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My first time in Amsterdam I was terribly confused by the bike lanes. We’d never seen an entirely separate and dedicated bike lane like that so we walked in it.
by elliekelly 5y ago
My first time in Amsterdam I was terribly confused by the bike lanes. We’d never seen an entirely separate and dedicated bike lane like that so we walked in it. It was a Sunday morning so fortunately there wasn’t much traffic but eventually an exasperated local on his bike stopped us and explained that we were basically waltzing around in the middle of the road and could we please stop. He was perfectly polite and his information was quite helpful but I got the sense he had given the same lecture many times before.
Unless someone explains it to you, though, I’m not really sure how anyone could be expected to know?
- Aeolun 5y agoSomething about all those bikes whizzing right by you while there is a perfectly empty sidewalk right next to you?
- arp242 5y agoIf the concept is completely unknown to you, then I can imagine just not realizing it. My British girlfriend once unplugged my alarm clock because she thought there was no way to use the power plug above that otherwise, my alarm plug was "blocking" that one. I just reversed the socket and put it back in. She felt stupid, but since British plugs can be put in one way only I can understand simply not thinking of that.
- elliekelly 5y agoWell there weren’t many bikes whizzing by and the sidewalks were quite “full” from cafe seating and postcard displays and the like. It wasn’t really a conscious “decision” to walk in the bike path it just sort of seemed natural?