Welcome to my first ever ride in Europe and sorry for the dazed/jetlag self after a long day of travel. I'll be visiting Belgium, Netherlands, Switzerland and a lot of Italy so let me know if there's any other quick places to ride you'd want to see.
I LOVE your adventurousness, following random cyclists and winging it. It's fun to see the velotaxis and the red bike lanes instead of the green we're used to here in Seattle. Thanks for the video!
The big yellow post around 36:00 marks underground utilities. Generally riding on the sidewalk is a no-no, unless there is a sign allowing it (bike frei) or different colored / textured pavement denoting a bike path. A blue sign with bike symbol means you must use the bike lane. If there is no blue sign you are free to use the road. Cycling thru parks is fine though, so long as there isn't a sign explicitly banning bikes. Most one way roads allow cycling in both directions, designated by the bike with 2 arrows sign underneath the "Einbahnstraße" sign, and the bike frei (meaning bike exempted) sign below the do not enter signs. A white light above the bike signal like on the left turn means the light knows you're there so you don't need to push the beg button.
From a fellow Seattleite, welcome to Germany. I currently live in southern Germany and mostly MTB, but I also lived in Berlin and the bike lanes there are some of the best in Europe. Everyone cycles and the infrastructure is great.
I live in Switzerland and recently visited Freiburg im Breisgau with my Brompton. I can really recommend it, it has an incredible bicycle infrastructure. And it's a lovely town. Only 40 minutes by train from Basel.
To answer some of the questions here: - Streitbar in Europa - This seems to be the slogan of the FDP for their current campaign. The FDP is the liberal party of Germany. A smaller party that is currently in the German government coalition. The EU parliament elections are up, so you will likely see a lot of campaigning on your trip. - The confusing lane markings: Usually lane markings are in white. Yellow lane markings are for temporary overrides, usually for construction sites. So, just ignore the white markings when there are yellow ones.
looks amazing. never been to Germany but spent lots of time visiting family in Sweden and there are some similarities in urban form. Imagine if we just tried to do anything like this in Seattle.
Pine Street, Pike Place, 2nd Ave in Belltown, Broadway in Capitol Hill, University Way, Ballard... I could go on. Let's try and just one of these streets and prioritize bike and peds!
Wahnsinn! I live near Frankfurt for part of the year. I wish I could be there to show you some great rides. Now, is it clear? Pedestrian malls and auto free zones are great for business.
It's not too late to recommend a ride or two! I have a couple German friends of the channel riding with me along the Main river tomorrow westbound. Is there any other must check out areas?
Haha the terrain of Seattle makes it very hard to have these type of affordable bike shares. They tried and it was killer to even get up Dexter with one I remember 🤣
It is always cool to compare and contrast how different cities design their bike infrastructure. Are you planning on riding up famous climbs on this trip?
Also frei means free which means you are free to use the road as needed. IE if there's a do not enter but it says frei under you can still use the road.
Definitely noticed the motorists being polite. All interactions I had in the video were positive in the bike lane in that regard. Also thanks for confirming my interpretation of "frei" :) I think the main jarring thing for me is still recognizing that most roads are still two way despite being way narrower than American counterparts.
aaaiii A tipical US tourist on a bike. Riding criss cross through a pedestrian area ! Much like US car drivers, which insist on driving everywhere they possibly can. Even if they shouldn't :-)
Welcome to my first ever ride in Europe and sorry for the dazed/jetlag self after a long day of travel. I'll be visiting Belgium, Netherlands, Switzerland and a lot of Italy so let me know if there's any other quick places to ride you'd want to see.
I LOVE your adventurousness, following random cyclists and winging it. It's fun to see the velotaxis and the red bike lanes instead of the green we're used to here in Seattle. Thanks for the video!
More to come! I'll be on full vacation and exploring mode once I read the Netherlands.
Super cool way to explore a city on vacation!
This is the way
Car-free public spaces = paradise!
The big yellow post around 36:00 marks underground utilities.
Generally riding on the sidewalk is a no-no, unless there is a sign allowing it (bike frei) or different colored / textured pavement denoting a bike path. A blue sign with bike symbol means you must use the bike lane. If there is no blue sign you are free to use the road.
Cycling thru parks is fine though, so long as there isn't a sign explicitly banning bikes.
Most one way roads allow cycling in both directions, designated by the bike with 2 arrows sign underneath the "Einbahnstraße" sign, and the bike frei (meaning bike exempted) sign below the do not enter signs.
A white light above the bike signal like on the left turn means the light knows you're there so you don't need to push the beg button.
Thank you for the insights! I'm definitely learning as I go and it's all so interesting
From a fellow Seattleite, welcome to Germany. I currently live in southern Germany and mostly MTB, but I also lived in Berlin and the bike lanes there are some of the best in Europe. Everyone cycles and the infrastructure is great.
Thanks for the warm welcome
I live in Switzerland and recently visited Freiburg im Breisgau with my Brompton.
I can really recommend it, it has an incredible bicycle infrastructure. And it's a lovely town. Only 40 minutes by train from Basel.
To answer some of the questions here:
- Streitbar in Europa - This seems to be the slogan of the FDP for their current campaign. The FDP is the liberal party of Germany. A smaller party that is currently in the German government coalition. The EU parliament elections are up, so you will likely see a lot of campaigning on your trip.
- The confusing lane markings: Usually lane markings are in white. Yellow lane markings are for temporary overrides, usually for construction sites. So, just ignore the white markings when there are yellow ones.
Appreciate the insider knowledge: that makes a lot more sense xD
Hopefully you will be able to visit Eindhoven in the Netherlands to ride the hovenring. The ride from there to Ultrech is superb.
looks amazing. never been to Germany but spent lots of time visiting family in Sweden and there are some similarities in urban form. Imagine if we just tried to do anything like this in Seattle.
Pine Street, Pike Place, 2nd Ave in Belltown, Broadway in Capitol Hill, University Way, Ballard... I could go on. Let's try and just one of these streets and prioritize bike and peds!
See if you can find the Frankfurter Stadt farm in Sachsenhausen across the river. Tell them Stu sent you.
Wahnsinn! I live near Frankfurt for part of the year. I wish I could be there to show you some great rides. Now, is it clear? Pedestrian malls and auto free zones are great for business.
It's not too late to recommend a ride or two! I have a couple German friends of the channel riding with me along the Main river tomorrow westbound. Is there any other must check out areas?
Makes me wish Seattle had a city bike share program. Lime is just not a good replacement.
Haha the terrain of Seattle makes it very hard to have these type of affordable bike shares. They tried and it was killer to even get up Dexter with one I remember 🤣
It is always cool to compare and contrast how different cities design their bike infrastructure. Are you planning on riding up famous climbs on this trip?
Only famous road cycling route I'll get to is the Sella Ronda in the Dolomites where I'll rent a road bike!
Grab the KOM!
The biggest difference in German bike lanes is that they are way more respected than you would ever see in the US.
Also frei means free which means you are free to use the road as needed. IE if there's a do not enter but it says frei under you can still use the road.
Definitely noticed the motorists being polite. All interactions I had in the video were positive in the bike lane in that regard. Also thanks for confirming my interpretation of "frei" :) I think the main jarring thing for me is still recognizing that most roads are still two way despite being way narrower than American counterparts.
aaaiii A tipical US tourist on a bike. Riding criss cross through a pedestrian area ! Much like US car drivers, which insist on driving everywhere they possibly can. Even if they shouldn't :-)