Cycling in and around Amsterdam - wow!

[Gwylan]

After living and working for 20 years in Belgium there are a few points to consider.

The bicycle is a respected, practical and recognised form of transport.
Be amazed at the school bike run.
The infrastructure has been built over 50 or more years
Generally motorists are also cyclists and understand cycling.
Also there are more cyclists about all the time so you have to look out!

As for us, a little more "peace and love" between some road users would be helpful

 

[Julia9054]

Also there are more cyclists about all the time so you have to look out!

One thing to get used to - apart from the volume of cyclists - is that mopeds use the cycle lane too. Made me jump at first! In the centre of Amsterdam, the locals are not very tolerant of visitors dithering because they don’t know the system or where they are going. Capital city syndrome I guess - not like that outside the centre.

Be amazed at the school bike run.

I’d love to see what the bike storage facilities look like at the average secondary school.

 

[mjr]

I’d love to see what the bike storage facilities look like at the average secondary school.

Surprisingly, from what I've seen when visiting Amsterdam and Rotterdam, school storage ain't all that great. Often they're like a typical 1950s/60s-built modernist/brutalist UK secondary school was before their bike parking was ripped out and given to more car parking spaces: an area fenced off as a bike park, with something like Sheffield stands or more likely close-packed wheelbenders or gutters to lock to, and if it's a very posh one, maybe a roof over the part of it nearest the road that still allows staff in the school building to see it. Here's a pic of a random college off Google maps, but there were several similar ones:

There will probably be a lot more roadside close-packed "tulip" or similar stands (tougher less wheelbendy wheel-grabbers often with an arm to anchor a wheel lock extension cable to) for any unlucky ones who can't fit into the ones inside the fence:

From the emptiness, I suspect the school wasn't in full session at the time of the pictures, but it makes it a bit easier to see what's there to support a mass of bikes: very little.

 

[Gwylan]

One thing to get used to - apart from the volume of cyclists - is that mopeds use the cycle lane too. Made me jump at first! In the centre of Amsterdam, the locals are not very tolerant of visitors dithering because they don’t know the system or where they are going. Capital city syndrome I guess - not like that outside the centre.

I’d love to see what the bike storage facilities look like at the average secondary school.

Brommers, bromfiets, mopeds. Get modified and can achieve frightening speeds.

Be aware, very aware and a bit frightened. Teenager on moped at 60kph does not come off well in contact with a car, or anything else really

 

[Oldhippy]

My school bike rack in the 70's had space for about 200 bikes and it was full every day. We've gone backwards in modern times.

 

[Gwylan]

Brief research shows that mopeds capable of 90kph (>50mph) have been siezed by the police in Belgium and The Netherlands.

 

[Ming the Merciless]

My school bike rack in the 70's had space for about 200 bikes and it was full every day. We've gone backwards in modern times.

Agree , in those days you cycled, walked, or got school bus. Kids driven to school were rare as hens teeth.

 

[Oldhippy]

I used to walk or cycle 3 miles each way. It's probably child abuse now.

 

[The Crofted Crest]

Cycle storage at my son's schools was designed to meet demand for cycle storage. Neat, orderly, well designed and spacious. Both junior and senior school could cope with a couple of thousand.

 

[Rooster1]

Is it 2 way? What happens if two cars approach?

It is two way, the cars have to sit back and wait....

 

[Time Waster]

We got the Dutch lack of tolerance to visitors not clued up on the Dutch way re roads and cycle use. 10 minutes off the Ijmeuden ferry and we got abuse and a gesticulating from a car for the crime of stopping at a side junction to let the car out.

Although the gesticulating and angry comments in Dutch from the cyclist behind us when we did the same about 3 minutes down the road from the ferry terminal should have alerted us to a different culture on the roads.

 

[Ming the Merciless]

I used to walk or cycle 3 miles each way. It's probably child abuse now.

Perfect daily cycling distance for a school kid. Mine was shorter, only 1 to 1.5 miles each way, depending which school site I was at that day.

 

[All uphill]

We got the Dutch lack of tolerance to visitors not clued up on the Dutch way re roads and cycle use. 10 minutes off the Ijmeuden ferry and we got abuse and a gesticulating from a car for the crime of stopping at a side junction to let the car out.

Although the gesticulating and angry comments in Dutch from the cyclist behind us when we did the same about 3 minutes down the road from the ferry terminal should have alerted us to a different culture on the roads.

Yes! It's the infrastructure that's different not human nature!

 

[Julia9054]

I used to walk or cycle 3 miles each way. It's probably child abuse now.

The child abuse bit is not the distance but today's volume of traffic, lack of infrastructure and attitude of drivers

 

[slowmotion]

I find the cycle lanes of Amsterdam a lot less agreeable than the five/six lanes of traffic round Hyde Park Corner.