Posted on 05/14/2010 10:38:27 AM PDT by Willie Green
A cool video spotted by Buzzfeed shows a city in the Netherlands that has made bikes a transit priority. Find the full video here (on YouTube).
1. Not really an issue, need some cheap/simple clothing to protect from rain
2. Netherlands winter is not Canadian winter! and even here in Toronto you see bike messengers darting through traffic when it is -20C outside. Mater of clothing, having special tires and using special break pads and oil.
3. LED lights in front and back, most city streets are very well lit anyway.
3.1 They build better levies there apparently. If you really need to get the hell out of the city. Pack saddle bags with food and water, if you are in shape you can make it few hundred km pretty easily and you won’t be stuck in traffic when everyone else decides to do the same
4. Kids can bike from pretty young age, if they are too little you can ride with them in the trailer or in child seats (can be behind saddle or in front of the steering)
5. Got me here!
Living in the city bike has a lot of advantages, you do not depends on traffic, get good exercise and it is dead cheap (if you stick with cheap functional stuff and not break bank on fancy racing gear). Hills and such are really not a big deal, just need a decent bike with actual gears(not a fixie) and get in shape and hills become fun.
The way it’s speeded up it definitely needs the Benny Hill soundtrack and a few scantily dressed bike chicks thrown in for good measure.
For the serfs. The elites drive like normal people.
The most popular vehicles seemed to be busses and Sprinters like mine.
I can’t judge their competence, as you have, but calling them lazy for riding their bikes makes no sense.”
I was joking dmz. I ride a bike for exercise too.
They are lazy in that they don’t work hard at their jobs. Here I am doing same.
oops.
I need to have my humor detector checked.
One hour longer day, but I get two hours of exercise that makes the weight come off and raises the HDL much better than running seems to.
I admit, it's not for everybody, and it's not for everyday.
“What do they do when it rains or snows?”
As the video shows, they slow way, way down—even walking lest they fall and bust their asses badly.
I worked for 15 years for an international company, and our Dutch workers were at the very top.
They put in 8 hours per day, and hurried to the bus or train to get home.
The English put in 5 hours per day, between coffee, pub lunch and tea. On a good day. All the time compalining about the stupid (American) head office.
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Now there's a video I'd like to see.
“
A cool video spotted by Buzzfeed shows a city in the
Netherlands that has made bikes a transit priority.
“
As long as they don’t need a $20 million grant from the federal guvmint.
That’s what has happened here in Columbia, MO with “Get About Columbia”.
With this waste of taxpayer dollars, these zealots have set back the
cause of bicycling in Columbia, MO a generation or two.
All good points. I ride the fixie when I can, but in Dallas there are lots of places with no sidewalk and the fixed gear makes jumping curbs a pain. Plus, more substantial tires are good in those places so I have other bikes I’ll take when doing city riding most times.
Ride on bro.
No helmets, either. Ha!
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