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.

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

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.

Top photo: ‘In the snow’. Courtesy (cc) of Saskya

Amsterdam has about 750.000 inhabitants, roughly 1.5 million in the city proper an urban population of 1,364,422 and a metropolitan population of 2,158,372. The cycling rate downtown is 55% (more bike than car trips since 2007, if you don’t count pre-war & shortly post-war rates), the rate for the greater city hovers around 40%.

Photo ‘llibreria – bookstore – Amsterdam – HDR’. Courtesy (cc) of MorBCN.

The national modal share for bicycles for all trips is 27%. When I mention ‘cycling rate’ or ‘modal share’, we’re talking about cycling by all people of all ages, both sexes (women a few % more than men), not the popular category ‘bicycle commuters’ mostly known elsewhere.

Let me restate that Amsterdam is NOT exemplary for the Netherlands & for what can be done. Yes, it’s quite good, you won’t hear me really complain (give or take a few issues that will be covered soon). Yes, it is still the #1 yard stick for many capitals/major cities around the world which look for guidance & inspiration and it will probably fulfill that role for years to come.

Photo ‘Frosty Amsterdam’. Courtesy (cc) of Ben.

Just for my favorite wonks (yes, you, you know who you are), I’ll continue, using the Fietsersbond’s (Cyclists Union) latest data wrap up ‘Cycling in Figures‘:

There is a lot of cycling going on in the Netherlands. In no other country in the world with similar levels of prosperity do people cycle this much. The Dutch cycle mainly because they find it a comfortable and reliable means of transportation: 84% of Dutch people have a positive opinion about the bike. Of the regular cyclists 95% considers it positive and even more than half of non-cyclists have a favorable opinion. Dutch give the bike the following qualities: quiet, no aggravation, be by yourself, no delays, always on time and it’s cheap. Independence and flexibility are highly valued, only slightly less than the car (Source: Min. I & M KIM)

Photo ‘Dutch Biker’. Courtesy (cc) of ‘Stuck in Customs‘.

A quarter of all our movements and a third of all trips up to 7.5 km are by bike. That’s more than 4.5 billion annual bike rides. In doing so, we cover 15 billion km. On average, a Dutchman rides 300 journeys every year, well over 900 km. In total, the Dutch cycle nearly 200 billion kilometers every year. 75% of all journeys are by car, 9% by train, 8% by bike, 3% by bus, tram and subway, 2% on foot and 3% by other means (moped, motorcycle, etc.)

Photo ‘…Weekend…’. Courtesy (cc) of AmsterS@m – The Wicked Reflectah.

Who cycle?
In the Netherlands almost everyone cycles: young and old, men and women, rich and poor, car owners and those without. 13.5 million Dutch people (84%) have one bike, or more (est. total of 18 million bikes). Women cycle slightly more often than men, natives far more than immigrants.

Photo ‘School Bus The Dutch Way’. Courtesy (cc) of Akbar Simonse.

When do Dutch people cycle?
Dutch people cycle a lot. Of course there is more cycling in the summer than in the autumn and winter. But cycling rates also vary between days of the week. On an average working day, 5 million people make an average of 14 million cycle journeys. Monday and Thursday are the top days with a million more journeys than on the other days of the week. On Saturday, 11.5 million cycle journeys are made, and on Sunday 6.5 million.

Through the week, between 8 in the morning and 6 in the evening, more than a million cycle journeys are made each hour. The high point is between 8 and 9 in the morning with 1.75 million cycle journeys during the hour. In that hour, many journeys to work and school are made, and more bicycles are in use than cars. Cycling on a typical week-day:

David Hembrow picked up on all of this as well (naturally) and he continues:

“The scale of cycling in the Netherlands is quite phenomenal. If you go out, at any time of the day or night, you’re not unusual, but are joining with a mass of other cyclists making their journeys. It’s impossible to travel far on a bike without seeing other cyclists. I don’t think I’ve ever made it further than 200 metres from my home (in a 100 m long cul-de-sac) before seeing at least one bike. Riding a bike is not in any way a political statement. It’s just normal.

Photos ‘(T)Rusty Companion’ & ‘A Bike’s A Bike’ by Amsterdamize.

The figures above are national figures, applying to the whole country. The Netherlands has a population of 16.7 million people. That’s just twice the population of London or New York. However, the cycling rate of the country as a whole is far higher than that of cities in other countries. By comparison, treating the country as a “city”, the people here are spread out at a remarkably low density of just 400 per square kilometre, vs. 4800 per square kilometre in London or 10000 people per square kilometre in New York.

Photo ‘L1020421′. Courtesy (cc) of Guido van Nispen.

However, despite having the advantage of high density and the resulting short journey lengths, neither of these cities manage more than a small fraction of the cycle usage of this whole country. London has only around 2% of journeys by bike, and New York even less at only around 0.6% of commutes. In neither of those cities would you find masses of school children riding at any time. (more about population density and cycling)

Photo ‘Dutch Family’. Courtesy (cc) of danihernanz.

The difference comes down to infrastructure which invites you to cycle. Cycling is not a difficult thing to decide to do in the Netherlands.

I’ve several posts about what brought this level of cycling about. Key to it all is of course a high degree of subjective safety.”

Photo ‘Amsterdam Cycle Chic’. Courtesy (cc) of Mikael Colville-Andersen.

How far do we cycle?
An average bike ride is a little over 3 km and takes a little less than 15 minutes. 75% of all bike rides is less than 3.7 km. Between 1 and 4 km, the bicycle is the most important means of transportation. Up to 1 kilometer walking is the primal mode, and when traveling over 4 km the car is dominant. For distances up to 20 km people cycle more than they take the train or bus.

Photo ‘Street’. Courtesy (cc) of Hans van Reenen

Are you faster by bike in the city?
In the city, people on bikes arrive at their destination on average 5% faster than car drivers. In larger cities (more than 100,000 inhabitants) they are 10% faster. For trips with distances up to 3 km the bicycle almost always wins, usually not up from 4 km. That’s including parking and walking to the entrance of your destination (Source: Fietsbalans-2).

Photo ‘Parking…..”. Courtesy (cc) of Iam sterdam.

How important is the bike for our travel needs?
For most purposes the bicycle is an important means of transportation. For example, the bicycles accounts for half of the trips to school and university, one quarter of trips to work and over one quarter of the trips to the store.

Reasons for using a bicycle for transportation:
Going to work: 25%
Business appointment: 11%
Services/personal care: 18%
Shopping: 28%
School: 50%
Visiting: 21%
Social, recreational, other: 31%
Touring/hiking: 16%
Other: 26%

Photo ‘Amsterdam’. Courtesy (cc) of Bart van Dijk.

Can cycling grow further?
The bicycle competes very well with other modes for short distances. 70% of all trips are shorter than 7.5 km. Of all car trips, more than 50% are shorter than 7.5 km. For most people that’s less than an half hour of cycling. A big portion of that can easily be replaced by bike trips. The major differences in bicycle use between municipalities show that there are big gains to be made.

Photo ‘Marching Band, Dutch-Style’. Courtesy (cc) of happyrach8.

How healthy and safe is cycling?
Several studies show that sufficient exercise reduces the risk of health problems. In the long run exercise reduces risk of mortality by 20-30%, ± 40% risk reduction in coronary heart disease, 20-25% risk reduction in heart strokes, ± 40% risk reduction in diabetes mellitus type 2 and 20-40% risk reduction in breast cancer. The short term effects include lower risk of depression, increased quality of life, improved fitness and decrease in (severe) obesity. (Source: VU) Cycling is a great way of moving. And although in the cities a cyclist is exposed to dirty air and runs the risk of an accident, the positive effects of cycling outweigh these by far.

Photo ‘Lovers on a bike’. Courtesy (cc) of Iam sterdam.

The bicycle is a safe means of transport in the Netherlands. The risk of a person on a bicycle becoming victim of a serious traffic incident in the Netherlands is the lowest in the world. There are two major reasons: the creation of separate infrastructure for cycling and the large number of people on bicycles.

Photo ‘Man with bass and dog’. Courtesy of Bart van Dijk.

What are the costs for bicycle infrastructure in the Netherlands?
Every year, the Dutch government (national, regional & local) spends over 400 million euros on cycling infrastructure. Per kilometer traveled by bicycle that is as much as Flanders (Belgium) and Denmark combined. 400 million includes operating bicycle parking facilities, but excludes the establishment of infrastructure in new residential areas and major maintenance and renovation of old areas. (Sources: Fietsberaad, MON)

Photo ‘The Nanny’. Courtesy of Iam sterdam.

How many paths are there in the Netherlands?
According to the latest census of the Central Bureau of Statistics from 1996 the Netherlands had 17,075 km of separated bicycle paths and 1909 km of on road bicycle lanes. An analysis of the digital maps of the Cycling and Bicycles Routes in the Netherlands shows that there are currently actually over 29,000 km of separated bicycle paths and 4700 km of on road bicycle lanes. (Source: Fietsbalans 2).

Photo ‘Rain is upon us’. Courtesy (cc) of Gurugo.

How many bicycles are there in the Netherlands?
There are an estimated 18 million bicycles in the Netherlands. 13.5 Million people of 4 years and older (84%) own on average 1.3 bicycles. Every year, about 1.3 million new bikes are sold with a total value of nearly 1 billion euros. Half of all sold bikes are regular touring or city bicycles. In recent years, the sales of electric bikes spectacularly. The average price spent on a new bicycles in retail stores (including supermarkets) in the Netherlands is 750 euros. In specialty bike shops people spend on average over 900 euros on a new bicycle.

Photo ‘Amsterdam – Girls going to college’. Courtesy (cc) of Stephane Pironon.

‘Two Tongues Do Not Make A Right’ & ‘1+1 Own The Lane. By Amsterdamize.

How many bikes are stolen annually in the Netherlands?
Fear of theft is an oft-cited reason for motorists to take the car on short distances. (Source: CCV)
The actual number of bicycle thefts per year is not clear, since not all bicycle thefts are declared with the police. In two different studies the CBS made an estimate of the real extent of theft. Under the old method theft fell from 909,000 in 2005 to 541,000 in 2009. The new and reliable method revealed a much higher theft rate: in 2008 858.000, in 2009 a 4.5% increase to 897,000.

Photo ‘Cycling in style’. Courtesy (cc) of sindändùne.

How fast do people cycle?
Most people cycle at a fairly steady pace: between 15 and 18 km per hour. Obviously this can be done faster. The absolute world speed cycling record(behind a car as pacemakers) was clocked at 269 km/h in 1995, achieved by Dutchman Fred Rompelberg. On a recumbent bicycle, the Canadian Sam Whittingham reached a speed of 133 km/h in 2009.

Photo ‘Bicycle, Amsterdam’. Courtesy (cc) of SimonWhitaker.

Photo ‘Eddie and kids’, summer & winter. Courtesy (cc) of henry in a’dam.

Doesn’t it rain too often to cycle?
According to statistics of the KNMI it only rains 6.5% of the time. The longer you’re outside of course the more likely you’ll get wet from the rain. Being outside for about one hour, getting wet has a probability ranging from 0.09 in May to 0.16 in December.

Photo ‘Giro d’Amsterdam on a Friday afternoon’. Courtesy (cc) of hoofdweg.

Photo ‘P5197478-Edit’. Courtesy of El-lvis.

Update: Inspired by these figures, Mark Wagenbuur sat down at his editing suite and created this must-see video. I reckon this is a powerful tool and inspiration for any advocate or supporter of cycling in general to get the message across of what’s possible:

Bicycles came, saw, conquered, got beleaguered (1950-1970), needed ‘a little’ help & overcame (1975-present day). Elsewhere, it’s happening now. Some places experience revolutionary changes, others more evolutionary ones.

Growing pains are a small price to pay for all these big gains. N’est pas?

Photo ‘Framed | ‘Adjust” by Amsterdamize.

For closure, here are two of my own videos I made a few years back, timeless enough to keep spreading, imho.

From the source (via @VrijeFietser on Twitter): “A bicycle, dramatic music & great editing: all ingredients of the short film ‘Fiets!’. There’s no narration, but the actors’ facial expressions are sufficient. Words are not needed. The music adds drama, but at the same time it’s also cheeky. At first you probably don’t see the purpose of the film, but it all comes together in the end.”

Doesn’t it always :).

Mission Workshop is a little utility bag design company based in San Francisco -they also make some other nice garments. They recently came to Amsterdam to celebrate that Pristine would stock their goods and they made this nice short film about their stay.

I like their ‘When in Rome’ attitude. They certainly made the most of their visit to our beautiful city, including transporting a Christmas tree with their Dutch bike.

Just another day in Bicycle City.

Lauren and I moved house recently. From the Vondelpark area to.. well, the epicenter, the seediest part of town, Sodom & Gomorra, really.

I know, right?!? Hor-ri-fic! I can only show a few. You understand. Cover your children’s eyes. This is what we see when we step out and go around the corner.

You see? I trust them as far as I can throw ‘m…*

*Tongue firmly planted in cheek

Let me introduce you to a friend of mine: Cyrina from The Hague. A beautiful woman, a long-time blogger and a teacher.

She loves..I say she LOVES to cycle everywhere, you’ll see her tweet that on a regular basis. Recently she shot this ‘Panda’ (no, not our black/white furry friend) and with it she instantly established herself as Ambassador of Happiness. Who else can I add to this special photo gallery? I’m pretty sure there are many, MANY more :).

This summer has been hot so far, so cycling goes down just a notch, we don’t like to break a sweat, like with our daily A-to-B-isms. Good for me, gives me even more time to frame my captures.

You go and head out for one of the city’s beaches, for instance.

En route, it’s very likely you spot a certain blog post’s subject :).

This is just one of many ways to move your bikes.

Easy going at the lights.

Back in the city, cycling forms a welcome cooling off.

For some cooler than others.

Carry on.

Summer discounts and such.

Three on two equals six.

Grocery shopping togetherness.

And those days seem to go on and on, and on, and on…

Alright, time to catch up, shall we?

In May I flew to Florida to spend quality time with Lauren & her family and attend a friend’s wedding in New Orleans.

Obviously, Florida was hot and humid, a matter of moving slowly, balance your air conditioning, so to speak. I had the opportunity to bike around, be it in a resort-like beach area, very private, so nothing eventful to report, when you consider the short routes to the beach.

Leaving this area meant switching to a car. Urban sprawl, huge sprawl of course. On the move, I did spot a few locals going about on two wheels. Emphasis on ‘few’. I didn’t envy them, but as it goes with locals, I’m glad it made sense to them. Little glitters of gold in an ocean of metal boxes.

Naturally, my New Orleans experience & observations were quite different, walking around in this vibrant & characteristic city.

Laid-back, colorful, entertaining, never a dull moment, I’m sure you’ve heard it all. Well, as with many other cities, there’s more to it than meets the eye, a vibe you can’t entirely put your finger on. I sure couldn’t, being there for just a few days (not counting that one day in 1992), but I felt it going round every corner. Little & longer encounters, the details of local customs, the friendliness, the smells and more, much more.

I’ll let the pictures serve as what they are, mere glimpses into a rich urban culture that I can’t wait to return to.

The wedding party was equally fun & interesting :).

PS: can someone please finally fix this water management problem in NOLA? Just one night of heavy rain blanketed the entire city. Thanks a bunch. NOLA people deserve much better than this. (And let’s not even get into the whole BP debacle..)

On the threshold of summer & inspired by my own personal travels on the road to love, I give you the very best of my ‘Love Is…Bike’ photo series.

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As for us, correlation really does imply causation…:)

Any city official who gets to fiddle around with urban planning & infrastructure in relation to bicycles and is allowed to whine, blathering on with the straw man argument that ‘there are too many bikes in Amsterdam’ (re: growing bike use and continued lack of bike parking), should be tied up somewhere high up anywhere in town and watch his fellow citizens ride by.

Preferably for at least 24 hours. And then have him answer the question: “Would you rather deal with too many cars?” Count your friggin’ blessings, man.

We’ve been at this point many times before, in every decade since World War II.

In 1958, for instance, ‘Bicycle Problem In Amsterdam’:

No different in 1970, ‘Bicycle Surplus’:

Deal with it, be smart, provide it, there are enough means & know it’s a real investment in the future. Heck, embrace your very own & much publicized prime instrument for ‘sustainable mobility‘ and put your money where your mouth is. Speaking of money, real money: any Euro spent on bicycle infrastructure actually SAVES the city money, contrary to the bottomless pit that is the financing of car infrastructure, increased demands for health care and the relentless penetration of toxics.

If we’d really take your crying seriously, how the hell would you accommodate The Crazy Bicycle Parade at the start of the Giro d’Italia? Or do you consider the peloton too big for comfort as well?

Just saying.

And please continue to ignore anything that goes on below the river delta, where five southern cities have proven their provincial attitudes: banning bicycle parking from their downtown (shopping) areas, because ‘their square will look tidier’ & ‘and will no more be a safety hazard’ (apparently someone tripped).

National TV news bulletin ‘Netwerk’ deemed it important enough to dedicate a whole show to it (now offline):

“Our city center will be bicycle-free”, the municipality of Venray announced in early March. Bicycles will have to be parked on the edge of the inner-city. Those who don’t comply will be fined. An exception? Hardly. Other cities like Maastricht, Eindhoven and Tilburg are also banning bicycles from their city centers.”

‘Netwerk’ was right to juxtapose their non-existent ‘problem’ with the real issues Amsterdam is dealing with. This broadcast spoke volumes (and at the same time ‘Netwerk’ pretty much exposed the flawed execution of Amsterdam’s ‘orphan bike’ removal program, aka relentless & too eager and sloppy in its signage.

As a source of mine at the Cyclists Union jokingly responded to the southern bans: “Must be something toxic in the (holy) water.” Yeah, but even there not all are infected or just plain stupid. I’ll make up my mind in a few months, see if any protests will have emerged by then…

In any case, it should be easy to do MUCH better over here, right?

One of the many perks of living in Amsterdam: you can stop anytime, anywhere and analyze what mood your fellow-urbanites are in. Made extraordinarily easy by the simple fact that most of them move by bicycle.

Carelessly adjusting his faulty front fender

In a different world all together…

It’s obvious her mood is a-ok & this woman’s heels and rolled up pants tell me she eagerly awaits springtime

He rose up and saluted me with a nice ‘yoooo!!’ I guess bicycle bloggers are cool in his book :).

One proud Amsterdammer…or he just has lots on his mind. Poetry, perhaps?

Dreary faces on a dreary day while getting up to speed

The side saddle hop in action. A smile when I was spotted by the rider…