Bicycles
 

I found a film about the bicycles in my town.
http://mahnishmah.com/system/scripts/modules/admin/pages/show_page.cgi?p=19761

Rob

What bike brand names are common in the Netherlands?

I have a Belgian-made traditional city bike; I love it! Typical steel frame construction, black, with fenders and a built-in rear-wheel lock. It's the typical unisex frame, so folks give me funny looks and suggest I'm on a "lady bike," but damn, is it comfy (and practical!).

I saw this a while ago. Still marvel at the civility of it all. It's like people have manners over there.

That was my first thought, too. You have the ONE guy who rides up on the median -- that's it. Everyone waits for the light, too. Amazing.

I remember being in Dusseldorf in 1996 or so, and walking around at about 1am. The streets were empty save for a few pedestrians, and I jaywalked (in a crosswalk but not with the "walk" signal); the other pedestrians looked at me like I was mad. I didn't do that anymore; play by the local rules, I say.

I don't see anyone wearing a helmet.

I don't either, but I need to start doing so. We have a daughter now, and I need to lead by example. That also means ALWAYS putting on my seatbelt (which I generally do anyway, but sometimes I am in a hurry and forget -- gotta nip that in the bud!).

The most common Dutch brands are:
Gazelle, Batavus, Giant, Multicycle
Of course there are a lot more brands sold over here.

We have 19 million bicycles for 16.6 million people.

Rob

Nobody wears a helmet.
We have bicycle lanes everywhere, so it is not so risky.

Rob

Ordinarily practically nobody on a bicycle stops for a red light. On this film the red lights are for crossing a bus lane. People do wait for an articulated bus, they drive rather fast and don't brake very good.

Our bishop was asked in an interview about his sins, he told the reporter that he never waited for a red light when he was on his bicycle. A week later he was hit by a car (survived with a broken leg).

Rob

You'd probably have a different opinion if you saw a film made from the front of a bicycle cycling through town.

People are people the world over.