Cycling in The Netherlands

[i24]

I had the pleasure of visiting my in-laws in Rotterdam over Christmas and New Year. We had a great holiday. They have been living and cycling there for decades and we had the opportunity to do some cycling too - despite it being mid European winter.

Cycling in The Netherlands is VERY different to what the average Hubber experiences. I thought I would start a thread to discuss some of my observations and experiences. I am sure there are other Hubbers who have visited Holland, some who have lived there and a few who still live there. Perhaps they can add to the conversation and correct some of my perceptions.

 

[Ozzie NL]

Born and raised there (in Rotterdam and studied in Delft) and have ridden bikes as a form of transport throughout my schooling and university days.

 

Pro's are that the country is very bike orientated: more bike lanes than anywhere else in the wold (see latest GCN show) and drivers are very aware of cyclists.

 

Cons are that it is not always easy to weave your way through all the commuters if you're putting in a proper effort on a "racefiets" and that the country is super regulated with regular police checks whether your bell and lights are in working order (even during the day) and soon getting fined if you have a phone in your hand (just like when driving a car). The latter will kill the riding selfie culture in the lowlands  

[i24]

To kick off the thread, a comparison of cycling in Holland verses South Africa.

 

Cycling is completely different to there to what it is to us South Africans. To put things into perspective, in my estimate, the proportion of the Dutch population who cycle regularly is of a similar order of magnitude to the proportion of South Africans who regularly make use of minibus taxis.

 

You do see "sport cyclists", riding "road bikes" and "mountain bikes" in Holland. But these are the minority, perhaps of similar order of magnitude to the proportion of South Africans who cycle. The large majority of Dutch cyclists, use bicycles as a means of transport.

 

Obviously all these bicycles take up a lot of space in a small country. Imagine what our cities would look like if all of the minibus passengers were on bicycles instead! But the Dutch have provided infrastructure to accommodate their bicycles - that is the topic for another post.

[pe3nguin]

The Dutch simply got fed up with road deaths and decided to make a change. 

Build the infrastructure and they will come. Loved living in the Netherlands.

[I FLY]

I have a daughter and son in-law who have now been in Rotterdam for 3 years.

 

My daughter has not driven a car in that time and has become a commuter cyclist throughout the year. Her RSA cycling experience was a 9 month period on a tandem with me when she was 14 years old.

 

My son in-law was a cyclist and still commutes by bike on the days when he has no client visits. The dimensions of the equipment he needs when he visits clients is too much for to carry on a bike  

 

As a RSA commuter cyclist I am treated as a little odd by my colleagues and family.  And we treat every ride as either a race or hardcore training session.

 

But when we spent 2 weeks with my daughter in August last year and did a bit of cycling on Dutch bikes I found myself as the odd one out because I got frustrated by the multitude of slow moving commuters.

 

It took a few days to adjust and if I had a magic genie I would  want to have the Dutch cycling infrastructure and culture here.

 

In a couple years time I retire and plan to spend several months a year in Holland - a big portion of which will be on touring bikes.

Edited April 26, 2019 by I FLY

[i24]

regular police checks whether your bell and lights are in working order (even during the day) and soon getting fined if you have a phone in your hand (just like when driving a car).

 

We were warned about the lights. My nephew was previously fined for not having a working light - on his way to school. Apparently for a first offence you might get away with a warning and a lecture and maybe even a free hand out light. But repeat offences are not tolerated.

 

Interestingly, a front light is compulsory, but a rear light is optional. Back in ZA I always regarded the rear light as being a bigger safety requirement. But in Holland, there are many cycle/road crossings and more often than not, the cyclists have right of way. So it is common to see cyclists charging straight across in front of the cars. If you are driving (and I did some of that too, as a passenger), cycles without lights are a major hazard in the gloomy winter twilight, as they can cross in front of you and expect you to give way - but by the time you see them it may be too late.

 

Even when there is not a clear right of way for cycles, cars will generally stop and give way to bicycles. I made the mistake of stopping for a car while crossing a road, even though we were crossing a little distance away from the designated crossing. The car stopped and gestured at me while half a dozen bikes came past me on either side - with a some comments. Fortunately I was not taken out from behind by another cyclist!

[Knersboy]

Born and raised there (in Rotterdam and studied in Delft) and have ridden bikes as a form of transport throughout my schooling and university days.

 

Pro's are that the country is very bike orientated: more bike lanes than anywhere else in the wold (see latest GCN show) and drivers are very aware of cyclists.

 

Cons are that it is not always easy to weave your way through all the commuters if you're putting in a proper effort on a "racefiets" and that the country is super regulated with regular police checks whether your bell and lights are in working order (even during the day) and soon getting fined if you have a phone in your hand (just like when driving a car). The latter will kill the riding selfie culture in the lowlands

Did my PhD in Delft, good years those. The cops used to sit by the tunnel at the end of Mekelweg next to old Mijnbouw building to check lights in the winter. Mine was never working but I learnt that the trick was to get off and push your bike past old smerus. Would walk past them pushing my bike with a casual “goedenavond”. They knew exactly what I was doing, but regels zijn regels and they couldn’t fine me. Edited April 26, 2019 by Knersboy

[Pieter1]

For me it is intimidating every time we go. Esp in in Amsterdam. Just the amount of people and not really being sure of where you are going. On the smaller country roads etc it is lekker.

[Ozzie NL]

Did my PhD in Delft, good years those. The cops used to sit by the tunnel at the end of Mekelweg next to old Mijnbouw building to check lights in the winter. Mine was never working but I learnt that the trick was to get off and push your bike past old smerus. Would walk past them pushing my bike with a casual “goedenavond”. They knew exactly what I was doing, but regels zijn regels and they couldn’t fine me.

Did mijnbouw in that mijnbouw building on Mijnbouw straat.

[Knersboy]

Did mijnbouw in that mijnbouw building on Mijnbouw straat.

Me too, was there from 2002 for four years, I loved that building, sucked when we had to move.

[Ozzie NL]

Me too, was there from 2002 for four years, I loved that building, sucked when we had to move.

Was there from 87 till 93. MV president 90/91

 

Did you used to go to Het Noorden?

[Knersboy]

Was there from 87 till 93. MV president 90/91

Did you used to go to Het Noorden?

Not too often, but once or twice. From what I hear Het Noorden is still going strong.

[Christie]

You can leave the helmet in SA - nobody wears one in NL.

 

Great network of bike paths, but these pass through a little town or clump of stores and houses every 10km - not a lot long open road.

 

You can load you bike on the train

 

Not a hill in sight, except in the south.

Edited April 26, 2019 by Christie

[i24]

Next comment is on the cycle path infrastructure.

 

You can imagine how much space you would need if you put all ZA's minibus taxi passengers on bicycles. Well the Dutch have made a plan to accommodate all of those bicycles in their small country.

 

There are LOTS of cycle paths. They are well maintained with hard, fast rolling, low slip surfaces. Well marked with signage and road markings. They are free of potholes, road works, and debris. And there are NO PARKED CARS blocking the paths! Where the paths cross roads, the cycles typically have right of way.. 

 

Many of the cycle lanes route along landmarks like canals, railways and green belts. Many of those that route along roads are physically separated from the roads. When cycles and roads share the same surface with painted cycle paths, the speed limit on the road is typically 40km/h. Some of the small suburban roads were narrow with two painted cycle lanes down each side. The space in the middle was so narrow that the cars meeting head on would have to move into the cycle lanes to pass each other - but cycles had right of way and cars would have to wait for a gap between cycles before they could pass. Parking was not permitted on the sides of those roads.

 

Thus there is very little interaction between cars and bicycles. Once you get onto a cycle lane  you can basically just go without stopping. The cyclists ride at 15 to 20 km/h but some go faster. You can ride abreast but you have to be ready to maneuver out of the way of on coming cyclists, passing cyclists and pedestrians.

 

I recall one trip we did to visit family across the suburbs of Rotterdam. We cycled for about 40 min, maybe 12 km. I counted the number of times we had to stop for a stop street, robot or road crossing on the fingers of one hand.

 

One wonders where the Dutch found space to build all of these cycle lanes. A lot of that space was taken away from cars! Roads were made narrower, lanes eliminated and parking banned. As as much as The Netherlands is a cycle friendly place, it is frustrating and expensive to drive a car. 

[i24]

Following on from the cycle paths. They are backed up with 1st world public transport. This makes cars optional and hence allows the Dutch to dedicate some of their land area for bicycles.

 

During our three week trip we used trains, metros, trams and buses. Our average waiting time for public transport was under 5 minutes and the longest wait (with the exception of mainline trains) was 12 minutes. It is safe, clean and comfortable. It was busy, but not over crowded by 3rd world standards. But public transport is not cheap, 2 to 4 Euro for every trip.

 

However when you add up the walking time to/from end points, waiting time and travelling time, cycling is often a better option. Particularly if you need multiple bus and train segments to complete your trip - provided you have a bicycle available and it is not raining.

 

You can also take bicycles onto trains and metros.  Metros only accept bicycles outside of peak hours and only on specific carriages. You have to stand and hold the bike and it is not very popular with other passengers. Trains are more cycle friendly.

[i24]

Not a hill in sight, except in the south.

 

I used Google Maps to check out some cycling routes. Google invariably described the routes as "mostly flat". This reminded me of Douglass Adams description of Planet Earth in the "Hitch Hikers Guide to the Galaxy" as  "mostly harmless". The Google description was pretty accurate.