Yes very cool. Wish the us would catch up. So many deaths by vehicle here and no one talks about it. I ride my bike but its very different and can be challenging with cars cutting into your lane.
@@Colonist83 part of solution why it worked in Amsterdam is urban planning. US cities are just designed around highways, suburbia life. Amsterdam is more around dense living
@@jarjarbinx79 cant argue with that, tho the us can implement some examples into its cities. Remember Amsterdam didnt start out as a major bike culture.
Here in Oregon, USA, the cities are starting to get more bike-friendly, but they have a long way to go. Of course, out away from the major cities you're on your own! We've got a lot of room for improvement yet.
Bikes are amazing! I didn't even think about riding a bike to anywhere before I moved to Hamburg, Germany but now the 30-35min commute by bike is my favorite time of the day. I don't have the motivation to commit to any other exercise, but riding the bike is not only great for the body but also great for the mind. I can't even tell you how much I appreciate this quiet time of the day where I get to clear my thoughts and just enjoy the scenery... If the city you live in is bike friendly, getting a bike is definitely the best decision!
@@xanderschilperoort1911 Gosh brother. I am a cyclist as well. And your distance from school is the most ideal one especially coming through via bike. What bicycle you have there bro? I have a 26er here Cross country MTB.
Riding a bike in Amsterdam center is more of a nightmare to me. Too many tourists that don't know where to go. Including me from the less urban part of the Netherlands. Hahaha!
Wow I am dutch and live in Amsterdam but never looked at it this way. You learn to ride a bike here from when you are 4 and you never stop cycling from that point on so it is so normal here you don't even realise that bikes aren't so normal in the US.
TheGeldman99 I have a question about it. How do ambulances manage to get to some places? I mean aren’t they forced to drive slow due to the streets? What if the street doesn’t allow them to enter into a street?
@@leoperez6737 it is a law that if you hear a siren you move out of the way, if you don't you get fined big time. i've never seen a situation regarding that issue
I go to a university about 20 minutes in car away from my home my mom offers to give me a ride but I bike there instead it’s just fun and i love it you get exercise and fresh air but you still get to the place where you need to be love this video :)
@@sheilablum546 Which is not that much tbh, only around 10 km I assume (if it's through a city and not a highway). Anything below 20 km is easily doable for something like that.
Great video. I am an American, live in Germany and have biked the Netherlands extensively - like from border to coast, and from top to bottom - a number of times. One thing, dear Levi , that you left out: The Netherlands is one of the few countries to have an extensive cycling network which also connects all cities as well as the trains do. They are like bike-highways and are well documented and mapped out. The same goes for Denmark, for example.
I live in Amsterdam for about 8 months now, and love bikes so much! Honestly, it's easier to be a cyclist than a pedestrian. Amazing video, great job! Can't wait for your next destination :)
@@dekippiesip There's quite a difference in how they offer it though. It might not be much of a difference if you look at it from a global perspective but there's naturally some front runners and some slacking.
Nijmeguuuun!!! I never really go to Groningen or Utrecht but could advise people interested in the topic to ride a bike around Nijmegen and to get a "fiets knoop punten kaart" map with which you can easily make your own bike route. You can virtually ride your bike on any road (no highways ofcourse, read VIRTUALLY) but on the fietsknooppuntenkaart you find the nicest roads to fiets ;)
Hi Levi, I'm a Dutchie and lived for a long time in Amsterdam. Love your perspective on the Dutch cycling culture! As a student I did a collaboration project with Danish students to compare our cycling cultures. Copenhagen is a really inspiring city if you're into cycling. Perhaps a train can bring you from Amsterdam central station to Copenhagen ;)
Copenhagen is nowhere near Amsterdam when it comes to cycling. It is a nice first attempt at best. Check this video making fun of it: ruclips.net/video/HjzzV2Akyds/видео.html
Fun fact! The blue front tire seen in the last part of the video is called a swapfiets. Swapfiets is a company that rents you a bike. The monthly subscription is 10euros as a student and they repair or replace a bike the same day most of the time.
€10 a month? that doesn't seem feasable at all. 1 month is a lot of time to break a part of the bike, and pretty much any part will cost more than that to replace.
@@JulieDubbe I disagree, but each to their own. Of course accidents happen sometimes, if that's what you're refering to. But I believe they do everywhere. But in Copenhagen it's mostly due to people either driving or biking rectlessly. If you follow the rules and are aware of your surroundings (as you should be like when driving a car), then everything is quite safe. Especially compared to how many people bike around Copenhagen every day.
One thing about the safety, one of the major reasons, although often overlooked, is that every car-, bus- and tramdriver started out on a bike. This helps them understand and anticipate the behaviour of the cyclists, thus resulting in fewer accidents. Also, many bikelanes are seperate of the carlanes.
It is so weird how different transportation is, i live in the Netherlands and go to high school here and in my class there in no one that doesn’t go by bike to school. A lot of us have to ride 40 minutes to an hour even when it rains ( it rains a lot here) or when its snowing. Love this encouragement you give! And I love taking my bike to school
@@Psi-du2lw 5 years later so I don't know what I meant by my original comment. Pretty sure I meant it in a way that in Japan it's not for leisure unless you do it as a hobby. Anywhere outside the city the infrastructure isn't there and you always share the road with cars OR a path noone uses and is littered with sharp gravel end debris from the road. If you make riding your hobby Japan is better for sure because of all the sights.
Hearing what foreighners think about our bike culture and travelling to less bike friendly countries makes me appreciate my bike more. Currently driving a scooter in Ubud, Bali getting pain in the throat from air polloution and stressed out from the chaotic dangerous traffic. Aaaaahw I miss my bicycle now! What I would give to ride it trough the rain after a long day of school, my face red from the impact of the raindrups my eyes just slits so I barely can see, fortunately on a bike road so it is safe, the muscles in my legs cramping at the bridge from being cold, almost there (!), the joy of reaching home, changing my soaking clothes for dry comfy ones that my mom has just warmed on the radiator then crash in front of the tv and drink hot choco. Hmm maybe I can wait and just enjoy Ubud as it is. Sorry for the long sentence with bad grammar, don't feel like changing it.
Just showing the other side of the romantic story. Well actually I usually quite enjoyed riding my bike when it was raining. It is how I discovered the power of choosing to be happy. When it is raining Dutch people can get quite grumpy. When seeing grumpy faces while riding my bike trough the rain I would sing "I am singing in the rain" ( either in my mind or aloud) to remind myself that we can make the most out of every situation. It feels good to conciously choose not to let something like the weather ruin your mood. So I get extra cheerful when riding my bike trough the rain. Does that make sense?
@@jasperplayz2138 Around 1973 about 3500 people every year died in traffic related accidents (25 per 100.000 people), roughly 40% were below the age of 17 (legal car license age is 18). these days it's about 600 (5 per 100.000 people) from which only 5% is below the age of 14, and of those 5% only 30% in relations to a bicycle. On the darker side, death related accidents to people on bicycle above the age of 70 has skyrocketed to double the EU average in recent years. And people are blaming electric bicycles for that.
@@bakasheru 5 per 100 is totally enough reason to protest. Many schools have 400 students. That would be 20 students in that school that died from getting hit by cars (while on a bicycle or as a pedestrian). Imagine if 20 of your classmates perished in one year due to careless drivers.
Awesome video! I love the idea of cycling everywhere and I'm so jealous of the dutch for having a system that allows it. As a Canadian, I would love to hear your thoughts about biking in the winter. I know Vancouver does not get much snow, however the east coast gets a ton, on top of being very hilly. This usually leaves dangerous conditions even for cars. I would love to ditch my car for a bike, but I think it's only possible for cities with good weather 3/4 of the year.
That hashtag tho 😆 I live in a very rural area of the southern US, and I envy the bike culture so much! We don’t even have such a thing as public transportation where I live, unless you want to count ordering an Uber. No buses, no taxi cabs, no subway systems, no scooter rental. We have to drive two hours just to get to a city with public transportation, and even then the pick up / drop off network is very limited. On the upside, I can dig up my yard to plant veggies and raise chickens without a permit. It’s all about balance, I guess 😊
In the Netherlands you also do not need a permit to grow vegetables in your garden, is that a thing anywhere? Chickens are also not a problem, just the rooster might be outside of the countryside.
Great overview! You hit all the major points. I still think the city centre of Amsterdam needs to have a lot less cars than it does (and it will, with Agenda Amsterdam Autoluw), but I think you hit the nail on the head that it's Not Just Bikes (😉), it's about having a nice safe walkable city with quality public transit, and bikes are a side effect of that, not the primary goal.
Yes! Holy cow it sounds like we would agree on a lot of stuff. We should connect outside of youtube comments. Can you send me an email? You can find it through the contact page on my website www.levihildebrand.com
I live in NYC. I can't compare to other cities around the world due to my lack of experience elsewhere, but sometimes in new york i feel like im just pedaling to stay alive
I loved this. I’m a dutchie studying in Amsterdam who just finally moved to the city. So exited to start commuting by bike instead of train again.🚴🏻♂️ ‘vo for the bike!
I'm from the Netherlands, and I know Amsterdam, but the key to future cities cannot be found in Amsterdam, but a couple of km north close to the beach in Bergen (NH) combined with Tokio. What they do with urban planning in Bergen is utterly simple, yet utterly brilliant! The removed the sidewalks and parking spaces, and replaced it with green. They also did away with traffic lights and speed bumps. The result is amazing. The city is totaly green, totally low-pace as everybody shares the same street (cars, cyclists AND pedestrians). The other brilliant invention in urban planning can be found in Tokyo. They do not allow cars being parked OUTSIDE the building volume (say your house). So what Tokyoans do is they cut the smalles part possible from their house, and fill it with the largest car that fits into it. This is why the Nissan Cube exists. Super small from an American perspective, but nearly as practical as an F150. And so Tokyo has no cars on the street, no benefit of getting a posh large car (because it eats away your house) and the streets look very friendly and human. So Amsterdam is cool, but a fusion of Bergen and Tokyo is what I really like to see in the future!
I really think more cities need to follow Amsterdam's suit. Granted, the car has defined our cities (especially here in North America) so much that it might not be as possible (in that cities have grown too physically large). Also, one thing is very clear from comparing Europe with the US west coast: cars and history just don't mix.
Well, the train + bike combination can be applied to more than city-to-city. The Dutch have suburbs too. Tho, you could technically think of cities as a bunch of small towns with all the urban centres being town centres ;)
This is mostly in the cities, in the other side of the netherlands, we mostly use tracktors and cars because you need to, often, cycle for 1 hour or longer to get somewhere. Kids often do that, but when you have the chance to use a car, you use it
one big reason is also a law that made groccerie stores outside of build-up area of cities prohibited. This is why you don't see a lot of big superstores in the Netherlands, everybody got a supermarket within 5 minutes of biking.
Hi Levi, I think you might like the book “Movement: How to take back our streets and transform our lives” from Thalia Verkade and Marco te Brömmelstroet: originally Dutch, but translated in English last year.
Wow nice to see you back in the Netherlands. Small correction: not all stations have ov-fietsen. Many rural stations don't. Other than that, great vidjeo man
I wish I could bike everywhere like that. Not only is it more eco-friendly, but I really think it would help me fit in exercise easier! But I live in a small town Midwest area and you have to have a car to make that commute to work or even just the grocery store.
Awesome video.The funny thing here even the people with alot of cash often drop on a bike.I am bless with the connectivity between the parts of Adam.And the country.
Thanks for this amazing video, it made me realise how far along we(the netherlands) allready are to a sustainable way of transportation. It is just normal for me as I live here.
@brigitte bolhuis Yet, don't applaud too soon. We were going to be 50% electrical-cars in 2020, and that's never going to happen. Also, they're cutting down more trees for parkingspaces, for tourists that come by car. We're doing good, but we need to do greater.
I have two suggestion for future videos: 1. Free Cargo Bike Rental! It was invented in Colone and spred all over Germany. You can rent a cargo bike for usually 2-3 days for free so you can do stuff you usually need a car for, like your weekly grocery shopping, barbecue in the park, or the beach, move house, shopping for a party.... The idea behind it is to show people that you don't need a car in the city and to reduce car use in the long run. Just ecosia "freies latenrad" and you will find them all over the place. I'm working for Freie Lastenradler in Munich in my free time by the way. 2. Reusable Beer Bottles! I don't know how it is in the netherlands and it's not really clear in your recycling machine video, but in Germany we bring our empty bottels back to the shop. The shop sends them back to the brewery when they get a new delivery, there they get cleaned and refilled up to 50 times. Would be a good excuse to visit a brewery.
Maybe you should have mentioned that there are bikeroads in literally the entire country. You won't need a busy car road when you need to go from Maastricht to Amsterdam for example.
You forgot to mention that thanks to their Bike Culture they have the coolest bikes. Like Cargo bikes that easiely are fit for two Kids and you groceries. I live in Northern Germany and we will go bike Shopping in the Netherlands for that. Ps. Thanks for jet again a great Video.
About the OV-Fiets: You must be member of that system, which is pretty cheap. But without membership you can NOT rent an OV-Fiets... But in most cities there are bike rental companies that rent bikes for everyone.
No, the Dutch system isn't 'shared space'. 'Shared Space' is a very specific type of infrastructure, thought up by Hans Monderman, that we Dutch have tried a couple of times and it NEVER WORKS. SUCCESFUL Dutch infrastructure is about separating cars and bicycles as much as possible and where not possible to lower the speed of the car. We also include all kinds of fun tricks like rerouting cars in such a way that it is faster to take the bicycle (carrot, not stick) and speedbumps & visual clues to subconsiously influence the drive to lower his speed. 'Shark's teeth' and 'elephant feet' (painted on the ground) replaces all kinds of signage. It all looks 'natural' and 'effortless' but it's HIGHLY designed to look like that. All this makes cycling in the Netherlands very safe and this is what lead to great numbers of cyclists, not the other way around! People are not safe because there are so many cyclists - there are so many cyclists because cycling has been made safe, and it is safe because infrastructure separates cyclists from speeding cars and tries to have the two share space AS LITTLE AS POSSIBLE!!. Everytime I hear some American, Canadian or Brit blabber on about 'shared space' I want to scream, because Monderman's 1970's paper on 'shared space' is just about the only Dutch urban planning paper to ever be translated into English, and whenever an English speaking tourist or politician admires Dutch cycling 'culture' and wants to spend half an hour to find out more about it, what always, always, ALWAYS pops up? Fucking Shared Space!! Argh!
From Amsterdam here, vanuit Amsterdam: Great video! I just want to add that if there are still some North American doubters with familiar arguments like: "Amsterdam is small, unlike my North American city"... HAVE A LOOK AT PARIS! It's incredible what they are doing there! Making Paris like Amsterdam. Really cool! :)
I come from the East part of the Netherlands and while in Amsterdam today, i litterally saw cranes pulling bikes from the canel bottom. Our guide said that there are about 15.000 new bikes in there per month. And 1 car per month too. Really weird.
@@batube9516OV ga je niet beoordelen obv prijs voor de duur van de rit. Zo neem je een trage route en denk je dat je voordelig uit bent omdat je "zo lang erin gezeten hebt". Voor een ritje Utrecht-Rotterdam ben je 40 minuten onderweg en dat kost ruim 13 euro. Zinloos argument dus. Per gereisde afstand is er geen duurdere land in Europa als het om OV gaat. Zelfs Zwistserland is goedkoper.
You are right : different modes of transport have to complement each other. You cannot simply force people to go by bike, without having a concept of urban planning. If we had given car transport free way we would have had to knock down and rebuild all our big cities. And yes, I have 4 bikes , but that has to do with my inability to part from things I do not need anymore.
If you haven't read it Levi, go read In the City of Bikes by Pete Jordan. A great book about the history of bike culture in Amsterdam/the Netherlands. Great read. Love the channel by the way, nice to see you in my country!
Hi Levi, i would be interested in a video about dyson. They are so much more than just a tech company. Great video by the way :) Greetings from Germany, Brani
I'd love to learn what types of bikes and uses the Dutch have for their bikes. It looks like many Cruisers and not much like what we often see in the US. This would be particularly entertaining to my 9-year old that just got his first bike.
That sounds so fun. I bike to volleyball practice but i hate the pollution and congested roads and heat. We have no bike lanes either. Id love to go biking in fresh air with my friends.
Have you ever read Davind Hemrow's blog? It's called view from the cyclepath and he has a series where he analyses what makes a street good/safe/bikefriendly etc. He also posts photos of cyclists doing everyday things :) I thik you'd be interested, especially if you're into city planning.
6:41 the blue-front-wheel-bike behind him, is rentable, and costs 17,5 bucks per month (in 4 countries). From "Swapfiets", which means swapbike. So, you dont need to rent one for 3,25/day, renting from Swapfiets is much cheaper, and their bikes are really beautifull! They also repair the bike. Swapfietz is new, also here in Germany, so he didn´t know anything about it, and missed to mention it... orientierungswoche.swapfiets.de/
I visited Amsterdam for the first time a couple of months ago and loved the cycle culture. I was surprised no one wore helmets, here in the UK its a bit of a taboo to not wear one now. I live in Brighton (UK) which is getting more bike focused, but we could learn a lot from Amsterdam. PS how do you find your bike after you park, many of the bikes look similar and there are hundreds parked together?
You learn to remember where you parked it, and most bike parking is numbered (so you remember you parked it near E17 or whatever), and a lot of people add some bright detail to their bike (pause the video at 10 seconds and notice half the bikes have random knick knacks or unique paint-jobs). After a while you tend to park it roughly in the same spot each time, and then when you don't, you just take a picture of where you parked it. That being said, every now and then you still forget and spend a good 15 minutes looking for your bike.
as someone who has been living and working here for a few months, i can honestly say, Netherlands is probably the best country in terms of transportation and citizen mentality. Ik houd van Nederland !
I have always thought it is so weird that in foreign countries students went to high school in cars! EVERYONE at my school comes to school with a bike, some come with a train but they cycled to the train and I take a ferry everyday but I cycle to and from the ferry!
To me, the Netherlands exemplifies efficiency with transportation systems. Which in turn makes it extremely sustainable. I agree with you that's its frustrating to hear US cities being so resistant to diversifying their transit, but the argument that really needs to be made is an economic one for them to listen. If you use the argument of the financial benefits a city would receive, politicians would be more willing to consider these plans. Just my opinion though. Thank you for another great video! I can't wait to visit the Netherlands....
There is actually a Island in Michigan called Mackinac Island where personal cars are banned. Only bikes and horses are allowed. I’ve worked there for years and I can tell you that it is the most peaceful place to be. Plus you don’t breathe in the fumes of cars.
Love the topic and biking but how do you put the fun between your legs when it's raining like hell?😁 Keep up the good work, looking forward to your next videos!
Thanks Regina! And the next commenter said there’s always a way. The Dutch just tough it out. But I understand in a long commute it’s not possible so maybe keep a bus pass handy?
Ha, I live in a notoriously rainy spot and commuted to work by bicycle for a few years. Yes, it can be more difficult to see. Yes, you get wet. But so long as you've a good pair of riding glasses, gloves, and raincoat then you are good to go. 😊
Levi Hildebrand When I was transferred to another city for work, much further away, I would put the bike on a bike rack on my car, travel to a carpool area about 12 miles from my work and use the bike for the rest. Great ride, good workout and problems with traffic jams in the city. I could only do this because the company supported traveling by bike by providing showers and lockers for clothes and gear.
i'm surprised you didn't say there was bike parking on the train. there is in minneapolis minnesota. I'm sure there was. and i'm sure people have tried that.
You should do a video reviewing recumbent bikes and trikes. Is visibly an issue since these bikes are so low to the ground? Pros and cons of recumbents.
I haven't ridden one myself but what you mostly see is people using them on longer distances between cities in the Netherlands. They are great for things like that and if you don't need to go into the more crowded city center visibility is not an issue. Otherwise flags at the very least improve visibility. Another option you see on those longer distances are velomobiles, recumbent bikes with full cover fairing. The aerodynamic advantage those offer means they can easily do 40+ km/h on average.
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I am from the Netherlands and have never realized how cool our transport is. I go to the station by bike every day and that is just so normal here😱
Yeah right!? Your country is awesome!
Yes very cool. Wish the us would catch up. So many deaths by vehicle here and no one talks about it. I ride my bike but its very different and can be challenging with cars cutting into your lane.
Wait untill you take the train in the UK. It is terrible, several train companies, bad connections, bad info service.
@@Colonist83 part of solution why it worked in Amsterdam is urban planning. US cities are just designed around highways, suburbia life. Amsterdam is more around dense living
@@jarjarbinx79 cant argue with that, tho the us can implement some examples into its cities. Remember Amsterdam didnt start out as a major bike culture.
I'm from Amsterdam and I can confirm. I have 3 bike's in my room at this time.
Why is that?
@@Michelrs well one is my main bike one bmx and one of my girlfriend, and there nice bikes so if I put them outside they will be stolen asap.
@@zmarchal1699 wow, I thought that there wasn't a problem with the with bike stealing in Amsterdam considering that everyone has a bike.
@@Michelrs ha O no 90% of people had at least 1 bike stolen from them.
@@Michelrs Stealing bikes is a national hobby.
Here in Oregon, USA, the cities are starting to get more bike-friendly, but they have a long way to go. Of course, out away from the major cities you're on your own! We've got a lot of room for improvement yet.
@Lafey I would love to, but unfortunately, not all Americans are rich, and I am quite broke. But thanks for the invite!
Bikes are amazing! I didn't even think about riding a bike to anywhere before I moved to Hamburg, Germany but now the 30-35min commute by bike is my favorite time of the day. I don't have the motivation to commit to any other exercise, but riding the bike is not only great for the body but also great for the mind. I can't even tell you how much I appreciate this quiet time of the day where I get to clear my thoughts and just enjoy the scenery... If the city you live in is bike friendly, getting a bike is definitely the best decision!
I have never in my life wore a helmet on my bike. And i always drive my bike 10km to school😂 love to be Dutch
Whoa. 10km is pretty far.
Whoa 10km is pretty far
Keygen von Delrue not if you consider that I have to bike 17km next year😂
Pxgf not if you consider that I have to bike 17km next year😂
@@xanderschilperoort1911 Gosh brother. I am a cyclist as well. And your distance from school is the most ideal one especially coming through via bike. What bicycle you have there bro? I have a 26er here Cross country MTB.
Literally just got back from Amsterdam and oh man it's a dream.
Riding a bike in Amsterdam center is more of a nightmare to me. Too many tourists that don't know where to go. Including me from the less urban part of the Netherlands. Hahaha!
Wow I am dutch and live in Amsterdam but never looked at it this way. You learn to ride a bike here from when you are 4 and you never stop cycling from that point on so it is so normal here you don't even realise that bikes aren't so normal in the US.
TheGeldman99 I have a question about it. How do ambulances manage to get to some places? I mean aren’t they forced to drive slow due to the streets? What if the street doesn’t allow them to enter into a street?
@@leoperez6737 it is a law that if you hear a siren you move out of the way, if you don't you get fined big time. i've never seen a situation regarding that issue
Misschien zelfs vroeger dan 4 jaar oud😁
Obviously you mean more like, bikes are totally abnormal in the US...
@@caitlinhayes4448 ja nu ik erover nadenk idd wel eerder
I go to a university about 20 minutes in car away from my home my mom offers to give me a ride but I bike there instead it’s just fun and i love it you get exercise and fresh air but you still get to the place where you need to be love this video :)
Haha that’s awesome! Thanks for the comment!
But that is like an hour of biking...
@@sheilablum546 that depends. In the Netherlands biking in a city is often (way) faster than going by car
@@ArjenHaayman oke yea true but if it is 20 min woth the car it is a big change it is on a highway for a part
@@sheilablum546
Which is not that much tbh, only around 10 km I assume (if it's through a city and not a highway). Anything below 20 km is easily doable for something like that.
Great video. I am an American, live in Germany and have biked the Netherlands extensively - like from border to coast, and from top to bottom - a number of times. One thing, dear Levi , that you left out: The Netherlands is one of the few countries to have an extensive cycling network which also connects all cities as well as the trains do. They are like bike-highways and are well documented and mapped out. The same goes for Denmark, for example.
I live in Amsterdam for about 8 months now, and love bikes so much! Honestly, it's easier to be a cyclist than a pedestrian. Amazing video, great job! Can't wait for your next destination :)
Thanks Lana! Super jealous that you get to live in Ansterdam!
Love this! working to be better about cycling to work since Columbus is fairly bike friendly
That’s awesome! One day at a time haha
I think if you want to continue this topic Groningen, Nijmegen and Utrecht are cities that are interesting to look at.
Basically any Dutch city would do, cycling is a country wide thing not a city wide thing.
@@dekippiesip There's quite a difference in how they offer it though. It might not be much of a difference if you look at it from a global perspective but there's naturally some front runners and some slacking.
Nijmeguuuun!!! I never really go to Groningen or Utrecht but could advise people interested in the topic to ride a bike around Nijmegen and to get a "fiets knoop punten kaart" map with which you can easily make your own bike route. You can virtually ride your bike on any road (no highways ofcourse, read VIRTUALLY) but on the fietsknooppuntenkaart you find the nicest roads to fiets ;)
@@lisje2496 And Nijmegen is very close to the German border so you can even cross into Germany with the bike and visit some places there.
Hi Levi, I'm a Dutchie and lived for a long time in Amsterdam. Love your perspective on the Dutch cycling culture! As a student I did a collaboration project with Danish students to compare our cycling cultures. Copenhagen is a really inspiring city if you're into cycling.
Perhaps a train can bring you from Amsterdam central station to Copenhagen ;)
I definitely wanna see Copenhagen! It’s on the list! Maybe next time 😭
Copenhagen is nowhere near Amsterdam when it comes to cycling. It is a nice first attempt at best. Check this video making fun of it: ruclips.net/video/HjzzV2Akyds/видео.html
@@lovemadeinjapan True, but Amsterdam is nowhere near the rest of the Netherlands when it comes to cycling either.
@@therealdutchidiot Agree, Bergen is the best! Now waiting for the first city to take the Bergen approach to a larger scale.
I live in Bloomington Indiana. We have awesome bike lanes. There's lots of bikes, bike trailers etc... We need to rethink our city design.
I love that city. Rode all over it a couple years ago.
Just got back from Amsterdam one of the most beautiful places I’ve ever been. I wanna move there and ride a bike to work everyday
Fun fact! The blue front tire seen in the last part of the video is called a swapfiets. Swapfiets is a company that rents you a bike. The monthly subscription is 10euros as a student and they repair or replace a bike the same day most of the time.
€10 a month? that doesn't seem feasable at all. 1 month is a lot of time to break a part of the bike, and pretty much any part will cost more than that to replace.
@@harrypjotr4987 When you service 100.000 bikes it becomes feasable by the economies of scale.
@@harrypjotr4987 what do you do to your poor bike..
I love Amsterdam!! 🥰 I’m learning Dutch right now and would love to move there. I was so happy the last time I was there! 🌷
Copenhagen is also well known for it's bikes. If you ever fancied a visit to Scandinavia.
Malmö, Sweden, is doing a great bike job too. Just 30 km away from Copenhagen.
It’s on my bucket list for sure!
Copenhagen is extremely dangerous for cyclists. I don’t understand why they call it a “city for bikes”
@@JulieDubbe I disagree, but each to their own. Of course accidents happen sometimes, if that's what you're refering to. But I believe they do everywhere. But in Copenhagen it's mostly due to people either driving or biking rectlessly. If you follow the rules and are aware of your surroundings (as you should be like when driving a car), then everything is quite safe. Especially compared to how many people bike around Copenhagen every day.
One thing about the safety, one of the major reasons, although often overlooked, is that every car-, bus- and tramdriver started out on a bike. This helps them understand and anticipate the behaviour of the cyclists, thus resulting in fewer accidents. Also, many bikelanes are seperate of the carlanes.
It is so weird how different transportation is, i live in the Netherlands and go to high school here and in my class there in no one that doesn’t go by bike to school. A lot of us have to ride 40 minutes to an hour even when it rains ( it rains a lot here) or when its snowing. Love this encouragement you give! And I love taking my bike to school
Nive one levi! All love from Belgium!
Great video! Not only is it accurate, it is also built up very well and fun to watch.
Good job man
I live in Japan now but I miss going everywhere by bicycle.
Most people do own bicycles, but cycling is not an enjoyable experience here.
Is it forbidden?
Japanese train system is amazing, though. It is sometimes to the point bicycles aren't needed as your destination is a walking distance.
What? Japan is even better
@@Psi-du2lw 5 years later so I don't know what I meant by my original comment.
Pretty sure I meant it in a way that in Japan it's not for leisure unless you do it as a hobby. Anywhere outside the city the infrastructure isn't there and you always share the road with cars OR a path noone uses and is littered with sharp gravel end debris from the road.
If you make riding your hobby Japan is better for sure because of all the sights.
Love your videos and subject matter. Keep up the good work! Have fun!
Hearing what foreighners think about our bike culture and travelling to less bike friendly countries makes me appreciate my bike more. Currently driving a scooter in Ubud, Bali getting pain in the throat from air polloution and stressed out from the chaotic dangerous traffic. Aaaaahw I miss my bicycle now! What I would give to ride it trough the rain after a long day of school, my face red from the impact of the raindrups my eyes just slits so I barely can see, fortunately on a bike road so it is safe, the muscles in my legs cramping at the bridge from being cold, almost there (!), the joy of reaching home, changing my soaking clothes for dry comfy ones that my mom has just warmed on the radiator then crash in front of the tv and drink hot choco. Hmm maybe I can wait and just enjoy Ubud as it is.
Sorry for the long sentence with bad grammar, don't feel like changing it.
Just showing the other side of the romantic story. Well actually I usually quite enjoyed riding my bike when it was raining. It is how I discovered the power of choosing to be happy. When it is raining Dutch people can get quite grumpy. When seeing grumpy faces while riding my bike trough the rain I would sing "I am singing in the rain" ( either in my mind or aloud) to remind myself that we can make the most out of every situation. It feels good to conciously choose not to let something like the weather ruin your mood. So I get extra cheerful when riding my bike trough the rain. Does that make sense?
Great view!!!
Gotta love how they're protesting traffic safety with signs that say "Stop the child murder"...
Because the cars killed a lot of kids?
@@jasperplayz2138 Around 1973 about 3500 people every year died in traffic related accidents (25 per 100.000 people), roughly 40% were below the age of 17 (legal car license age is 18). these days it's about 600 (5 per 100.000 people) from which only 5% is below the age of 14, and of those 5% only 30% in relations to a bicycle.
On the darker side, death related accidents to people on bicycle above the age of 70 has skyrocketed to double the EU average in recent years. And people are blaming electric bicycles for that.
@@bakasheru 5 per 100 is totally enough reason to protest. Many schools have 400 students. That would be 20 students in that school that died from getting hit by cars (while on a bicycle or as a pedestrian). Imagine if 20 of your classmates perished in one year due to careless drivers.
@@michaelstratton5223 really?
Great video. Highly enjoyable...
Awesome video! I love the idea of cycling everywhere and I'm so jealous of the dutch for having a system that allows it. As a Canadian, I would love to hear your thoughts about biking in the winter. I know Vancouver does not get much snow, however the east coast gets a ton, on top of being very hilly. This usually leaves dangerous conditions even for cars. I would love to ditch my car for a bike, but I think it's only possible for cities with good weather 3/4 of the year.
You should totally put a Tile on your bike if you live in the Netherlands
That hashtag tho 😆 I live in a very rural area of the southern US, and I envy the bike culture so much! We don’t even have such a thing as public transportation where I live, unless you want to count ordering an Uber. No buses, no taxi cabs, no subway systems, no scooter rental. We have to drive two hours just to get to a city with public transportation, and even then the pick up / drop off network is very limited. On the upside, I can dig up my yard to plant veggies and raise chickens without a permit. It’s all about balance, I guess 😊
In the Netherlands you also do not need a permit to grow vegetables in your garden, is that a thing anywhere?
Chickens are also not a problem, just the rooster might be outside of the countryside.
Great overview! You hit all the major points. I still think the city centre of Amsterdam needs to have a lot less cars than it does (and it will, with Agenda Amsterdam Autoluw), but I think you hit the nail on the head that it's Not Just Bikes (😉), it's about having a nice safe walkable city with quality public transit, and bikes are a side effect of that, not the primary goal.
Yes! Holy cow it sounds like we would agree on a lot of stuff. We should connect outside of youtube comments. Can you send me an email? You can find it through the contact page on my website www.levihildebrand.com
I live in NYC. I can't compare to other cities around the world due to my lack of experience elsewhere, but sometimes in new york i feel like im just pedaling to stay alive
I loved this. I’m a dutchie studying in Amsterdam who just finally moved to the city. So exited to start commuting by bike instead of train again.🚴🏻♂️ ‘vo for the bike!
En ik wil er ook graag wonen maar dat zal ontbetaalbaar worden
My family has about 10 bikes and we are with 5 people, three of those bikes are mine.
No one fucking asked
@@overweightoutdoorsman429 had a bad day?
We have 8 bikes 😛
Any advantages of having multiple bikes?
@@overweightoutdoorsman429 lmao
Congratz... you made it to my recommended page!
Well frick me that's good news! Congratz on finding my channel!
Love the hashtag. Good stuff.
I'm from the Netherlands, and I know Amsterdam, but the key to future cities cannot be found in Amsterdam, but a couple of km north close to the beach in Bergen (NH) combined with Tokio. What they do with urban planning in Bergen is utterly simple, yet utterly brilliant! The removed the sidewalks and parking spaces, and replaced it with green. They also did away with traffic lights and speed bumps. The result is amazing. The city is totaly green, totally low-pace as everybody shares the same street (cars, cyclists AND pedestrians). The other brilliant invention in urban planning can be found in Tokyo. They do not allow cars being parked OUTSIDE the building volume (say your house). So what Tokyoans do is they cut the smalles part possible from their house, and fill it with the largest car that fits into it. This is why the Nissan Cube exists. Super small from an American perspective, but nearly as practical as an F150. And so Tokyo has no cars on the street, no benefit of getting a posh large car (because it eats away your house) and the streets look very friendly and human.
So Amsterdam is cool, but a fusion of Bergen and Tokyo is what I really like to see in the future!
I always lose my bike too in that parking at central station
Super cool
I really think more cities need to follow Amsterdam's suit. Granted, the car has defined our cities (especially here in North America) so much that it might not be as possible (in that cities have grown too physically large). Also, one thing is very clear from comparing Europe with the US west coast: cars and history just don't mix.
KhAnubis I haven’t seen one of your videos in forever, nice reminder
Well, the train + bike combination can be applied to more than city-to-city. The Dutch have suburbs too.
Tho, you could technically think of cities as a bunch of small towns with all the urban centres being town centres ;)
3:56 it's not just the amount of bicycles. It's also that (about) all Dutch cardrivers, tramdrivers and pedestrians ride bicycles themselves as well.
This is mostly in the cities, in the other side of the netherlands, we mostly use tracktors and cars because you need to, often, cycle for 1 hour or longer to get somewhere. Kids often do that, but when you have the chance to use a car, you use it
Loved your way of explaining everything. Very well done, you just got another fan 💙
Love from Athens 😘
Thanks for being a part of the team!
Great vid as always!
Thank you!
WOW! Victoria needs more bikes!
one big reason is also a law that made groccerie stores outside of build-up area of cities prohibited. This is why you don't see a lot of big superstores in the Netherlands, everybody got a supermarket within 5 minutes of biking.
2:57 hey thats my house
I'll Rob you 😆
Loved the video and it was on point!
Hi Levi, I think you might like the book “Movement: How to take back our streets and transform our lives” from Thalia Verkade and Marco te Brömmelstroet: originally Dutch, but translated in English last year.
Wow, so amazing!
Wow nice to see you back in the Netherlands. Small correction: not all stations have ov-fietsen. Many rural stations don't. Other than that, great vidjeo man
“All major stations”, though, certainly. Especially in the Randstad.
Is that an AvE shoutout?
@@JasperJanssen yes. Yes it is. Have not been able to think of the word normally since i started following him and his empire of dirt
I wish I could bike everywhere like that. Not only is it more eco-friendly, but I really think it would help me fit in exercise easier! But I live in a small town Midwest area and you have to have a car to make that commute to work or even just the grocery store.
Awesome video.The funny thing here even the people with alot of cash often drop on a bike.I am bless with the connectivity between the parts of Adam.And the country.
Thanks for this amazing video, it made me realise how far along we(the netherlands) allready are to a sustainable way of transportation. It is just normal for me as I live here.
@brigitte bolhuis
Yet, don't applaud too soon. We were going to be 50% electrical-cars in 2020, and that's never going to happen.
Also, they're cutting down more trees for parkingspaces, for tourists that come by car.
We're doing good, but we need to do greater.
Really good video
I have two suggestion for future videos: 1. Free Cargo Bike Rental! It was invented in Colone and spred all over Germany. You can rent a cargo bike for usually 2-3 days for free so you can do stuff you usually need a car for, like your weekly grocery shopping, barbecue in the park, or the beach, move house, shopping for a party.... The idea behind it is to show people that you don't need a car in the city and to reduce car use in the long run. Just ecosia "freies latenrad" and you will find them all over the place. I'm working for Freie Lastenradler in Munich in my free time by the way.
2. Reusable Beer Bottles! I don't know how it is in the netherlands and it's not really clear in your recycling machine video, but in Germany we bring our empty bottels back to the shop. The shop sends them back to the brewery when they get a new delivery, there they get cleaned and refilled up to 50 times. Would be a good excuse to visit a brewery.
Any excuse to drink beer is worth it for me haha. I'd love to see that system in play! Thanks for the comment!
As a dutchman I can confirm that this is really acurate
Maybe you should have mentioned that there are bikeroads in literally the entire country. You won't need a busy car road when you need to go from Maastricht to Amsterdam for example.
Like the Swapfiets 😁😁
You forgot to mention that thanks to their Bike Culture they have the coolest bikes. Like Cargo bikes that easiely are fit for two Kids and you groceries. I live in Northern Germany and we will go bike Shopping in the Netherlands for that. Ps. Thanks for jet again a great Video.
Haha yes the bakfiets! So cool! Thanks for being a part of the team!
About the OV-Fiets: You must be member of that system, which is pretty cheap. But without membership you can NOT rent an OV-Fiets... But in most cities there are bike rental companies that rent bikes for everyone.
Ok that’s good to know! I got a pass when I lived there so I took that for granted!
Being a member costs literally €0,01 a year (so they can see if you are still using the same bank acount).
@@mathijsvandevrie Ah, thanks for your information! I thought it was some 5 or 10 Euros annually.
No, the Dutch system isn't 'shared space'. 'Shared Space' is a very specific type of infrastructure, thought up by Hans Monderman, that we Dutch have tried a couple of times and it NEVER WORKS. SUCCESFUL Dutch infrastructure is about separating cars and bicycles as much as possible and where not possible to lower the speed of the car. We also include all kinds of fun tricks like rerouting cars in such a way that it is faster to take the bicycle (carrot, not stick) and speedbumps & visual clues to subconsiously influence the drive to lower his speed. 'Shark's teeth' and 'elephant feet' (painted on the ground) replaces all kinds of signage. It all looks 'natural' and 'effortless' but it's HIGHLY designed to look like that. All this makes cycling in the Netherlands very safe and this is what lead to great numbers of cyclists, not the other way around! People are not safe because there are so many cyclists - there are so many cyclists because cycling has been made safe, and it is safe because infrastructure separates cyclists from speeding cars and tries to have the two share space AS LITTLE AS POSSIBLE!!.
Everytime I hear some American, Canadian or Brit blabber on about 'shared space' I want to scream, because Monderman's 1970's paper on 'shared space' is just about the only Dutch urban planning paper to ever be translated into English, and whenever an English speaking tourist or politician admires Dutch cycling 'culture' and wants to spend half an hour to find out more about it, what always, always, ALWAYS pops up? Fucking Shared Space!! Argh!
From Amsterdam here, vanuit Amsterdam: Great video! I just want to add that if there are still some North American doubters with familiar arguments like: "Amsterdam is small, unlike my North American city"... HAVE A LOOK AT PARIS! It's incredible what they are doing there! Making Paris like Amsterdam. Really cool! :)
I’ve wanted to spend some time in Paris so I’ll bump it up my bucket list a bit haha
I come from the East part of the Netherlands and while in Amsterdam today, i litterally saw cranes pulling bikes from the canel bottom. Our guide said that there are about 15.000 new bikes in there per month. And 1 car per month too. Really weird.
I wish we could do this everywhere in the world. I hate private cars.
Dude arent you native dutch? Cuz you have a very dutch name. And its funny to be able to recognise litterally every street you filmed on.
If you come to Copenhagen, Denmark, you will see that us Danes bike a lot as well. We have bike lanes that are wider than the car lanes :)
I reaaaaaaaally wanna see Copenhagen! Danish architecture and design is on my bucket list
You forgot to mention how expensive public transportation is over here. It's decent but too expensive!
Other than that, your video is very accurate :)
Maar 3 euro van een ritje van 30 min, nie zo duur
@@batube9516OV ga je niet beoordelen obv prijs voor de duur van de rit. Zo neem je een trage route en denk je dat je voordelig uit bent omdat je "zo lang erin gezeten hebt". Voor een ritje Utrecht-Rotterdam ben je 40 minuten onderweg en dat kost ruim 13 euro. Zinloos argument dus.
Per gereisde afstand is er geen duurdere land in Europa als het om OV gaat. Zelfs Zwistserland is goedkoper.
You are right : different modes of transport have to complement each other. You cannot simply force people to go by bike, without having a concept of urban planning. If we had given car transport free way we would have had to knock down and rebuild all our big cities. And yes, I have 4 bikes , but that has to do with my inability to part from things I do not need anymore.
If you haven't read it Levi, go read In the City of Bikes by Pete Jordan. A great book about the history of bike culture in Amsterdam/the Netherlands. Great read. Love the channel by the way, nice to see you in my country!
That’s so cool! Thanks for the recommendation!
6:42 ok that sounds wrong
If you know what i mean😏
"Fun"
Hi Levi,
i would be interested in a video about dyson. They are so much more than just a tech company. Great video by the way :)
Greetings from Germany,
Brani
Yeeesss! I'd love to check them out too! Great suggestion!
I'd love to learn what types of bikes and uses the Dutch have for their bikes. It looks like many Cruisers and not much like what we often see in the US. This would be particularly entertaining to my 9-year old that just got his first bike.
I cycle at school everyday and when i go grocery shopping ill go by bike oh and I always meet up with my friends, and we all come by bike
That sounds so fun. I bike to volleyball practice but i hate the pollution and congested roads and heat. We have no bike lanes either. Id love to go biking in fresh air with my friends.
Have you ever read Davind Hemrow's blog? It's called view from the cyclepath and he has a series where he analyses what makes a street good/safe/bikefriendly etc. He also posts photos of cyclists doing everyday things :) I thik you'd be interested, especially if you're into city planning.
6:41 the blue-front-wheel-bike behind him, is rentable, and costs 17,5 bucks per month (in 4 countries). From "Swapfiets", which means swapbike. So, you dont need to rent one for 3,25/day, renting from Swapfiets is much cheaper, and their bikes are really beautifull! They also repair the bike. Swapfietz is new, also here in Germany, so he didn´t know anything about it, and missed to mention it... orientierungswoche.swapfiets.de/
I visited Amsterdam for the first time a couple of months ago and loved the cycle culture. I was surprised no one wore helmets, here in the UK its a bit of a taboo to not wear one now. I live in Brighton (UK) which is getting more bike focused, but we could learn a lot from Amsterdam. PS how do you find your bike after you park, many of the bikes look similar and there are hundreds parked together?
You learn to remember where you parked it, and most bike parking is numbered (so you remember you parked it near E17 or whatever), and a lot of people add some bright detail to their bike (pause the video at 10 seconds and notice half the bikes have random knick knacks or unique paint-jobs). After a while you tend to park it roughly in the same spot each time, and then when you don't, you just take a picture of where you parked it. That being said, every now and then you still forget and spend a good 15 minutes looking for your bike.
Is any family member dutch because hildebrand is probably s dutch name
He said he's from Canada. Many Dutches travel to Canada to work or live there, it's pretty popular! So there is quite a big chance.
It is for sure a german name... and just maybe also a dutch name...
THE NETHERLANDS ISN'T ONLY AMSTERDAM
True. Every time people know i'm from NL they ask if i've been there. Which i haven't. And then they act all supriced as if it is a crime...
@@Mr_Fancypants ja maar zo ver is amsterdam ook niet ga er naar toe met de trein
@@julianbonskilzz Als ze rijden... stond zo vaak te wachten in tilburg dat ik er een stoeltje met m'n eigen naam had
I'd really love to see some videos on electric bikes. Pros and cons etc
Where I am it is a big issue of bike lanes/vs car lanes. I wish we could switch over too.
I saw my house's location on 4:12 map of Utrecht haha
I bike 20km every day just for school
Bro gooi je zelf weg.
@@ws5712 er is letterlijk geen goeie school dichterbij en ik vind het prima
Dus 10 heen en terug neem ik aan dan?
@@dekippiesip ja
as someone who has been living and working here for a few months, i can honestly say, Netherlands is probably the best country in terms of transportation and citizen mentality. Ik houd van Nederland !
Cirstea Cosmin dankjee!
I have always thought it is so weird that in foreign countries students went to high school in cars! EVERYONE at my school comes to school with a bike, some come with a train but they cycled to the train and I take a ferry everyday but I cycle to and from the ferry!
To me, the Netherlands exemplifies efficiency with transportation systems. Which in turn makes it extremely sustainable. I agree with you that's its frustrating to hear US cities being so resistant to diversifying their transit, but the argument that really needs to be made is an economic one for them to listen. If you use the argument of the financial benefits a city would receive, politicians would be more willing to consider these plans. Just my opinion though.
Thank you for another great video! I can't wait to visit the Netherlands....
you sould see the new one in Utrecht. 12.500 places and it's still too small :)
There is actually a Island in Michigan called Mackinac Island where personal cars are banned. Only bikes and horses are allowed. I’ve worked there for years and I can tell you that it is the most peaceful place to be. Plus you don’t breathe in the fumes of cars.
He's baaaaaack…..!!
More US cities need to look to the Nether for transportation inspiration.
Love the topic and biking but how do you put the fun between your legs when it's raining like hell?😁
Keep up the good work, looking forward to your next videos!
Thanks Regina! And the next commenter said there’s always a way. The Dutch just tough it out. But I understand in a long commute it’s not possible so maybe keep a bus pass handy?
Ha, I live in a notoriously rainy spot and commuted to work by bicycle for a few years. Yes, it can be more difficult to see. Yes, you get wet. But so long as you've a good pair of riding glasses, gloves, and raincoat then you are good to go. 😊
I've seen videos of biking cities where some bike with umbrellas. That amazes me, but I don't cycle that slow for that.
Levi Hildebrand When I was transferred to another city for work, much further away, I would put the bike on a bike rack on my car, travel to a carpool area about 12 miles from my work and use the bike for the rest. Great ride, good workout and problems with traffic jams in the city. I could only do this because the company supported traveling by bike by providing showers and lockers for clothes and gear.
Love this video! The major of Amsterdam is currently supporting a new law to make the city centre totally car free!
No she isn't making it totally car free. Only electric vehicles are allowed.
Yes this is a fact and still very awesome!
Femke Halsema ja
i'm surprised you didn't say there was bike parking on the train. there is in minneapolis minnesota. I'm sure there was. and i'm sure people have tried that.
not enoough for everyone
You should do a video reviewing recumbent bikes and trikes. Is visibly an issue since these bikes are so low to the ground? Pros and cons of recumbents.
I haven't ridden one myself but what you mostly see is people using them on longer distances between cities in the Netherlands. They are great for things like that and if you don't need to go into the more crowded city center visibility is not an issue. Otherwise flags at the very least improve visibility.
Another option you see on those longer distances are velomobiles, recumbent bikes with full cover fairing. The aerodynamic advantage those offer means they can easily do 40+ km/h on average.
Living in Brazil my hole life, I can only dream of living in a place like Amsterdan
I mean, how much cleaner the must be...
Giselle Tebaldi You would love it
@@JeffreyFilming already do
Hi Levi, fancy a bike ride along the Amstel River and rooftop drinks ?
I wish my friend! I am leaving tonight! 😭😭😭
@@LeahandLevi Too bad ! What is your next destination ?
Aahhh nice, the thing in my country is, its very hot and the sun is killing
Probably better than rainy or snow though? 🤷🏻♂️
average size??
in zwolle we have a small underground park for a few 1000 bikes that thing can have like 30000