His video series has made me want to do almost the same thing next year if I can make it. But I want to go through North Brabant before hitting Utrecht.
I had no idea Nic is originally an Ontarian! And spent time in Fake London, just down the road from us in Toronto. Great "meeting" him through this video. Thanks!
Yay! Mission accomplished. So delighted you were to learn some new Nic details. Thank you so much for watching and the support. Have a wonderful weekend. Cheers! John
Holland calling, and no, not Holland, Michigan! This video mentions so many subjects I can relate to. First of all Kingsville, ONT. I have been there during my visit from my relatives around Burlington ONT to my best chess friend in Windsor. Done the Ambassador Bridge, Leamington (Tomato Capital of the World) and beautiful Point Pelee. Tilbury, Chatham, FAKE London and what not. John correctly pointed out that the Dutch are fascinated by foreigh opinions on their cycling culture, which they consider as normal behaviour. This shines through in literally every video made by non-Dutch people visting and documenting our country. I have enjoyed Nic’s 6 piece series. The thing that struck me the most was that his observations were more ‘mellow’ than those from other urbanists. Jason Slaughter especially is great in slamming home runs and dunks in your face, stating his excellents points. I love it! But there is something to be said as well for a more modest and temperate approach like Nic’s. On a final note, it is interesting to note that the very word scooter means something completely different over here. What you guys call scooter is a ‘step’ in Dutch. Our scooter is a VESPA mobility device - kind of a motorcycle with very small wheels and a step through frame. Keep up the good work!
Thanks so much, @reneolthof6811! 🙏 And, yeah, in my circles, until the dockless standup e-scooters were dropped in our streets, a "scooter" was either a "Vespa-like"," moped or mini-motorcycle, a child's or an adult's standup push scooter (Razor was the huge brand in North America) or an electric mobility scooter similar to an electric wheelchair. I know the Dutch have several different names differentiating the various mini-motor bike types, including the "snorfietsen" and others. A potentially interesting side note, in 2015, I noticed and documented many teens and adults using non-motorized, push standup scooters in Paris and in various other cities, mostly in Germany, but virtually none in The Netherlands, Denmark, or Sweden. During my two-month European tour this summer, I saw only a handful of adult non-motorized standup push scooters across all of the dozens of cities I visited. In the case of Paris, the number people riding bikes has increased tremendously. Cheers! John
@@ActiveTowns Indeed, there are several names used in this area. Like snorfietsen, but also brommer (moped with light engine) and currently the obvious and ugly fatbikes - yes that's the name in Dutch. I am not very familiar with these kind of devices - ligfietsen is another conspicuous contraption seen quite often over here. Wouldn't even know the English term for it. A bed bike? A lay-back bike? From my point of view the most fascinating aspect of all this foreign attention to our infrastructure and cycling culture is that virtually nobody picks up the many, many problems we are currently facing. The reason is obvious: what we have seems heaven to everybody else outside The Netherlands and that's what they are reporting upon, but everyday Dutch users experience the shortcomings and negative developments of the current situation. In most areas (not all!) we are miles ahead of the rest of the world, so we are unique in the kind of problems we are experiencing. Nobody but the Dutch can relate to them properly!
@@ActiveTowns In addition, I remembered the good old solex from the 1950s and 1960s. I would say "adult non-motorized standup push scooters" are used and seen in The Netherlands but they are not prevalent, perhaps in the same tier as skateboards and rollerblades. These are mostly age-dependent and certainly NOT All Ages & Abilities...
I went to Kansai in 2017 and it never occurred to me to rent a bike. Travel was by train or on foot, with a couple of bus trips. There's a store in Tenri, where the Isonokami Shrine is, that rents bikes to ride the oldest road in Japan, the Yamanobe no michi. Pick up the bike at the store near the station in Tenri and lock it up at the station in Sakurai. I'd like to do that. As for E-Bikes: They're really been popular among people who weren't biking, so they've really made a difference in the market. Mine is a Huffy with a Bafang mid-drive kit, which I love. but my main bike is a Dutch Azor analog bike, and I just added two more 27" classics; an Easy Racer Tour Easy recumbent and a 1976 Schwinn (actually a Panasonic) Super LeTour. Opposite ends of the speed bike world, but interesting toys.
Electric scooters are not allowed in The Netherlands. This situation seems to be in limbo. It's probably that it's traditionally a child's vehicle and young children going like 25km/h or faster without guidance/protection is a serious safety concern. We currently have already similar issues with 'fatbikes' involved in accidents: 1) age of the users 2) speeds are higher than normal traffic flow on the fietspad ~18km/h Personally, I think that at least a minimum age of 14 + bicycle helmet use should be mandatory for all these electric vehicles users.
Yes, I've been monitoring the Fatbike situation over there pretty closely. Definitely a concerning development. Thanks so much for watching and for this contribution to the conversation. Cheers! John
Actually, some models are allowed. But I agree the situation is really unclear. I just bought two, that apparently can't be used in NL. Luckily I only bought them for use during travelling around Europe.
I really think children up to at least 16 should cycle without electric support, fatbike or e-bike in general. Any e-bike rider (including fat bikes) should have a driving licence, and an exemption for age above 60 or for the physically impaired.
@@buddy1155 I would be in favor of a driving license if normal electrical vehicles on the fietspad were restricted to 18km/h (license free) and a 25km/h category needed the driving license. The faster category would need a blue license plate like current gasoline vehicles with same speed and age(16) restriction.
His video series has made me want to do almost the same thing next year if I can make it. But I want to go through North Brabant before hitting Utrecht.
Do it! I’ll have a ride-along video of my own from a day trip visit to Breda and Tilburg coming soon(ish). Thanks so much for tuning in. Cheers! John
Thanks for another great podcast.
You are quite welcome, Colleen! Thanks so much for joining us for the Premiere. Cheers! John
Nic's channel is great! I didn't know about his podcast before, but I'm subscribed now!
Cool! Thanks so much for watching the episode. Cheers! John
I had no idea Nic is originally an Ontarian! And spent time in Fake London, just down the road from us in Toronto. Great "meeting" him through this video. Thanks!
Yay! Mission accomplished. So delighted you were to learn some new Nic details. Thank you so much for watching and the support. Have a wonderful weekend. Cheers! John
Holland calling, and no, not Holland, Michigan!
This video mentions so many subjects I can relate to. First of all Kingsville, ONT. I have been there during my visit from my relatives around Burlington ONT to my best chess friend in Windsor. Done the Ambassador Bridge, Leamington (Tomato Capital of the World) and beautiful Point Pelee. Tilbury, Chatham, FAKE London and what not.
John correctly pointed out that the Dutch are fascinated by foreigh opinions on their cycling culture, which they consider as normal behaviour. This shines through in literally every video made by non-Dutch people visting and documenting our country.
I have enjoyed Nic’s 6 piece series. The thing that struck me the most was that his observations were more ‘mellow’ than those from other urbanists. Jason Slaughter especially is great in slamming home runs and dunks in your face, stating his excellents points. I love it! But there is something to be said as well for a more modest and temperate approach like Nic’s.
On a final note, it is interesting to note that the very word scooter means something completely different over here. What you guys call scooter is a ‘step’ in Dutch. Our scooter is a VESPA mobility device - kind of a motorcycle with very small wheels and a step through frame.
Keep up the good work!
Thanks so much, @reneolthof6811! 🙏
And, yeah, in my circles, until the dockless standup e-scooters were dropped in our streets, a "scooter" was either a "Vespa-like"," moped or mini-motorcycle, a child's or an adult's standup push scooter (Razor was the huge brand in North America) or an electric mobility scooter similar to an electric wheelchair. I know the Dutch have several different names differentiating the various mini-motor bike types, including the "snorfietsen" and others.
A potentially interesting side note, in 2015, I noticed and documented many teens and adults using non-motorized, push standup scooters in Paris and in various other cities, mostly in Germany, but virtually none in The Netherlands, Denmark, or Sweden. During my two-month European tour this summer, I saw only a handful of adult non-motorized standup push scooters across all of the dozens of cities I visited. In the case of Paris, the number people riding bikes has increased tremendously. Cheers! John
@@ActiveTowns Indeed, there are several names used in this area. Like snorfietsen, but also brommer (moped with light engine) and currently the obvious and ugly fatbikes - yes that's the name in Dutch. I am not very familiar with these kind of devices - ligfietsen is another conspicuous contraption seen quite often over here. Wouldn't even know the English term for it. A bed bike? A lay-back bike?
From my point of view the most fascinating aspect of all this foreign attention to our infrastructure and cycling culture is that virtually nobody picks up the many, many problems we are currently facing. The reason is obvious: what we have seems heaven to everybody else outside The Netherlands and that's what they are reporting upon, but everyday Dutch users experience the shortcomings and negative developments of the current situation. In most areas (not all!) we are miles ahead of the rest of the world, so we are unique in the kind of problems we are experiencing. Nobody but the Dutch can relate to them properly!
@@ActiveTowns In addition, I remembered the good old solex from the 1950s and 1960s. I would say "adult non-motorized standup push scooters" are used and seen in The Netherlands but they are not prevalent, perhaps in the same tier as skateboards and rollerblades. These are mostly age-dependent and certainly NOT All Ages & Abilities...
I went to Kansai in 2017 and it never occurred to me to rent a bike. Travel was by train or on foot, with a couple of bus trips.
There's a store in Tenri, where the Isonokami Shrine is, that rents bikes to ride the oldest road in Japan, the Yamanobe no michi. Pick up the bike at the store near the station in Tenri and lock it up at the station in Sakurai. I'd like to do that.
As for E-Bikes: They're really been popular among people who weren't biking, so they've really made a difference in the market.
Mine is a Huffy with a Bafang mid-drive kit, which I love. but my main bike is a Dutch Azor analog bike, and I just added two more 27" classics; an Easy Racer Tour Easy recumbent and a 1976 Schwinn (actually a Panasonic) Super LeTour. Opposite ends of the speed bike world, but interesting toys.
Cool! 😎
highly recommend checking out Nic’s podcast, Radio Free Urbanism! :)
Indeed! Radio Free Urbanism Channel: www.youtube.com/@radiofreeurbanism
Thanks so much for tuning in!
Electric scooters are not allowed in The Netherlands. This situation seems to be in limbo.
It's probably that it's traditionally a child's vehicle and young children going like 25km/h or faster without guidance/protection is a serious safety concern.
We currently have already similar issues with 'fatbikes' involved in accidents: 1) age of the users 2) speeds are higher than normal traffic flow on the fietspad ~18km/h
Personally, I think that at least a minimum age of 14 + bicycle helmet use should be mandatory for all these electric vehicles users.
Yes, I've been monitoring the Fatbike situation over there pretty closely. Definitely a concerning development. Thanks so much for watching and for this contribution to the conversation. Cheers! John
Actually, some models are allowed. But I agree the situation is really unclear. I just bought two, that apparently can't be used in NL.
Luckily I only bought them for use during travelling around Europe.
@@rmyikzelf5604 Fascinating. Why are the two you purchased not allowed?
I really think children up to at least 16 should cycle without electric support, fatbike or e-bike in general.
Any e-bike rider (including fat bikes) should have a driving licence, and an exemption for age above 60 or for the physically impaired.
@@buddy1155 I would be in favor of a driving license if normal electrical vehicles on the fietspad were restricted to 18km/h (license free) and a 25km/h category needed the driving license. The faster category would need a blue license plate like current gasoline vehicles with same speed and age(16) restriction.