Talking to friends about this, I realised the big difference between cycling in the UK and NL is the mental load. In the UK, I’m constantly alert, looking in every direction, navigating bad junctions, expecting drivers to put me at risk. In NL, I can assume I am largely safe and just cycle.
I seriously think this is (at least partly) why cycling doesn't rate better in studies like this: www.bmj.com/content/384/... The stress of dodging people who are trying to kill you can't help your mental health.
Yes, the high stress of UK cycling certainly puts me off sometimes since one has to mentally prepared to be alert. It's also true driving is highly stressful here, much more so than Paris. Just too many cars on the road
Yep, I hate driving here when I do - too many distracted and entitled drivers - but I don’t constantly feel like I’m going to get injured or killed in my car.
This is partly due to cycling tradition in NL, but some context: If a car hits a cycler the driver is asumed to be guilty in almost all cases (nothing wrong, unless it is really the mistake of the cycler). However, cyclers now often feel king of the road and pedestrians have to be careful crossing..
Yes, I think this assumed responsibility for drivers is important, but it goes hand in hand with infrastructure and both these connect to a society in which cycling is seen as normal. The impact on pedestrians is definitely something to think about.
In The Netherlands it is not just asumed responsibikity, it is the law!
I’ve never cycled in the NL, but your post makes me want to give it a try ASAP! 👍😁
It’s not perfect, but it’s fabulous. Strong recommend!
I’m fitting clog pedals to my tandem as we speak 😂
Whatever you do, don't start with central Amsterdam. It's very different to most of the country. Obvious reasons - you can't create cycle paths without knocking down World Heritage buildings. Only for people who have cycled there their whole life.
I’m thinking coastal routes & windmills NCB. Amsterdam is as great city but too busy for me on a bike
There are lots of long distance routes (www.holland-cycling.com/where-to-go/...) but the knooppunten system means you can basically cycle anywhere by following numbers (www.nederlandfietsland.nl/knooppuntrou...). In my experience, everywhere is fun and interesting.
Thanks for this Alison. I’ll check it out later
Outside the centre, basically the area bounded by Singelgracht/Lijnbaansgracht, Amsterdam is fine. The route out to Oudekerk and beyond is a good one, or a day pottering around the Amsterdamse Bos is always nice. Or Noord, up to Volendam if you want a longer ride.
Many thanks NCB
For example, corner of Haarlemmerstaat: youtu.be/pqQSwQLDIK8?...
This is very true. Cycling in the UK is exhausting because you always have to assume the worst of drivers and be constantly prepared for the worst case scenario. Only having to think about other active travellers takes away a huge amount of the mental load allowing you to just enjoy travelling.
Probably more to do with being the 'alpha'. Last year we arrived at A'dam train station, for football. Fortunately for them some elder gents latched onto us as we set off match tickets collection. At least 2 fellas would have been in hospital were it not for my bikedar being turned up to 11.
There are certainly points where cycle and pedestrian flows are squeezed together, but it’s usually navigated well enough. And much worse in Amsterdam than anywhere else in my experience.
I've not been to NL (I know the ferry's so close) but UK cycling can be so stressful. Especially if it's an area new to you. Add in the lack of maintenance, meandering pedestrians. Even when commuting on a traffic free routes I preferred slightly rainy days as no dogs.
The problem is the general lack of respect for cycling as a valid transport mode in the UK from almost everyone at every level. I don't think it's actual malicious contempt but a lack of thought and consideration.
You should definitely get on the ferry! I think the lack of respect and the infra are chicken and egg. Respect flows from the value given to cycling infra (“they’re worth it”), and infra reinforces respect.
I do need to do the ferry at some point. For me a lot of the lack of respect comes from all the media abuse which has always used car vs bike as a class war.
Traffic engineering in the UK works to reduce the cognitive load on drivers but passes that on in spades to everyone else in the built environment
I’m not sure that’s even the aim. See fast multi lane roundabouts; you can come off a low cognitive load mway onto a junction where you’re having to watch multiple lanes on the roundabout AND multiple lanes on the arm to your right. I think they just prioritise MV traffic flow here. 1/
…In NL they seem to lower unsafe interactions across the modes; voorrangspleins, compact roundabouts and turbo roundabouts minimise cognitive load on drivers compared to our common junctions, but lane narrowing, continuous footway/cycle tracks etc make drivers think and take more care. 2/
I think that’s what many of our engineers and councillors are unwilling to do for fear of traffic flow and popularity. 3/3
Absolutely this. And that reflects an explicit politics, as we know.
Unless you're a pedestrian! I live in London, I'm used to a bit of busyness on the streets, but after one day in Amsterdam I was exhausted from having to be on the lookout for cyclists all the time. That might be because there's a lot of roadworks going on at the moment causing more confusion.
I think Amsterdam, esp in the centre, is exhausting as a cyclist too! Elsewhere it feels like the dynamic between cyclists and pedestrians is better managed.
True at route planning level too; just head in the direction you want. My teen needs to get from West End to Hackney for evening classes. I spent hours on all the route planning sites, eventually had to ask on X to find the safest route. Stress we don’t need.
Yes, absolutely. Last week I was cycling in places I’d never been to before but I could just get on my bike and ride. And I could be confident that I wouldn’t be thrown out onto a dual carriageway at any point.
I noticed it first time I used C9 - I've commuted by bike on and off for decades, so rarely felt terrified but didn't notice how much effort I was having to put into monitoring everything around me, including anticipating what others might do. On segregated infra you can enjoy the ride more.
But now I ride with my children sometimes and it's much more noticeable how much effort it is to ensure they are safe including taking more complex routes and moving them to the pavement when there's no other choice. And there are people who will shout at an 8 year old for riding on the pavement.
When we used to get the ferry to Rotterdam, the most dangerous part of the route was the ride to and from the train/ferry in Hull. With 2 weeks of considerate driving in between.
I live in North Shields - the single mile from my house to the ferry to Amsterdam is by far the worst section of any of my travels to the Netherlands!
Yeah cycling has halted for me for now because the routes I need to take are unlit and covered in wet leaves or black ice or potholes that I now can't see. The route is winding and indirect and crosses parks and such.
Yes, maintenance of infrastructure - and fitness for different seasons - is another layer.
Love it there. So pleasant a way to get around
In a different way, I noticed this when moving with the UK to a very rural area - I'm listening out for distant vehicles, of course, but there's no hyper vigilance all the time...
I find my shoulders drop when I get onto safe cycle routes. Cycling on roads I’m on edge, even though (or because?) I’ve been mixing with cars and buses for the best part of 3 decades!
It's the close pass I can't take much more of. I went for a big ride yesterday, and riding back into the city I had two "my kids might not have a dad this Christmas" level passes in the space of 5 minutes. Sometimes it's no surprise hardly anyone rides without proper infra.
Do get a @passpixi.bsky.social : it deters a lot of (sadly not all) close passes, even if you're not actually running a camera.
Yes.
This is exactly why I started compiling a growing list of highly-detailed traffic-free cycle-route guides for the UK: www.willcycle.com/traffic-free...
Absolutely, but at the moment, outside maybe London, these rarely serve for getting to the shops or to school.
Yup, that's the sad truth
That's exactly it. 1 in 10 drivers will do something questionable, but as the UK doesn't have any system of identifying the errant 10%, you end up with the expectation that any approaching vehicle could be one of the 10%, therefore 100% of the drivers have you on edge.
And we have so little infrastructure that protects us from the dangerous drivers - and it’s so partial that at some point we’ll have to take the risk and mix with them.
To add, this is not, now, a cycling perspective. Driving down the M40, there are now so many distracted drivers playing with their phones, and fiddling with their smart home features from the comfort of their cosy La-Z-Boy, you can't rely on any vehicle you pass staying in their lane.
I noticed the same when riding over there too, though I was on holiday so that might have played a certain additional bias in terms of mental load
@velobetty.uk has written the best ever description of this. Twitter link x.com/velobetty/st...
Seen that here too, riding on bad routes are tiring. But when using the safer routes, they're not.
Noticed the equivalent when cycling around Coll and Tiree. It was amazing because I could relax and only had to think about passing places, whereas even what should be "quiet" residential roads back home are horrible if timed wrong.