TurquoiseB wrote: > --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, Bhairitu <noozg...@...> wrote: > >> TurquoiseB wrote: >> >>> --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, Peter <drpetersutphen@> wrote: >>> >>> >>>> And I hope you kicked the shit out each and every one of >>>> them in the true spirit of the AMERICAN Hell's Angels! >>>> >>>> >>> I considered it, but some of the women looked >>> pretty tough. >>> >> Do these Amsterbikers pay attention to laws of the road unlike >> many of the US bicycle geeks who often run stop signs or use >> the bike lane going the wrong way where motorists emerging from >> side streets won't be expecting them? >> > > Your American-ism is beginning to show, Bhairitu. > What you describe could only happen there in America, > never here. > > The Netherlands is essentially a bicycle culture. > *Motorists* are the "afterthought" in that traffic > universe. What, after all, do they matter, trapped > inside their steel boxes spewing chemicals into the > air? If they had any cojones or sense of their real > place in the universe, they'd be on two wheels, like > us, pedaling their asses all over town. :-) > > Really, dude. It's a different world. I drove here from > Spain, so I can attest to (contrary to what you might > imagine) the French being the best auto drivers in the > world. Predictable, rule-following, and with a sense of > all of the other traffic on the road with them at all > times. France is a total *delight* to drive in. Cross > the border into Belgium and it all changes. Amazing. > > Well, it's the same here with bicycles. No one uses a car > here unless there is no other alternative. And if you own > a bike, there is almost always an alternative. I meet 40- > and 50- year-old Amsterdammers who have never driven a > car, and who never see any reason to do so. > > Weird, for a guy brought up in America. I was never *without* > a car, from the time I was sixteen to the time I was 57 and > moved to Paris. Living there cured me of my need for a car, > but did not swing me over into the world of bicycles; I relied > on the excellent public transportation. > > Here in Holland, I'm finally getting into the "bike thing." > WAY different mindset. WAY different way to live one's life, > and to cruise through life. I'm liking biking around Holland > a LOT. Seeing this group of people at the cafe today tripping > out on olde American Hells Angels movies and acting out that > eccentricity by tonguing out some of the coolest bicycles > I've ever seen is just gravy. > > Here pretty much everyone travels by bicycle. That's a done > deal. The issue is how much style you display while on the road.
I used to have a bike too but I knew enough to not be flippant about rules of the road (or you can get hurt --- badly). A neighbor was killed last fall on his bike. They finally found out who hit him and recently when he came before the judge he didn't cop a plea which means it may come to trial and though he split the scene he may say because they guy came from out of nowhere at dusk possibly running a stop sign. When I was pulling out from a blind corner here an idiot on a bike came down the street in the bike lane (there are two bike lanes on the street appropriately marked for direction). I was waiting for traffic to turn but wouldn't have been able to see him if that traffic had cleared a little earlier. I've seen a riding group scream at member who ran a stop sign. I've wanted to ask the local cops if they ticket the wrong way riders. They would probably tell me the rider often don't carry valid enough id to write a ticket. Is Amsterdam flat? I've only been to the airport but seems what I've see of the city it is. Also you'd have a lot more cyclists if gas costs in the US what it does there plus a lot more public transportation. But you lived in California which is not well set up for much of anything but cars. But I'm seeing more and more smart cars around here but can't see much difference mileage wise in owning one of those over a Toyota small cars or Honda Fit. And for the record I wouldn't want to drive in India. You leave that up to the pros. ;-)
