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.

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.

Toronto, check. Chicago, check. Up next: Washington D.C & Miami!

No, I’m not on a grand tour :), but yes, ThinkBike’s wheels are rolling on!

The Royal Netherlands Embassy, in cooperation with the District Department of Transportation (DDOT) and the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments (MWCOG), will host a 2-day event – the ThinkBike Workshops – on Monday, November 15 and Tuesday, November 16, 2010.

The ThinkBike workshops will bring together Dutch bicycle transportation experts, local transportation planners, engineers and cyclists to plan and discuss how Washington, DC can become more bike-friendly. The workshops will address bike safety, commuting by bike, biking to school, bike parking, bikes and public transport and law enforcement. Successful ThinkBike workshops were recently held in Toronto and Chicago.

Opening and closing sessions are open to the general public. There is no cost, but advance registration is required. Click here to register for the opening session on Monday, November 15 and here for the closing session and reception on Tuesday, November 16, or contact Megan Kanagy megan.kanagy@dc.gov, Transportation Planner at DDOT, at 202-671-5111.

So, are you going to attend? Yes? Great! People who did before would say you won’t regret it. And I invite you to share your thoughts on this blog. The more the merrier!

‘DC Morning Cyclists’, photo courtesy of Mikael Colville-Andersen

PS: I found this picture from 1911, I thought I’d share for inspiration :)

‘Elphinstone Winning Washington marathon’ photo by Library of Congress

Following up on this recent announcement; Hans Voerknecht, Manager International Dutch Fietsberaad/Bike Council & Team Blue Leader had this to say about the very first ThinkBike Workshop:

Make cyclists, not war

On September 20th and 21st a team of four Dutch experts on bike policy held a two-day workshop in Toronto, called ThinkBike, to give a boost to Toronto’s bikeability. There were two teams (Blue and Orange) of 9 people, with 2 Dutch experts in each of them and 7 from the Toronto city staff, TCAT and bicycle advocates. Each team worked on a different design assignment and also worked on a long term strategy for Toronto bikeability. The objectives were:

• Produce a ready to apply bike improvement design for the area chosen;
• Display the Dutch philosophy on bike policy and make it applicable to the Toronto bike policy;
• Give ingredients for a Toronto long term strategy and marketing campaign.

In those two days – productive beyond imagination! – we were able to show what we achieved in a well-filled club “El Mocambo”. The team ThinkBike BLUE, produced a bike friendly network for Downtown west, limited by Spadina in the West, Bay in the East, Queens in the North and the Waterfront in the South. Not only did we provide for safe bike routes, but we also went for redefining the public space on several streets, making “Green Streets” in the already quiet streets as well as on Wellington St. For the chosen “Safe cycle routes” complete street designs were produced, with pictures of Dutch reference situations to show how the quality of the street image would improve. The streets chosen for these safe cycle routes were Peter St. in the West, Sincoe in the East and Wellington as an important East-West-corridor for bikes. Recommendations were made to redesign them Dutch style, which means:

• Colored pavement on all the bike trails (preferably red);
• Continuation of the coloured bike trails on intersections;
• Choose for separate cycle facilities;
• Make bike boxes on all intersections in order to prevent cyclists being cut by right-turning cars;
• Make bike trails at the right side of parked cars in order to prevent ‘dooring’ and to have cyclists protected by parked cars from traffic;
• Make the safe bike routes very recognizable by good signing (also by painting the name of the route on the pavement);
• Make physical separations between bike trail and traffic in the absence of parked cars;
• Make new solutions like a two way bike path on the quiet side of the road.

Of course bicycles are allowed on all streets, but we wanted a special safe and protected route for people who are not cycling yet but like to start cycling. These people will feel a little uncomfortable in the heavy Torontonian traffic and these safe bike routes will provide the essential feeling of safety in order to make them cycle. Because the two cornerstones of the Dutch philosophy towards cycling are: “Joy” (people enjoy to cycle) and “Perceived Safety” (people won’t cycle unless they feel safe).

In order not to endanger car capacity some other roads were chosen to be roads where car traffic can flow fast and easily, without sharing room with many cyclists. These streets include Queens, Richmond, Adelaide, Spadina and University.

The other team, ThinkBike ORANGE, made a carefully worked out design for Sherbourne Road, providing solutions that may be applied in the parts of Sherbourne Road that will be reconstructed in the oncoming years. Also these were illustrated with pictures of Dutch reference situations.

For the long term strategy two major strengths, two weaknesses, two opportunities and two threats were identified:

Strengths: All age and gender groups are cycling in Toronto and there is a good cycle culture
Weaknesses: Lack of funding and outdated design standards
Opportunities: The coming of BIXI and the asset that you can find all the amenities on your way home – by bike
Threats: Suburban vs. downtown perception of cycling and lack of appreciation of planning expertise

For the marketing plan, something that Toronto really could build upon is, that it is not a single age and gender group that cycles, but a good variety of average people, so that everybody can identify with people who already bike. That could be the starting point for a “This is Toronto, and this is where I bike”-campaign.

For the long term strategy, it was found to be paramount that cycling in the long term only will come to a level where society really can benefit of all the advantages of more cycling (minimum of 10% trip share, now about 2%) is when children learn to cycle. So a bike-to-school and a bike education programme is needed. Also cycling to shops and a GTA bike-transit policy integration should be a part of a new Toronto Bike Plan. What’s more: cycling facilities should have a much higher quality, should be much more enjoyable, so also beginning cyclists feel safe. Including the essentials of the Dutch bicycle tools and philosophy already mentioned, would be beneficial.

Well, and then, we got a lot of attention… I was on the Matt Galloway show Monday morning on CBC (and also on the French spoken channels later on), who also followed us around on the bikes on our survey of the city.

What seemed strange to me is that in Toronto the “War on cars” has taken on a life of its own, by claiming that there would be more bicycle facilities at the expense of some car lanes. This is definitely not true, because most of these car lanes are superfluous anyway.

How can I claim that? Well, just take a look at Spadina going to Gardiner Expressway. In the evening only so many cars can go on the last bit of Spadina to Gardiner Expressway. And Gardiner usually being filled up at that time of day, even less than one car lane feeds onto Gardiner. So even if you build one hundred lanes going that way, the number of cars feeding into Gardiner stays the same. Most of these lanes are just temporary moving parking spaces for traffic going down Spadina. Dedicating one lane to Safe Bike routes would not affect car accessibility or affect total travel time for cars. This way you provide people more possibilities for faster travelling by using the bike or the bike-transit integration. OK, car drivers may get frustrated when cyclists pass them while they are waiting in rush hour traffic, but that may give them an incentive to get out of their car and use their bike. No extra car lanes will improve the flow of traffic as can be seen in any modern city in the world.

Yes it’s true, bikes are just the fastest, healthiest, most sustainable and most convenient mode of transport in any city. Yes, in Toronto too.

Hans Voerknecht
Team Blue leader

Excellent work & write-up, Hans, dankjewel!

Once again; if you attended ThinkBike Toronto and want to share your thoughts about it, don’t hesitate, this would be the right place to do so! :)

Finally, stay tuned for the results & impressions from ThinkBike Chicago that was held today!

When I get off the train and walk to my office in the morning, I see other people going the last leg of their daily journey, taking that last hurdle, where rural tranquility meets suburban sprawl: the highway.

This bicycle/pedestrian bridge is way old, old skool, walking & pushing is a thing of the past. Nowadays, the usual policy directive for crossing a highway is to dig. Much better, but this ‘ll do. Progress will reach this neck of the woods someday, too.

Photographer and Amsterdamize subscriber Stefanella Orzan from Rome was so kind to send me this video today, called Pedal Power, excerpts from a bicycle documentary produced by Canada’s CBC. It aired a few months ago, unfortunately you can only watch the whole film online if you actually live in Canada, but I guess you can circumvent that by proxy :).

Bicycles and automobiles have to share the same roads – a recipe for conflict – and many potential cyclists just won’t ride in the city because they see it as too dangerous. Add in the plague of bike theft and a lot of cyclists are simply leaving their bikes at home.

In Canada, bicycles “don’t get no respect.” From the story of Igor, and the anatomy of the underground world of bike peddlers in Toronto, this film spins out to how other cities are making riding safe. Using innovative “bike-cam” techniques to convey, up-close, the sensation of bike riding, a series of character-driven mini-narratives propel the film through a study of what makes a city “bikeable”. Whether it’s the public bike program in Paris, bike mega-garages in Amsterdam, bike paths in Vancouver and Montreal, or the surprising leadership of New York City, we follow the story of this remarkable little conveyance as it wheels though the first decade of the 21st century.

This video includes samples of the everyday cycle life of a Dutch family and a very nice expose on the world’s first (attempt at a) bike share program by the Provos, the 1965 White Bicycle Plan, initiated by Luud Schimmelpennink.

Although the narrator mentions some data that are in fact not correct, it doesn’t hurt the premise of this fine piece of work. Normalcy in cycling is here, there and spreading everywhere.

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.

I took home many things from my trip to Bilbao, including video footage, lots of it.

Part 1 takes us a bit back to the moment when Gabemac and I got on the hotel/cruiser bikes to head for the Guggenheim Museum. Let’s just say this is the really mellow first chapter…:)

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.