The Dutch icon - bicycle

I want to ride my bicycle...

I began interested in long distance cycling the summer before last, when I realized my years old dream to attend DALMAC, a five day long bike tour across Michigan. (By the way, it was yet another of my ex-tempore things to do. I had not previously ridden a road bike, nor cycled more than 25km on one go. I trained for a few weeks and, with spaghetti legs and aching back, managed to cycle across those 500km to see stunning landscapes, meet friendly people and live in tent camps.)

Fellow cyclists fixed my broken tire

When I got a job in the Netherlands, I saw the opportunity to further pursue my newly found cycling hobby in this land where a bike is a national icon. Dutch cycling has roots back in the 1930s; During the great depression its government boosted employment by building an extensive cycling path network all over the country. Nowadays there are 18 million bikes in the Netherlands, which is more than one bike per person. Over 70% of all journeys shorter than 7,5km are made on bikes. Many companies offer their employees bike plans. For example, my employer pays a fifth of a new bicycle and also supports in purchasing rain gear, as here crappy weather is no excuse to use public transport.

My cycling had quite an ironic start. While I had sold almost everything I owned, I had decided to hold onto my expensive bike, which I stored in Finland. Firstly I had it shipped over here and payed to get it assembled back into one piece. Then I had accessories, such as a bottle holder and a front pack, installed onto it. Then I had it repaired after a car crushed it at a parking lot. Then it got stolen it front of my home. "Now you must feel truly integrated into the Dutch society, as everyone gets their bikes stolen here", my friends said. "But yeah it sucks. Have a beer." (I am starting to feel that having a beer is a common quick solution around here. No matter if it is a touch day at work, a delayed train or a sucky climbing practice, beer fixes it.)

In addition to taking my bike everywhere (I now have a new one), I enjoy recreational cycling very much. There is a country-wide system that numbers cycling path crossings, called knots. I bought a booklet with 30 designated cycling loops around my area. By following sings for the knots I can cycle through sand dunes, posh neighborhoods, historic villages, farmlands, colorful forests and royal castle yards. Going for those 20-50km long bike rides has been my main tourist activity here in the Netherlands. Nicely the guide also points out sightseeing landmarks and cosy cafes, where I can taste local cuisine and practice my Dutch language skills.

In the Netherlands cycling has an established status as a way of transportation. Each road has spacious bike lines and intersections, and due to high number of bicyclists there are specific traffic rules, which by the way can be somewhat confusing to new-comers. To make already polite car drivers even more careful, in a case of an accident the car is always guilty, no matter how badly the bike has screwed up. It is compulsory by law to have lights at dark, but on the contrary no one wears helmets.

Knot point directions

Even though the Netherlands is probably already the world's number one cycling country, it keeps leading new innovations. Bike highways are similar to car highways; they are straight, fast connections between major cities without connections to every small neighborhood. Technology is enabling to improve biking in bad weather. Censors identify rain and make traffic lights stay green longer for cyclists to prevent them from getting wet in red lights.

So to put my theft tragedy in perspective, around five percent of all bikes here get stolen yearly. They must circulate around so much that my friends have a point in their saying "There are no one's own bikes here. There are just bikes around." Anyhow as an expat I feel it is my responsibility to keep up the foreigner image, so also my replacement bike is a nice one and I wear a helmet when I go touring.

...I want to ride my biiike!