Yesterday I wrote about something Japanese, the popin cookin video’s. Today I thought that it was strange that I did write about something Japanese, and not something about my homeland the Netherlands. So that got me thinking about what to write, what would interest you readers about my country. It’s well known for its tulips and bulbs, another well-known fact is that we all walk on wooden clogs. (Going to have to disappoint you there, we actually don’t…) But there is something else that seems to be typically Dutch: we love to ride our bikes!
In no other country were people have the luxury of having a car at their disposal, bikes are used as often as in the Netherlands. On a side note: I make it a point to keep calling my country The Netherlands, even though I know a lot of foreigners call it Holland. Only two of our twelve provinces have Holland in their name, so to call our entire country Holland just doesn’t make sense to me. Anyway, back to the bikes.
84% of the Dutch own a bike, and it doesn’t really matter if you’re young, old, rich or not as rich, man or woman. We all bike, and we bike from an early age. Kids go to school, not in a schoolbus or such, but on their bike. Most of us remember riding our little bike next to mom on our way to school as early as the age of 4 or 5 years old. It’s cheap, it’s easy and reliable. No traffic jams, our roads in town have a separate section just for bikers, so it’s safe too. So, no real reason not to ride your bike to your destination. Well, aside from the weather…because one other known fact for my country is that it rains quite a lot too!
Still, I must admit that I don’t bike to work every day. I need to go to the railway station to catch the train to work, and it’s only a 15 minute ride there. The pull of just taking the car is strong, though it actually even takes me longer to get there. Hmm, maybe a good look at my own bike riding motivation is needed!