Saturday
Feb062010
Holland and Bikes
February 6, 2010 * * * * * Posted by: Petra 
I think you all know that Holland is famous for bikes, but let me tell you some more about it.
First of all I think it is because the Netherlands is a very flat country, that flat that we have a saying that says: he gets scared of heights when standing on a newspaper. Furthermore distances are relatively short and traffic is jammed. Over here a bike is a means of transportation. Everybody in Holland has at least one bike and everyone rides a bike, from 4 to 84.
Bikes get stolen a lot over here, and I mean A LOT! Nobody is really surprised if you come back and find that your bike is gone. You curse, go to the police and do the paperwork, then get a new one and get on with life. This means, if you don’t want to lose your bike, you can never leave your bike unattended, and this is how we deal with that:
First of all, use more than one lock and make sure you lock your bike attached to something solid, don’t just lock the bike by itself, it will be stolen with lock and all. Make sure you attach the frame to a lamppost or something, not just your front wheel, because if you only attach your front wheel to the lamppost, when you return you will find your wheel and your lock attached to the lamppost and the rest of your bike is gone.
Second. If you have to leave your bike alone, get an old bike that is not worth much and use that. It is not uncommon to have 2 or 3 bikes. An old one for doing groceries and going to work, therefore one that can be left alone, a touring bike for daytrips and a racing or mountain bike for sports.
Students usually have more than one bike. One in the city they live in and the other in the city they study. Both of course very old bikes. They leave the bike at the station, before they catch the train to the other city.
This picture shows what the outside of an average train station looks like over here.
Then there are the trendy bikes:
The cargobike: This is a bike made to take the children to school and it is considered very yuppie.
A classic granny bike: This bike is the favourite of teenage girls. Even though the bike doesn’t ride as comfortable as an ordinary bike, they all want one. You have them in all sorts of colours or they paint them themselves. the pictures shows a lot of those.
A bakers bike: This is a very old type bike, used in the old days by bakers to deliver bread at home, but it’s the newest trend for schoolkids.
And then we have the bike with a motor: especially in favour with the elderly people. No picture, because you can't see the difference between a bike like this and an ordinairy bike. And you can't hear it either, the motor is very silent. The only thing you can see is that the rider is going far to fast compaired to the (lack of) movement of his legs.
In the 60-70’s, flowerpower time, some hippies in Amsterdam invented the ‘white bikes’. The idea was to have white bikes all over the city and if you needed one, just grab one and park it at your destination. Well obviously that didn’t work ! Nowadays they have rent-a-bikes with a couple of bike-sheds around town, but those are more for tourist.
Reader Comments (14)
This is amazing! Wow! But I am in Texas where cities are far apart, and even small towns are spread out. We love our cars & need our trucks. That said, this looks like fun, except the theft part, of course! LOL! Love that image!
The shot of the bikes is unbelievable, Petra! I have never seen so many bikes in one place before - not even in a bike shop. I can't imagine trying to find my bike in that chaos and then untangling it from each other. It's fascinating to learn about life in Holland.
Great shot! It seems to be a very Dutch one! I'm used to it because I'm a biker too. You didn't name the 'ligfiets', that's a kind of bike you can lay back and let your legs do all the work.
Oh. My. Goodness! Now THAT is quite a batch of bikes. Like Toni, I can't imagine finding one's own personal bike in that tangled mess. :)I hope your bike isn't hiding somewhere in there!
I've never seen so many bikes all in one place..all at one time. It's no wonder that bikes get stollen. How is anyone suppose to find and disentangle their own??? T'would be great to have only a bicycle as a means for transportation. What fun!!!
I love it! Please tell us what you do if you are the first one back and your bike is at th other end! Thanks for giving us a peek into life in Holland.
I wish we rode more here in America! Thanks for the look!
Cool! Is it taken near a trainstation? Your eye for a beautiful shot is great.
Oh yes, Petra! I have seen this with my own eyes, of course, and know you do not jest! I can't tell you how often I wished I could have biked in Atlanta...but the city is not made for bikes, with great distances between suburbs and only freeways getting you from here to there. Astrid rides her bike to and from work every day here in Holland. We have no car yet and plan to use it only for traveling once we get one. In the spring I plan to get my first bike Hmmmm. Which one will I choose???
Mr Uhdd and our son Tom, seem obsessed by bikes, Mr Uhdd bought a new one only this week, he and Tom have agonised over it for weeks: we had bikes as a wedding present, I'm afraid mine hasn't been used very much, as there is an awful lot of 'uphill' around here, 'one careful lady owner' would describe it nicely
one of the best things about this collaboration, where we live is very much a part of us. great story.
Beautiful chaotic photo! I don't have a bicycle. I think I need one!
In Uppsala a University town nearby one can almost see this many bikes. It's amazing! I wonder how they manage to find their own bike in this chaos?
there are many people on bicycles here, i think it is the most common form of transport...asides from piki piki's (motorbikes). and i'm sure they are all the classic granny bikes, they don't look all that comfortable. the other day i saw a little mtoto (child) peddling furiously down the hill on the farm; the bike was far too big for him and he was going so fast, doubt he had brakes and i'm sure his legs couldn't touch the ground. he shot out of sight around a corner...i hope he didn't crash into anything :)