This post is for Katie Boyer. She wanted to see the biker roads. We took this picture while waiting for some sailboats to go underneath the bridge. You can see that the bike lanes are as big as the automobile lanes.
We're still learning the etiquette ourselves, but it appears to be pretty orderly. There are many, many bike lanes throughout the cities. Generally speaking, they are offset from the roads by different colored pavement (reddish macadam). However, if there is no bike lane, you are allowed on the streets. You must follow all of the regular traffic rules – although a lot of one-way streets are open to bi-directional biking – These are well marked with signs (a picture of a bike in a blue circle with the word “Uitzonderen”, meaning bicycles excepted). People use hand signals for turning. If you are passing someone and there is some question about their intent or they are chatting and not paying attention, then you ring your bell to let them know that you are passing. On all of the main bike routes, there are traffic signals specifically for bikes. You pull into a turn lane for bikes and press a button to wait for the signal. During rush hour, the traffic signals can get really backed up with bikers – bike traffic jams! You have to start out pretty quickly or you’ll get bumped into from behind. To complicate matters, motorized scooters are also allowed in the bike lanes.
I have only seen one tandem bike, although a lot of people ride “tandem” on a single bike. They all have racks on back and the second rider jumps on to the rack sidesaddle style. All bikes are to have lights and fenders – although recreational mountain bikes and road bikes seem to be accepted from this rule.
There are two different types of riding – through the parks people are generally relaxed and just cruising along. Through the streets, it’s all business and people are a lot more interested in getting where they are going.
People bike in whatever clothes they are wearing, from work clothes (business suits and long dresses) to mini skirts and jeans. They also make a special tarp for biking in the rain, although most people just hold an umbrella in one hand if its raining.
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This post is for Katie Boyer. She wanted to see the biker roads. We took this picture while waiting for some sailboats to go underneath the bridge. You can see that the bike lanes are as big as the automobile lanes.
We're still learning the etiquette ourselves, but it appears to be pretty orderly. There are many, many bike lanes throughout the cities. Generally speaking, they are offset from the roads by different colored pavement (reddish macadam). However, if there is no bike lane, you are allowed on the streets. You must follow all of the regular traffic rules – although a lot of one-way streets are open to bi-directional biking – These are well marked with signs (a picture of a bike in a blue circle with the word “Uitzonderen”, meaning bicycles excepted). People use hand signals for turning. If you are passing someone and there is some question about their intent or they are chatting and not paying attention, then you ring your bell to let them know that you are passing. On all of the main bike routes, there are traffic signals specifically for bikes. You pull into a turn lane for bikes and press a button to wait for the signal. During rush hour, the traffic signals can get really backed up with bikers – bike traffic jams! You have to start out pretty quickly or you’ll get bumped into from behind. To complicate matters, motorized scooters are also allowed in the bike lanes.
I have only seen one tandem bike, although a lot of people ride “tandem” on a single bike. They all have racks on back and the second rider jumps on to the rack sidesaddle style. All bikes are to have lights and fenders – although recreational mountain bikes and road bikes seem to be accepted from this rule.
There are two different types of riding – through the parks people are generally relaxed and just cruising along. Through the streets, it’s all business and people are a lot more interested in getting where they are going.
People bike in whatever clothes they are wearing, from work clothes (business suits and long dresses) to mini skirts and jeans. They also make a special tarp for biking in the rain, although most people just hold an umbrella in one hand if its raining.
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