Cycling Utopia

http://vimeo.com/6462274

I have long been a fan of Holland/The Netherlands, but this videoclip from Amsterdamize
(forum member, and of Amsterdamize [best cycling blog IMO]) just makes me want to emigrate there.

Bikes locked up in public for FREE, and guarded!!!!! If only Boris Johnson perused this forum.

Yeah, I think London has a massive enough number of cyclists to be better incorporated into civil infrastructure.

I dont think segregated cycles lanes are practical or a good idea in this country though unless they take you through areas where the roads are really dangerous/impractical for bikes.

No to separate cycling lanes, yes to guarded, covered bike parks, manned by staff who take the job seriously, not hi-vis sporting 'security' oafs.

Awesome.

I guess it helps that Holland is flat as hell and they're all stoned and really chilled out due to all the sex.

Schmoke and a pancake?

Hugely accurate thread title - I was trying to think of a word or phrase to describe the video as I was watching and it really can't be bettered. It's like some sort of dream-sequence. Despite having been to Amsterdam many times I really just can't imagine a place like that!

change the law a bit (i.e. drivers involved in an collision with a cyclists are automatically at fault unless proven otherwise), and show the locals that they don't need to buy an hybrid MTB, day-glo outfit, helmet, etc. just so they can get on a bicycle.

that's what London need, safety in number, not equipment.

I prefer the copenhagenize blog thought.

Great video, I bet the taxi drivers throw up peace signs and HGV drivers blow kisses to cyclists too.

I have so much admiration for The Netherlands and also Switzerland. To my mind they lead the way in so many fields related to the way in which we experience life in towns and cities. Maximum respect.

Remember also that The Netherlands are pioneering other infrastructural projects such as Shared Space and they are also miles ahead in agricultural and land reclamation/conditioning technology. A class act as nations go. Great design too.

Moving back to The Netherlands in 2 years, if I feel the same way I do now.

I was riding in Amsterdam 2 weeks ago and whilst it is a beautiful place and their attitude to cycling is enlightened, as a Fixed Gear rider the cycle lanes would just be frustrating.

It's fine if you're on a sofa of a bike but on a track bike you wanna be on the roads right? I like riding on London roads.

A little bit more space and a few less cars and pot holes and these roads would be perfect IMO.

This is the outfit that advises the government, where aforementioned laws ^ are encouraged, and the repository of all cycling data:-
http://www.fietsberaad.nl/index.cfm?lang=en

Could be a mare if you lost your ticket 'Anyone seen my bike......it's a black one with mudguards......?'

Some of my mates and I were discussing the need for something like this in London recently. Even a privately run enterprise where you pay a small fee to leave your bike safely.
Think it'd work? I suppose you'd need to have a chain of places all over the city...

Can someone do a london version of this? Dodging HGVs at Old Street roundabout, getting cut up by taxis, people parking in cycle lanes; get to work and lock your bike with £300 worth of locks round the back of the carpark, pray that it's there when you get back...

IMO, all London streets should have one lane for cars and one lane for bikes. Make the entire centre of London one-way streets only for motor vehicles.

I can't wait to live in Amsterdam.

I can't wait to live in Amsterdam.

me too, moving there in one month :D

Really? Wicked. I'll be right behind you.

Really? Wicked. I'll be right behind you.

*Ahem. Cough!*
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[B];)

Also from Amsterdamize.

I'm currently thinking of how to emigrate to this Nirvana.

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They've got a pretty nice design community there as well.

the cyclelanes can make it pretty boring, its like you are not even part of the traffic anymore

the cyclelanes can make it pretty boring, its like you are not even part of the traffic anymore

+1

I tend to agree, London is actually a pretty good city for cycling if you like to get places fast.

the cycle lanes can make it pretty boring, its like you are not even part of the traffic anymore

Defintely, a cyclist is part of the traffic, I rode to and back from London today on the dutch bike, and because I was going slower, I realise how good we have it in London, sure there's a handful of cock on the road that spoil the journey, but netherless still is pretty good, I hasn't notice until now the majority of drivers give you a reasonable amount of space when they're overtaking, it's only the one that doesn't we end up remembering.

I notice that the more you respect the traffic, the better (i.e. giving away to other road user, stopping at red light, even for a second, cycling in a sensible manner etc.) it is.