Comments on: Crowded Rush-Hour Roads in Utrecht

By: Jeannine McCloskey

Jeannine McCloskey — Sat, 12 Jun 2010 12:02:22 +0000

So wonderfully disciplined and simple. Gosh I miss it. Never had to own a car over there, and I always got to work without sweating too. BTW, speed cycling should be done on a track, and not alongside these types of bicyclists. Thank goodness the europeans (most of them) have better manners. If more americans would trade their SUV’s in to do this, our obsesity rates would be cut in half.

By: Andrew

Andrew — Wed, 09 Jun 2010 08:55:33 +0000

I live in Belgium and it is similar to this although our bike lanes are not as well defined as in the Netherlands. Still a lot of people cycle though.

By: Michiel

Michiel — Tue, 08 Jun 2010 12:33:47 +0000

@Roberta: you’re right, many people go really slow, and turn without signalling and/or looking. This is my nr 1 annoyance while cycling in the Netherlands (NOT Holland btw!).

By: Kris

Kris — Thu, 27 May 2010 21:27:15 +0000

I loved biking to work when I lived in Holland, and really miss it… Speed wasn’t the thing – it was very relaxed & still way faster than bus or car. Now I’m in Londn (and use a scooter) – all the cyclists are nutters, uber aggressive, going far faster than they can handle… I see many nasty accidents. Plus, talking about utility cycling, everyone here is on a racing bike, no one has mud guards, so they all need to shower & change when they get to where they were rushing to. Less haste, more speed.

By: Jos Cozijnsen

Jos Cozijnsen — Tue, 25 May 2010 00:04:35 +0000

Nice shot! Well this shot in the Public Transport area, just outside the Utrecht Central Station, indeed, unfortunately, not easy accessible by cars, that is why you don’t see many. The red cycle path comes just from a ‘fly under’ below the train tracks.

By: Martin Barry

Martin Barry — Mon, 24 May 2010 20:42:26 +0000

Funny you mention the lack of helmets. Having come from Australia where they are compulsory, it was quite a surprise to see the safety concious Europeans shirking helmet wearing. While sitting for my driver’s licence here in Germany they showed a chart which indicated a horribly large percentage of injuries incurred by bike riders were to the head. “DUH” pretty well sums up my reaction. Thankfully most young riders under the age of about 10 seem to wear them, along with a handful of adults, but there is a steep drop off once you get to the image concious teens.

By: Jeroen van Wilgenburg

Jeroen van Wilgenburg — Sun, 23 May 2010 18:43:15 +0000

Funny you mention the lack of cars. I live in Utrecht and there are actually many cars and lots of traffic jams.
I only see small traffic lights for the cars, that probably means the traffic lights are for public transport and taxi’s only. Another cause might be the reconstruction of that area and cars aren’t allowed there.

By: Roberta

Roberta — Fri, 21 May 2010 20:43:30 +0000

Actually, Hendrik, I WAS doing all my cycling to go to school or shopping (I wasn’t working at the time). I’m a utility cyclist, not a racer. I’m also 20 years older than the people in this video, or most of the cyclists in the university town I lived in – and I was still significantly faster than almost all of them. Mainly because I knew how to shift gears. I’m much faster at home, and I don’t work up a sweat unless I want to.

By: Jason

Jason — Fri, 21 May 2010 13:34:25 +0000

I’ve never been to Northern Europe, but now it’s #1 on my list. Fantastic. I wonder if the total absence of cars is why this video was selected. To what extent is this intersection unusual and to what extent is this sample unusual? It’s like a dream!

By: Hendrik

Hendrik — Fri, 21 May 2010 12:29:15 +0000

ow Roberta, how to take the fun out of something positive. Surely you must know that while you were doing your cycling for fun all those people in this video actually need to go to work or school. So working up a sweat is not what you want.
But, rest assure, plenty of speeding bicycles…