When I was a freshman in high school, my town (pop. 3500 in the middle of KS) opened a new high school, 1.1 miles north of our house. My parents told me I could walk to school or ride a bike. I had what was new at the time---a 10 speed Schwinn with "drop" handlebars. I rode my bike to school all 4 years, uphill against a north wind in the morning, though I will admit it was downhill against a south wind, usually, in the afternoon. I became rather proud of the fact that I was the only student in the whole high school (400) who did this when one boy teased me about it 1 day and I had a quick and snappy comeback. As a young adult, I would participate in 100 mile rides (century rides) for fun and to earn a stupid patch to sew on a jean jacket. Later, I got smart and moved up to Harleys......! However, my interest in bikes remains, and Amsterdam was REALLY the place to see them. These pictures are from both Amsterdam and Rotterdam, with Amsterdam bikes first.....
Sandi and I took a boat ride on the harbor and through one ring of the canals. This parking lot had basically 3 levels of parked bikes. This would be like having an entire football field crammed with bicycles.
The lower level of that parking lot above the canal....."Houston, we have a problem!"
This was taken outside one of the locations of the University of Amsterdam
At first I thought this was a delivery bicycle, but then saw a similar one with two kids in the box. As an added bonus, you get to see Brandi's airline travel crate and her rear end!!
The windshield on this bike intrigued me. It serves as a windbreak for the hild; there is a child's seat right behind it, and the leather piece hanging below the windshield covers the child's legs. I don't think I have seen anything like this in the US.
A lot of the bikes had heavy, sturdy plastic baskets like this, mounted on a heavy-duty rack. By far, most bicycles were basic black.
This young woman on a "Sting-Ray" bike cracked me up.
I saw two of these in Amsterdam but don't believe I had ever seen one before. The blue bike is a bike built for two, with a child in front and an adult in the back. Note the lower seat and handlebars in the front.
This bike would carry two children, one in front above the handlebars and one in the back. That is really working. Also note that the fork is flat for easy step-through.
Another delivery bike or bike for taking kids; this one was covered to keep out the leaves, dirt, or rain. Notice that there are 2 fairly large wheels supporting the box.
Another accidental duplicate---I will figure out later how to remove it!
This bike for 4 was in rough shape with flat tires and so forth. The white paper on the door asked for donations to repair the bike!! Sandi and I didn't bite on that request.
Anoher box bike. These had stands on both sides so the bike just stayed completely upright when parked.
The small tires and high seat made me wonder how old the person who rode this was. Teenaged boy?? Doing tricks on it?
These bikes were short from front to back and must fold up or something. There were expensive, as I recall, like 700 euros which would be about $1k. They were in a bicycle shop window.
Never in my life have I seen bicycle storage sheds like these. These were in Rotterdam. Amsterdam had more bicycles (EVERYWHERE!!!), but the area where these were in Rotterdam was more likely somewhat permanent residents as opposed to college kids.
Amsterdam in particular was interesting to me because there were bike lanes that were wider than the sidewalks. It really is a biking city. Given the narrow streets and the lack of space for parking a car, I can see how having a bike would be the way to go in this city. Rotterdam was a much newer city (thanks to bombing during the war) and seemed much more like being in Chicago or something. Amsterdam definitely has more charm!
Well, I guess I got enough box bikes!! This has a raised seat for the child and a seatbelt. The green child's bike was one of very few we saw, for some reason. Given the prevalence of bikes here, learning to ride must really be a big deal in Amsterdam!
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