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Cycling Lessons Learned from Amsterdam

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Re: Cycling Lessons Learned from Amsterdam

#51

Post by mercer »

logician76 wrote: post #14

Being dutch I think that the roads that share bikes and cars in the Netherlands are actually not by design but by necessity. Especially in Amsterdam where there simply is not enough space. If you look in rural areas if there is room, they are always seperated. In the cases where there is no room, the buildings and/or streets are usually historically protected as monuments and will not be demolish-able to make more ro…

I'm not sure that's true. I've read articles about how they intentionally create shared roads because it makes both bikes and cars more careful, similar to the initiative of removing signs and lights in traffic (which, counter-intuitively, is often safer).

Plus, I personally recall separated bike lanes being converted to shared lanes.

That said, I'm not 100% certain.

Re: Cycling Lessons Learned from Amsterdam

#52

Post by nmc »

I was thinking this guy got them all, but as I just realized, here is something he did not mention: Amsterdam is flat. FLAT.

This is not a surprise, the whole country is flat anyway.

However, this makes such a big difference! In a city with several hills like Paris, cycling can be anything from lazy (going downhill) to utterly exhausting (going uphill).

* * *

There is a corollary to this, because going uphill not only requires more energy, it also makes cycling slower.

In Paris, almost all bus lanes are shared with bicycles. The only bus lanes forbidden to bicycles are the ones that go steeply uphill — because bicycles would be too slow and hold up bus traffic.

* * *

Source: currently living in Paris, I spent about 2 years in Amsterdam.

Re: Cycling Lessons Learned from Amsterdam

#53

Post by michael_h »

nmc wrote: post #52

I was thinking this guy got them all, but as I just realized, here is something he did not mention: Amsterdam is flat . FLAT . This is not a surprise, the whole country is flat anyway. However, this makes such a big difference! In a city with several hills like Paris, cycling can be anything from lazy (going downhill) to utterly exhausting (going uphill). * * * There is a corollary to this, because going uphill not o…

Behold, the cyclocable: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7j1PgmMbug8

Obviously, you're not traveling at top speed, but it keeps you at a constant pace and you're not wobbling all over the place.

Re: Cycling Lessons Learned from Amsterdam

#54

Post by nmc »

michael_h wrote: post #53
nmc wrote: post #52

I was thinking this guy got them all, but as I just realized, here is something he did not mention: Amsterdam is flat . FLAT . This is not a surprise, the whole country is flat anyway. However, this makes such a big difference! In a city with several hills like Paris, cycling can be anything from lazy (going downhill) to utterly exhausting (going uphill). * * * There is a corollary to this, because going uphill not o…

Behold, the cyclocable: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7j1PgmMbug8 Obviously, you're not traveling at top speed, but it keeps you at a constant pace and you're not wobbling all over the place.

Awesome! I had no idea anything like this existed, thanks for sharing.

Re: Cycling Lessons Learned from Amsterdam

#55

Post by michael_h »

Derbasti wrote: post #23

Often, the problem with US cities is that they use a lot of space for parking lots. In order to be practical for walking and cycling, businesses have to be very densely packed. Having a parking lot in front of every business spaces them too far apart for cycling or walking. Thus, adding parking lots necessitates cars, and cars necessitate parking lots. A vicious cycle.

Hmmm, I would say that the typical urban US model (that I've seen) is to have centralized parking lots, not a parking lot in front of every business.

Re: Cycling Lessons Learned from Amsterdam

#56

Post by CalRobert »

michael_h wrote: post #55
Derbasti wrote: post #23

Often, the problem with US cities is that they use a lot of space for parking lots. In order to be practical for walking and cycling, businesses have to be very densely packed. Having a parking lot in front of every business spaces them too far apart for cycling or walking. Thus, adding parking lots necessitates cars, and cars necessitate parking lots. A vicious cycle.

Hmmm, I would say that the typical urban US model (that I've seen) is to have centralized parking lots, not a parking lot in front of every business.

The net effect is still a reduction in the density of businesses.

Re: Cycling Lessons Learned from Amsterdam

#57

Post by modo_ »

coloroadie wrote: post #49

One more: Most Dutch don't feel the need to dress in bright colored lycra uniforms and ride $6,000 racing bicycles simply to commute to work. I'm American and an amateur racer, but I wear normal clothing when commuting to work. I'm not sure why so many Americans feel the need to "kit up" for the daily commute. I think it actually turns a lot of would-be commuters off.

To be fair, the Denver/Boulder area has a ridiculous number of semi-pro cyclists, and commuting on your race bike is a convenient way to cram training miles into a busy schedule. (but they do look silly, regardless)

Re: Cycling Lessons Learned from Amsterdam

#58

Post by davidw »

nmc wrote: post #52

I was thinking this guy got them all, but as I just realized, here is something he did not mention: Amsterdam is flat . FLAT . This is not a surprise, the whole country is flat anyway. However, this makes such a big difference! In a city with several hills like Paris, cycling can be anything from lazy (going downhill) to utterly exhausting (going uphill). * * * There is a corollary to this, because going uphill not o…

> the whole country is flat anyway.

There is a tiny corner of it that has some smallish hills.

The Amstel Gold professional bike race manages to climb something like 4000 meters by hitting a lot of those small hills in quick succession - and using some multiple times.

Re: Cycling Lessons Learned from Amsterdam

#59

Post by txru »

nmc wrote: post #52

I was thinking this guy got them all, but as I just realized, here is something he did not mention: Amsterdam is flat . FLAT . This is not a surprise, the whole country is flat anyway. However, this makes such a big difference! In a city with several hills like Paris, cycling can be anything from lazy (going downhill) to utterly exhausting (going uphill). * * * There is a corollary to this, because going uphill not o…

I live in Pittsburgh, one of the hilliest major(ish) cities in the world, and commute to work on a bicycle.

It's interesting, for sure. I usually get to work drenched in sweat, and drivers in America are still pretty ridiculously hostile. Pittsburgh has a lot of promise, though, and a bike-friendly mayor who's putting bike lanes everywhere (so much he's getting quite a bit of backlash).

What I'm saying is, even if the culture and landscape seem to be unforgiving, with the right infrastructure bikers find a way.

Re: Cycling Lessons Learned from Amsterdam

#60

Post by beachstartup »

dirktheman wrote: post #39

As a dutchman visiting New York City a couple years back, naturally I rented a bike. A couple of random observations: - NYC in theory is ideal for traversing by bicycle. Congested yet flat, much like (old) Amsterdam - It's not so much the lack of bike lanes in the city, it's more the ignorance of drivers that poses a threat. I can't tell you how many times I was cut off, simply because the driver didn't see me or did…

> - On the other hand, fellow cyclists were behaving like mad men. I can totally see why people are having issues with cyclists. Running red lights, taking sidewalks, zooming in front of cars, that doesn't get you a lot of understanding.

what's really hilarious are the justifications cyclists give for this kind of behavior.

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