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The Dutch cycling culture is worthy of praise, but people frequently forget or ignore a key element of its success: Amsterdam is pancake flat. I live outside of
by 5parks1 8y ago
The Dutch cycling culture is worthy of praise, but people frequently forget or ignore a key element of its success: Amsterdam is pancake flat. I live outside of Denver, and my neighborhood is very cycling friendly, but my 8-year old daughter can't make it up the hill on our street without walking.
- adrianN 8y agoThere are many cities that are as flat as Amsterdam and have a similar climate but have a fraction of the cyclists.
- 5parks1 8y agoRight. I don't think the flatness and climate are the sole reason for its success, but they're certainly a big contributor.
- pja 8y agoI spent my summer holiday in Aarhus, Denmark this year. The city is half built on a massive hill, yet 25% of commuters cycle to work. Flatness is not a pre-requisite for a cycling culture.
- KozmoNau7 8y agoYou're forgetting the "Dutch mountains", Amsterdam can be an extremely windy city. Yet it doesn't really seem to bother people.
- mrob 8y agoIf you can't make it up the hill then you need a lower gear. Utility bikes are easily controllable even at walking pace. The bigger problem is wind. Headwinds can easily slow you down as much as hills, and crosswinds make the bike harder to control. Amsterdam has higher average wind speeds than Denver.
- Steltek 8y agoI see that you didn't mention tailwinds. Because, of course, they're a myth and don't actually exist. I recall reading the meteorological explanation for why the wind changes direction on ocean cities. The net effect for me is that I'm nearly always going into a local headwind and it's quite horrible.
- tonyedgecombe 8y agoE-bikes solve that problem.