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Dutch bike culture, from an outsider's perspective
Being a Scandinavian guy, it seems so odd that the guy who put up
these pictures didn't know about what I consider the obvious. Never seen a skirt-guard? What a cloistered life to live. :^P Fun pics if you've not been to Holland: http://www.ski-epic.com/amsterdam_bicycles/ |
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#2
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Dutch bike culture, from an outsider's perspective
"landotter" wrote in message ups.com... Being a Scandinavian guy, it seems so odd that the guy who put up these pictures didn't know about what I consider the obvious. Never seen a skirt-guard? What a cloistered life to live. :^P Fun pics if you've not been to Holland: http://www.ski-epic.com/amsterdam_bicycles/ Great pictures. Last summer we took a Baltic cruise vacation, starting in Stockholm and ending in Copenhagen. A few times at stops we took biking tours, and at the end, in Copenhagen, we rented bikes for a day and traveled around. Ring locks, no helmets, chain and skirt guards. I fell in love with the freedom of those types of bikes. In September I bought me one for my birthday: http://www.breezerbikes.com/bike_det...=d&bike=uptown Yep, it has the chain guard, the ring lock, the hub generator lights. And it's wonderful. I can, and do, go shopping, errand running, and to sporting events on it in my skirt and heels. Yep, here near San Francisco on the lower penninsula people do look surprised to see me, but I still love it. The only down side is it doesn't have a skirt guard. And like the Dutch, when I do pull out my road bike to go out for exercise I do put on the lycra and helmet. |
#3
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Dutch bike culture, from an outsider's perspective
On May 29, 4:51 pm, "Cathy Kearns" wrote:
"landotter" wrote in message ups.com... Being a Scandinavian guy, it seems so odd that the guy who put up these pictures didn't know about what I consider the obvious. Never seen a skirt-guard? What a cloistered life to live. :^P Fun pics if you've not been to Holland: http://www.ski-epic.com/amsterdam_bicycles/ Great pictures. Last summer we took a Baltic cruise vacation, starting in Stockholm and ending in Copenhagen. A few times at stops we took biking tours, and at the end, in Copenhagen, we rented bikes for a day and traveled around. Ring locks, no helmets, chain and skirt guards. I fell in love with the freedom of those types of bikes. In September I bought me one for my birthday:http://www.breezerbikes.com/bike_det...own&frame=d&bi... Yup, I had a clone of that bike myself for years. It got junky looking pretty quick, but ran great--as doing half a dozen errands per day are hell on a bike's finish--and with such a bike, you have no excuse to not ride in in whatever you've got on. A new bike shop opened up about 3/4 mile from my front door that's to sell Electra Amsterdams. I'm really tempted to get one, except I'm none too keen on the "feet forward" hooey. I might just have to put a skirt guard on my fixed gear instead. http://valleycyclingandfitness.com/i...ils.cfm?id=487 (not my shop in the link) I liked the responses at the bottom, especially the Dutch commenter that mentioned that kids there have a week of bike education to get a certificate, then periodic retraining. They pointed out that in the US, we often plop helmets on them, then teach them to ride on the wrong side of the road. Hilarious to see the Dutch perspective. They think American bike habits are appalling. |
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Dutch bike culture, from an outsider's perspective
On 29 May 2007 12:42:30 -0700, landotter wrote:
Being a Scandinavian guy, it seems so odd that the guy who put up these pictures didn't know about what I consider the obvious. Never seen a skirt-guard? What a cloistered life to live. :^P Fun pics if you've not been to Holland: http://www.ski-epic.com/amsterdam_bicycles/ He makes a big deal about the huge bike chains and locks. Old Amsterdam saying: If you yell out to a large group of cylists riding by, "Hey, that's my bike!" about five guys will jump off of "their" bikes and take off running. |
#5
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Dutch bike culture, from an outsider's perspective
On 29 May 2007 12:42:30 -0700, landotter wrote:
Being a Scandinavian guy, it seems so odd that the guy who put up these pictures didn't know about what I consider the obvious. Never seen a skirt-guard? What a cloistered life to live. :^P He seemed a little confused about dynamo powered lights and serious locks too. One thing he didn't mention that is quite obviously different from San Francisco is the lack of obesity evident in the street scenes. -- zk |
#6
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Dutch bike culture, from an outsider's perspective
In article . com,
landotter writes: I liked the responses at the bottom, especially the Dutch commenter that mentioned that kids there have a week of bike education to get a certificate, then periodic retraining. They pointed out that in the US, we often plop helmets on them, then teach them to ride on the wrong side of the road. Hilarious to see the Dutch perspective. They think American bike habits are appalling. Here's a little more info on cycling in the Netherlands. I think it gives a more realistic treatment than some of the preconceptions we so often hear in North America. http://www.aero.lr.tudelft.nl/~bvo/fiets/nlbybike.htm cheers, Tom -- Nothing is safe from me. Above address is just a spam midden. I'm really at: tkeats curlicue vcn dot bc dot ca |
#7
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Dutch bike culture, from an outsider's perspective
Zoot Katz wrote:
.... One thing he didn't mention that is quite obviously different from San Francisco is the lack of obesity evident in the street scenes. That's because the bicycling done in these countries isn't a major factor in obesity rates. This page: http://ruudvisser.wordpress.com/2006...biles-sort-of/ -notes that the average bicyclist in the Netherlands covers something like 550 miles per year, or about two miles per day. How many calories do you burn pedaling at a casual pace for two miles a day? Not very many really. ------ One factor (I've read of) that is suspicious in US obesity rates is the high amounts of corn products used in processed foods, as well as livestock feed. With the proposal for the large-scale adoption of ethanol as motor fuel, it is speculated that the price of corn may rise so high that its food uses are curtailed. Here's to hoping. Cheap gas and no more corn sweeteners! It's a win-win situation. I'll be able to go into anywhere and buy soda made with /real/ /actual/ /sugar/ in it again..... ~ |
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Dutch bike culture, from an outsider's perspective
On May 29, 10:12 pm, DougC wrote:
Zoot Katz wrote: .... One thing he didn't mention that is quite obviously different from San Francisco is the lack of obesity evident in the street scenes. That's because the bicycling done in these countries isn't a major factor in obesity rates. This page:http://ruudvisser.wordpress.com/2006...s-automobiles-... -notes that the average bicyclist in the Netherlands covers something like 550 miles per year, or about two miles per day. How many calories do you burn pedaling at a casual pace for two miles a day? Not very many really. 1.5 miles per citizen per day. That includes elderly invalids, infants, and car owners. I suspect the actual cyclist average is closer to ten. Ten miles on an omafiets will certainly be very beneficial to health. |
#9
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Dutch bike culture, from an outsider's perspective
On 29 May 2007 22:25:17 -0700, landotter wrote:
On May 29, 10:12 pm, DougC wrote: Zoot Katz wrote: .... One thing he didn't mention that is quite obviously different from San Francisco is the lack of obesity evident in the street scenes. That's because the bicycling done in these countries isn't a major factor in obesity rates. This page:http://ruudvisser.wordpress.com/2006...s-automobiles-... -notes that the average bicyclist in the Netherlands covers something like 550 miles per year, or about two miles per day. How many calories do you burn pedaling at a casual pace for two miles a day? Not very many really. 1.5 miles per citizen per day. That includes elderly invalids, infants, and car owners. I suspect the actual cyclist average is closer to ten. Ten miles on an omafiets will certainly be very beneficial to health. And the legs on the Dutch women are superb looking. |
#10
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Dutch bike culture, from an outsider's perspective
On May 29, 2:42 pm, landotter wrote:
Being a Scandinavian guy, it seems so odd that the guy who put up these pictures didn't know about what I consider the obvious. Never seen a skirt-guard? What a cloistered life to live. :^P Fun pics if you've not been to Holland: http://www.ski-epic.com/amsterdam_bicycles/ Thanks for sharing. This is very interesting. Lewis. ***** |
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