Bicycle, Bicycle, Bicycle. I Want To Ride My Bicycle...
Written: Jun 13 '00 (Updated Jun 13 '00)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: The best way to explore the city.
Cons: You'd better be a good biker or every local will know you are a tourist.
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| AlexG's Full Review: Amsterdam |
Bicycle is a #1 transport in Amsterdam. Not a mountain bike and not a 27-speed sports bike--just a regular old-looking plain bicycle. It's likely that most bicycles on the Amsterdam roads would be found on the sides of the roads (abandoned) in the States. But, apparently, bicycle in Amsterdam is just a mode of transportation, not a luxury or a fashion statement. You'll be hard pressed to find a local who has not ridden a bicycle in Amsterdam, no matter if it's a man or a woman, young or old, poor or rich. It's as hard as finding a local who doesn't speak English.
Speaking of which, I remember biking in Vondelpark and seeing a cute little Dutch girl riding with her mom on the "backseat" of the bike. This girl must have been 3 years old or so. "Hello," I said smiling as they rode by. "Hello", she replied. Now, wait a second, I caught myself--"Hello" for her is a foreign language! Later I found out, without much surprise this time, that the Netherlands leads the non-English speaking countries in the number of people who speak English. But I'm getting carried away; let's get back to bicycles.
Amsterdam, the city of 725,000 people, has about 550,000 bicycles. 1 million of them get stolen every year. I know it sounds a little weird, but it's true, on average every bicycle gets stolen twice! I find this statistic quite amusing, though I'm sure everyone who had his bicycle stolen in Amsterdam would not share my light attitude. LOCK, LOCK, LOCK. Never leave you bike unlocked or you'll be walking home.
I want to ride my bicycle,
I want to ride my bike.
I want to ride my bicycle,
I want to ride it where I like.
Queen, "Bicycle Race"
As a matter of fact, you can ride your bicycle where you like in Amsterdam. And I can assure you will not be alone. It's a close call between the bike riders and pedestrians for the top honors of the people in motion. There is a high chance that the latter are the same bike riders who had just parked their bike.
Amsterdam is a great city to enjoy on a bicycle. You can ride along the canals or in numerous parks. For example, Vondelpark is an excellent place for a beautiful bike ride-about 20 minutes away from the Central Station. Amsterdam is a green city--there are more trees per square mile than in any other European capital.
Because of the bicycle popularity in Amsterdam, there are three lanes of traffic--the road, the sidewalk and the special bike lane in between. Watch out! Many unfamiliar folks don't pay much attention to the bike lane, and once they cross the road, they think they are on the safe ground. Wrong! In Amsterdam, the bicycle lane is probably more dangerous than the road, and clueless tourists get hit all the time.
Obviously, because of the high demand for bicycles in Amsterdam, renting is very expensive. You know, the rules of economics apply here too. Yeah, right. Come on! This is Amsterdam, what rules? I was just kidding. You can rent a bike for about $5 per day. There are several rental places throughout the city. I rented from MacBike. They offer top-quality bicycles with two good locks on each bike. You'll stand out in the crowd of crappy bicycles that the Dutch ride. MacBike will also give you detailed maps and suggest the best ways to travel around the city. Amsterdam is relatively small; riding around you can see most of Amsterdam in one day.
On your bike, get set, go!
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
AlexG
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Location: New York, NY
Reviews written: 130
Trusted by: 239 members
About Me:
Alex has a voracious appetite for travel. Travel hasn't satisfied an appetite. It's created one.
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