Because cars are so extremely expensive here in the Netherlands. The fact that the bicycle paths here are amazing in most of the country is secondary. Bicycle

Because cars are so extremely expensive here in the Netherlands. The fact that the bicycle paths here are amazing in most of the country is secondary. Bicycles are at extreme risk of theft in major cities. There is nothing to romanticize about crappy bicycles. People do not ride garbage old bikes by choice, but out of necessity. People ride garbage on rusty wheels because they have been burned by theft multiple times. Criminals with trucks in Germany and the Netherlands routinely roll up to train stations and steal dozens of bicycles at a time, take them to get resprayed in Poland, then resell them. If you chained your bicycle to something in a way that isn't aesthetically pleasing, the government will steal your bicycle and you will have to retrieve it at a cost plus your expensive lock will be destroyed. This assuming you can find your bike. Don't be fooled into thinking that this is bicycle utopia. You are only less likely to get killed by a car. This is a huge plus. But the rest of the story is bleak. And now for your amusement... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I5ay3r5Kpio https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I5ay3r5Kpio