Dutch cyclists

[Scully]

Loonies! The lot of ‘em!
On a par with UK cyclists obviously but there’s many more of them. 😀

Apart from a lack of lights at night, the only differences I can see is that no helmets are worn and thrown into the mix are totally silent electric scooters and those equally silent chunky wheeled bikes which can easily outstrip most cars for the first 100yds or so! 
No crash hats, very few bells, no hand signals, very few lights and a total disregard for rules of the road. 
Just as you think you’ve got the hang of looking in the right direction, you find that they don’t care, nor do they stick to cycle lanes if it doesn’t suit! 🤷‍♂️

Two rozzers pedalled up behind us and obviously admonished one lady for being on her phone while cycling; she didn’t bat an eye but simply dismounted and carried on talking while doing so. As soon as the rozzers had passed her she got back on, still talking into her phone. No one stopped during the entire exchange. 
There are dogs in baskets, kids in seats in front or behind their parent, again with or without lights at night; adults on crossbars ( where they them ) but most are step through frames so sat behind on the parcel rack. 
Im assuming many are braked by pedalling backwards as not all have apparent brake handles, and most are still that odd ramrod straight back posture that you think was only fashionable during the war. 
Anyhow, Bonkers, the lot of ‘em! 

[Bigbob]

I would put all the male lycra wearing cyclist on the sex register you can see every wart and spot on them 

[Scully]

1 minute ago, Bigbob said:

I would put all the male lycra wearing cyclist on the sex register you can see every wart and spot on them 

Haven’t seen a single piece of Lycra over here; mainly long belted trench coats and puffer jackets. 🙂

[JKD]

You forgot to finish by saying "rant over!" 😅 Dutch drivers here [showing NL stickers on their vehicle] are definitely the worst I've witnessed, so perhaps 'they' are brought up in a certain way ? 🤷‍♂️

[Scully]

1 minute ago, JKD said:

You forgot to finish by saying "rant over!" 😅 Dutch drivers here [showing NL stickers on their vehicle] are definitely the worst I've witnessed, so perhaps 'they' are brought up in a certain way ? 🤷‍♂️

You may well be right! The other night heard a siren ( the sound of continental sirens always reminds me of the Bourne films nowadays! ) and spotted the blues coming along a very very wide wet tram and traffic strewn road. He was flying, and I mean really flying, to the extent I told the kids to just stand well back as we had no idea which way he was going to go once he got to us, and I genuinely thought he would lose it on the wet metal tram lines and pave. He didn’t lose it but he did overshoot his turn, and ended up on the pedestrian part and coming to a halt before making the turn and setting off again! Bonkers! 

[Penelope]

24 minutes ago, Scully said:

Loonies! The lot of ‘em!
On a par with UK cyclists obviously but there’s many more of them. 😀

Apart from a lack of lights at night, the only differences I can see is that no helmets are worn and thrown into the mix are totally silent electric scooters and those equally silent chunky wheeled bikes which can easily outstrip most cars for the first 100yds or so! 
No crash hats, very few bells, no hand signals, very few lights and a total disregard for rules of the road. 
Just as you think you’ve got the hang of looking in the right direction, you find that they don’t care, nor do they stick to cycle lanes if it doesn’t suit! 🤷‍♂️

Two rozzers pedalled up behind us and obviously admonished one lady for being on her phone while cycling; she didn’t bat an eye but simply dismounted and carried on talking while doing so. As soon as the rozzers had passed her she got back on, still talking into her phone. No one stopped during the entire exchange. 
There are dogs in baskets, kids in seats in front or behind their parent, again with or without lights at night; adults on crossbars ( where they have them ) but most are step through frames so sat behind on the parcel rack. 
Im assuming many are braked by pedalling backwards as not all have apparent brake handles, and most are still that odd ramrod straight back posture that you think was only fashionable during the war. 
Anyhow, Bonkers, the lot of ‘em! 

Just like the City of London then.

[wymberley]

38 minutes ago, JKD said:

You forgot to finish by saying "rant over!" 😅 Dutch drivers here [showing NL stickers on their vehicle] are definitely the worst I've witnessed, so perhaps 'they' are brought up in a certain way ? 🤷‍♂️

Not seen the Belgians, then. 

 

49 minutes ago, Scully said:

Loonies! The lot of ‘em!
On a par with UK cyclists obviously but there’s many more of them. 😀

Apart from a lack of lights at night, the only differences I can see is that no helmets are worn and thrown into the mix are totally silent electric scooters and those equally silent chunky wheeled bikes which can easily outstrip most cars for the first 100yds or so! 
No crash hats, very few bells, no hand signals, very few lights and a total disregard for rules of the road. 
Just as you think you’ve got the hang of looking in the right direction, you find that they don’t care, nor do they stick to cycle lanes if it doesn’t suit! 🤷‍♂️

Two rozzers pedalled up behind us and obviously admonished one lady for being on her phone while cycling; she didn’t bat an eye but simply dismounted and carried on talking while doing so. As soon as the rozzers had passed her she got back on, still talking into her phone. No one stopped during the entire exchange. 
There are dogs in baskets, kids in seats in front or behind their parent, again with or without lights at night; adults on crossbars ( where they have them ) but most are step through frames so sat behind on the parcel rack. 
Im assuming many are braked by pedalling backwards as not all have apparent brake handles, and most are still that odd ramrod straight back posture that you think was only fashionable during the war. 
Anyhow, Bonkers, the lot of ‘em! 

If you have your car over there, have you got your spare bulbs?

[islandgun]

3 hours ago, Scully said:

Haven’t seen a single piece of Lycra over here; mainly long belted trench coats 🙂

Thats because the coats are to cover the Lycra G strings [and thats the men]..............Im guessing before anyone asks.😄

[JKD]

3 hours ago, wymberley said:

Not seen the Belgians, then. 

They don't spring to mind actually [never been to Belgium], I just notice LH drive cars being driven terribly and most are NL marked Volvos 😠

[enfieldspares]

4 hours ago, Scully said:

I'm assuming many are braked by pedalling backwards as not all have apparent brake handles

Illegal here in UK if no front brake and known as, I think "fixies"? Here you go:

Quote

BBC:

Michael rides a fixie - a fixed-wheel bicycle - with no front brake. This is illegal.

By law, a bike on a public road in the UK must have two brakes.

A fixed-wheel bicycle has a single gear and no freewheel mechanism. The rear fixed wheel of a fixie - which a rider can slow using the pedals - counts as a brake.

 

Edited November 21, 2023 by enfieldspares

[Mice!]

But don't forget that cyclists have a lot more rights over there, I thought the cycle lanes were great when I was there, and because there are so many using them it's harder to be missed.

What ever you do stay away from Rome, the mopeds will send you over the edge 😆😆

[udderlyoffroad]

@enfieldspares you're conflating back-pedal brakes with fixies, not the same animal.

 

20 hours ago, Scully said:

Haven’t seen a single piece of Lycra over here; mainly long belted trench coats and puffer jackets. 🙂

Indeed, the absence of Lycra is a pleasant change to the ejiots who seem to think you need to dress like you're entering the tour de France for your morning commute.

Definitely not pedestrian-friendly however, at least until you get used to it.  As ever, if you're in a nation's capital the attitude seems far worse than everywhere else in the country.  Get out of Amsterdam, and the attitude seems to be much better.

[Penelope]

4 minutes ago, udderlyoffroad said:

Indeed, the absence of Lycra is a pleasant change to the ejiots who seem to think you need to dress like you're entering the tour de France for your morning commute.

Why should someone not dress in the attire of their hobby? 

Do you shoot in a pink tutu?

My personal experience is that the very worse cyclists (?) are those that use a bike just to commute or use one of the pay to ride bikes, aka Boris bikes, mostly urban 20 somethings, male and female. No road sense, no consideration for anyone, either other road users or pedestrians, actually it's more selfish arrogance than ignorance.

[Vince Green]

I hate cyclists they shouldn't be allowed on the same roads as cars etc

[London Best]

1 hour ago, Penelope said:

. No road sense, no consideration for anyone, either other road users or pedestrians, actually it's more selfish arrogance than ignorance.

Pretty much ALL cyclists, then?

[udderlyoffroad]

1 hour ago, Penelope said:

Why should someone not dress in the attire of their hobby? 

Do you shoot in a pink tutu?

I see what you're getting at, but there's a the small matter of dressing appropriate for the occasion.  I was talking specifically, about UK commuters on bikes, dressing up as though they're off to enter a mountain stage in the Alps.  You don't put on a full racing suit and helmet to drive a car to work, surely?

Or, back to shooting, do you don full on tweed jacket+troose, tie and highly polished leather boots for a quick walk round your perm with the gun after work?  Course not, you jump into your wellies and go.  Least I do, maybe I'm doing it wrong, and the bunnies would be more willing to die for someone who's dressed for the occasion! 🤣

Anyway, now that I'm working occasionally in the Netherlands, I've come to appreciate this more, that people put on their office attire, don't work up a sweat and arrive at the office without needing to make a show of how they've commuted to work by bike.  Unlike the last time I worked in a UK office.

Not dissing someone's hobby if they're out at the weekend looking to set a PB, but for commuting, surely not?

1 hour ago, Penelope said:

My personal experience is that the very worse cyclists (?) are those that use a bike just to commute or use one of the pay to ride bikes, aka Boris bikes, mostly urban 20 somethings, male and female. No road sense, no consideration for anyone

Driving through Bristol the other day, came across a black youth*, on one of those scooter things, no lights, well after dark, just darted out from the pavement.  He was nearly my bonnet ornament, even at 20 mph.

*And by that I mean, dressed head-to-toe in black, face completely covered, no idea of his ethnic makeup

[Penelope]

1 hour ago, udderlyoffroad said:

Not dissing someone's hobby if they're out at the weekend looking to set a PB, but for commuting, surely not?

Yes, I did. Shirt folded up in my rucksack, suits and shoes at work. Some much easier and cleaner particularly in the wet.

1 hour ago, udderlyoffroad said:

Driving through Bristol the other day, came across a black youth*, on one of those scooter things, no lights, well after dark, just darted out from the pavement.  He was nearly my bonnet ornament, even at 20 mph.

*And by that I mean, dressed head-to-toe in black, face completely covered, no idea of his ethnic makeup

Darwin award in the making.

It's a very well known way of delivering drugs, too.

 

On a separate but related matter; when I was training for a London to Southend Charity ride a few years ago with a friend, we had something of a fall out.

We were on the return leg of a 30 mile ride one evening during harvest, where we encountered a tractor making heavy weather of carting rape along an up and down country road. I pulled over to let the tractor pass, whilst my friend carried on, just fast enough so the carter couldn't get passed him. I asked my friend why he did pull over to make it easier on the carter. His retort was 'Eff him'. Having farming friends, I blew up big time

Edited November 22, 2023 by Penelope

[Smokersmith]

I spend half of my working life in the Netherlands. Once you realise they have the right of way, it’s fairly simple to navigate around them.

[semi-auto]

Have you seen the kami-kazi cyclists in Hackney. Many have a death wish, although with cars limited to 20 m.p.h. perhaps not!

[Scully]

14 hours ago, Smokersmith said:

I spend half of my working life in the Netherlands. Once you realise they have the right of way, it’s fairly simple to navigate around them.

We discovered there are lights and pedestrian crossings they stop for, and some they don’t.
One woman remonstrated loudly with a female cyclist on a crossing who chose not to stop for her, and they get quite narky when they stop but you as a pedestrian have stopped too as you aren’t sure whether they’re going to. 
There just didn’t seem to be any consistency at all. 
You can cross on a green light as a pedestrian, across a cycle lane who have stopped for the lights, a lane of traffic consisting of both cars and trams, only to find on the far side no cyclists are stopping, nor look like they have any intention of doing so, even though you have a green light to cross. 🤷‍♂️

Throw into the mix that as a first timer you’re often looking the wrong way for traffic 😂 no one is giving signals and many don’t have lights, it can all be a bit hairy and confusing. 
A local tattoo artist whom my daughter was visiting said it is quite scary at first as a cyclist, but you get used to it.

No doubt she’s right. 

[7daysinaweek]

The greater the entropy in relation to two footed travel for sure.

It sounds like Amsterdam by the posts.

Scully, if you like such things as cured fish, have a bash at the rolled mop herring which is a common snack. 

[Scully]

2 hours ago, 7daysinaweek said:

The greater the entropy in relation to two footed travel for sure.

It sounds like Amsterdam by the posts.

Scully, if you like such things as cured fish, have a bash at the rolled mop herring which is a common snack. 

A couple of mates who will literally eat anything, did the fermented herring thing; it was hilarious! 
My dear old Dad loved a herring mop but I doubt even he would have stomached the fermented type. 🤢

[7daysinaweek]

Maybe pass on the fermented stuff then. 

[shaun4860]

On 22/11/2023 at 09:39, Penelope said:

Why should someone not dress in the attire of their hobby? 

Do you shoot in a pink tutu?

 

That’s none of your business 😎

[discobob]

On 22/11/2023 at 10:50, Vince Green said:

I hate cyclists they shouldn't be allowed on the same roads as cars etc

Whereas it is the opposite approach in the uk. They don’t want cars allowed on the same roads as bikes!!!