The Sedentary Cyclist Salutes Dutch Cycling

I always try to bring home with me a little of the Dutch cycling culture. I mean the sensibility and outlook, but occasionally I buy accessories (or at least sneak a snap to share). I have two O-locks (one is for my next bike) and another very grunty lock from an Amsterdam market. I was almost tempted by superb Dutch dynamo bicycle lights, but feared they might make Sydney hills even worse! Parts/repairs would not be easy to obtain. There is a gobsmacking array of fantastic bicycle products and accessories, a mere handful have I touched on here.

Utility cycling – beauty and humanity in transport entwined inexorably with everyday life.

Apologies for the low resolution of some of the shots they were taken back in the days when there was a global shortage of pixels the netherlands is renowned for being the epitome of what utility cycling can and should be on my first visit i sure photographed a

Lot of bikes i quickly moved on to cyclists of course and cats those subjects will endure every time i come home to australia i try to bring a little of that dutch sensibility to draw inspiration from such a people-friendly practice where the young the old the infirm the frail

Derive regular moderate exercise every day as the side effect to using one of the world’s most efficient and sustainable means of transport The dutch know when to use their bikes predominantly shorter trips and when to use their cars they have it so utterly right lycra and helmets are as foreign to a dutch cyclist as they are to a pedestrian good functional infrastructure minimises conflict with motorists but further motorists attitudes and behaviour is at

Complete odds with that of australian motorists virtually every dutch motorist is also a cyclist and the law’s governing behaviour are clear and practical protecting the most vulnerable people decorate their bikes so that they may be distinguishable from the hordes hills weather urban sprawl there are ways to address all these

Off-trotted out excuses sure i wish sydney was less hilly and less hot but there are gears back streets even power assisted bikes again the duchess addressed the genuine integration of cycling with public transport trains for example at either end of the train journey the cycle trip is probably quite short

In australia taking bikes on public transport is generally viewed as a negative and not well catered for another disincentive Sometimes decoration is more about disguising stolen bikes a hasty spray coat dribbles and all Perhaps we’ll never be able to emulate the valuable and enviable asset that the netherlands have crafted but we have the potential to bring short trip local utility cycling out of the shadows then we too could experience how magically restful the centre of towns and community hubs can become were not

Dominated by the most aggressive forms of transport Recumbent bicycles now they appear to be genuinely rare here Anyone wearing clogs while riding a bicycle is in danger of being chased down the street by me the only thing that would make me run harder would be if they were carrying a cat the number of cyclists fell in the netherlands by more than 60 percent

Between 1950 and the mid 70s as cars and freeways took over australia suffered a similar decline unlike australia the netherlands worked hard to reverse the trend initially in the face of strong opposition now few dutch would dispute what an asset good cycling infrastructure is the first accessory i was enamored with

Was the o lock i bought one of the first bike shop i found and i photographed a selection of them to make sure i could figure out how to fit it to my bike when i got home it’s better than sliced bread and i wouldn’t be without it Check these out handlebar hand warmers i didn’t think any self-respecting local would be wimpy enough to use such a thing but i did see a genteel lady in amsterdam riding with them she certainly didn’t look like a tourist it’s very common to use the o lock perhaps combined with another lock to

Immobilize one’s bike so it can’t be ridden off but without chaining it to a fixed object this is riskier in the larger cities but it’s great for quick stops wherever you are it freaks people out a bit in sydney but i like to do it for the shorter stops

Because it’s both handy and subversive i’ve seen fittings to attach an open umbrella to your bike but handheld is still quite common as is just putting up with a bit of drizzle i’m told that when dutch children complain about going out in the wet parents say something like come on

You’re not made of sugar you won’t melt and thus the fine netherlanders are made of sterner stuff than anybody else i know oh that’s a compliment by the way