Amsterdam

Bicycles of Amsterdam

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  • January 21, 2020
  • 9 Comments
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a bicycle with a cart and a green seat
Amsterdam family bicycle

Bikes, bikes, bikes, all across Amsterdam. There are estimated to be as many bicycles as residents in Amsterdam, about 850,000 of each. Bicycles outnumber cars 4 to 1 among city residents.

As a tourist in Amsterdam for a week last month, many of my photos included bicycles as the focal point or bicycles as part of the scenery.

a group of people in a plaza
Amsterdam Dam Square cyclist holding bag in left hand.
a group of people in a plaza
Amsterdam Dam Square cyclist carrying bag in right hand with second bag hanging on handlebars.
a bicycle parked outside a building
Amsterdam High Wheel (Penny Farthing) bicycle.
a group of bicycles parked on a brick alleyway
Amsterdam business district bicycle parking.
a row of bicycles parked on a brick path
Amsterdam residential street parking
a street with buildings and people on it
Amsterdam Haarlemmerstraat cyclists, not vehicles, are primary impediment to crossing street.
a group of people walking on a sidewalk
Bicycle street parking near Amsterdam W Hotel.
bicycles on a rail by a canal
Bicycles on Prinsengracht, Amsterdam.
a large brick building with people walking around with Rijksmuseum in the background
Amsterdam Rijksmuseum x-games cyclist
a bicycle with a cart and a green seat
Amsterdam family bicycle
a group of bicycles parked on a brick sidewalk
Amsterdam shopping bicycles
a small black car parked on a brick sidewalk
Not a bicycle, but not quite a car either.
a group of people walking on a sidewalk with bicycles
Bicycles lining pavement along Spui, Amsterdam.
a bicycle decorated with flowers and butterflies
Amsterdam green bicycle.
a bicycle with flowers and a cart on the side of the road
Amsterdam flower bicycle.

 

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9 Comments

  • bluecat January 21, 2020

    And not one pic taken *from* a bike? 😉

  • Jackie S January 21, 2020

    Too dangerous (for me!). You have to be a professional to ride a bicycle on the streets of Amsterdam! But I loved visiting the city – and I can’t wait to go back. These blog posts make me even more eager to return.

  • Summer R January 21, 2020

    Hi Ric,
    I read your blog about low-cost carry-ons for budget airlines and you noted that you do not choose seating. Is it safe to assume that my fiance and I will sit next to each other on a Norwegian airline flight if I put us in the same booking? Or should I fork over the extra 90 per flight to be safe?

    Kindly,
    Summer

  • Ric Garrido January 22, 2020

    @Summer – Norwegian has always kept Kelley and I seated next to each other when I booked both of us in same booking. That means I usually end up in middle seat.

    Ryanair does not usually seat us together.

    Pay for seats if you want to be sure to be together.

  • Ric Garrido January 22, 2020

    @bluecat – Buzzed cycling is drunk cycling!
    In Amsterdam I am more concerned about being responsible for a stolen bike.

    As Jackie S. states, central Amsterdam is a place for experienced riders. I have encountered a few cycling accidents over the year. Two requiring ambulances.

    Last time I took a real cycling trip in Europe was Dresden, Germany in 2000. I started riding to the Czech border. In cycling terms, turned out to be a Paris-Roubaix ride for me. A few miles of cobblestones blistered me nicely on the bottom.

    I made it to within ten miles or so of Czech border and took train back to Dresden.

  • bluecat January 22, 2020

    @Ric, @Jackie : I see your points. Well, if you ever get out onto the polders, do try to rent a bike. Easy flatlands, fun scenery, pannekoeken (sp?) and beer stops, and no fear of thieves nipping your ride. Great fun for all ages.

  • Marilyn B January 22, 2020

    @Ric, No photo of the bicycle parking around Central Station? I am amazed that anyone can find their ride, much less extract it from the masses!

  • Ric Garrido January 22, 2020

    @Marilyn B – I have a great photo of 1000+ bikes at Centraal Station with Ibis Hotel in background from years ago. I am sure I posted the photo before on Loyalty Traveler but can’t locate it on my website. I need to dive into the backup hard drive.

    @bluecat – When I stayed at Holiday Inn Leiden, that area seemed like a good place to ride a bike. The month was January and the weather was wet. Did not think of cycling.

    I definitely want to go north in the Netherlands.

    Besides Haarlem and Zandvoort, near Amsterdam, we have spent time in The Hague and Rotterdam, we have been to plenty of places in border areas of country, like Breda and Eindhoven, Maastricht, Venlo and Nijmegen.

    I’d like to visit Frisian / Wadden Islands region. Seems like a great place for cycling.Although, I guess that depends on how strong wind blows when you want to cycle into it.

  • Ric Garrido February 2, 2020

    Just remembered my bike ride in Bergen, Norway Sep 2014 when I took a free cycle rental from Clarion Collection Havnekonteret Bergen and headed north on the coast one day.

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