Dutch Impressions: Transportation - The Dutch Iron Horse, The Bicycle
So now we get to one of the most typical Dutch pastimes: the bicycle. This country and its culture view this transportation vehicle as something more than just the two-wheeled mechanism that it truly is. For the Dutch it’s their way to get around to get the groceries, to pick up their kids from school, to deliver the coal for heating (I’m flash backing, I know), to get to church (some Protestant variants not only forbid the use of the car to get to church, but also the bicycle), and much more.
In the larger cities you don’t need to go to a shop to buy yourself a new or used bike, you just walk around the neighbourhood and ask a junkie to get you one for a very competitive price. Sometimes you’ll even be able to buy a bike that strangely resembles the one that had been stolen from you just a coupla weeks ago. In my first ten years in Rotterdam, I was on the receiving end of the bicycle theft culture for about six or seven times. Ah, good days..
Another interesting thing about the bicycle, for the Dutch it’s also a way of exploring their own country: the road system in Holland has its own bicycle roads for you to get from the high north of Groningen to Vlissingen in the southern province of Zeeland. This road system is also evident when riding in any city, village or in-bred hovel: the more busy roads have a separate and protected bicycle road next to them.
Bicycle riders rule as King, because almost always the car driver is expected to yield to the two-wheeled driver. And this leads to funny social situations where in the city, bike riders cut off cars in heavy traffic knowing that no car driver wants to get in that kind of trouble. The same car driver will curse the bike rider, but know that the same driver will be doing the same thing when riding a bike him/herself.
A special category are the parents, the bikes are fitted with special seats for the under-six kiddies and it’s a common thing to see a parent on a bike with one child on the back and one on the front. These people expect all other traffic to treat them with holy reverence and special care while they’re the ones endangering their children’s lives.
The bicycle is part of this country’s subconscious, their sense of freedom and individuality, think of it as ‘Easy Rider’ but then situated in Holland and without the drugs and booze. Well, mostly without the D&B because it’s one of the most common things to hop on a bike after a evening of very serious drinking. And many a police officer will tell you about the amount of verbal abuse they endure when pulling a drunk offender from his bike.
But things are changing a bit; the country that values its bicycle tradition has suddenly adopted a strange custom: the wearing of bicycle helmets. I now see parents riding alongside their helmeted kids as if it’s the most normal thing in the world. And it gets even scarier, adults themselves are donning these helmets! If you’re riding the Tour de frigging France or mountain-biking off some rough mountain terrain, I get the need to use such a thing, but why should you wear the damn thing when going to church, getting the groceries, etc?
Protecting your kids is a good thing, but you didn’t mind letting them ride on busy city streets before, so why change the approach? The helmet makes it safer, yes, if they fall off the bike and hit their heads, but do tell me this: how the hell is it gonna protect your darling child from an SUV with a kangaroo-killing bull-bar?
I’m guessing people do like to exchange their sense of indepence for a sense of safety and protection, I just don’t know if it’s a Dutch thing or not..
References:
Wikipedia: Cycling In The Netherlands
