Cycling Matters YOUR FREE COPY PICK UP & PASS ON
How Bicycles Power Amsterdam Cycling Matters
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Contents 24 Pedal
Power
8 Happy
Cyclists
13 The
Joy of Cycling
14 24h
at the Rijksmuseum
16 Flow
to Go
Cycling Matters
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6 Brief History of a Bicycle City 10 Share Economy 11 Amsterdam State of Mind 12 Bikes by the Numbers 18 Quick and Clean, Quiet and Cheap 22 Bike Benefits 26 Ride Like a Pro
Cycle of Love 5
Tipping Point 23
Painting a Different Picture 20
Cycling Time Is Money 19
From Messi to Cruijff 7
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Cycling Matters
A
Cycle of Love
msterdam and bicycles have enjoyed a long-lasting love affair. In rain or shine, good times or bad, everyone here embraces the bike. Residents, visitors, tourists – they all pick pedalling as a favourite mode of transportation. The streets of Amsterdam feature an eyepopping variety of different bikes: couriers hauling meal boxes on their backs, parents on cargo bikes carrying kids and groceries, school children with heavy backpacks, senior citizens on e-bikes, office workers on shared bikes, hipsters on flashy ‘fixies’. It’s safe to say that the popularity of the bike is soaring. We love it. After all, cycling is healthy and keeps the city accessible and attractive. In our compact metropolis, the bicycle is an effective option for getting around. Without it, the city would quickly come to a standstill. And let’s not forget that all these bikes are an important source of jobs, for designers and manufacturers, for repair shops and bike rental shops. There is one bicycle for every one of the 837,000 Amsterdammers. In a relatively small city, this stunning number poses real challenges. How do we get thousands of cyclists to respect stop signs during rushhour? How can all these bicycles park without blocking streets? How can people on bikes safely interact with cars, trams, buses and pedestrians? Sustaining this love affair means that we at City Hall need to be flexible, plan ahead and think on our feet. And for everything we get in return, this special relationship is absolutely worth it. Pieter Litjens Alderman Traffic and Transport City of Amsterdam
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Inflated tires Amsterdam first became a bicycle city in the 1920s. Due to rampant inflation, German bicycles were dirt cheap. When cycling became cheaper than taking the tram, the people of Amsterdam took to two wheels. The city even had to cancel several tram routes. Soon the Dutch started producing their own bicycles. In the late thirties, foreign visitors were as stunned by the amount of cyclists as they are today. Head wind The fifties were a low point for cycling in Amsterdam. After the war, politicians on the left promoted public transportation, while politicians on the right championed the car. By the early sixties, cars were clogging up Dam Square. Rembrandtplein and Leidseplein were being turned into parking lots. It went from bad to worse: the original design of the IJtunnel featured an additional tube for pedestrians and cyclists but this was scrapped when Mayor Van Hall famously predicted: ‘Twenty years from now no one will ride a bicycle in Amsterdam.’
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Brief History of a Bicycle City Right track Cycling’s big revival came in the 1970s, when cycling advocates and counter- culturists teamed up with regular Amsterdam folk to demand the right of way for bikes. They spawned a grassroots movement which resulted in the founding of the Cyclists’ Union and many policy changes favouring the new Amsterdam way of urban mobility. Still, it was not until the 1980s that new bike lanes were created, along with many new cycling routes. With its 2017-2022 cycling programme, the city of Amsterdam is investing over 54 million euros in measures to improve and maintain Amsterdam’s vital cycling infrastructure and culture.
BIKE PEACE In 1969, members of the Amsterdam Provo movement celebrated John and Yoko’s ‘Bed-In for Peace’ at the Amsterdam Hilton Hotel by presenting the newlyweds with a white bike, symbol of the world’s first bike sharing programme.
What does your average cycling day look like? At 7:45 I leave for school with my friends Pablo, Sebas and sometimes Bent. At the Berlage Bridge I wait for Sam to ride the rest of the way. My football practice bicycle friends are Rover, Mounir, and Dario.
TIJN TAZI > is 13 years old > lives at Funenpark, Centre district > is in high school, in a bilingual programme > owns a black Sparta Pick Up > rides his bike to school (St. Nicolaas, Zuid, 6.7 km) > plays football at SV De Meer (4.7 km) > rides 4,500 kilometres per year on average
Where do you park your bike? At school it is parked safely in the bike rack. I’ve taken off the front carrier crate to make it fit. At home we keep my bike in our storage room. What would you change if you were the mayor of Amsterdam? I would do more experiments, like those stoplight-free areas. What is the farthest you have ever cycled? When we had our school camp in Blaricum, thirty kilometres from home. My bike was brandnew, so the ride gave me a bit of a sore backside. Have you ever been in an accident on your bike? One winter it was so freezing cold that I couldn’t hold onto my handlebars. I slipped and fell down. I was lucky that a lady came up behind me. She turned out to be a doctor and gave me first aid. Who would you like to show around Amsterdam on a bicycle? Lionel Messi. We would ride past the canals, underneath the Rijksmuseum and via the P.C. Hooftstraat to the Vondelpark. And, of course, I would show him Betondorp, where Johan Cruijff was born. I’m sure he would like that.
From Messi to Cruijff Cycling Matters
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‘The other day, a friend of mine was over from Wisconsin. As someone who regularly rides a bike in his hometown of Madison, he was utterly shocked,’ says Pete Jordan, American-born author of In the City of Bikes: The Story of the Amsterdam Cyclist. ‘It blew his mind to see everybody on bikes, from young kids to senior citizens, from office workers and young parents to expats and tourists. In Amsterdam, cycling is not a sub culture, it’s just culture.’ Copy, don’t paste Pete regularly takes cycling advocates, city planners and other visitors on bike tours of Amsterdam. ‘Many are here to see if they can replicate the Amsterdam success story back home. But every city presents different challenges. Amsterdam is still figuring out how to fit a cycling infrastructure into an 800-year old city. This involves making difficult choices, for instance to remove lanes for automobiles and give them to cyclists.’ Cash sounds The Amsterdam cycling experience can be overwhelming. ‘The cycling director of Edinburgh said to me, “The sound of a cash register is ringing in my head!”’ Pete recalls. ‘All he saw was the cost of infrastructure and his own limited budget.’ Pete likes to remind visitors that building a City of Bikes took more than a day. ‘This didn’t happen overnight: what we’re seeing in Amsterdam is the result of some forty years of hard work.’
SHARING SECRETS Who I would like to take on a bike ride? MY SON AND HIS FUTURE CHILDREN. He’s grown up on a bike in Amsterdam (in a womb, in a baby seat, in a rear seat on my bike, in a cargo bike, on a parentchild tandem, on his own bike, etc.). I’d love to bike with him and my grandchildren when he’s raising his own kids here on bikes. 8
Cycling Matters
Fertile grass Pete, an active member of the Dutch Cyclists’ Union, would advise any forward thinking city to embrace and fund its grassroots movements. ‘The existence of an outside pressure group has definitely helped bring about change.’ He points to the efforts to ban scooters from bike lanes. This required a change in national traffic laws. ‘Ultimatly, the city pressured the national government, because it was being pressured by the united cyclists of Amsterdam.’
Culture Shock:
happy cyclists
Problems solved In his tours, Pete reminds visitors that Amsterdam has the luxury of dealing with what he calls ‘good problems’. ‘A French TV station once followed me around by car. They had fitted cameras onto my bike. When we got to a school, dozens of kids were getting onto their bikes to go home. The car had to wait. It was a perfect example of why it makes sense to build a city of bikes.’ Pete believes we are entering a golden age of cycling, similar to the 17th century Golden Age, when trade, science and art flourished. Amsterdam was a global power house, with the Canal District as its prime expression. ‘For cycling there’s never been a time better than right now. Things continue to improve.’
Amsterdam’s challenge: how to fit a modern cycling infrastructure into an 800-year old city? ME AND MY BIKE Pete’s trusty Gazelle 7-speed has treated him well for over ten years. It is a NO-FRILLS bicycle, with GREEN PANNIER BAGS for carrying groceries. On his way from West, where he lives with his girlfriend and 11-year-old son, to the city centre, Pete loves to take a detour through Rembrandtpark and Vondelpark. It’s a RELAXING trip and comes with the perks of clean air and PEOPLE WATCHING. www.cityofbikes.com Cycling Matters
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Share Economy Tourists and other visitors can choose from a wide range of bike rentals. Train travellers can grab a blue and yellow bike, available at many stations. In the business district, bike sharing eases the demand for bicycle parking spaces.
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Amsterdam State of Mind In June 2016, Anna Luten was elected in Amsterdam as the world’s first Bicycle Mayor. She currently resides in New York City, where she promotes cycling and represents the city
Cycling in New York City is far from being mainstream like it is in Amsterdam. There are lots of delivery boys navigating the concrete jungle. There are young urban professionals on slick city bikes. Plus, there’s even a surprising number of cycling Dutch expats, easily spotted by their kiddie seats and rear carrier racks. Once I even saw a Postcode Lottery bicycle.
at mobility and urban planning conferences and events. Amsterdam will host the first annual Bicycle Mayor conference in June 2017. The Bicycle Mayor Programme is a global programme to accelerate the progress of cycling in cities and to help get the next billion people onto bikes.
But once a year, this city of subway trains and automobiles turns over its keys to bicycle lovers. I took part in the 40th edition of the fantastic Five Boro Bike Tour. Over 32,000 cyclists – people of all shapes and sizes – rode forty miles from downtown Manhattan to Staten Island. Streets, bridges and even a highway section were cleared for this incredible event. For the first time I was jealous of how NYC treats its cyclists. Wouldn’t it be great if Amsterdam had its own version of the 5BBT?
Being able to represent Amsterdam in the States is a wonderful experience. As Amsterdam’s first bicycle mayor, I often receive praise. People recognize how well-organized things are in my hometown. Everybody here knows Amsterdam as the city that rolls out the red carpet for cyclists. How do we do it? What is our secret? That is what people I meet at conferences want to know. My answer: you can build all the infrastructure you want, but it starts as a state of mind. And with baby steps. That’s a hard one for the notoriously impatient New Yorker. The great thing is, I see a lot of bottom-up initiatives to claim more cycling space. These make me feel confident that this city is on its way to becoming an Empire State for bikes.
Cycling Matters 11
847,000
Bicycle Programme Amsterdam
442,693
For a healthy, attractive and accessible city
NUMBER OF BICYCLES IN NUMBER OF
AMSTERDAM
HOUSEHOLDS
1
2
3
Smooth Cycling
Easy Parking
Better Biking
1,91 AVERAGE NUMBER OF BICYCLES PER HOUSEHOLD IN 2015
Bikes by the Numbers 1%
1%
21%
24%
19%
30%
18%
28%
1%
2%
665,000
1%
NUMBER OF BIKE JOURNEYS PER DAY
29%
32% 36%
18%
25%
29%
29%
27%
19861991
19941997
20052008
17%
36% TOTAL ANNUAL DISTANCE COVERED BY BIKE (KM)
16%
29%
23%
2015
760,000,000*
20%
24%
2010
487,000,000
20132014
INCREASE
2015
* TO COVER THIS DISTANCE
CHOSEN MODE OF TRANSPORTATION FROM/TO/WITHIN AMSTERDAM BY RESIDENTS ON WEEKDAYS
+ 56%
A SINGLE AMSTERDAM CYCLIST
19,000 X
WOULD HAVE TO CIRCLE THE EARTH 19,000 TIMES
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What motivates you to teach women how to ride a bike? As a young girl in Lelystad I learnt how to ride a bike when I was six years old. When I was 23, I moved to Amsterdam. Several neighbourhood women frowned upon me for riding a bicycle. They felt it was not appropriate. I am so glad that this has changed and that these same women have discovered the joy of cycling.
The Joy of Cycling
Who are the women who take your classes? Any woman who needs a helping hand to hop on her bike. Some were born in the Netherlands, some weren’t. What would you change if you were the mayor of Amsterdam? You know, our mayor has actually donated a bike to us! I would introduce mandatory training for rush-hour cyclists and call it ‘Cycle with Kindness’. Many of my participants are scared to take part in traffic because of how people ride. I would also like to see a speed limit imposed. Do you repair your own bike? I’ve had a bicycle stolen six times in eight years. So now I prefer older bikes. If I need to, I can fix my own mudguards or repair a flat tire. Where do you like to cycle? Nieuw-West is great for cycling. When I ride home from work, I often circle the Sloterplas, one of Amsterdam’s hidden gems. Who would you like to show around Amsterdam on a bicycle? The CEO’s of Gazelle and Batavus, the two largest bicycle manufacturers in the Netherlands. I would ask them to design a sturdy bike that costs less than one hundred euros. There are still way too many people who cannot afford a decent bike.
ZAINAB MAKHLOUF > is 49 years old > lives in Osdorp, city district of Nieuw-West > works at Vrouw en Vaart (Fast Females) > teaches walking, running, and cycling classes for women > rides a 7-speed Gazelle on loan from her employer > accompanies her eight-year-old son to school in Geuzenveld (3.5 km) Cycling Matters 13
7:00 AM
9:00 AM
NOO
OON
5:00 PM
10:00 PM
flo
Every time Marco te Brömmelstroet sees cyclists during rush-hour, he’s tempted to grab his smartphone and start filming. ‘Their intricate dance reminds me of swarming starlings in the spring,’ says the cycling professor of the Urban Cycling Institute, University of Amsterdam. ‘We would like to study this swarming behaviour closer. It could help us understand if and how we can successfully design aspects of our city to maximize the benefits of cycling.’ Seven days Studies suggest that swarming is a way for birds to affirm their connection to the collective and to their environment, Marco says. Looking at it this way, early morning rushhour might not be a problem to solve, but a phenomenon to cherish. Marco’s dream is that he and his research team will be able to study the neurobiological processes taking place in the brain. ‘Perhaps we will find that people are more creative while cycling.’ He finds it interesting that when international students come to Amsterdam, they typically experience a six- day period of anxiety and stress on their bikes. ‘Around day seven, their brain is able to process the complex information unconsciously. They tell me how they suddenly feel free to have other thoughts. Cognitive psychologists refer to this as a state of flow.’ Speed is good? Marco suggests that we should take a less functional approach to cycling. ‘Generally, experts and policy makers in mobility are fixated on travel time savings.’ He challenges the notion that speed is always good. ‘We have found that people willingly, if not knowingly, expand their travel time. It’s impossible to explain the choices Amsterdam cyclists make in purely “rational” terms, such as the shortest distance.’ 16 Cycling Matters
‘Research shows that 15% of the members of any swarm break rules. Apparently this is desirable, as it creates a necessary diversity in the swarm.’
ME AND MY BIKE Marco calls himself a MULTIMODAL citizen. He takes public transit, drives a car or rides his Gazelle Medeo hybrid, Fietsfabriek cargo bike, OV-fiets or Pinarello racing bike. Marco and his wife have two kids (2 and 4 years old). They own an “EMBARRASSING” number of bicycles (7). Marco loves to ride on the WETERINGSCHANS, a busy thoroughfare for cyclists. There he can reach that WONDERFUL state of flow.
ow to go SHARING SECRETS I would love to take PETER SAGAN, world champion road-racer, on a tour of the city. On a regular city bike he would quickly become part of the swarm.
So what are the hidden motives behind cycling behaviour? ‘Maybe cyclists sometimes prefer routes where they can relax, experience no stress, or have creative thoughts. If that’s the case, it could change the way we design roads and lanes. Maybe our research will find that we are better off as a society if we stop making speed an automatic priority.’ Train to bike What developments does Marco see for the future? ‘We hear a lot about smart cycling solutions. But what is so dumb about our cycling present? Maybe there is a reason for the basic
simplicity of the bicycle. It might just be its essential strength for 200 years. Can we improve things without becoming dependent on chips and smartphones?’ Marco’s explanation for the city’s cycling success is rather prosaic. ‘It has everything to do with the unique train system. Within a 30-minute radius of Amsterdam, there are ten stations, offering over two hundred connections. One in every three cyclists is on his or her way to a train station, half of the 1.2 million daily Dutch train travelers arrive by bike. Let’s start calling train stations bike stations instead. After all, it’s often a place where you take a train to transfer on to a bicycle, not the other way around.’ Follow Marco on Twitter via @fietsprofessor www.urbancyclinginstitute.com Cycling Matters 17
Quick and Clean, Quiet and Cheap Bicycles form a perfect solution for delivering food and packages. Combining analogue transportation with smart apps is creating a boom in logistics on two wheels.
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What does your cycling day look like? I’m a typical rush-hour cyclist. My bike saves time and money. By car it would be a half-hour drive, plus paid parking. I used to ride through the Vondelpark, which sounds relaxing, but actually wasn’t. Too many crisscrossing bikes.
Cycling Time Is Money HARRY SIKKINK > was born in 1958
Do you follow the rules? Well, I tend to stop for red traffic lights and I don’t check my phone. It just makes the trip more enjoyable. Riding also helps to clear the mind after the workday. Sometimes ideas for the next day pop into my head.
> lives in the Jordaan neighbourhood, Centre district > works as a self-employed compliance officer in Amsterdam’s business district Zuidas > owns a 7-speed Batavus, but is considering buying a new Veloretti bike > rides his bike to Zuidas (5.1 km) > averages 2100 kilometres per year
Where do you park? At the Zuidas I park at street level. The parking garage is often so crowded that you can hardly retrieve your bike. Is there a new parking garage? I’m definitely going to check it out. What would you change if you were the mayor of Amsterdam? I’m looking forward to when scooters and mopeds are banned from the bike tracks. They tend to disturb the flow. Plus inhaling their fumes cancels the health benefits of cycling, doesn’t it? Have you ever been in an accident on your bike? I’ve had my front wheel stuck in the tram rails. That’s a lesson you only have to learn once. Who would you like to show around Amsterdam on a bicycle? We’re going to offer friends of ours from the UK the Amsterdam experience. We’ll be renting two tandem bicycles to take them to the EYE Film Museum across the IJ behind Central Station. The bike is the perfect way to see the city, combining freedom of movement with mobility. Cycling Matters 19
S
ometimes a simple brush of paint can make a big difference. The Gerard Douplein is a small square in the 19th century Pijp district. Most of its streets are named after Dutch master painters. In recent years, the square has become one of Amsterdam’s hot spots for having a good time, day or night. Locals, students, visitors and tourists mix and mingle around the square and its narrow side streets. During the day the busy Albert Cuyp street market alone attracts thousands of visitors. At night the many cafÊs, restaurants and terraces are populated by the young and restless. And most arrive by bike.
Nudging the unnudgeable, or how Amsterdam cyclists learn where (not) to park
TRICK OF THE TRADE Amsterdam painter George Hendrik Breitner was often strapped for cash. Once, when he needed a bicycle, he paid for it by trading this work, a view of the Oosterpark in 1892. 20 Cycling Matters
When Maaike Nicolai-Geerling and her Bicycle Parking Task Force were called upon to provide relief, they turned to the people of the Pijp. Maaike is proud that the many measures taken and planned are the result of a collaborative effort between cyclists, local residents, retail entrepreneurs and restaurant owners. In Laboratory Sessions they identified challenges and shared ideas for solutions. One of the most effective and cheapest ideas was to simply paint a white line on the square. It had the immediate effect of nudging people to park neatly along the line. Other solutions include using daytime market space and spaces for loading and unloading as pop-up parking spots for bikes at night. The most visible change: parked bikes are now banned from the Eerste van der Helststraat, which connects the popular Sarphatipark to the Gerard Douplein. This means that a short walk is now sometimes necessary to get to where you want to be. Stricter regulations, extra parking capacity in the immediate vicinity, better signage and the presence of bicycle coaches all contribute to keeping the public space open. What used to be ground zero for haphazard, crowded bicycle parking now feels like a brand-new square in this vibrant neighbourhood.
Painting a Different Picture MAAIKE NICOLAI-GEERLING: ‘When we turned part of the street into a hopscotch playground, people stopped parking their bikes there.’
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HEALTHY PEDALS On average, people who cycle regularly call in sick less often than colleagues who don’t pedal. It is estimated they save a total of 50,000 sick days, representing an economic value of x 15.3 million.
SUPERCENTENARIAN Every year, Amsterdam cyclists produce an extra life span total of 120 years, worth x 8.3 million. As an individual, this would be the oldest person on earth.
Bike Benefits* Amsterdam’s cycling boom is a boost for the city’s economy and the health and well-being of its citizens.
*ANNUALLY
Health
x 87,600,000
Mobility
x 13,700,000
Quality of life
TOTAL
x 21,600,000
x 122,900,000
ECONOMIC BENEFITS OF CYCLING
CHEAP RIDE More bikes mean lower costs for public transportation: x 27 million saved.
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ACCESSIBLE CITY Cycling keeps the city moving. Pedalling citizens save motorists 60,000 hours of traffic time, worth a whopping x 60 million.
CLIMATE CONTROL Annually, cycling saves 40,000 tonnes of CO2. The positive effects on air quality add up to x 9.2 million.
Tipping Point I
n the mid-nineties, the people of Amsterdam did a very smart thing. They voted to introduce paid parking in the city centre. This decision cut both ways: locals and visitors were stimulated to choose alternatives to driving. Plus the city earned money to pay for a more ambitious cycling programme.
Fast forward to 2007: cycling became so popular that the amount of bikes was becoming a problem. Particularly at train stations, scarce public space was quickly being taken up by bikes, parked unceremoniously, many abandoned by their owner, some stationary for months on end. Actually, though, this wave of bikes was not a problem, but part of a solution. Today, we’re addressing the many challenges involved with the success of cycling. Our city has chosen to invest in speed and comfort for cyclists, in smart parking
solutions and in promoting cycling as a healthy lifestyle for the modern metropolis – because cycling may save the city. Just look at the health benefits: cycling is the perfect antidote to obesity and air pollution. And compared to the space cars consume, bikes actually save space. It is also a great leveler: everyone can ride a bike; anyone can own a bike. Today, a new generation of city planners and urban developers is keenly aware of the benefits of cycling. The balance has tipped in the cyclists’ favour. My favourite bike benefit? Cycling creates a relaxed atmosphere. The bike represents the quieter side of busy, bustling Amsterdam. Enjoy the ride. Ria Hilhorst Policy Advisor, Department of Traffic and Transport, City of Amsterdam
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promoting
pedal power MAUD DE VRIES is a big fan of the 2008 Disney box office hit Wall-E. Its story – the Earth’s population floats around in a giant space ship, expelled from their polluted home planet – hits home. ‘I think that we’re at a crossroads. Technological progress is starting to have side effects that remind me of the Wall-E people. They are literally hooked on technology. They have forgotten they can walk. To maintain our humanity we have to keep moving.’
Old school technology ‘Scientists like neuropsychologist Erik Scherder argue that half an hour of mildly intensive motion is essential for our well-being, for our mental and physical health,’ says Maud. Heeding this message, CycleSpace’s mission is to transform cities into places where healthy mobility is the norm rather than the exception. A huge contribution comes from a centuries old technology: the bicycle. Mission possible Maud’s motto is pedal power. Innovation agency CycleSpace, founded in 2014, has a very ambitious goal: ‘By the year 2030 we want 50% of trips in cities to be by bike.’ Sitting in her favorite neighbourhood café, Maud points to the streets outside. ‘There’s your proof that it can be done. A lack of space in the Canal District forces people to ride bikes, over 60% of their trips.’ More mayors Apart from being an idealist, De Vries is very practical-minded. ‘Amsterdam is in the business of delivering breakt hrough ideas. In 2016, Amsterdam elected a Bicycle Mayor, the first in the world. This year there is a summit in Amsterdam to promote elections in more cities. Another example: the shared space 24 Cycling Matters
50X30 = 50% of trips by by 2030
behind Central Station. It was a radical idea to abandon traffic lights and trust people to take responsibility for each other’s safety. It had to be seen to be believed.’
SHARING SECRETS I’d love to show ELON MUSK, CEO of Tesla, the city and talk about batteries for e-bikes. I would
Living lab Maud sees Amsterdam as a giant living lab for mobility research. ‘We have just set up camp in the Zuidas business district. This is a hyper-commercial area as well as a public transportation hub. It features state-of-the art bicycle parking and several shared bike concepts. Here we can collect evidence of the socio-economic and health benefits of cycling. We will use our findings to inform and inspire other cities, such as Cape Town and Mexico City.’
take him to De Ceuvel, playground for innovation and creativity in the city district of Noord.
Working in tandem Maud sees a global movement towards pedalling. CycleSpace partners with leading businesses such as construction giant BAM, engineering consultancy Royal Haskoning and wayfinding experts Mijksenaar. ‘Amsterdam has a lot of history and expertise. We can provide support, share good practices and train and inspire people in other parts of the world.’ Ultimately it all starts with getting on a bike. ‘In 2016 Anthony Foxx, the US secretary of transportation, visited Amsterdam. We gave him a bike, a helmet and took him for a spin around the city. Afterwards, he told us the experience inspired him to stimulate cycling in cities back home.’ By promoting this kind of empowerment, Maud aims to keep humanity fit for life.
ME AND MY BIKE Maud rides a super sturdy Workcycle Fr8. It is equipped with three (!)
bike
KIDDIE SEATS, plus a wooden crate for carrying groceries and gear. Maud lives on a canal in the Jordaan, part of the Centre district, together with her partner and two daughters. The family owns a total of eleven bikes. Maud rides in any kind of weather, but particularly loves CYCLING ALONG THE CANALS in the spring. Cycling Matters 25
STATION SLOTERDIJK
WESTER
SLOTERPLAS REMBRANDT PARK
DISTRICTS WEST
MUNT & PARKS
CENTRE
WESTPOORT NOORD NIEUW-WEST
OOST ZUID
ZUIDOOST
NDSM
NORTH WEST
IJ
NOORDERPARK
W.H. VLIEGENBOS PARK
EASTERN CENTRAL STATION
WESTER KERK
DAM
CITY HALL
OOSTERPARK
VONDELPARK
STATION MUIDERPOORT
MUSEUM PLEIN
EAST LONG
AM S TE L
SOUTH MAIN
STATION AMSTEL
BEATRIXPARK
STATION ZUID
RAI Cycling Matters 27
RIDE LIKE A PRO The City of Amsterdam has created several routes for people with a professional interest in cycling and urban planning. If you want to explore the city like a pro, you can download these and other bike routes at www.amsterdam.nl/cyclingmatters.
IJ DOCKLANDS
IJMEER
FLEVOPARK
IJBURG
DIEMERPARK
Cycling Matters 28
CYCLING MATTERS INTERVIEWS AND DESIGN de zoele haven PHOTOGRAPHY ANP p.8 Beeldbank Amsterdam p.4 Djinn Kwekkeboom pp. 5, 7, 11, 13, 18-20, 23 Katrien Mulder p. 4 Marjolijn Pokorny p. 9 Robert Vendrig pp. 14-15 Rijksmuseum p. 20 de zoele haven cover, pp. 8, 16, 24 PRINTED BY Opmeer Š CITY OF AMSTERDAM, 2017 All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without prior permission of the publisher. No rights can be derived from the information in this document. The City of Amsterdam does not accept liability for any inaccurate, unreliable, untimely or incomplete information contained therein. Cycling Matters 29