Posts Tagged ‘ Netherlands ’

That’s what people will tell you. And in some places it might be true. The trouble is that a flat country next to the sea will also tend to be windy: Give me hills instead of a headwind any day - at least with hills, you get a respite as you ride down the other...
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How’s about this for a story: One really very good reason that we should absolutely not be campaigning for a proper standard of cycle infrastructure in the UK is that it will RUIN (yes, literally RUIN) our sports cycling. In the Netherlands, their cycle teams actually have to train abroad, as they are NOT ALLOWED to train...
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I was reading the Bicycle Federation of Wisconsin’s hilarious post today about the European Cyclists’ Federation fantastic report on the relative carbon emissions of different forms of urban transport. Part of BFW’s post included a graph of relative cyclist safety, % of trips by bike, and the % of cyclists who wear helmets. I used their...
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Icy conditions can make it treacherous for those on two wheels. In Copenhagen when it snows, they know that clearing up for cyclists has to take top priority: In the Netherlands, even when it’s cold enough to freeze the canals & rivers, they make sure that their cycle routes are clear and safe: Meanwhile on this side of the...
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How’s this for an argument: It would be lovely to have the same kind of infrastructure and corresponding levels of cycling as the Dutch do. But let’s be realistic - it isn’t going to happen. We can’t change the world by wishing it were different, and if we demand something that’s as far removed from the...
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David Hembrow’s done it again - hit the nail right on the head. This post in A View From The Cycle Path gives a bit of background to the changes in Dutch society in the 1970s that led them to build the infrastructure that they have today. Up until then, both the UK and the...
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Bikehugger raises an interesting difference between places where they have a culture of riding bikes and the rest of the world. Quoting Copenhagenize , he says, "There are stamp collectors who love everything about stamps and there is the rest of us who just lick ‘em and slap ‘em on envelopes because...
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