32 Queues, 182km, Rain with Sunny Spells, Wind 12km/h NW, 10˙C
Traffic jams in the Netherlands are so common that it's pointless listing individual locations. Nederland 1 TV morning news simply updates the number and length of queues across the bottom of the screen along with the weather. Cycling into Amsterdam from Haarlem I was struck by the stationary traffic on the main motorway alongside the cycleroute. In contrast the fietspad was clear and straight with a new surface.
The only things missing were bikes. Outside urban areas bike traffic thins out with small motor scooters becoming more noticeable - quite legal on many marked fietspads.
As a footnote the new Dutch right wing coaltion has decided to raise the car speed limit to 130km/h although how this will help the modern Dutch road network remains to be seen.
Back in the urban areas, bike numbers return to match that of other traffic. Cycling here is strictly conventional and the bikes are omafiets (or granny bikes) with low step over frames and all the things you'd expect. I saw only one fixie and one other recumbent. That's not to say that there aren't some nice designs around - new designs from Gazelle and Batavus were being ridden by people dressed for a normal day rather than 'war on the roads'. Families seemed to use work bikes like the Bakfiets and the less common Onderwater tandem where the child 'stoker' sits at the front. Shop here is big source of these I reckon.
Workcycles Amsterdam
I didn't see as many trikes this time but I was only visiting for 3 days. Small wheeled bikes were rare - I saw six Bromptons and one Batavus folder. Race bikes, fixies and recumbents were even rarer, as were helmets, yellow florescents and clipless pedals. Even Gerhard who owns Ligfietswinkel (Amsterdam's recumbent shop) does not use SpDs although some of his racing customers do of course. One trend that seems to have picked up is the use of motor scooters - maybe as they can get the best of both fietsdpads and roads. These outnumbered electric bikes from what I could see and those from the Mr Chi scooter shop were advertised at 999 euros. In fact I only was aware of seeing three electric bikes and two were in Belgium. Reason for lack of e-bikes in city could be security and the fact that scooters often carried two people. Cyclists here do own more than one bike with hack bikes preferred in city. The Dutch and Belgians have bought e-bikes in great numbers according to sales data but maybe keep them for longer rides.
Riding in the rush hour and in evening was great fun if done carefully. However I had to ride to outside of path to get around the slow moving fietsers. This brought me into the scooter and car zone on edge of the painted path edge - just like at home. Dutch cars though do not like seeing pedal power out of its alloted space even if matching traffic speed and would pass close. In fact the average cyclist really cycles too close to everything in the city centre and there is no margin of error. Their open top 'City Sightseeing' tour overtakes cyclists as if they weren't there. The message is 'know your place' with the 'silver lining' being that cars are held responsible for accidents.
Assessing risk is difficult here as the safety advantages of marked cycle ways are compromised by allowing low powered vehicles on many routes. Doing a fast journey is impossible unless you know the path already. Signs are detailed and small with layouts that loop round car junctions. Right angled turns are normal.
Not all crossings are controlled and painted lanes beside and across tram lines quite normal.
On the car deck on the ferry on the way home a Dutch chap came over to look at the recumbent bike. Yes he had a friend back home who owned one. "They are dangerous I think... maybe you should be higher?" I showed him my lights and he was impressed but not persuaded. He gave me the impression that I would be better having a 'proper' bike that would fit the urban jigsaw of cars, buses, trams, pedestrians and mopeds. However I wouldn't have swapped for an upright bike as wind strengths on coast were very strong - I saw people pushing bikes in the dunes area between Den Haag and Zandvoort.
Just an impression though - and I enjoyed cycling from Zeebrugge to Amsterdam immensely. Lots of friendly stops along the way.
More detailed info on NL cycling can be found here...Cycling in Netherlands
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