Bikes

We all know The Netherlands is the land of bicycles but it is interesting to see it in action in the countryside and the towns. The first thing you notice is that the bike is king! Bikes seem to go where they want and everything else gets out of the way. The second thing is that no one wears helmets! They don't need to as they don't have to worry about Cars. Everything is laid out for the bikes; if you ride between the small towns here the bike path is paved and parallel to the road, when you get to the village, the bike path ends and the sidewalk is for pedestrians, the speed limit for cars drops to 30km/hr, the road paving is reddish and cars and bikes share the road, and bikes have priority. So you may have to drive through the whole village behind a little old lady on a bike – or a four year old. In the towns there are even separate traffic lights for the bike paths. There are even paved bike paths through the woods and well away from the roads, with benches at strategic viewing, and resting places.

Most people ride the solid old style bikes with proper mud-guards and wide handlebars. The only mystery to us is how so many people still manage to ride them in the icy wind and the rain. They sure are hardy people.

Armida came with two great fold up bikes that collapse to nearly nothing. They have small wheels but four gears - perfect for us and for here, maybe not so good for the hilly roads in France. We have already bought wicker baskets for the handle bars to use for shopping and for the dogs when they come. When the weather improves I will have to go for bike rides for exercise as the nearest hills to hike up are 100s of km away.