Our class starts in Denmark before moving to the Netherlands – as Marc describes it, this gives students a way to get used to an environment busy with cyclists that is predictable and easy-to-follow because space is clearly delineated and rules are generally followed.  We then move to the Netherlands where the cycling culture is “more evolved” as some describe it – where the cyclists now reign supreme over other vehicles.  Typically, we drop students right into Utrecht which is often ranked one of most cyclist friendly cities in the world and has some the busiest bicycle segments in the Netherlands (and world.) This year, students got a bit of warm up in Nijmegen. I really enjoyed seeing Nijmegen and surrounding areas to get a glimpse of what cycling culture is like in smaller cities.

Utrecht is a different experience entirely.  Like in Copenhagen, we give students bikes then ask them to follow a local in rush hour to observe customs and behavior around cycling.  What did we hear?  “It makes sense to me.” “Signals don’t seem to matter.” “We got to ride side by side!” and “It’s super scary!”  “They go so fast here!”  After this task, we met up with our Utrecht expert, Ronald Thamse, who offered some ideas into why things might seem different here including “Welcome to the Netherlands. Don’t tell us what to do,” and that people tend to ignore rules if better for themselves. He also reminded us of the concept of social cycling. They design cycle paths to be at least 3 meters wide to allow friends to cycle side by side while allowing another to pass. Two-way cycle paths are at least 4 meters wide.

This concept of social cycling was something I missed dearly since my last trip to the Netherlands and something I embraced again.  Roaming around on a bicycle, I would see friends cycling side by side, grandparents next to grandchildren, families together, and school children 2×2 catching up on the day before.  On Saturday, Nick and I chose our lunch restaurant on a busy fietstraat (bicycle street) where we could watch bicycle traffic.  It provided endless happiness!

I vividly remember riding side-by-side with my friend Meg in Florida on a road bike ride early morning and getting harassed by drivers then law enforcement who told us it was “illegal to ride side by side.” In fact, it wasn’t as she wrote to the local paper in an op-ed later.  But, this contrast reminds me of the extreme differences in cycling culture in the U.S. v. the Netherlands. In the U.S, you’re supposed to be shoved to the side out of the way of the vehicles, even if it’s unsafe, even if you want to have a conversation, even though you’re still taking up less room than the vehicles.  In the Netherlands, they consider the social aspect of cycling so that you can take meetings and have chats side-by-side with friends.  Moreover, the bicycle is at the top of the pyramid.  (That means that pedestrians, transit users, and drivers cede to the bicycle – there is a clear king here.)  It took 40 years for Utrecht to get here, but it’s miraculous to experience and it inspires so much comfort, safety, and happiness from the cycle.