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?

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

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!).

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1992 300D 2.5T
1980 Euro 300D (sadly, sold)
1998 Jetta TDI, 132K "Rudy"
1974 Triumph TR6
1999 Saab 9-5 wagon (wife's)

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

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You don't need a weatherman to know which way the wind blows - Robert A. Zimmerman

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.

__________________
1992 300D 2.5T
1980 Euro 300D (sadly, sold)
1998 Jetta TDI, 132K "Rudy"
1974 Triumph TR6
1999 Saab 9-5 wagon (wife's)

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!).

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1992 300D 2.5T
1980 Euro 300D (sadly, sold)
1998 Jetta TDI, 132K "Rudy"
1974 Triumph TR6
1999 Saab 9-5 wagon (wife's)

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.

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1992 W201 190E 1.8 171,000 km - Daily driver
1981 W123 300D ~ 100,000 miles / 160,000 km - project car stripped to the bone
1965 Land Rover Series 2a Station Wagon CIS recovery therapy!
1961 Volvo PV544 Bare metal rat rod-ish thing

I'm here to chat about cars and to help others - I'm not here "to always be right" like an internet warrior



Don't leave that there - I'll take it to bits!