Amsterdam is the world’s capital of bikes, that is a fact! Not only Amsterdam but the entire country owns a wide and specialized infrastructure that promotes a better and healthier way of life for everybody.
There are more bikes than citizens and it’s not surprising, as the Dutch people know this is the most convenient way to travel around due to the geography of The Netherlands.
The bike has been always popular in The Netherlands as conveyance. However, it is believed that this bike fever started already before the 20th century, when the working class was going to work by bike because its cheap maintenance and easy use.
Over the years, the bike culture struggled to survive as the most popular way of transportation. Nowadays though, this two-wheeled transport is the most used one and combats pollution, the high use of cars which provokes traffic jams and congestion and prevents a lot of accidents.
It is indeed one of the wisest improvements ever made towards life quality.
Amsterdam is a magnificent place to visit by bike. Even if you are not an expert riding a bike, you will find it easy to go around the city throughout all the bike paths which will lead you anywhere you will think of.
There are plenty of places that offer bike rentals for really cheap price. Besides, there are lots of fun facts that will make you feel like cycling all around Amsterdam like the followings (source Awesome Amsterdam):
- Amsterdam has the only museum in the world you can cycle through (Rijksmuseum).
- One of the most photographed sights in Amsterdam is the bicycle parking at Amsterdam Central Station.
- Bike usage in Amsterdam has grown by more than 40% in the last 20 years.
- Combined, Amsterdammers bicycle about two million kilometers every day.
- There are more than 881,000 bicycles in Amsterdam. That’s four times the number of cars.
- About 57% of Amsterdammers use their bicycle on a daily basis.
- The total length of bike paths in Amsterdam is about 400 kilometers.
- There are 7,800 official bike parking places near Amsterdam Central Station.
- Some estimates say around 100,000 bicycles are stolen in Amsterdam each year.
- Between 12,000 and 15,000 bicycles are pulled out of Amsterdam’s canals each year.
- Around 35% of all trips within the city are by bike, compared with 22% by car.
Speechless right? Now, if you were in Amsterdam and never rode a bike in the city, you have the perfect excuse to come back and to visit it from a completely different point of view!
