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 :).

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.

I recently stated that bicycles are the most social means of transportation. Some would say I’m merely preaching to the choir, others might quip “Yeah, sure, maybe in your world, over here it’s war/we’re not even allowed to ride two-abreast/we don’t have time for that sort of thing”.

I understand all that, but putting that aside for a second, I’ll go out on a limb and say it’s really the case. I witness it every day, the socialization factor is X. Yes, Social Factor X marks this mode. This social mobility is vertical, horizontal and diagonal. It enhances city life, personal experiences & generally puts the observer in a very good mood. A win-win.

Using a bike for practical purposes is no different than, aka part of, just going about life, really, so just this fact alone allows every aspect of life to continue, albeit on two wheels (or more).

Amsterdamize was established to not talk the talk so much, but show it, so here we go. First up, a man moving his painting by bike. Again, Dutch people carrying stuff on their bike is as ordinary as…well, name anything.

Then he slows down and gets off his bike. At first I thought he had arrived at his destination. But no, he dismounted because he saw a friend and decided to catch up with him, walking along.

Others bumping into a friend and catching up…

Which brings us to the classic ’sharing the ride with your offspring’…

Equal to walking, it also allows you to catch up with the state of affairs on the fly…

And it helps speed up the shopping together process…despite a few inclines here and there…

You’re also more likely to have some heartwarming interaction with street photographers…

Finishing lunch while making the handicapped more able…

Strengthening the father-daughter relationship…

Checking up on your daughter and friends, swimming in the Amstel River…

Finally, when you’re a kid, there’s no reason not to continue fooling around with your best buddy…

Well, the following ain’t half bad, either :)…

Just a few summer images from the Bicycle Capital. A stack of postcards, if you will.

I have to admit, I have it easy. I live in Amsterdam. Whether I stick my head out of the window or step outside, ANYwhere I go and look (aka, point my camera) there are bikes. Either stationary or with people on them. There’s not a single angle you can view this city without them draping the mis-en-scene. The same, and often more of it applies to the rest of the country.

Anyway, as Amsterdamize’s faithful readers know, it doesn’t mean I take that for granted, unlike many of my fellow Dutchies. They just ride. They put cycling on the same conscious level as walking. You just move, from A to B. “Cycling is just a faster way of walking” & “Bikes are like shoes” are popular memes. We’ve come a long way since the destructive decline between 1950 – 1975. Newcomers: that’s geek speak for ‘this bicycle culture was man-made‘.

Sundays aren’t any different from other days of the week. So similarly, I had my camera with me and on my A to B to C to D route I first stopped for 15 minutes at Meester Visserplein near Waterloo square I started clicking away, aka I put my hand in the proverbial cookie jar.

It’s always nice to get a kiss for your efforts ;).

Next up, I positioned myself in front of Cafe Americain of the American Hotel on Leidseplein, again for about 15 min. Plenty to see.

And often enough, somebody notices me too ;).

Last week I was on my way to Foam, the photography museum on Keizersgracht, to go on a guided tour of the exhibition ‘Set Amsterdam‘ by Dana Lixenberg.

I had 10 minutes to spare, so figured I could shoot a few pics of people on bikes & how they were dealing with the rain and heavy winds that had come upon us.

The tour was supposed to be led by Paul Marbus, location scout for the popular Dutch tv series ‘A’dam & E.V.A’ (Adam & Eva / Amsterdam & And Many Others), but he called in sick and the tour topic changed to ‘Antiphotojournalism‘. I had been looking forward to hearing more about the visual backgrounds of this show, as its main character is the city of Amsterdam, so this was quite a bummer.

Here’s the trailer for ‘A’dam & E.V.A.’:

Every day our lives cross that of dozens, maybe hundreds of others, other people we don’t know: incidently passing by, people from the same neighborhood, shop keepers, complete strangers, a voice at the other end of the line, young, old, closeby or at a distance. Our existence continuously touches that of others. Often there’s nothing particular that happens; we just happen to be close, at the same time and at the same place, to then disappear from each other’s lives forever.

The series’ season ended a month ago, I had never watched it on tv, so I resorted to the internet archives. I was blown away. So clever, so nice, so compelling and so true to form. The reason I got to this show was that Marco (the author of Muenchenierung) and I did a presentation about marketing (cycling) at the Agora Symposium, and he’d picked this video as a prime example of co-promotion. (Marco was also the one who tipped me about the photography tour).

Back to Foam: ‘Antiphotojournalism’ was very impressive, moving and interesting as a viewing excercise (being the news buff that I am), but it was not what I came for. Dana’s photos of humanless interiors in Amsterdam were beautiful and I was able to put them in the right context, but Paul’s presence was needed. All in all, I was glad I went.

Before exiting the building I bought the spring issue of Foam magazine, themed ‘Happy’.

Its feature article starts with:

What is the fundamental nature of happiness? Is it a mood, an emotion, or simply a series of agreeable events? Are there different kinds of happiness and what characterizes a pleasant and satisfying life? And, of course, how can we achieve a state of supreme happiness? Perplexing questions indeed.

It explores the cultural and economical aspects that so popularly define ‘hapiness’, states different surveys and looks at the question through the prisms of different photographers, sprinkled with famous quotes on the subject:

To be truly happy and contented, you must let go of what it means to be happy or content. – Confucius.

Happiness is nothing more than good health and a bad memory. – Albert Schweitzer.

But what is happiness except the simple harmony between a man and the life he leads? – Albert Camus.

For me it is easy. My two-wheeled friend lifts more obstacles between myself & happiness than I can count. I just have to remind myself of it occasionally.

Then I read this…

As witnessed on the corner of Nieuwmarkt and Zeedijk last week.

Predictably there were quite some April Fool’s jokes of the bicycle kind, all over the world. To catch ‘m on the go you really need to spend time on Twitter.

The Dutch couldn’t stay behind, of course. So here’s my favorite of the day, in video format, by Heineken, to the tune of & borrowing the bicycle scenes from that infamous Dutch flick Turks Fruit (Turkish Delight):

Funny/nice/cute, no? Well, you’re a fool: it’s actually for real. They actually sell those. For the launch of their new downtown shop, Heineken used this day to create some awareness. It worked.

I can’t say it’s a step up from the usual milk crate, but I’ll give ‘m kudos for the effort. Now let me pop my La Trappe Tripel, to kick start the weekend. Somebody on Twitter just said it’s going to be 25C.

I’d be a fool not to drink to that.

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.

Slowly but surely a heavy snow front moved over the Netherlands last Friday. Given that our national railway company has shown to be ill-prepared for anything wet, whether liquid or solid, I left the office (about 55 km south of Amsterdam) early, around 3pm. Unsurprisingly, trains were out of order indefinitely.

I took a shot at taking a bus. As that schedule was shaky too, I used the winter scenes as a way to calm down :).

I’ll spare you the details, but I got home over 5 hours later. Yes, completely knackered, fed up & generally frustrated at the complete melt-down of our public transportation network.

So I popped a beer, took it easy and occasionally looked out the window, appreciating the fact that I actually made it back home.

I woke up to an even whiter wonder world. That called for a ride & pictures. Not exactly a comfortable one, because again the city ordinance neglected to do the right thing & clear the roads, even the most traveled ones. And this weekend it’s certainly worse than last one, lots of ice, sleet and piled up crap that creates unnecessary havoc & risky situations. Of course, Amsterdammers/the Dutch are pretty pragmatic, you’ll still see ‘m out there on two wheels, but not as much as usual. With trams and buses not exactly running on time, there are only two options left: on foot or by car. Guess what, people will not walk 2-7 km for their daily errands.

Anyway, I think I managed to capture the essence of the aforementioned. Regarding the mood of this post & to be absolutely clear: this city’s beauty quickly melted away all my built-up frustrations. Some would say: nothing a bike ride can’t fix.

I fell on my butt twice this weekend. Both on foot. Just sayin’. :)

Riding home on a late afternoon I lost track of Lauren around Nieuwmarkt square, I rode on, figuring I’d meet her out front at home. Then she called me, saying I should return to Nieuwmarkt. When I did, I saw her sitting on one of the marble benches. Mind you, it was a very cold afternoon, and Lauren doesn’t do cold, so to speak. She quickly corrected my confusion: “Just look at this, these trees are so cute & beautiful! and they smell great!”

Another example of this Dutchie taking things for granted. The scenes that unfolded prompted me to take off my gloves and slip into the role of bicycle culture photographer. This culture would have it that people pick up Christmas trees by bike, just as they pick up their kids, groceries or any other item. It’s the convenient thing to do.

We didn’t end up buying one ourselves, as we’ll be spending the week around Christmas in Milwaukee. I plan to smell their trees, too :).

Amsterdammers experienced a few atmospheric transitions the last couple of weeks. The Dutch love to talk about the weather, but that doesn’t imply they hate it. Otherwise they wouldn’t keep on riding as they do.

We went from ‘just a particularly cold fall’…

To our first snow…

To just bone-chilling crispyness…

To a bit of slippin’ & sliding’…as the City of Amsterdam deemed it unnecessary to clear the paths on a massive scale. Or more precise: they looked at the 2-day forecast and figured it would melt away fast enough. Wrong. Fail. Think ahead a little more & you can imagine frozen sleet. And fewer people having to make use of the first aid.

More on that in the next post.

Lauren & I managed (on our Sinterklaas shopping spree), although she did fall in a slow turn. Aside from that, the city does look extra pretty in white. My favorite season.

And finally…the scenic transition of one (of two) wrecked ‘orphan bike’ in front of our house.

PS: the swans are also always there. Rain, shine, snow, sleet, whatever.

“…what we need is more people that ride bikes.” True words spoken by Michael Bauch, maker of the now well-known bicycle documentary ‘Riding Bikes With The Dutch’.

There are many words for different purposes utilizing the best invention ever. Don’t let the labels distract you. And there are many people who like you to believe that you need to worry about all sorts of gear before even thinking about hopping on that saddle. Be very suspect of those, they only want to sell you stuff you don’t really need.

Instead, focus on the important: breathe that air, let your mind escape, absorb your city, town, neighborhood, streets, bricks, sounds, smells. Connect with your habitat. Nod, affirm, gesture, be gentle. Let it tingle, sing, hum, rock, or just be. Be you. At ease, at your own pace. Agile & smooth, flexible, purposeful. No sweat, no religion, no politics, just you & those you choose, those who you encounter. Those who will help you and you will meet again.

It will make you feel so much better. 100% guaranteed.

Don’t take it from me. Ask any of these people. ;)

Even when it’s not really your day…

I started using the iPhone app ‘Instagram’ recently, as I like adding flavor to the usually poor quality of photos I (literally) shoot on the fly. It’s an iPhone 3GS after all, not enough pixels :). Anyhoo, it’s time to share them on the blog.

‘Subway’

‘Cold’ & ‘Red’

‘Four Cops – two types of horses’

‘A Woman’s Best Friend’ & ‘Cowboy’

‘Headwind’

‘Go / Mobile’

‘Coffee To Go’

‘Gimme Shelter’ & ‘Fatigue’

‘cIJcling’

‘Fun’ & ‘Warm Feet’

‘Scarfs & Hats Are Back’

‘Wait’ & ‘On The Side’

‘Stroll’

‘Corn On The Cob’ & ‘Cheese & Meats’

‘Done Shopping, Calling Home’

Any requests, guys & dolls?

Saturday afternoon, first weekend of October. One last dose, last spat of summer. Amsterdammers on the move in Zen City. Or enjoying that intermission.

Some combine both. And then some.

Spot your friends & the spot to park.

Step it up…

Enjoy while it lasts.

It seems like only yesterday that I enjoyed the sensation of this summer’s arrival. But alas, it’s gone, over, finito, basta. So far, that Indian Summer only reared its head once. Alas, dedicating this post to another month’s closure. Let’s see how October goes.

Nearly nothing beats going around town running errands & meeting up with people at a relaxed pace, with all the time on your hand to stop, observe and click away. Click, click, click, click. And repeat.

Overtaking can be torturous.

Couples stick together.

Families on the move.

A little help.

Maarten took some action shots of me taking bike action shots, for a feature (interview) in the Cyclists Union magazine ‘Vogelvrije Vrije Fietser‘ with little ol’ me, which will appear in the Oct/Nov issue.

Take your time.

Residential cycling & parking.

Beach cruiser a la Hollandaise.

Some think it’s quite warm…

While others basically think winter has arrived.

SIM.

Grimace.

Gotta have a hobby.

Chit/chat.

It’s green.

The abundance of the sun.

‘This tram is powered by green electricity’.

The Palace.

Cross talk.

Alert: man with hat & wind beneath your hair.

Rembrandt Corner.

Green Miles.

Mr Cool & Mrs Doubt.

I think he’s happy with his new bike.

Occupied.

Mr. Hipster.

She’s my personal favorite Flower Lady & even locals appreciate her bike when she parks it.

Ride along with dad.

Eye contact & a ‘hi’ soon after.

Second opinion & chit/chat.

Nice light.

The Headshop & Reach Out.

A Dutch circus act & sunny sms.

Nice fella, that was meant for me.

Amsterdammers DO hand signals & autumn chic colors.

And back in the Red Light District, this fella’s bike nicely matches the backdrop.

Which is silly to say, as they all do in Amsterdam.

The Red Light District is usually chuck full of people. Afternoons, evenings and nights. Only the mornings are really ‘owned’ by the residents…while visitors execute their much-needed REM-sleep.

Understandably, with rain tourists on two feet flee into the nearest establishments and have a beer or two. That’s when I step out to have a stroll around the hood. On this particular night I walked through a light drizzle, intermissions of a few heavier drops, but no wind and a nice temperature. Anyhoo, a perfect moment to set the camera to ‘no flash’ and on a low shutter speed.

It’s a photo mood exercise, not a critique on people on bikes not having working lights. They are adults and I’m not with the police…or finger-wagging crowd. Just so you know. ‘Turn On The Red Light‘, just an obvious play on words.

This week David Hembrow made the case that bicycle paths make rain more pleasant.

Being away from motor vehicles in bad weather has a number of advantages. For a start, you have no concerns about “not being seen” by drivers whose vision is obscured by rain, spray or mist. You also remain drier because you are not hit by spray or splashed water from puddles. And you also don’t ride over spilled diesel or broken glass from cars.

Never thought of that this way, but yeah, he has a point. One aspect he doesn’t touch on is that rain comes and goes in NL, quite literally. This being a given, as a consequence many will just adapt the easiest (aka most convenient) way: a rain jacket, sometimes a cape, often an umbrella.

With strong winds (the real culprit over here) you’ll see amusing scenes, but the Dutch are pretty pragmatic, if it works, great, if not, so be it. If you can do it walking, you can do it cycling. Moving on.

The latter bewilders visitors often:

I have to say: after seeing it in so many photos (and once when I was actually in Amsterdam), I tried the umbrella+cycling thing. It did not work!! How do you guys do it? Only my hair was dry when I got home – and I had a huge umbrella. I guess I need more practice..

Anyway, rain can’t really be an excuse not to cycle. You get wet and you dry up again. “You’re not made of sugar” comes to mind :). Mais oui, it helps living in the Bicycle Capital of the World, where thousands upon thousands of fellow citizens, young and old, show every day it’s not an obstacle at all.

Two-wheeled pairs. Pairs, two-wheeled. Or two just pairing for a brief moment. All within the blink of an eye.

And being the better half, holding your girlfriend’s bike while she looks for something useful in the garbage.

I kind of chuckle every time I slap Mikael’s label ‘Cycle Chic‘ on something. So ironic: the simple act of cycling, simply in your everyday clothes, on a ‘normal’ bike…’chic’. ‘Cycle Chic’.

I know, I know, so I live in a country, on a continent that has mostly stuck with the ‘normalcy’ of cycling. Nothing really new has come about the last 125 years, so why change a winning (read: the most accessible/comfortable/affordable/easy) concept?

Of course the irony doesn’t stop there: I blog about it ;). Me, the Dutchie! And some say we don’t HAVE a bike ‘culture’. I say: what’s in a name?

Sometimes I get to talk about my photos & videos. I often tell people (who never heard of my work, or the thread) that it’s about ‘humanity in motion’, about “taking something simple & ordinary and show how beautiful it really is”. Or I just go the easy route & utter: “Oh, it’s street photography.”

And on Saturdays like yesterday, you just count yourself lucky, having all the right ingredients for a thrilling, mesmerizing, intoxicating mix of images of… dare I say it: people on bicycles.

I got all excited about the autumn sun draping the city…and Lauren was my victim. Just to be clear and inspirational: Lauren didn’t dress up à la Cycle Chic, she just did for the day & then hopped on her bike….just like all the others :).

But I’m spoiled. I shouldn’t care about labels as necessary evils, when I ever so often have a smile & a wave like this coming my way…

Certainly for a bike blogger. You gotta mix it up as much as possible and have fun while doing it. Or is it the other way round? ;)

When you’re moving house by bakfiets… (video post follows soon)

When SAIL comes to town…

When you’re up earlier than the birds on a rainy day, but you’re not alone…

When you have an off day, and need an escape/some soothing…

When you can’t get enough of Dam Square…

When there’s a big theme party across the bay and every Amsterdammer seems to be going there…

Blog hiatus, forced or not, life meanwhile goes on and you wouldn’t want to miss a beat.

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

Last week Amsterdam celebrated its 15th Gay Pride, the theme being…’Celebrate’. Not at all redundant, when you consider the recent acts of violence on gays in the city. Yes, even in Amsterdam. The week’s events were more numerous and diverse than ever and they draped the city in pink, easily eclipsing the Giro d’Italia :). Parties, workshops, contests, art, you name it, it was there. It’s what this city desperately needs, in a time of Disneyfication and bourgeoisie, imho.

We woke up to a very wet and thus dreary Saturday, the day of the…THE Canal Parade. You’d think that would spoil the fun. Not so much. Sure, 380.000 onlookers instead of the usual half a million, that’s easy to understand, but as a party…ahum, Celebration, the scenes could easily have transpired in Rio-like conditions.

The other parade, the parade of people on bikes in Amsterdam, meanwhile, moved on, steadily. As it does on a daily basis.

If only there was no need for a Gay Pride, just like there’s no need for Critical Mass in Amsterdam, where everyone on two wheels (and more) is regarded equal, that we would just be the people we want to be. Rain or shine.