There are some 800,000 people in Amsterdam and approximately 880,000 bikes!!!!! And no, I haven't counted them. Many people with whom we have spoken, explain that they keep as many as three bikes around town in different areas. This massive quantity, however, has become a serious problem because the bike riders follow no particular rules and they are very cavalier regarding pedestrians as well as car drivers. In fact, they seem to speed up at uncontrolled intersections. I can only wonder how many bike involved accidents there are daily. It is not uncommon to see freshly wrapped arm wounds and casts. We have also noticed signs up everywhere, asking people not to park their bikes in front of their homes or businesses; parking a bike is sometimes a real problem.
There are only a few places where it is possible to walk without fear of being hit:
1 Cruising down the canal in a boat. 2 Waiting for a bridge opening when the road is closed. 3 Riding Public Transportation But, it should be noted that sometimes a bike rider causes the driver to stop suddenly!
The children from the local school were getting ready for another class trip by bike. After seeing the way people drive their bikes, the idea scares the heck out of me!!!
( For those of you who are interested, the NYT did an extensive article on the bikes of Amsterdam this past June).
