From the photographer's commentary, "she is talking on a cell phone while swerving and navigating through this busy intersection and it doesn't bother her at all."

This part is just like the U.S. People here aren't bothered at all by the fact that they're swerving through busy intersections while talking on cell phones either. I must admit though that I'd rather be hit by a woman riding a bakfiet than a woman driving an SUV.

There's another important difference between mainland Europe and most of North America - we have much more extreme ranges of temperature. Where I live it ranges from -35 C in the winter to +35 C on the hottest summer days. That's normal here - it would be very unusual in the Netherlands.

There's a reason top tubes on women's bikes are lowered. Historically it's for dress clearance.

Was starting to think I was the only one who noticed that.

Nothing wrong with the picture to me. Cell phone is iffy, but when you are cruising 6-8mph through bike friendly towns, meh.

You gotta try it man. I can't describe how good that first beer tastes when you get your destination!

That seems pretty astute. If we had a tight, bike friendly city center, I'd be happy to go without a helmet, but not on my daily commute. I got buzzed by an SUV today while I was standing on my pedals at the end of a mile climb on a very narrow road. He could easily have crossed the center line to give me my 3 feet, but I guess he liked passing me without leaving his lane, so he missed me by about six inches. I envy the Danes and the Dutch, but they (some of them I've encountered on blogs, at least) can keep their sense of self-satisfaction; I'll keep my brain-bucket.

It only gets interesting when it's over 107. The worst part about 120 was that when I stopped at a light, I had to get off the bike and lift it in the air. Otherwise the heat of the pavement would soften the tire and it tended to blow out through the sidewalls.

Riding in that heat is nowhere near as bad as being in a non-air-conditioned car in that heat.

It's the Netherlands pwning all the car centric countries as per usual. It's normal.

I know the feeling.



What do you mean "rebuilt" Back in the day, cyclists shared the roads and streets with everyone else. Then the car took over. Aside from a few efforts to change that, not a lot has happened to encourage alternate transportation.

So would tonnes of other people too.

I ride a dutch bike, Workcycles Secret Service, 16 mi. r/t for my commute. I don't wear any cycle-specific clothing with the exception of a helmet. I ride to work, park in the garage, take the elevator up to my office, and get to work. It's definitely a different experience than riding my Waterford. The extra 10 minutes it takes to ride in on the Secret Service is more than made up for by not having to stop at the gym to shower and change.

It's a big temptation to ditch the helmet on the Secret Service; the riding position just begs for it. When I lived in Germany I never wore a helmet, but the cycling conditions and attitude in Europe are completely different then in the States. That said, I've been hit by a car once in 30 years and crashed once in unmarked road construction. The sound and feel of my helmeted head hitting the pavement reminds me to wear a helmet every time; why wouldn't you? It's just not worth the injury for the pleasure of "cycle chic."

A bit of both I think. Having lived in The Netherlands for 35 years, I'd say that the overwhelming majority of trips are under half an hour, ranging from a quick trip to the shops to a commute. However, most people wouldn't think twice about taking their bike for going somewhere that'll take half an hour to get to. Couple that with the fact that most inner city street plans date back to the middle ages (narrow roads, one-way streets, and more recently pedestrianised areas), and that, as a result, cycling is often not noticeably slower than driving in inner city areas, and I'd say that cycling is a much a substitute for walking as it is for driving or public transport.