Do you ever go biking for fun? How about for transportation? If you like biking, you should definitely visit Amsterdam. It is a biker’s paradise!
Biking is one of the main methods of transportation in Amsterdam. In America, there are people that bike to work or bike for fun on the weekends, but here 68% of traffic to and from work or school is made up of people riding a bike! It’s often said that there are more bikes than there are residents in Amsterdam! This may be because many people have an extra bike just in case one of theirs gets stolen--so they can still get to work!
Bike theft is very common here since there’s such a high demand for bicycles; so most Dutch people have very old, rusty bikes that nobody will want to steal! Even with old bikes, however, it’s very important to lock them up. As you can see in my picture, Dutch bikes have a lock that is attached to the wheel.
When I first arrived here, I thought that all the bikes I saw weren’t locked up. Then, I realized you can’t ride them without putting a key into this lock! This lock system also makes it very easy to hop on and off of your bike to run into a grocery store or to meet a friend, as you don’t have to find a bike rack on which to lock your bike.
