Social Cycling in the Netherlands!

Something we very quickly learned about Dutch cycling (in both Nijmegen and Utrecht) is their love for social cycling! Unlike, Denmark whose streets were organized and filled with commuters and cargo bikes, the Netherlands bike lanes are extremely social and wide enough for two bikers next to each other! I LOVE social cycling so much that I am dedicating this entire post to it.  

In Nijmegen, we were able to social cycle and enjoy our 45-minute ride from our hotel to the Nijmegen city center together! My best friend Vivian and I quickly found a love for social cycling together! We were able to experience social cycling even more when we arrived in Utrecht! Everywhere we went, we were able to bike next to each other! We went on a very long bike tour ride to some of the rural areas outside of Utrecht where we were able to enjoy recreational cycling socially! This made me feel a lot more relaxed and it was especially enjoyable in a big group to talk with everyone on our ride (which lasted about 6 hours). Even in the city center of Utrecht, social cycling is possible, which is something I never thought could be done! Dutch Cycling, at its core most definitely keeps the comfort and happiness of the people using the infrastructure in mind. This is very clear by the ability to social cycle in the Netherlands! Henk Swarttouw, the President of the European Cyclist Federation and former Dutch ambassador to Denmark, explained he decided to spend his life promoting bicycle use and planning because of the amount of people in the field who just have “good vibes!” As a Dutch born man himself, this makes sense to me, because the vibes on the cycling paths of the Netherlands just have amazing, positive vibes.  

In the Netherlands, I have seen mothers with up to four kids on their bikes, teenage girls crammed on one bike headed to the park, couples on their first date on one bike (which made me miss my boyfriend and I am definitely making him bike me around Dutch style in Eugene), and many more variations of social cycling. The Dutch have truly taken cycling culture to a new level by incorporating social cycling into their infrastructure. There is also a huge social acceptance of these cyclists. When a friend and I were cycling next to each other and someone wanted to pass, no one was phased or upset, they just kindly rang their bell and went around us. People are never upset about the crazy teenage girls yelping as they try to balance on their bike, and I there is patience by all cyclists for young children riding their own bike next to their mothers (even if they are struggling to balance)! This cycling culture and social acceptance of bicycling is something I would love to see in the U.S. Biking is truly the norm here and is something that seems to bond the Dutch into a community!  

I hope you enjoyed this post, more to come on the Netherlands!  

Yours,  

Macy