Calling Amsterdam an ideal city for cycling is a stretch. It's coldish, it rains quite a lot and it's very windy. Things would be a lot easier for people on bi

Calling Amsterdam an ideal city for cycling is a stretch. It's coldish, it rains quite a lot and it's very windy. Things would be a lot easier for people on bikes here in Milan, Italy where I live... except that they are not. It's not so safe during rush hour, and it's full of people who would rather take their stupid car instead of walking half a mile. Distances are larger in North America, but climate-wise people cycle more in NYC or in Minneapolis than they do in Atlanta or in Dallas. To sum it up: make cycling as safe as possible, and discourage car use, and especially car abuse -- picking up kids from school with an SUV, for example.