Seattle’s bike culture has nothing on the Netherlands. Bikes are a main transportation option, and not just for the Spandex warriors. Most of the bikes resemble 1960’s-vintage Schwinns–single speed, covered chains, heavy frames, upright handlebars, fenders, and kickstands.
Hey, you have to park somewhere.
Many are customized to carry cargo and/or kids. Most of the bikes are step-through, and it’s not considered girly for a man to ride one of these bikes. Riders, even children, rarely wear helmets. The main plazas of Amsterdam are packed with bikes and bike racks. In addition, there are bike parking lots on barges around the city. This is a bike-parking garage adjacent to the Central Train Station.
Bike parking garage in Paris.
The problem is the lack of enforcement of traffic laws for bicyclists. In theory, they are supposed to follow the same rules of the road as cars; in practice, it’s pedestrian beware. We were nearly clipped or run down more than once by bikers. It was nearly as bad as the Burke-Gilman Trail in Seattle during prime training season for the Seattle-to-Portland bike race. Who knew these old-school schleppers could move so fast?
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