If you look at the following link: http://www.ski-epic.com/amsterdam_bicycles/ you will see a selection of pictures of cyclists in Amsterdam over a 1.5 hour period. The bak fietsen appear to be a very new phenomena. At one of the sites I read an article that mentioned that there came to the market back in 2001 and since then have exploded. They are now the "in thing" to have for what would probably be considered "soccer moms" in the USA. The Oma Fiets (Granny Bike) also seems to somehow remain "cool" even though it is a near anchient design. An other thing I've read is that the percentage of people riding their bikes has sincreased significantly in the last 10 years. Back in the 1970's lots of people were buying their 1st car. For that matter I was 7 when my parents bought their first car. As a funny side note, when that car was trashed in a car crash I remember us all going out on our bikes to go car shopping. Admittedly even in a country where cycling is so common the 1st Volvo dealer claimed he had no used cars on the lot... The second Volvo dealer was not far away and they were very welcoming, and my parents bought a car there. During the 1980's many people in Holland were for the 1st time adding a 2nd car to the family, and were using it. Since then grid lock has become increasigly bad and many have realized that the good old bike is still a great for of transporation. All of my family members in Holland have remained 1 car families. Some could afford a 2nd car, but all have realized that the bike is still an easier way to get around. I could see one of my cousins getting one of those new "bak fietsen" She lieves within 3 miles of all the shopping one might need to do and it sure is a convenient way to bring home a large load. Even if you take the car, you have to walk quite a way to get to the parking areas, so it is still a pain to load up the car with groceries. Therefore the bike remains a major for of transportation. I can't justify spending $2000 on a bike. I plan to ride as far into and through the Winter as possible, but we do get a lot of snow here in Buffalo so time will tell how much I'll be able to use my bike year round. If I was living in a milder climate I could see getting rid of one car and using the bike to get groceries as well.

Happy riding,
André