle friendly countries like the Netherlands, Denmark and Germany), even in some cities in the US. Paris transformed into a bicycle friendly city in just a year, for instance.

Bicycles are not suited for all commutes or purposes, obviously. But short trips (largest share) are. Having public transportation options i.e. alternatives also helps. Cutting down on car use has so many advantages, I don’t think it needs an explanation. In Amsterdam over 40% 55% of all trips are done by bike. Nationally, it’s 27%. Again: of ALL trips. That last figure has politicians and cycle organizations shaking in their boots, it’s too low to them. So a new national cycle campaign has just started.

If you live in a country where cycling is marginalized or demonized, and you’re thinking of joining or starting a cycle advocacy organization, please do me, and more importantly, yourself a favor. Don’t make it more fringy, cultural or political…and certainly not ‘the green thing to do’. That’s just a by-product, it shouldn’t be promoted as such, there’s enough greenwashing going on already. Bicycling is normal, like how it started it out. Just do it, in normal clothes, comfortably. Have others join/follow your lead, inspire. If you currently can’t count on political vision or will from your town/city council, sheer volume will get you there. Indeed, safety by numbers.

Maybe not today, but certainly tomorrow.

Ps. Don’t assume we can all relax, sit back and dwell over our accomplishments.

Ps #2. I’m not against helmet wear, I’m all for personal choice. But I’ll go ballistic when people or politicians push for mandatory laws, trying to legislate something that doesn’t need or isn’t helped by enforcement. So all you zealots, ill-informed and scared fellow human beings, read this post twice if you have to, challenge me and this basic concept of cycling, but let’s do it with putting thought into it, ok? Cheers.

I’ll finish this post with an episode from Amsterdamize Bicycle TV, a video impression of normal cycling ;-p.