closetbiker

My city is host to Olympic speed skating and with it, Holland House.

The Dutch are supplying bikes for the public to use for free to get around during the games.

Holland Heineken House to be outfitted with bikes



By Matthew Hoekstra - Richmond Review

If Dutch beer and a selection of stamppot entrees weren’t enough, Holland Heineken House will offer visitors an even more authentic Netherlands experience.

Dutch National Railway is supplying 400 bicycles for tourists, locals and Dutch volunteers to borrow and use to tour Richmond’s sights.

“It’s for visitors who don’t have a car that want to check out Steveston for a day,” said city spokesperson Cynthia Lockrey. “Or if they want to go near the oval, they can take a bike.”

The bicycles are expected to be parked outside Holland Heineken House, which is setting up at Minoru Arenas inside the O Zone celebration site.

Lockrey said rentals will be free, but riders will be required to present identification. The city will also be providing tourists with Richmond maps.

Highlighting the promotion will be an eight-kilometre bike ride through Lulu Island Saturday, Feb. 6. Holland Heineken House staff will be joined by city staff and locals on the tour, which begins and ends at Gateway Theatre’s parking lot.

Registration begins at 9:30 a.m.; bike ride begins at 10:45 a.m. and ends at 12:30 p.m. Those 16 and older with valid identification can register to use a Dutch bicycle by calling 604-276-4300.

“These bikes are from the Netherlands, so apparently for bike enthusiasts, it’s pretty cool to ride a European bike,” said Lockrey.

Children and others who wish to participate without registering are welcome to participate with their own bike and helmet.

According to some estimates, nearly 85 per cent of the Netherlands population own at least one bicycle.

Many cycle daily on the European nation’s extensive cycle paths. But unlike in B.C., where riders are required to wear helmets by law, helmets are rarely worn in the Netherlands.

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I was there and there was a huge turn out. The 400 Dutch bikes were taken right away, so there were as many personal bikes taking part as Dutch ones.

I rode one of the Dutch bikes. It looked like this:



This page has some pics like this,



and local TV covered it.

Before the ride, there was this newscast


and after the event, there was this clip:

https://www.globaltvbc.com/video/index.html

Look for the clip titled: News Hour / stories / and at about the fifth line down, Dutch Culture Arrives

I wrote a column on it too:

Go green, go Dutch, go bike


Brad Kilburn, Richmond News
Published: Wednesday, February 10, 2010
As one of the many cultural exchanges happening during the 2010 Winter Olympics, Richmond has been supplied with 400 publicly shared bicycles to help people get around town, during the games.

On Feb. 6, Holland Heineken House, along with Dutch National Rail, supplied these distinctly Dutch bicycles for an 8-kilometre ride around Richmond to publicize their availability.

Bike culture is different in the Netherlands. As most Dutch people live close to where they work, shop and play, cycling is just a "normal" part of everyday life. Everybody rides, and most of them ride slowly, in regular clothes, whilst sitting upright on comfortable bikes. Cycling in the Netherlands is primarily a utilitarian pursuit, rather than an athletic one, as it is here. There are many segregated paths for cyclists, but contrary to popular belief, Dutch cyclists also interact with motor vehicles on a regular basis.

One of the cultural differences between our nations is the fact that Dutch cyclists are afforded a respect on the roads that, to this day, is almost unheard of here. The Dutch believe that cycling is not dangerous, but rather, motoring is. To this point, in the event of a bicycle/motor vehicle collision in Holland, the liability rests solely with the driver, unless he/she can provide adequate evidence that the damage was the fault of the bicyclist, which is quite a different situation than we have here.

Riding a bike in the Netherlands is exceptionally safe. Death and injury rates are amongst the lowest in the world. Interestingly, almost no one wears a helmet. If you've read my previous columns, you will know where I stand on bike helmet legislation, and so I find it interesting that the Netherlands, like most of the rest of the world, has no bike helmet laws, yet their safety rates remain much better than ours. I attribute this to their overall acceptance of cycling.

As the ride left Minoru Park on Saturday, I had a glimpse of what it may be like to ride in the Netherlands. Bikes were everywhere. It approached something like a polite Critical Mass. We ruled. If there's one truism that cuts across all cultural divides it's that there's safety in numbers, and there were more than a few cyclists on the road that morning.

As we started our ride, the RCMP held motorists back in order to clear our way. It was a good feeling. We sampled a variety of Richmond's bikeways; down Gilbert road past the ROO, up the **** Trail with its breathtaking view of the mountains, and on to No. 3 Road next to the new, raised bike lane under the Canada Line.

When people take advantage of this temporary bike sharing opportunity, they should keep in mind that Translink has proposed a permanent public bike-sharing plan for Vancouver. Similar to the hugely successful Paris based, Velib system, Vancouver's plan is currently stalled. Concerns over funding and our mandatory helmet law may stymie this project, but all is far from certain yet.

I'd encourage everyone to take advantage of using these bikes while they're available. They provide easy transport, alleviate traffic, improve our health, and are good for the environment to boot. Go Green. Go Dutch. Go Bike. I did.

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I hope these bikes get used. I'll be looking for them on the road.

spinninwheels

That's awesome!

What about locking the bikes? Is it the responsibility of the rider? Do they supply locks?

Though it isn't Vancouver, I would imagine Richmond is still pretty bad for bike theft. I know that I had a close call with a would-be thief when I worked at Paesanos on Three Road.

edit: never mind about the locking - upon closer inspection of the photo, I observed the locking device.

closetbiker

Yeah. The bikes have a built in chain lock.

AFAIK (or guess) Richmond isn't too bad for theft. The worst of the theft is in Vancouver. Junkies looking for a quick buck for a rock. Richmond is fairly affluent and has nowhere near the same drug problem.

I'd imagine there might be some theft of the bikes from the people who obtain them for free use. You just have to surrender valid gov't ID to use them and I'd bet there's be a few fake IDs used. We'll see.

It's a great way to get around because of all the traffic and parking restrictions. It's hard to get near the games areas without taking public transit. Lots of walking. Bikes are a perfet solution for getting around.

mikeybikes

Do the rentals include helmets, since you know, there's a MHL over there?

closetbiker

I think so. When I went for the ride, they gave out helmets with the bikes, of course, I didn't wear it. Lots of cops on the ride, no one said a thing to me. Many wore the helmets supplied, most incorrectly adjusted, or chin strap undone.

I should also add re the theft issue, I don't think anyone is going to get away with carrying around and using bolt cutters to nick a bike, there's just too much security around here. It's nuts. If anyone looks suspicious, they won't last a second. I'd hate to get caught clipping a lock. You won't just get charged with theft, they'd take you away. It's the military, not the police, and it's an international security issue, not petty theft

squirtdad

You said that to CB with a straight face? That is way more than I could do

CB far more importantly.......Heineken House.....does that imply free or discounted beer in addtion to dutch bikes?

closetbiker

Actually, with Heineken being a sponsor, the beer will be brought in from Holland. They're not using the stuff they bottle here, but instead, the real stuff.

Don't quote me on this but I heard a rumor they are giving away free beer to those with Dutch passports! Not as much as they can drink, but some free beer all the same.

As for being helmetless, I wasn't the only one. I saw 5 others, so that makes 6 out of 600 to 800.

Heres a pic of a couple of the girls without helmets. I saw 3 other old ladies who did not wear them too.



Here's a pic of me off to the right side, next to the older guy with the beard (who is the president of the Vancouver Area Cycling Coalition)



I wanted to ride in normal clothes, just like the Dutch do. I wore my wifes 1988 Calgary Torch Relay coat that has been hanging in the closet for the last 22 years waiting for an excuse to be worn.

electrik

That is awesome!

mikeybikes

This really is awesome. I really hope Denver goes through with their bid for winter Olympics sometime again. The Olympics would be perfect to showcase some of Denver's great bicycle riding.

Pedaleur

Off topic, but funny Heineken related:

https://www.colbertnation.com/the-col...-with-heineken

closetbiker

Yeah, it is. I only hope this helps get Vancouvers bike share program passed. Originally, it was hoped it'd be in place for the Olympics and now, after the special funding for the games has passed, I have my doubts.

In 2008, TransLink undertook a feasibility study of a large-scale Public Bicycle System and worked with our municipal partners to conduct a thorough investigation of the options. The five chapters of this study are available in our Document Library. (here)

UnsafeAlpine

Fort Collins has a bike library program. It is one of the best ideas for bike advocacy I've seen. I wish more cities would start up something like it.

closetbiker

Found this video on the ride on you tube. Looks like it was put together by someone from Holland House

https://www.youtube.com/watch#playnext=1&playnext_from=TL&videos=Smqt97cLk-w&v=8XwqbCXlT5c also, drove by the area today and over the course of just a few minutes driving, and despite it raining, I saw 4 of these bikes being used.

botto 

the real stuff is just as crap as what you get over there.

closetbiker

An editorial in our local paper mentions we will be missing the Dutch on their bikes when the games are over.

It even calls for officials to look at the public bike share system.

We'll miss the Dutch

Richmond News
Published: Wednesday, February 24, 2010

In just a few days, the 2010 Winter Games will be nothing more than a pleasant hangover. It's going to seem awfully quiet when everyone leaves -- a bit like empty nest syndrome.
We are going to miss seeing so many people from around the world walking around our city. We are especially going to miss the Dutch.
It's amazing the way they fit in here. They made themselves right at home, and they made us feel right at home in Heineken House, which helped make Richmond an Olympic hot-spot.

Then, again, perhaps it's not surprising, considering what Richmond has in common with Holland. Like Richmondites, many Netherlanders live at sea level on flat land surrounded by ****s. Also, Richmond already has a rich Dutch heritage. Look in the phone book and you'll see a lot of Dutch names. We are both a nation of beer-drinkers, and we both love ice sports.

One thing our Dutch friends have taught us is that the best way to deal with gridlock is to leave your car at home and use a public transit system, that includes public bikes. Our city and transit officials should take a hard look at the Dutch system of rental bikes. People who rarely used public transit before have done so during the Winter Games. One legacy of the Games may be that many Lower Mainlanders will continue to use transit, and adopting the Dutch system of loaner bikes could help encourage them.

We're going to miss seeing our orange friends riding around on their big goofy bikes. In our experience, they're charming and friendly, and we hope they come back to visit us sometime.

closetbiker

Well what do you know? Looks like about 5% of the bikes went missing.

RCMP seek Dutch bikes that rolled away from Games site



Some Olympic fans appear to have walked or ridden away with one heck of a Games souvenir.

Mounties in Richmond are asking for the public’s help in locating 21 bright orange bicycles that went missing from Holland Heineken House during the Olympics.

Cpl. Jennifer Pound says 400 bikes owned by the Dutch Railway Company were loaned out during the Games, mostly for the use of staff.

Pound says staff members would take the bikes to get around town and it’s possible some were stolen, though police are currently classifying them as missing.

Mounties don’t yet know how much each of the bikes, which feature a Dutch Railway symbol, are worth.

robertv

Why is it that everyone thinks the "real stuff" is any good? Heineken is a crap beer that no dutch person drinks. The "real stuff" is the exact same stuff and sucks just as bad.

SlimAgainSoon

Awesome ... but what are "stamppot entrees?"

botto 

duh.

incorrect.

incorrect. again.

duh.

elastica

Stamppot is a Dutch winter dish of mashed potatoes mixed with a vegetable (kale, carrots usually) and served with sausage. Sometimes sprinkled with crispy bacon too.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stamppot