What is the best part of the Netherlands?

The bicycles!!  There are more bicycles in the Netherlands than people, they produce more bicycles than any other country in Europe, and one of the biggest commuting problems is bike parking.  Utrecht is building an underground bike parking shelter at the Central Train Station.  It will park 12,000 bikes!  By 2020 Amsterdam is planning to have the ability to park 40,000 bikes in above and undergound shelters near their Central Train station.  Biking is great here due to the fact that the country is flat and there are so many accommodations for bicyclists.  There are 35,000 kilometers of dedicated bike paths plus their own lights at intersections.

 

  We bought bikes soon after we arrived and have loved biking around Zeist to do our errands and around the countryside on p-day.   It is one of our favorite things about the Netherlands. 

It’s Grandma’s day to babysit but that doesn’t keep her from her errands : )

A few bikers waiting at the intersection, including a very dressed up office worker.

He’s been to the golf course, with his bike pulling his golf bag!

A mom and her three kids arrived for an ice cream cone on this single bike with a back seat and front bucket.  We see lots of these bike buckets. 

 

Their version of walking your kids to school.

These yellow and blue bikes are for rent for a few euros at every train station.  They travel by train, rent a bike a pedal to their meeting and return it when they go home.  It’s so very convenient. 

Speaking of commuting, we see these “commuter” bikes that ride like a normal bike but fold up to the size of a large briefcase when you board the train.  I always wanted to try riding one!

 

  

The Post.nl delivers by bike!  This happened to be a sunny day but they are out in every kind of weather, delivering mail on their bikes.

This is what going to school looks like….literally dozens of kids of every age pedaling toward school, often in groups.   

Just an ordinary street….always lined with parked bikes.

  We have “trail a bikes” at home…here they just pop the kid’s front tire in a rack and suddenly it’s a tandem with 3 wheels.

 

Very few bikers wear helmets, even kids.  And we have seen them riding everywhere possible on the bike, including quite a few standing on the back : )

This mom did her grocery shopping and biked off with the all the groceries plus 3 kids on her bike! 

 

This bike bucket is outfitted for rainy weather and has the umbrella stroller attached on the back for when they arrive at the store.  They carry literally anything you can think of on a bike. 

This is the Gouda train station.  It’s a comparatively small station.  We watched this man get his bike off the rack. 

After kids learn to ride their bikes, the parents are often seen pedaling beside them with one hand on their backs.  It helps them learn to ride straight and go faster!  They learn to ride so close to each other.  Joe and I tried riding side by side but gave it up very fast!

We enjoyed biking with the kids when they visited : )

Joe has fixed missionary bikes…and they are always so grateful! 

We needed a picnic cooler and were able to get it home in my bike basket….we must be Dutch!

This is the bike I want to take home...not a tandem but a triple seater! 

We will miss Dutch biking when we go home!