The other day I was on my mommy bike, with Isaya in the back bike seat. Alela’s front bike seat was empty: she was in the baby carrier. I was breastfeeding her. Whilst riding my bike. So just for your clear image: a mom, on a bike, two bike seats, two children, one front basket full of stuff. And then, also breastfeeding whilst cycling. Yes. I think that constitutes as me being well integrated in Dutch culture. Took me a while to get here [I’ve been living in the Netherlands since 2001], but I can now honestly say I graduated in Dutchness. I feel this makes me the right person to tell you all about the Dutch and their bikes. Because I promise, it’s a thing…

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Before I let you in on all the weird, funny, interesting, terrifying and mind-blowing facts about the Dutch and their bikes, know this. I understand that if you ever find yourself in Dutchieland, you are going to want to ride a bike. Go for it – it’s part of the experience. But if you really want to see Amsterdam from the best possible point of view and in all her splendor and glory, you shouldn’t be in the bike lane. You should be in the canals. To be more specific: in a longboat floating through the beautiful canals of the city. It’s the best way to experience Amsterdam, away from the busy streets, filled with Dutch cyclers, trams, taxi’s, cars and scooters. From the water, you can truly appreciate the immense beauty of the historic buildings and the unique feel of the city. Check out this boat rental in Amsterdam. It’s a sustainable company that uses electric engines and do monthly canal cleanups, fishing plastic out of the water!

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The Dutch and their Bikes

There are roughly 25 million bikes in the Netherlands. For a country that holds a little over 17 million people, that’s prrrrretty insane. An average Dutch person cycles 880 km [almost 550 miles] a year. That’s almost 15 billion kilometers for all of Dutchieland. I mean, come on. The Netherlands is 42.500 square kilometers. Where is everybody going? We go in circles, obviously. But at least we are doing it environmentally friendly. And healthy! I have great respect for this part of Dutch culture. But some things about the Dutch and their Bikes is a bit strange… Well, if you’re not a Dutchie that is.

For instance…

If you see a Dutch person nervously walking up and down a sidewalk with a concerned look on their face, sweat on their forehead and mumbling under their breath, know they are trying to establish whether they just can’t remember where they put their bike or if it got stolen (again). 

Dutch people spend their entire lives on their bikes. Riding it to school, to work, their kids to school, to after school activities… And then, when the kids have moved out and they retire and they don’t have to ride their bikes anymore, they go on bike trips [“fietstochtjes”]. 

The Dutch maneuver their bikes through busy city streets, past narrow country side roads and everything in between. Seeing them on their bikes, you’d think Dutch people have nine lives [or at least think they do]. Yet they do not wear helmets. Nine times out of ten they don’t even put helmets on their kids heads.

In the Netherlands if you have one kid, you put a little seat on the front of your bike. If you have another kid, you ad another seat, to the back. The mom becomes some kind of a balancing magician. Dutch moms are very good at making this look easy and effortless. Let me tell you, it’s not. At all. It takes skill and determination and having you heart pulled out of your chest with fear at least once a week.

If you have a third kid in the Netherlands, you don’t get a bigger car, you get a bakfiets. A “bakfiets” is a bike, with a big container in the front, where you can store up to 4 small Dutch children. Sometimes these cargo bikes are electric and look more like tiny cars than bicycles [and cost about the same amount]. And sometimes its just a depleted city bike with a wooden “bak” in the front, with kids scattered in it, without safety belts…

So there you have it…

…the Dutch and their Bikes. A great phenomenon and also a little strange. If you ever visit Dutchieland, promise me you will wear a helmet. And take that boat trip!

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