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My sister sent me this video of bike rush hour in the Netherlands, where more than a third of the people commute by bike! Awesome.
P.S. On the flip side: Crazy NYC traffic.
(Top photo by Garance Dore)
Bike Rush Hour
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121 Comments
Hi Joanna! I’m not sure if you read comments on old (9 year old even, what?!) posts, but I still wanted to comment this :) I love your blog. I discovered it not too long ago and searched for The Netherlands in the searchbar to see if you had ever written something about my tiny country. I saw this video (very recognizable for me!) and it reminded me that I had to fix my bike, which partially broke down yesterday. So thank you for writing this post, because a) it was very funny for me to read all the comments and b) it reminded me of fixing my bike, which I really need tomorrow morning, to go to uni and make an important test, so imagine if I had forgotten! Thanks and love from Holland xx
Very cool!
Brilliant video. Lots of comments about helmets though. They don’t need them because it is so safe. In any event, the protective powers of polystyrene helmets are very limited. More lives would be saved if motorists wore helmets than cyclists.
Love this post. Bikes are the wave of transportations future. If you haven’t already, take a look at Rob Forbes’ (founder of Design Within Reach) new venture PUBLIC Bikes (publicbikes.com).
Cheers,
Sally
In the recent years, there have been sea changes in the men and women’s outlooks toward grooming and beautification. To look beautiful is important for feeling great and in today’s terms.Cosmetology School
Haha, It’s so funny to hear you all talking about this. Now, you have to look at this station (Haarlem, next to Amsterdam), where everyone park their bikes in front of the station. This sight is a daily thing.
I am from Amsterdam and this is so normal for us. And rush hour over here is even worse I believe…
Every kid learns how to bike, so for us it is almost the same as walking (only quicker)! I even got married by bike (in a short dress, while being pregnant…).
Love your blog btw. And good luck the upcoming period! Little people/boys rule ;-)!
For lots of pictures of people on bikes in Amsterdam visit the blog http://www.amsterdamized.com (The picture of the girl is from that site by the way). There`s also a downside to commuting by bicycle through all kinds of weather. Here`s some security camera footage from last winter of an icy bicyclepath in the Dutch city Lelystad: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lqo4hwnJt6Y
Haha,
I’m from the Netherlands and your comments are really funny,
I can’t imagine how a day would be without a bike, and how I have to go to school that way.
We can drive a car when we are 18, and there are no schoolbusses.
And absolutely NO ONE wears a helmet. Those things are stupid.
its super dangerous if you don’t ride bikes (that would be me haha) they honk their little bells at you all uber aggressive ha!
i love it though. yay to saving the earth!
That was wonderful, but did you notice no one is wearing helmets? I know it’s no fun, and not very continental, but my very experienced cyclist husband would be brain damaged or dead if it weren’t for his helmet. Just from an innocent tire blow-out. We have the giant crack in the back of the helmet to prove it. As it is, he broke his clavicle. Please wear helmets everyone!
haha – brilliant! x
Awesome. If more people left cars at home and took up biking, think of the benefits. Whenever I can, I walk or bike to different places.
that video is crazy! no wonder i felt as though i were constantly about to be hit the entire time we visited amsterdam. too funny!
Yep, looking at this video I suddenly realize it’s perfectly normal for a Dutch couple to have five bikes, even if they live in France. :)
This is just beautiful Though I hate Dutch bicycles, I prefer riding mountain bikes, she looks so lovely on hers
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Oh that’s amazing! I want to live there!
x
Yep, yep. Now that’s what a good city looks like! We also have our fair share of cyclists but we do have a tad more hills and a load more snow in the winter so overall less people cycle. It’s a shame though, I’m loving my morning comute these days!
That’s so awesome that so many people commute by bike (but wear are their helmets?!)
My new commute is an hour and 15 mins…wish I could ride my one speed to work every day!! By the way, I’ve been reading your posts on google reader for too long and only just noticed the new banner with your engagement pic..I love it!!!
wow! so cool.it’s like seeing into the future, i hope!
I knew that they were all about bikes there, but this speeded up rush hour video looks scary! lol! I’d be afraid to ride my bike there! I’m too recreational of a rider, and they are SERIOUS! I love the style of their bikes, and how they all look stylish while riding though. It’s not fitness for them, it’s transportation! I bought my bike a couple of years ago, and it’s called the Amsterdam. Looks like the bikes you see all over Holland!
Bren @ Chasing Beauty
That is totally amazing! And the biking infrastructure is out of this world. I wonder if anything that amazing will ever happen here in Sydney.
That girl is so pretty. And this seems like a much better commute than riding a skizzy subway.
Ha! My word verification is “untense”!
So romantic! You might also enjoy this website: “Cycle Chic from Copenhagen” (http://www.copenhagencyclechic.com/)
Wish biking was more accepted and common in North America!!
Love your blog btw!
-Ashley
Please visit me at Simple Wink
http://simplewink.blogspot.com/
That is inspiring to see, and no one is wearing a helmet. I was yelled at by a lady the other day because I wasn’t wearing a helmet.
Every country its own style….
julia
oh, to live in a city with bike lanes, my life would be complete! europe, miss you.
first and foremost, i love garance dore and i love that look! i cant wait for summer and try (my oh so very hardest to pull off a look like this). secondly, what a very cool video!
wow this is crazy!!! so cool that this is a preferred method of transportation though!
I’m from the Netherlands so this is so normal to me, but I loved the video. And yes, rush hour is a hell for cardrivers haha!
Did you know almost each person in Holland has at least one bike?
I have witnessed the bike rush hour in the Netherlands first hand and it is quite a sight!!!
I especially love the parking decks for bikes! HA! :)
One of my favorite parts about my trip to Amsterdam was seeing the beautiful bikes everywhere. They had stacks of parking garages just filled with bike racks!
Yup! That’s how we do it in Holland, but really: helmets are for nerds (:-). We (generation 30 and up) grew up without helmets, so that’s why we think they are totally stupid.(Guess how we ALWAYS recognize tourists from a great distance, and it is not because of cameras:-))
I personaly totally prefer sunshine and in case of rain I think twice before hitting the pedals of my beloved Kronan!
I’ve just left Holland on my bike and it was the best place to cycle around ever. I loved the wide cycle paths and the smooth roads, a cyclists dream!
Wow – really cool. I live in Portland and while we do have a lot of people commuting by bicycle, it seems there is a better blending of respect for cars and bikes in this video. The car vs bike debate in Portland is a constant one!!!
yes, as amy stated above, portland has a huge biking community but here helmets are a necessity. there are still more cars on the road and our bikers are very hard core, not just out for a stroll. i much prefer the way it looks more relaxed in the netherlands!
I love the bike photo and the video! I’d love to live in a place where bicycling was the main form of transportation!
This reminds me of when I’ve been in Cambridge, England. Masses of bike riders. It’s charming but a little intimidating to cross the street as a pedestrian! I love the one guy in the video who was riding his bike but then holding on to a second empty bike as he rode. And it looked so easy for him!
We’ve got 15 million residents and almost 20 million bikes here in the netherlands! Can’t imagine not having one.
Our country is so small and flat you can do everything by bike.
And if your up to it, you can even cross the entire country by bike.
Nobody is wearing a helmet, because we ride bikes from the age of 4. It’s just part of our lives!
what can i say, its a way of life. Not having one is like missing a leg…you just need it.
You should every big city between 7 and 9 am…
It just looked so fun, and you looked so cute! And that was really cool they mentioned your blog on there. Looking forward to the post on Monday!
Awesome post especially since it’s Bike-To-Work Week. I wish more US cities and towns were more bike friendly.
This is so RADICAL! I bet their city has some clean air! I really like her bike handles and bell!
Wow. The US needs more bikers I think.
Ha, for us Dutchies this is so normal, we all grew up on bikes. What you do by car, we’ll do by bike. Can’t imagine not to have one. Since everybody is so used to it, nobody wears helmets. Also do not forget that everything is totally flat, so no hills or mountains.
That video is all kinds of awesome, and a good example for the rest of the world. Love the guy pulling along an extra (empty) bicycle…
loving the white t-shirt and shrts with scarf look
that’s so cool! but i’d be a little scared (cause i always fumble when i stop & try to start again). great way to get daily exercise — definitely don’t have enough of that in socal haha :]
This was THE most intimidating thing about studying abroad in the Netherlands. Forget language or figuring out where to live–catching on to bicycle etiquette and not looking like a fumbling idiot at those packed stop lights was tough!
But once I caught on I LOVED it. Best moment: watching an elderly couple ride side by side with their arms around each other. How did they do it?!
What a fresh start to the day! I need to get air in my tires and get biking =)
this made my whole day!
What a great thing! know only if we would follow : )
What a great video!!!
bikes and a beautiful summer scarf. love it. what else could you possibly need???? :)
Hooray – the velo-lution is coming!
I love how the Dutch are so crazy about their bikes! I’ve seen some truly funny sights during my visits to Amsterdam, but the best one was a guy transporting a laundry machine on his bike! That was just amazing. :D
so funny and almost overwhelming, thanks for sharing.
you might like this, it’s one of my favorite sites: http://www.copenhagencyclechic.com/
Pretty people + fashion on wheels = fun ride!!!
That is amazing! I saw you in Living as well. Fun gathering.
That’s awesome. I always thought ladies on bikes look so lovely :)
thanks, carol! it was such a fun story to be in!! i’ll be posting about it on monday.
My husband and I are in Amsterdam now and it’s true, everyone is on bikes! Sometimes there are two people on one bike, or one lady had a basket with two puppies in it! They have it down to an art.
this is so amazing!
but…what about helmets? I’m totally not trying to be debbie downer. but seriously?
how come no one wears them?
I only wish I lived in Holland!
I cycle to work, its an 8 mile round trip.. on a very hilly road… luckily its down hill all the way home (except for Parkers Hill) very sleepy at the end of the day.
Lots of respect for people who cycle!
This is fantastic — and I love the photo; I wish I looked that good on a bike!
xxoo Josie
http://winksmilestyle.blogspot.com
i LOVE the guy riding a bike while holding a bike…amazing! what a different lifestyle!
i watched the whole video…very interesting! makes me want a bike now :)
ok, why dont i look that glamorous (and sexy!) on a bike!
I’m a new Seattle bike commuter and I saw this and loved it! Also, I was flipping through my Martha Stewart magazine and saw you in it!! What a great spread and fun party! It was fun to open the magazine and say “I ‘know’ her!”
Oh wow, what a cool video! It’s weird to see the guy (around 0:35) towing a second bike next to him!
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