Friends,

Here (http://www.ski-epic.com/amsterdam_bicycles/) are 82 pictures of bicycles taken during 73 minutes on 9/12/06 in Amsterdam, Netherlands.

Enjoy this view from an American in Amsterdam...

All pictures and comments courtesy of Brian W., San Francisco area, California, USA.

Stijloor.

They really like bicycles in Amsterdam!

I need to look into getting a dynamo for my husband :lol: He rides to and from work and he works from 5PM until 6AM, so he could really use it on his morning commutes. He's got some battery powered lights now, but I think he'd enjoy the dynamo :D

They really like bicycles in Amsterdam!

I need to look into getting a dynamo for my husband :lol: He rides to and from work and he works from 5PM until 6AM, so he could really use it on his morning commutes. He's got some battery powered lights now, but I think he'd enjoy the dynamo :D

I "googled" around and found this (http://www.yellowjersey.org/lolite.html).

I do not have a connection with this company

Stijloor.

Thanks, I'll check it out when I get home ;)

It is funny how one does not notice anything extraordinary in the day to day activities like riding a bike if you grew up doing so.

I am used to ride my black bicylcle with white painted dots (easy to recognise if it is parked among thousands other bicylces at the train station) often with two big supermarket bag on two sides of the steering wheel, a pack of flowers from the market in my hand, hand bag around my neck and my sports-backpack on by back. Of course I have the "fancy dynamo" for my lights and a carry a large safety chain lock.

If you write it down, I have to admit it might look a bit silly, but definitely healthier than using a car, better for the environment and no parking tickets!!!

Nice photos!!!
:applause:

....................often with two big supermarket bag on two sides of the steering wheel, a pack of flowers from the market in my hand, hand bag around my neck and my sports-backpack on by back...............
:applause:

We called it 'handle bar'............ talk about the generation gap.

We called it 'handle bar'............ talk about the generation gap.In my travels, I have seen bicycles with actual steering wheels in place of handle bars. If Ingrid has one of those, I doubt she needs a unique paint job to recognize it among lots of other bikes!;)

I "googled" around and found this...

Stijloor.

Hi,

Shimano manufactures a wheel, which has a dynamo in the center, i.e. around the axis. I've had one since one year and it is really nice. Practically no additional resistance and you do not need to re-adjust it every time somebody parks his bicycle near yours. Go google with "Shimano dynamo road wheel".

Regards
Raimo

Even tough living in Lisbon, I’ve been several times to Amsterdam.
In fact one of the things we can fins different there is that we can see lots of people riding bikes.
A total different mentality...
Here in Portugal the government spends lost of money building bike lanes, but what you can see there are car parked on them.
I ride a bike almost everyday, but I feel like being the only one here doing that!:(

AV

Even tough living in Lisbon, I’ve been several times to Amsterdam.
In fact one of the things we can fins different there is that we can see lots of people riding bikes.
A total different mentality...
Here in Portugal the government spends lost of money building bike lanes, but what you can see there are car parked on them.
I ride a bike almost everyday, but I feel like being the only one here doing that!:(

AV

Hello António,

Sad that even the great bicycle racers from your country (including the late great Joaquim Agostinho) have not been able to inspire people to get their butts on the bike. (It's part of our culture in the Netherlands.)

See here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Portuguese_cyclists
and here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joaquim_Agostinho

Happy New Year!

Stijloor.

(P.S. I quit doing my nice wikipedia thing)

Thanks for the pictures, I go to Amsterdam every two years, to play "badminton" !

Our hosts always take me on a bike ride.

Great fun, great place and great people.

Happy times

Friends,

Many have asked me: "Where do you park all these bikes?" :)
(Imagine if all these bikes were cars....) :mg: :mg:

Here are some pictures taken in different Dutch cities that explain this. :bigwave:


Bicycle parking (http://www.math.grin.edu/~chamberl/pictures/2002/holland/bikes2.jpg)1
Bicycle parking (http://ferreiraandcompany.com/images/Groningen%20Netherlands%20013.jpg) 2
Bicycle parking (http://j-walkblog.com/images/amsterbikes.jpg)3
Bicycle parking (http://pedrosantos.blogsome.com/images/Utrecht059.JPG)4

Stijloor.

Haha, cool piccas!

Things that help making people cycle overhere is the fact that the Netherlands are as flat as a pancake (as the Dutch would say :-)). No hills make for easy cycling. And then there is the car parking issue of course (very expensive in central Amsterdam). And we have the cycling infrastructure as well. Cycling is relatively safe in comparison to other countries, we don't wear helmets and such.

I don't have pictures of it, but I've visited Hanoi, Vietnam a couple of years ago, and that place surely beats Amsterdam for cycling. I've greatly enjoyed cycling there.

I don't have pictures of it, but I've visited Hanoi, Vietnam a couple of years ago, and that place surely beats Amsterdam for cycling. I've greatly enjoyed cycling there.

Martijn,

That must have been a challenge!

I found a picture taken in Hanoi. Is it really like this (http://blogs.bootsnall.com/Leaott/wp-content/uploads/2007/03/traffic.jpg)?

Stijloor.

Martijn,

That must have been a challenge!

I found a picture taken in Hanoi. Is it really like this (http://blogs.bootsnall.com/Leaott/wp-content/uploads/2007/03/traffic.jpg)?

Stijloor.

:D

That's pretty much what it looks like, although in my memory it's less cars and motorbikes and more bicycles. Traffic is quite organic there. Everybody surrounds themselves with a lot of beep beep BEEP BEEP horns. Bicycles give way to motorbikes, who give way to cars. Beep beep, ring your bells like a mad man and go with the flow :lol:. First piccie on this site is a better indication even http://people.hws.edu/harms/streets.htm

But cycling in Amsterdam can be interesting as well. There's also the thing there that cyclists ignores red traffic lights whenever it's safe to do so, making the whole experience a bit more exciting.

:D

But cycling in Amsterdam can be interesting as well. There's also the thing there that cyclists ignores red traffic lights whenever it's safe to do so, making the whole experience a bit more exciting.

I know Martijn! I had to jump a few times to save my a$$. :D

I try to tell my American friends, that inspite of all this, it is still the best way to get around in cities. In the USA, Portland is a very bike-friendly city. In Charlotte, where I live, you really have to pick the right day and time to go biking. It's usually early Saturday and Sunday mornings. We usually ride in "the country." Fewer cars and more to see and enjoy.

Stijloor.

Hello António,

Sad that even the great bicycle racers from your country (including the late great Joaquim Agostinho) have not been able to inspire people to get their butts on the bike. (It's part of our culture in the Netherlands.)
...

Happy New Year!

Stijloor.

Thanks for your post!

In fact Agostinho was a great bike racer!
One of his team mechanics often fixes my MTB bike – bikes have no secrets for this guy!
We also have the latest Olympic silver medalist in the men’s race. His name is Paulinho. He was just behind the great Italian Betini!

About few people (almost nobody) riding bikes here in Portugal, it’s all about the status Portuguese think they have achieved.
If a guy is going to the supermarket using a bicycle, is probably a person that has no money to go by car – even that the supermarket is less than one mile away from his home..., this is the new Portuguese way of thinking...
Years ago mainly in the north of Portugal we could see lots of people going to work using bikes. Now that’s impossible, everybody has at least a car and uses it ever since leaving home...
The saddest thing is the money spent by the Government in cycle lanes, and they are totally empty all the time!

An excellent 2008 to you!

AV:bigwave:

How cold does it get in Amsterdam? I couldn't see biking under 40 deg F. :D

How cold does it get in Amsterdam? I couldn't see biking under 40 deg F. :D

Currently, it's 34 degrees Fahrenheit in Amsterdam.
Wind, snow, sleet, ice, rain.....the biking never stops.
We Dutch dress for the occasion. :D

Stijloor.

Currently, it's 34 degrees Fahrenheit in Amsterdam.
Wind, snow, sleet, ice, rain.....the biking never stops.
We Dutch dress for the occasion. :D

Stijloor.

Sounds like fun. :cool:

http://elsmar.com/jpg/73259754vc2.jpg

Sounds like fun. :cool:

It is! Makes for healthy kids too.

Stijloor.

It is! Makes for healthy kids too.


I can see where that might be the case.

http://elsmar.com/jpg/buriedlg7.jpg

I can see where that might be the case.

Never seen something like that happen.

The snow rarely gets this high.
Our kids have amazing motoric/balancing skills