Cycling in the Netherlands

 

There are more bicycles than people in the Netherlands and for many in that country cycling is their primary transport. I noticed while travelling that bike riders use a dedicated lane  which is  often separated from the main roadway by a curb and they have the right of way in traffic roundabouts. Cycling is popular because the terrain is flat, communities are located close to each other and car parking space is limited. In fact many towns exclude access to cars in their downtown areas.

Dedicated Cycling Lanes between Roadway and Canal

For visitors who wish to explore the Netherlands by bicycle the tourist board has designed a system of maps with posted highway routes that will guide you through an area and in the off hours passengers can take their bikes onto trains (for an additional fee). In Amsterdam I noticed that most rental bikes were older designs but once you get outside of the cities you can rent performance models. Locating yourself in Hoorn, Alkmaar or Marken puts you within an easy distance of several communities for day trips.  One excursion which looked appealing was travelling by steam train from Hoorn to Medemblik, then steamship to Ankhuisen and cycle back to Hoorn.