This is an excellent demonstration of normal Dutch infrastructure, where NJB usually only drives around in the larger overcrowded cities. Really very well made, and deserves more viewers. Very well made.
Thank you for the compliments. We are also from North America and have really fallen in love with the infrastructure here in the Netherlands. It's hard to describe to our friends & family "back home" so we hope that by showing what it's like on a daily level, they too can experience it, and maybe someday make changes in their own cities.
agreed. everyone pays lots of attention to amsterdam and the other big cities, but the best dutch bike infrastructure tends to be places like this. (though to be fair, njb has noted that infrastructure in amsterdam suburbs is often better than in the city itself.)
Yeah, same as the typical lists in magazines or other videos where it's said: "Amsterdam came on number 1 spot of most bike friendly city of Europe" while for other countries they didn't always go with the capital....erm...maybe check ANY other city than Amsterdam? Example, Rotterdam, certainly now with the redeveloped Coolsingel getting you safely from North to South ua-cam.com/video/BL-ax6lrIaQ/v-deo.html Or The Hague ua-cam.com/video/7eW3Qiteqls/v-deo.html I get that Amsterdam suburbs have similar paths, but all these test people from magazines just spend time in the city centre, and then Amsterdam is a mess, yet it's the place people cycle most to when to shop, going out etc. Ah well, I m fine with it, let the tourist stay in Amsterdam. Most tourists also think that's the only spot to buy weed. They are ripped off unless they go further from the tourists type shops asking like 50 percent more for the same stuff.
26:31 loved the nod to NJB. Even more in style would be a slightly snarky acknowledgement: "I'd like to thank Not Just Bikes for making me ride 11 kilometres to a hardware store when there's another one just around the corner"
@@FireFish5000which basically shows the problem in North America. It is understandable, why distances to a hardware store are longer than to buy groceries, as you normally don't need to go there every few days - but 11 km in a big city like Calgary?
We also love Not Just Bikes, so your praise puts us in good company. Thank you! And yes, we love it out here, outside the Randstad. We intentionally looked for somewhere to live that might force us to learn more Dutch. We want to experience the daily life here as a Dutch person would. We spreken een beetje Nederlands. Binnenkort meer!
Great video. One rule of law changed: 20:22 since 2023-01-01 riders of blue license plate scooters are obliged to wear a helmet. It might be a bit too much, but I've spotted a few other things: 6:40 "Another park" = area where dogs are allowed to run free, without a leash. It has a bench for the owners to chat on. If a dog does a number 2, you'll have to pick it up. Small bags might be available, and you can deposit it in the dark green trash can near the entrance. 8:14 An international high velocity train "ICE" from Amsterdam, going/leading to destinations like Basel, Zürich, München, Vienna, Hamburg and Berlin. 16:40 Cars nicely parked with only one wheel on the path (to keep traction) and most of the car in the grass berm. It's a rural path, farmers have work to do. 16:58 Look at the white with red characters bicycle signage! Car signs are blue with white characters. 17:22 The path is narrower, looks like an older version. If this was a new path, they'd probably make it at least a foot wider. A few seconds later, the banner between light post and tree indicates that the summer holidays are over, and kids are going back to school. Car drivers please pay attention! 19:00 The busstop is conveniently placed at the pedestrian crossing, and has a dedicated bicycle parking area (with old inferior racks). The electronic sign indicates when the next bus is arriving (including delays), and is situated on the side where passengers are bound to look at, to spot an oncoming bus. 20:44 The blue sign on the bicycle traffic light says "cyclists are free to turn right" (into the car lane!). The commercial/light industrial district on the right is probably from around the 1960s and purely car centric. At this crossing there's no separated cycle path, on the side that needs it the most. 21:55 Sub par bicycle parking (like the busstop) which access is hindered by putting all kinds of inventory on the pavement. There's no rack to connect your second lock onto. You can't simply ride a cart to your bike and load the stuff into your bicycle bags or fietsbak. 24:15 Raised crossings slow traffic down and allow pedestrians to cross, without having to step down (see also at the end of this street). 26:08 Grass tiles on both sides of the road. They are concrete blocks with holes that allow grass to grow in them. This allows cars to pass each other, and not dig in holes into the berm, next to the asphalt. It's cheaper than widening the road, slows cars down due to rattleing, and needs no repairs (normal use).
That's a great amount of additional detail! Thank you for taking the time to point out lots of things that we or others might not have noticed. Note: I think the 16:40 timestamp is actually around 16:17, if I'm seeing what you had in mind. Thanks for the additional context. I appreciate that even with work getting done nearby that the path is still wide enough for everyone.
@@nikkiabridged Yw, it's indeed the better timestamp. The path looks like a traditional width rural road. Often these roads have been turned into 60 km/h (37 mph) roads with 2 suggestion cycle lanes on the sides and 1 car lane in the middle. I like the make over into a cycle path, and the added street lights. It feels safer for the people living at the street.
While almost everyone here is expressing their thankfulness and admiration for NJB and rightly so we have to thank Shifter just as much. It would be great fun to have dozens or more people from all over the world would make similar videos.
To problem is, 90 % is just us dutchies listening to how great our country is😂 then there 5% Americans who cycle and then there 5 % of Americans who wish to cycle 🤣😋 honestly I though about it but I live on the other side of Amsterdam from njb, and I though it would be to much the same
@@KiloWattPlays I am from South Asia! A one more benefit generally not discussed is that since our country doesn't have oil nor manufacture cars, cycling would be a huge relief on the economy and would give working class people some breathing room financially.
@@ProfessordevilL that's great. I guess it's the same here in South America. Btw, do you know @tehsiewdai ? He's from Singapore and I see some similarities with Rio! What a world...
Lovely video. Another plus point would be that at around 20:32 the bike path passes behind the filling station, not between it and the road, thus eliminating contact/conflict between cyclists and motorists filling their tanks. This is standard Dutch design and is used at other places where similar conflicts might occur such as at bus stops.
*Virtual high five to fellow Gelderlander* We too are big fans of Not Just Bikes, so I'm glad you enjoyed the ride. Hopefully in future videos you can play a little game of recognizing where we are in the area.
I was a Gelderlander for 43 years and living in Canada for 17 years in a rural setting but because of the job (truck driver) seen Toronto and London, ON on a weekly basis as well as many, many USA cities. I thoroughly enjoyed this video of my home country so close to my home town of Zutphen. This and Not Just Bikes - videos make me long for riding my bike on those lovely bike lanes. (ON A FLAT COUNTRY LOL)
whoa I have the exact same bike but in a different color !! 2:27 I installed studded tires to use it in the winter in Montreal Canada. Mostly everything is protected from the weather so it makes a great winter bike, I love it!
At 4:40 I feel like that intersection is worth AT LEAST 3-4 points, not just 1! Especially since many of these features has a synergistic effect greater than any of them individually! Love this vid - if I have time I'll have to do my town to point out spots for improvements!
I think that's one of the things that blows my mind here, that so many elements are brought together in constructing intersections and routes, and it's intentionally very synergistic. I love it.
Okay, now you've inspired me to record a ride to the hardware store in Anchorage, Alaska. It will not have the same high quality of production values, but it will be fun, since I just got my first iphone & I'll just put the camera in my pocket & ride. Plus it will be in winter, and this year we are having a real winter, not the snow then rain crap of the last decade. Can't wait to need a piece of lumber or some superglue. Loved the video game sounds & symbols - more high production values - and of course the outro. Big grin!
Thank you for taking the effort to make this video. Just like other people I'd appreciate more videos in similar style ;) I came back to this video after returning from a trip to the Netherlands for a second time after 15 years. This time I went there with a bike (folding Brompton) and it was so much worth it! This video also debunks a common myth that one needs large density to sustain good cycling infrastructure, wee cycle lanes work even better in more rural areas like this one!
You should do more of these trips because there not only very fun to watch but also informative. There is a similiar route between Arnhem and Nijmegen not that far away. This is really a great example of good cycling infrastructure between smaller towns, urban planners/designers all over the world should take notes because it's a healty and clean way to travel. I actually used to cycle here in my childhood years with friends and family. If my bike broke down, I would just hop on the train and still be on time for school because it's all connected. I just love the fact that you can choose your transportation based on the distance and destination. For example I could walk for 5 km just on the sidewalk, bike for 12 km and take the train for longer distances. Also, I wanted to say that I don't hate cars, I love driving and I'm currently taking lessons to get my license. I think the Dutch drivers are very polite and disciplined and know how it is to cycle themselves. This video was very negative about cars but they're not that bad. One more thing: I heard you had an unusual accent in your Dutch pronouciation (not judging you, don't get me wrong) I'm just curious where you from and how different your life is in the Netherlands.
I think my negativity toward cars comes from living most of my life in the US and then realizing how much fear and anxiety I'd been holding onto based on interactions with cars and the auto infrastructure in the US. And I was an excellent driver! I could tell you at any point where all the cars were on the road around me, I could anticipate each car's overtaking of another, who was going to blaze through the upcoming light, and so on. One of the things I find frustrating is how people (in the US specifically) spend so much time and money on their vehicles but put almost no time to think of the impact that vehicle has when it comes into contact with something else. I frequently heard "I didn't see them" when a driver would hit something or someone, and it's probably true. There's a certain blindness to the world around you that is built into the infrastructure in the US; it's done to get cars from one place to another faster, but one of the side effects is that drivers have little sense of their environment and how much damage they will do when they make a mistake. One of the things I love about the Dutch road system is that it assumes humans will make mistakes, and asks how can we minimize the damage from those mistakes. That concept, when I heard it, was mind blowing. I love the people-centric approach here. So cars themselves aren't the problem, absolutely. But they represent to me a system that is willing to put human lives at risk, that that is something I don't like.
Oh! I didn't answer your accent question. My Dutch pronunciation is probably a lot better now that it was even when we recorded this video. We're in Dutch classes and getting a lot more practice with speaking and being corrected (in a nice way :) ). I'm mainly from Colorado and we've lived in Gelderland since we moved to the Netherlands so I probably have an Arnhemse accent. Life is very different here! I'm much more relaxed and I really like the culture. Sure every place has problems, but so far I'm not seeing a lot of the issues here. Ik heb nog steeds mijn roze bril op. :)
@@nikkiabridged @Nikki Abridged Thank you for your comments. I agree it is important to start the conversation about our travel habits, only being dependent on cars is bad for the environment, unhealthy and on top of that you don't enjoy your surroundings as much as you would if you cycle or walk. No wonder a lot of Americans are so obese. Note: I don't want to hate on the US just because it's the US, I see that a lot these days. I believe the younger generation is going to change the country for the good. Channels like NJB, City Beautiful, Adam Something and even small channels like you can create awereness about these topics. There is a big interest in our living environment and spatial planning, myself included. I'm going to study Spatial Planning in Wageningen or maybe Utrecht. I've always draw maps and had a fanatasy world with my brother as a child (own language and everything). It's funny if you really have the Arnhem accent but I honestly doubt that because only lower class and old people have it according to what I've seen. Almost everyone you will meet talks with little to no accent in Arnhem. We should meet sometime, you sound like an interesting person.
I agree that I would enjoy watching more videos like this one! I feel that cars have plenty of supporters but the downsides aren't shown enough. All modes of travel should have their place and should have priority based on their impact. I enjoy using my ebike in Boise, Idaho but many of my neighbors are happy to drive ~1.5 km to the grocery store for a few items instead of cycling or walking.
When we moved here, we kept calling Westervoort a city and we were corrected that it is a village or town. :D It's still a built up area with dense population, and we're able to benefit from that (by having 3 groceries nearby, train stop, etc).
@@nikkiabridged Yes, people can be sensitive about that, because it used to be a formal distinction. You could not just call yourself a city, you had to earn that right by doing things like building fortifications (moats, dikes and walls), etc. If you were given city rights you could then collect taxes, raise tolls, etc., but were also responsible for the protection of the population of the city and the surrounding lands. That formal distinction no longer exists, but people from cities still like to make sure no one calls towns without city rights "cities". 😄
This bicycle path reminds me of those cycle trails we have in Melbourne, Australia, meandering through plenty of green spaces along the Freeway. However, this path is certainly much safer at crossings and actually gets people where they want to go. Bicycle trails here in Melbourne are basically only useful for recreation on the weekends,
That's what I'm used to in the US too; bicycle paths are for exercise or for people to drive to and then take a leisurely ride. It seems radical to me to ride your bike to the place where you want to ride your bike. :D I'm being won over by this idea though. :)
19:22 As a Dutch person, I think one of the things these videos ought to pay attention to more is how many trees and curves there are in the path. We live in a windy country, so I really like it when there are obstructions that make the wind less nasty. The same goes for the sun: I sweat very easily and catch sunburns easily too, so even if the temperature is nice, I really like it when shade is present. Perhaps something to take into account for the next expansion pack?
As a redhead, I'm pretty cautious about the sun as well but I think I hadn't thought about the trees along the path specifically for the shade. Thank you for pointing that out for the viewers!
Even only a lightly shaded street with tree really give significant of pleasure when riding compare to no shade at all. Shaded area create Lower temperature and light breeze of wind. Coming from equator region. Scorching all year around.
The underlying way of going through traffic, on a bike or in a car , on a scooter or by foot, is communication. The human interaction is #1 in how the whole traffic system is organized. Hardly any traffic lights, in this clip, a biker holds out his right or left arm , to signalize to the driver in a car what his intentions are in wich direction he wants to go. What we see in all the clips on bikes in the Netherlands, is the fact that our traffic infrastructure makes that human interaction possible. That I think is the greatest accomplishment, and a testament of how well thought-out the dutch system is!!
Don't forget that almost every car-driver in NL rides a bike. He/She could come home from work by car and hop on a bike and ride to a supermarket/sport/etc. You instinctivly note cyclist when passing them and look for them when turning. "where would I be on my bike? I saw them, where did they go..?" So you check and double check your mirrors...
The human interaction point is really...on point. :D It's easy to get in a car and forget about anything outside; it's one of the things I loved about riding a motorcycle, was being back in nature instead of buffered inside a car. I appreciate how here in the Netherlands people in all the modes of transit are supposed to be paying attention to each other. It's not perfect of course but bringing things back to a human scale helps eliminate so much costly infrastructure (traffic lights, etc) and keeps everyone moving better. And I like the point about how car-drivers are also on bikes sometimes too. It helps dispel any us-vs-them narrative and brings everyone back together, working together, which is another nice piece of Dutch culture.
Changing the mindset from "bikes are for kids" to "bikes are one of the many options for getting around" has opened up so much for me. It's changed the way I think and the way I view where I live, and I find my stress levels are down so much. Also, keep in mind that this didn't happen overnight here in the Netherlands. They were going car-centric too, and there was a big push against it around the 1970s, and they've been working on the infrastructure since then. So it's about changing priorities and then making small but consistent changes from there.
Bicycle Dutch (another favorite of ours) made a video in 2011 about the history behind how the Dutch got cycle paths as part of the infrastructure. He's just remade the video with some additional footage and updates from the last 10 years. It reinforces my belief that other countries, like Canada, the US, and the UK, could have this in their cities as well. Here's the video - it's only 6 1/2 minutes long but great information. Enjoy! ua-cam.com/video/SYHz93HXJFQ/v-deo.html
well, since our infrastructure in the netherlands is so much centered around bikes, it's easy to argue, bikes are still for kids over here, it's safer for kids to use, so they can get around more easy and are less restrained, which kind of helps with independence and socializing. but yeah, it's not deemed like rollerblading or skateboarding, or some other niche leisure activity, it's a pretty serious everyday thing to get around later in life too, which makes it more the valuable to learn as a kid, right? and it's not even uncommon for 3 year olds to learn how to ride a bike in a single day lol, so you could say it's a time investment well worth, even if you'd be living anywhere else, it pays back for itself somewhere along a lifetime i know no better than to just cycle to school everyday as a kid from some age onward, probably 8 or 9 orso (walked to school when i was younger, since it was very close) sometimes it sucked (hailstorms with heavy head winds are the worst lol), but we're not made of sugar lol we learn to ride bicycle roundabout age 3 or 4, and parents support the kids in doing so then we get to ride around the neighbourhood with a strict limit to how far we could stray, and we would keep to that, because there was plenty fun to find within the perimeter :D i still have vague memories of riding around the block as i was 5 or 6 years old, counting the laps all playful as you are as a young kid. same thing with my dad's grandma who lives in another town, we had a limit of how far we could stray from there, and we would just bike around, find rocks to try and skip over the water and that kind of stuff, but it all helped build a skill that's valuable into adulthood. just like swimming, not that adults swim to work or anything lol, but there's a lot of water out here, and we have a very special relation with the sea, so swimming is kind of mandatory to your basic skillset growing up, just in case the water does set in, so you have to learn to swim with clothes and shoes on and dive under some hoops underwater holding your breath for the first two swimming diplomas it's kind of like people that live in the mountains all learned how to ski, because it makes sense with the terrain and its options at hand :)
I would say the infrastructure here in the Netherlands isn't just centered around bikes, but around people in general. In the US (and probably Canada) the focus is on money and cars; the societal benefits feel secondary. But that's a whole other conversation. :) Back to the biking topic, you talk about memories of biking at many different ages, and I had that too, to some extent (even growing up in the US), but I was an outlier. And when my kids were younger, I don't remember them having bikes at all. Our neighborhood didn't have sidewalks, and the roads (even in our small community) were not safe for anyone but cars and motorcycles. So I think it's really awesome here that people can go put aside riding bikes for a while (maybe it's not "cool" or walking/OV fits better), and the cycle paths are waiting for them when they get back.
I absolutely loved seeing this presentation! I'm hoping one day this becomes a common game for cyclists in every city, including mine here in Toronto, Canada. It sounds like a winter edition of the +1 -2 game might be in order. :)
Good video. Just want to point out how many old people are out on bikes too. Making them more mobile and less required to depend on others to drive them around or for them to have a car themselves increasing overall health :)
Amazing video and nice follow up of Shifter and Not Just Bikes. Commenting as an 'Murican, who bicycle commutes, I'm completely jealous of Dutch bicycle infrastructure. Bicycles, not EV cars, are the sensible, environmental way forward.
Good for you for commuting via bicycle anyway! I know there's a lot of pushback on getting bicycle (well, any non-car) infrastructure in the US but having people who can go to the city planners and speak from experience is really valuable. Good luck and I hope you get to visit the Netherlands someday and enjoy stress-free riding.
@@nikkiabridged It is dangerous to commute by bicycle in the US unfortunately. American drivers drive like lunatics often speeding and not looking out for pedestrians and bicyclists. Some of them are openly antagonistic and yell at bicyclists through windows or drive intentionally close trying to cause accidents. One of my friends' sons was killed bicycling home 2 years ago. However, bicycling has so many environmental benefits, no greenhouse emissions, and personal benefits of improved physical and mental well-being that I will continue to bicycle. Thank you for your encouragement and the splendid video.
@@PhilipSalen It's really amazing what a connected infrastructure can do for a community, region, and country. It's sometimes hard to put into words the impact on quality of life. If you haven't already, I would suggest watching videos (and blogs, books, etc) by Not Just Bikes, Bicycle Dutch, and Strong Towns, and I'm sure they have excellent recommendations as well. I only ride on the coat-tails of their awesomeness. :)
@@nikkiabridged I already subscribe to Not Just Bikes and Bicycle Dutch and appreciate their videos very much. Thank you for the awesomeness of your video. It's no exaggeration to write that we American bicyclists "Wij houden van Oranje" not only for their ice skating prowess but also their bicycle lanes.
Very interesting to see a cycling path I drive my scooter on every day examined like this, though of course I don't hear other scooters as much as you do, once electric scooters take over completely that problem will hopefully be gone.
I think because cycling on dedicated paths is/was so new to me that I notice the scooters a lot more. Also, I was hit by a car some years ago while driving a motorcycle, so I'm still a bit nervous of faster and heavier things coming up on me quickly without me having time to respond. It's not the scooters' fault (but I do appreciate it when they pass more gently).
3:53. In my opinion if you cant the sharkteeth as a +1 when it's for bikes, you should count it as a -2 when it's for cars. For example the very first road crossing
I appreciate your video, and I appreciate how your apparently adopted country offers such refined bicycle infrastructure. On the other hand, I tire quickly of hearing people whine about riding in traffic. I’ve been commuting and touring since 1988 and in several US states. If I had thought it necessary to only ride in “safe” areas, I would only have ridden a few miles in all that time. Riding in traffic involves proper attitude, proper equipment, proper education, and constant vigilance. In most of the places I ride, I do not have the luxury of watching birds and dogs. On the other hand, I’m not in a car or at home on the sofa. I am happy for you.
Are you saying that you ride a bicycle in the US in car traffic? I've tried and it's just too much for me. At one point I had a motorcycle and was hit by a car hard enough that my motorcycle was unrepairable and I have lifetime-lasting injuries. She said she just didn't see me; I feel even more invisible on a bike. I appreciate people, like you, who are able to be visible and show the local gov't that people do want to commute with bicycles and other modes. Getting infrastructure is the reverse of in the movies; if people come, they will build it.
@@theonly5001 That was a first generation ICE. A lot of them have been "!downgraded" to be used as IC's. Modern ICE's have a different design and colour scheme.
@@Atombender That is a 3rd Gen ICE. Otherwise calle ICE3 or the class number DB 415 or 411. They are roughly 10 years younger than the "original" ICE. And no. They are nit downgraded to run IC routes. Rather the mentality in Germany has been shifting a bit, since it's network is not the best for running high speed trains all over the place. There are good routes for that, but there are places as well, where a ICE has to mix with Cargo trains.
As a moped rider of 20+ years, I am very well aware that we're not wanted on either the cycle path or the road. We're not at home on either. On the cycle path we are noisy, fast and bulky. On the road we are very fragile and relatively slow. It is what it is though. And it's dictated when and where we have to take the cycle path or the road. That said, though not ideal, it's still a lot better than it is in the US and Canada from what I've seen from NJB. Plus, I went electric like a week ago, that should count for something, right? BTW. I live about 800m from the crossing at 11m30s :D
I may have gone a little overboard with the scooter thing in the video, so I didn't mean to make you feel badly. For me, the issue is that they come up on me very quickly and are loud (to me), and therefore I get startled! And when that happens, I'm likely to jump, causing me to lose my balance and possibly swerve into the path of the moped! Of course neither of us want that. I do think that the bicycle path is the best place for the blue-plate, slower two wheeled motorized vehicles. It's the safest place for you, and safety is my #1 consideration. So I would rather share the path with you than see you on the street with the cars, for sure. And I like your electric comment! Does that mean that it is quieter? If so, that eliminates the noise part of startling me. I think how fast people go by me also makes a difference, so I appreciate when folks start their pass around me at speeds closer to my own. This could be a behavior (by scooter folks and fast bicycle folks) that helps us all work together. I'm aware that I like to bicycle slower than the average Dutch person, so I make an effort to go faster when others are nearby so I'm not causing traffic issues. :) And yes, it's much safer for mopeds here in the Netherlands than in the US (and probably Canada). Also, hello "neighbor"! Maybe we'll see each other on the bike path!
@@nikkiabridged "Does that mean that it is quieter?" - the indicator switch is louder than the final drive whine. So, yes, I'd say it's quieter :D I call her Whisper, because the only thing I hear is the wind in my helmet.
I agree with other commenters that this is a really great video showing Americans, like me, what a great infrastructure, not to mention surrounding areas, looks like. I would love to see more rides in your area, too.
Thank you! It's an interesting challenge to show what daily life is like here. The big items are easy to see and identify - separated bike lanes, traffic calming, and the like, but it's also the little details that fill in the picture but are hard to point at sometimes. We have more videos in mind and hope to keep showing those things, even if we can't yet describe them. :)
at 4:50 a clear example where NO traffic-lights deserves +2 points ! lots of crossings and roundabouts in the Netherlands are designed in such a way that NO traffic-light are needed ! NO NEED to STOP !!! traffic going fluidly ! why nobody recognises that as a miracle, i don't get :-( !
Exactly! That's one of the reasons we spent so much time on that intersection; we wanted to make sure to explain how it's so different from a lot of North American (default) intersections and why it has such a huge impact on safety and comfort, and also point out how this is normal here! It's amazing and we are very grateful for the way intersections (and infrastructure in general) are done here.
The trend in the Netherlands is to remove traffic lights as much as possible, even in places where you don't expect it. Here's an example in Amsterdam, a daring experiment: ua-cam.com/video/mAmlI0mYFu0/v-deo.html
Thank you for sharing that video. I loved the point where it was pointed out that eye contact was happening. It's such a practical thing, easy to have as part of your interactions. and yet overlooked so easily.
So here I am, halfway into the video, ready to add some informative points to things not mentioned. I rewind, type, and a little past the halfway mark you mention the thing that went uncommented the whole time. Well I'm keeping my comment! 0:54 'miljeon' or 'miljoen'? ;P 11:42 'Fietsstraat auto is gast' Great example of how really low car traffic volumes can be combined with cycling traffic while maintaining safety and without having to add more infrastructure. These fietsstraten are cycling roads where there are a few homes attached. So to not take away transportation options (i.e. the car), the car is allowed on this road if it adjusts itself to the cycling traffic. 11:46 Here are thosen few buildings where cars get to go 11:52 If you don't miss it, here the 'fietsstraat' with guest cars changes into a bicycle only road. See the blue sign. 12:41 End of this section of bike only, and we're back on a fietsstraat. 12:47 Presumably for these people till 13:08 13:08 The stop sign is possibly there because this is the only place where car traffic can leave the fietsstraat 13:31 And here a new fietsstraat begins and ends at 13:59 15:33 Oh *now* you notice the sign. Well I already wrote all the other stuff! :P 23:32 Honestly, it's not that uncommon for cars to stop for bikes anyway. But you do have the most guarantee if there's something else they need to stop right before or after you. Plus, since you can communicate clearly with the other road users, it's fine to ignore the legal priority and get to a temporary but safe alternative.
Thank you for the detailed explanations! Living here, I think we're already getting used to some things, so it's good to have another voice saying similar things but in a different way, so folks not from here can see things from multiple perspectives. And I guess we did have a typo. :) We're still learning Dutch so we still have a miljoen mistakes to make. :D
I don't believe he has done a reaction video, however he did create a Plus 1 Minus 2 playlist and this video is on it! Here's the link: ua-cam.com/play/PLJp5q-R0lZ08SqU4spUBi7ZuYkAwPJ1ie.html
I find myself inspired. If I did this in my city, the score would very likely be -100 or worse, and tyhat's a shame because otherr than being completely car-centric, it's a nice place to live. To get from my car-dependent suburban neighborhood to literally anywhere else in the city requires me to ride about 2 miles on a narrow, two-lane, zero shoulder car road with a 45mph speed limit. Not at all safe.
It does break my heart that not everyone has access to this kind of infrastructure, at least they don't right now. Who knows; with time and people making their interests known, it can change.
4:25 that most Dutch of lifeforms: the ANWB couple ;) edit: 9:51 even clearer example. Identical "his 'n hers" e-bikes, very similar outfits, Birkenstocks on their feet. And of course a sunny Saturday afternoon on a route like this is prime-time for ANWB-spotting. 11:13 identical models of e-bike again, though surprisingly dissimilar outfits…
Since you're in Gelderland, how about a video on the Rijnwaalpad? It's been done before several times, but I think you could bring something new to it if it had the quality of this video.
Aw, I appreciate your confidence in our production and cycling abilities. I'm happy with short trips; my sweetie is more likely to do those longer trips, so we'll keep this one in mind!
Has anyone made a guide on how to make a +1 -2 video? I would love to learn how to do the graphics and sounds. I'm thinking of doing 1 hardware store visit and my commute to work across multiple seasons(finally got my snow video)
As far as I know, there isn't a guide. I think each person is doing whatever they want with the skills they have. We used KDENLive and such. I'll see if my sweetie can jump in here with another comment and more details. :)
I'm used to seeing intersections like 15:24 as the more "modern" approach. This design (which I prefer) uses yield signs and a center island. The stop sign really sticks out, and feels like an older design.
My guess is many will choose e-bike in the future instead of scooter (or maybe a silent e-scooter ?) 24:01 auto traffic ? This is a word I would think English speakers would normally never use ?
I think we used to just say traffic, but that was in a very car-centric place. Now I see there are lot of different kinds of traffic, so I use different language. Plus, I probably heard it on Bicycle Dutch or Not Just Bikes. :D
It was tempting, but I don't think there is one. How about "a butcher, a baker, and kaas winkel". All the important things, right? (To be honest, we haven't used the butcher yet either but the cheese shop *is* fantastic.)
Personally, at 3:42 I'd give a -2 for a cycle path being shared with bromfiestsen, but I note that you do deduct points later on when actually encountering them. LOL @ the "sports cyclist" riding along with no hands on the handlebar - obviously not racing. I like your addition of the "cars off the road" marker and the "traffic light" counter - but I think you should have included that stop-sign there.
The stop sign is such an oddity that it does stand out and I wasn't quite sure if we wanted to include it in a category or not, so we point it out but don't add it. One thing we notice a lot is how *few* traffic lights there are here. Coming from the US, we're used to long, straight stretches of roads where traffic comes to a stop regularly because of the intersections and lights at those intersections. So calling out the lights, "signalized intersections", was an interest of ours.
It's true, bicycling in the Netherlands is delightful, especially when you are used to typical United States bicycle infrastructure! You are often riding on separate infrastructure than cars, and because heavy vehicles aren't driving on it the surface stays in much better condition.
It is very beautiful out here. I like that the same bicycle paths we have here are found throughout the Netherlands so it's easy to navigate even if I'm somewhere new-to-me.
@@nikkiabridged it's beautiful here too..and cycling and finding your way through the Netherlands is peanuts..so many signs and also knooppunten (make your routes by following certain collored dot signs) i can cycle 100 km in unknownareas without getiing lost or follow a specific plan...still finding destinations on my way
I've thought about getting a scooter though (shocking!) as an alternative for when I might want a car, so I was thinking of things from that perspective, but good point Martin. And yes, Jelle has it - in the US, the child/teenager would be driven there and dropped off, the driver would return home, then come back later to pick them up and drive them back home. It's a lot of driving.
Yes, it is very subjective! I think the point of Plus 1 Minus 2 for cycling is to really think about what things you enjoy (or not!) about the infrastructure around you.
This is an excellent demonstration of normal Dutch infrastructure, where NJB usually only drives around in the larger overcrowded cities. Really very well made, and deserves more viewers. Very well made.
Thank you for the compliments. We are also from North America and have really fallen in love with the infrastructure here in the Netherlands. It's hard to describe to our friends & family "back home" so we hope that by showing what it's like on a daily level, they too can experience it, and maybe someday make changes in their own cities.
agreed. everyone pays lots of attention to amsterdam and the other big cities, but the best dutch bike infrastructure tends to be places like this. (though to be fair, njb has noted that infrastructure in amsterdam suburbs is often better than in the city itself.)
@@snoopyloopy This reminded me...
NJB:"in the middle of nowhere"
*Nijmegen*
Yeah, same as the typical lists in magazines or other videos where it's said: "Amsterdam came on number 1 spot of most bike friendly city of Europe" while for other countries they didn't always go with the capital....erm...maybe check ANY other city than Amsterdam? Example, Rotterdam, certainly now with the redeveloped Coolsingel getting you safely from North to South ua-cam.com/video/BL-ax6lrIaQ/v-deo.html
Or The Hague ua-cam.com/video/7eW3Qiteqls/v-deo.html I get that Amsterdam suburbs have similar paths, but all these test people from magazines just spend time in the city centre, and then Amsterdam is a mess, yet it's the place people cycle most to when to shop, going out etc. Ah well, I m fine with it, let the tourist stay in Amsterdam. Most tourists also think that's the only spot to buy weed. They are ripped off unless they go further from the tourists type shops asking like 50 percent more for the same stuff.
@@amdobrantal1774 🤣right LOL
26:31 loved the nod to NJB. Even more in style would be a slightly snarky acknowledgement: "I'd like to thank Not Just Bikes for making me ride 11 kilometres to a hardware store when there's another one just around the corner"
Ha ha ha! Technically I think it was Shifter that made us all ride that far. ;)
@@nikkiabridged Shifter is the victim here. He had no choice. Thanks suburbia!
@@FireFish5000 😂 So true.
@@FireFish5000which basically shows the problem in North America. It is understandable, why distances to a hardware store are longer than to buy groceries, as you normally don't need to go there every few days - but 11 km in a big city like Calgary?
I love Not Just Bikes, but your video is just as good! And living also outside the Randstad I give you 2-bonuspoints;-)
We also love Not Just Bikes, so your praise puts us in good company. Thank you! And yes, we love it out here, outside the Randstad. We intentionally looked for somewhere to live that might force us to learn more Dutch. We want to experience the daily life here as a Dutch person would. We spreken een beetje Nederlands. Binnenkort meer!
its even better 😵💫 no offense to NJB of course!
I think this is my favorite version of +1-2! The removed cars and signal points were fun to see, and the editing style is really nice!
Thank you! We had a lot of fun expanding on the Plus 1 Minus 2 premise.
Great video. One rule of law changed: 20:22 since 2023-01-01 riders of blue license plate scooters are obliged to wear a helmet.
It might be a bit too much, but I've spotted a few other things:
6:40 "Another park" = area where dogs are allowed to run free, without a leash. It has a bench for the owners to chat on. If a dog does a number 2, you'll have to pick it up. Small bags might be available, and you can deposit it in the dark green trash can near the entrance.
8:14 An international high velocity train "ICE" from Amsterdam, going/leading to destinations like Basel, Zürich, München, Vienna, Hamburg and Berlin.
16:40 Cars nicely parked with only one wheel on the path (to keep traction) and most of the car in the grass berm. It's a rural path, farmers have work to do.
16:58 Look at the white with red characters bicycle signage! Car signs are blue with white characters.
17:22 The path is narrower, looks like an older version. If this was a new path, they'd probably make it at least a foot wider. A few seconds later, the banner between light post and tree indicates that the summer holidays are over, and kids are going back to school. Car drivers please pay attention!
19:00 The busstop is conveniently placed at the pedestrian crossing, and has a dedicated bicycle parking area (with old inferior racks). The electronic sign indicates when the next bus is arriving (including delays), and is situated on the side where passengers are bound to look at, to spot an oncoming bus.
20:44 The blue sign on the bicycle traffic light says "cyclists are free to turn right" (into the car lane!). The commercial/light industrial district on the right is probably from around the 1960s and purely car centric. At this crossing there's no separated cycle path, on the side that needs it the most.
21:55 Sub par bicycle parking (like the busstop) which access is hindered by putting all kinds of inventory on the pavement. There's no rack to connect your second lock onto. You can't simply ride a cart to your bike and load the stuff into your bicycle bags or fietsbak.
24:15 Raised crossings slow traffic down and allow pedestrians to cross, without having to step down (see also at the end of this street).
26:08 Grass tiles on both sides of the road. They are concrete blocks with holes that allow grass to grow in them. This allows cars to pass each other, and not dig in holes into the berm, next to the asphalt. It's cheaper than widening the road, slows cars down due to rattleing, and needs no repairs (normal use).
That's a great amount of additional detail! Thank you for taking the time to point out lots of things that we or others might not have noticed. Note: I think the 16:40 timestamp is actually around 16:17, if I'm seeing what you had in mind. Thanks for the additional context. I appreciate that even with work getting done nearby that the path is still wide enough for everyone.
@@nikkiabridged Yw, it's indeed the better timestamp. The path looks like a traditional width rural road. Often these roads have been turned into 60 km/h (37 mph) roads with 2 suggestion cycle lanes on the sides and 1 car lane in the middle. I like the make over into a cycle path, and the added street lights. It feels safer for the people living at the street.
Wow that was a fun extension video! Had a good laugh about that outro line "IIIIIII like to thank Not Just Bikes" 🤣 LOL
We thought it would be a fun homage at the end. We certainly look forward to his outros and wanted to give something fun to our viewers.
LOL - agreed 100%
While almost everyone here is expressing their thankfulness and admiration for NJB and rightly so we have to thank Shifter just as much. It would be great fun to have dozens or more people from all over the world would make similar videos.
To problem is, 90 % is just us dutchies listening to how great our country is😂 then there 5% Americans who cycle and then there 5 % of Americans who wish to cycle 🤣😋 honestly I though about it but I live on the other side of Amsterdam from njb, and I though it would be to much the same
@@KiloWattPlays I am from South Asia! A one more benefit generally not discussed is that since our country doesn't have oil nor manufacture cars, cycling would be a huge relief on the economy and would give working class people some breathing room financially.
@@ProfessordevilL that's great. I guess it's the same here in South America. Btw, do you know @tehsiewdai ? He's from Singapore and I see some similarities with Rio! What a world...
@@KiloWattPlays probably a % of dutchies who just like to see him bash America like me😂
@@RobertDoornbosF1 agreed unintended perk 😋
Lovely video. Another plus point would be that at around 20:32 the bike path passes behind the filling station, not between it and the road, thus eliminating contact/conflict between cyclists and motorists filling their tanks. This is standard Dutch design and is used at other places where similar conflicts might occur such as at bus stops.
Good catch! It's little details like that I don't necessarily notice but we definitely get the benefit from them!
I am a big fan of Not Just Bikes and as an inhabitant of Gelderland I really enjoyed this ride!
*Virtual high five to fellow Gelderlander* We too are big fans of Not Just Bikes, so I'm glad you enjoyed the ride. Hopefully in future videos you can play a little game of recognizing where we are in the area.
I was a Gelderlander for 43 years and living in Canada for 17 years in a rural setting but because of the job (truck driver) seen Toronto and London, ON on a weekly basis as well as many, many USA cities. I thoroughly enjoyed this video of my home country so close to my home town of Zutphen.
This and Not Just Bikes - videos make me long for riding my bike on those lovely bike lanes. (ON A FLAT COUNTRY LOL)
whoa I have the exact same bike but in a different color !! 2:27
I installed studded tires to use it in the winter in Montreal Canada. Mostly everything is protected from the weather so it makes a great winter bike, I love it!
10:21 man snacking while biking is such an underrated pleasure! Especially being able to do it in such a nice serene setting.
At 4:40 I feel like that intersection is worth AT LEAST 3-4 points, not just 1! Especially since many of these features has a synergistic effect greater than any of them individually!
Love this vid - if I have time I'll have to do my town to point out spots for improvements!
I think that's one of the things that blows my mind here, that so many elements are brought together in constructing intersections and routes, and it's intentionally very synergistic. I love it.
Okay, now you've inspired me to record a ride to the hardware store in Anchorage, Alaska. It will not have the same high quality of production values, but it will be fun, since I just got my first iphone & I'll just put the camera in my pocket & ride. Plus it will be in winter, and this year we are having a real winter, not the snow then rain crap of the last decade. Can't wait to need a piece of lumber or some superglue.
Loved the video game sounds & symbols - more high production values - and of course the outro. Big grin!
Yay! I'd love to see what you put together - feel free to come back here and post a link!
Were you ever able to get the time to try making a video out in Anchorage?
Thank you for taking the effort to make this video. Just like other people I'd appreciate more videos in similar style ;)
I came back to this video after returning from a trip to the Netherlands for a second time after 15 years. This time I went there with a bike (folding Brompton) and it was so much worth it!
This video also debunks a common myth that one needs large density to sustain good cycling infrastructure, wee cycle lanes work even better in more rural areas like this one!
You should do more of these trips because there not only very fun to watch but also informative. There is a similiar route between Arnhem and Nijmegen not that far away. This is really a great example of good cycling infrastructure between smaller towns, urban planners/designers all over the world should take notes because it's a healty and clean way to travel.
I actually used to cycle here in my childhood years with friends and family. If my bike broke down, I would just hop on the train and still be on time for school because it's all connected. I just love the fact that you can choose your transportation based on the distance and destination. For example I could walk for 5 km just on the sidewalk, bike for 12 km and take the train for longer distances.
Also, I wanted to say that I don't hate cars, I love driving and I'm currently taking lessons to get my license. I think the Dutch drivers are very polite and disciplined and know how it is to cycle themselves. This video was very negative about cars but they're not that bad.
One more thing: I heard you had an unusual accent in your Dutch pronouciation (not judging you, don't get me wrong) I'm just curious where you from and how different your life is in the Netherlands.
I think my negativity toward cars comes from living most of my life in the US and then realizing how much fear and anxiety I'd been holding onto based on interactions with cars and the auto infrastructure in the US. And I was an excellent driver! I could tell you at any point where all the cars were on the road around me, I could anticipate each car's overtaking of another, who was going to blaze through the upcoming light, and so on. One of the things I find frustrating is how people (in the US specifically) spend so much time and money on their vehicles but put almost no time to think of the impact that vehicle has when it comes into contact with something else. I frequently heard "I didn't see them" when a driver would hit something or someone, and it's probably true. There's a certain blindness to the world around you that is built into the infrastructure in the US; it's done to get cars from one place to another faster, but one of the side effects is that drivers have little sense of their environment and how much damage they will do when they make a mistake.
One of the things I love about the Dutch road system is that it assumes humans will make mistakes, and asks how can we minimize the damage from those mistakes. That concept, when I heard it, was mind blowing. I love the people-centric approach here.
So cars themselves aren't the problem, absolutely. But they represent to me a system that is willing to put human lives at risk, that that is something I don't like.
Oh! I didn't answer your accent question. My Dutch pronunciation is probably a lot better now that it was even when we recorded this video. We're in Dutch classes and getting a lot more practice with speaking and being corrected (in a nice way :) ). I'm mainly from Colorado and we've lived in Gelderland since we moved to the Netherlands so I probably have an Arnhemse accent.
Life is very different here! I'm much more relaxed and I really like the culture. Sure every place has problems, but so far I'm not seeing a lot of the issues here. Ik heb nog steeds mijn roze bril op. :)
@@nikkiabridged @Nikki Abridged Thank you for your comments. I agree it is important to start the conversation about our travel habits, only being dependent on cars is bad for the environment, unhealthy and on top of that you don't enjoy your surroundings as much as you would if you cycle or walk. No wonder a lot of Americans are so obese. Note: I don't want to hate on the US just because it's the US, I see that a lot these days. I believe the younger generation is going to change the country for the good. Channels like NJB, City Beautiful, Adam Something and even small channels like you can create awereness about these topics. There is a big interest in our living environment and spatial planning, myself included. I'm going to study Spatial Planning in Wageningen or maybe Utrecht. I've always draw maps and had a fanatasy world with my brother as a child (own language and everything).
It's funny if you really have the Arnhem accent but I honestly doubt that because only lower class and old people have it according to what I've seen. Almost everyone you will meet talks with little to no accent in Arnhem.
We should meet sometime, you sound like an interesting person.
Tip: Bart Kromwijk is a Dutch channel about transit, mostly trains.
I agree that I would enjoy watching more videos like this one! I feel that cars have plenty of supporters but the downsides aren't shown enough. All modes of travel should have their place and should have priority based on their impact.
I enjoy using my ebike in Boise, Idaho but many of my neighbors are happy to drive ~1.5 km to the grocery store for a few items instead of cycling or walking.
Very well made, and a great look at the bicycle infrastructure _outside_ of the cities.
When we moved here, we kept calling Westervoort a city and we were corrected that it is a village or town. :D It's still a built up area with dense population, and we're able to benefit from that (by having 3 groceries nearby, train stop, etc).
@@nikkiabridged Yes, people can be sensitive about that, because it used to be a formal distinction. You could not just call yourself a city, you had to earn that right by doing things like building fortifications (moats, dikes and walls), etc. If you were given city rights you could then collect taxes, raise tolls, etc., but were also responsible for the protection of the population of the city and the surrounding lands.
That formal distinction no longer exists, but people from cities still like to make sure no one calls towns without city rights "cities". 😄
It makes me cry. Thanks for making this video, but Berlin sadly is still in the Dark Ages. Can't wait to be in the Netherlands again!
This bicycle path reminds me of those cycle trails we have in Melbourne, Australia, meandering through plenty of green spaces along the Freeway. However, this path is certainly much safer at crossings and actually gets people where they want to go. Bicycle trails here in Melbourne are basically only useful for recreation on the weekends,
That's what I'm used to in the US too; bicycle paths are for exercise or for people to drive to and then take a leisurely ride. It seems radical to me to ride your bike to the place where you want to ride your bike. :D I'm being won over by this idea though. :)
19:22 As a Dutch person, I think one of the things these videos ought to pay attention to more is how many trees and curves there are in the path. We live in a windy country, so I really like it when there are obstructions that make the wind less nasty. The same goes for the sun: I sweat very easily and catch sunburns easily too, so even if the temperature is nice, I really like it when shade is present. Perhaps something to take into account for the next expansion pack?
As a redhead, I'm pretty cautious about the sun as well but I think I hadn't thought about the trees along the path specifically for the shade. Thank you for pointing that out for the viewers!
Even only a lightly shaded street with tree really give significant of pleasure when riding compare to no shade at all. Shaded area create Lower temperature and light breeze of wind.
Coming from equator region. Scorching all year around.
The underlying way of going through traffic, on a bike or in a car , on a scooter or by foot, is communication. The human interaction is #1 in how the whole traffic system is organized. Hardly any traffic lights, in this clip, a biker holds out his right or left arm , to signalize to the driver in a car what his intentions are in wich direction he wants to go.
What we see in all the clips on bikes in the Netherlands, is the fact that our traffic infrastructure makes that human interaction possible. That I think is the greatest accomplishment, and a testament of how well thought-out the dutch system is!!
Don't forget that almost every car-driver in NL rides a bike. He/She could come home from work by car and hop on a bike and ride to a supermarket/sport/etc. You instinctivly note cyclist when passing them and look for them when turning. "where would I be on my bike? I saw them, where did they go..?" So you check and double check your mirrors...
The human interaction point is really...on point. :D It's easy to get in a car and forget about anything outside; it's one of the things I loved about riding a motorcycle, was being back in nature instead of buffered inside a car. I appreciate how here in the Netherlands people in all the modes of transit are supposed to be paying attention to each other. It's not perfect of course but bringing things back to a human scale helps eliminate so much costly infrastructure (traffic lights, etc) and keeps everyone moving better.
And I like the point about how car-drivers are also on bikes sometimes too. It helps dispel any us-vs-them narrative and brings everyone back together, working together, which is another nice piece of Dutch culture.
Think if we had this sort of cycling infrastructure here in the UK I would possibly ride, and I've not been on a bike in 20+ years.
Changing the mindset from "bikes are for kids" to "bikes are one of the many options for getting around" has opened up so much for me. It's changed the way I think and the way I view where I live, and I find my stress levels are down so much. Also, keep in mind that this didn't happen overnight here in the Netherlands. They were going car-centric too, and there was a big push against it around the 1970s, and they've been working on the infrastructure since then. So it's about changing priorities and then making small but consistent changes from there.
Bicycle Dutch (another favorite of ours) made a video in 2011 about the history behind how the Dutch got cycle paths as part of the infrastructure. He's just remade the video with some additional footage and updates from the last 10 years. It reinforces my belief that other countries, like Canada, the US, and the UK, could have this in their cities as well. Here's the video - it's only 6 1/2 minutes long but great information. Enjoy! ua-cam.com/video/SYHz93HXJFQ/v-deo.html
well, since our infrastructure in the netherlands is so much centered around bikes, it's easy to argue, bikes are still for kids over here,
it's safer for kids to use, so they can get around more easy and are less restrained, which kind of helps with independence and socializing.
but yeah, it's not deemed like rollerblading or skateboarding, or some other niche leisure activity, it's a pretty serious everyday thing to get around later in life too,
which makes it more the valuable to learn as a kid, right?
and it's not even uncommon for 3 year olds to learn how to ride a bike in a single day lol,
so you could say it's a time investment well worth, even if you'd be living anywhere else, it pays back for itself somewhere along a lifetime
i know no better than to just cycle to school everyday as a kid from some age onward, probably 8 or 9 orso (walked to school when i was younger, since it was very close) sometimes it sucked (hailstorms with heavy head winds are the worst lol), but we're not made of sugar lol
we learn to ride bicycle roundabout age 3 or 4, and parents support the kids in doing so
then we get to ride around the neighbourhood with a strict limit to how far we could stray, and we would keep to that, because there was plenty fun to find within the perimeter :D
i still have vague memories of riding around the block as i was 5 or 6 years old, counting the laps all playful as you are as a young kid.
same thing with my dad's grandma who lives in another town, we had a limit of how far we could stray from there, and we would just bike around,
find rocks to try and skip over the water and that kind of stuff, but it all helped build a skill that's valuable into adulthood.
just like swimming, not that adults swim to work or anything lol, but there's a lot of water out here, and we have a very special relation with the sea, so swimming is kind of mandatory to your basic skillset growing up, just in case the water does set in, so you have to learn to swim with clothes and shoes on and dive under some hoops underwater holding your breath for the first two swimming diplomas
it's kind of like people that live in the mountains all learned how to ski, because it makes sense with the terrain and its options at hand :)
I would say the infrastructure here in the Netherlands isn't just centered around bikes, but around people in general. In the US (and probably Canada) the focus is on money and cars; the societal benefits feel secondary. But that's a whole other conversation. :)
Back to the biking topic, you talk about memories of biking at many different ages, and I had that too, to some extent (even growing up in the US), but I was an outlier. And when my kids were younger, I don't remember them having bikes at all. Our neighborhood didn't have sidewalks, and the roads (even in our small community) were not safe for anyone but cars and motorcycles.
So I think it's really awesome here that people can go put aside riding bikes for a while (maybe it's not "cool" or walking/OV fits better), and the cycle paths are waiting for them when they get back.
Fun video, neat that you came up recommended after watching Not Just Bikes. Liked and subbed 👍
I took the liberty to post the link on NJB
Brilliant video btw.
How does this Channel not have more subscribers
Nikki gefeliciteerd met de 10 k mijlpaal. Deze video verdient het.
Heel erg bedankt! I just need a little more energy and we'll have more of these out!
@@nikkiabridged Your videos are worth the wait. So take your time.
I absolutely loved seeing this presentation! I'm hoping one day this becomes a common game for cyclists in every city, including mine here in Toronto, Canada.
It sounds like a winter edition of the +1 -2 game might be in order. :)
I'll see if I can talk sweetie into taking a ride to the further grocery on a rainy, windy day. :)
You have a beautiful narrative voice. 👍🏻
Aw, thank you. It's always weird to hear yourself in recordings, but I'll persevere and keep doing voice overs in the videos. :)
Good video. Just want to point out how many old people are out on bikes too. Making them more mobile and less required to depend on others to drive them around or for them to have a car themselves increasing overall health :)
Amazing video and nice follow up of Shifter and Not Just Bikes. Commenting as an 'Murican, who bicycle commutes, I'm completely jealous of Dutch bicycle infrastructure. Bicycles, not EV cars, are the sensible, environmental way forward.
Good for you for commuting via bicycle anyway! I know there's a lot of pushback on getting bicycle (well, any non-car) infrastructure in the US but having people who can go to the city planners and speak from experience is really valuable. Good luck and I hope you get to visit the Netherlands someday and enjoy stress-free riding.
@@nikkiabridged It is dangerous to commute by bicycle in the US unfortunately. American drivers drive like lunatics often speeding and not looking out for pedestrians and bicyclists. Some of them are openly antagonistic and yell at bicyclists through windows or drive intentionally close trying to cause accidents. One of my friends' sons was killed bicycling home 2 years ago. However, bicycling has so many environmental benefits, no greenhouse emissions, and personal benefits of improved physical and mental well-being that I will continue to bicycle. Thank you for your encouragement and the splendid video.
@@PhilipSalen It's really amazing what a connected infrastructure can do for a community, region, and country. It's sometimes hard to put into words the impact on quality of life. If you haven't already, I would suggest watching videos (and blogs, books, etc) by Not Just Bikes, Bicycle Dutch, and Strong Towns, and I'm sure they have excellent recommendations as well. I only ride on the coat-tails of their awesomeness. :)
@@nikkiabridged I already subscribe to Not Just Bikes and Bicycle Dutch and appreciate their videos very much. Thank you for the awesomeness of your video. It's no exaggeration to write that we American bicyclists "Wij houden van Oranje" not only for their ice skating prowess but also their bicycle lanes.
Very interesting to see a cycling path I drive my scooter on every day examined like this, though of course I don't hear other scooters as much as you do, once electric scooters take over completely that problem will hopefully be gone.
I think because cycling on dedicated paths is/was so new to me that I notice the scooters a lot more. Also, I was hit by a car some years ago while driving a motorcycle, so I'm still a bit nervous of faster and heavier things coming up on me quickly without me having time to respond. It's not the scooters' fault (but I do appreciate it when they pass more gently).
Delighted the algorithm took me here!
Glad to have you here!
3:53. In my opinion if you cant the sharkteeth as a +1 when it's for bikes, you should count it as a -2 when it's for cars. For example the very first road crossing
I appreciate your video, and I appreciate how your apparently adopted country offers such refined bicycle infrastructure. On the other hand, I tire quickly of hearing people whine about riding in traffic. I’ve been commuting and touring since 1988 and in several US states. If I had thought it necessary to only ride in “safe” areas, I would only have ridden a few miles in all that time. Riding in traffic involves proper attitude, proper equipment, proper education, and constant vigilance. In most of the places I ride, I do not have the luxury of watching birds and dogs. On the other hand, I’m not in a car or at home on the sofa. I am happy for you.
Are you saying that you ride a bicycle in the US in car traffic? I've tried and it's just too much for me. At one point I had a motorcycle and was hit by a car hard enough that my motorcycle was unrepairable and I have lifetime-lasting injuries. She said she just didn't see me; I feel even more invisible on a bike.
I appreciate people, like you, who are able to be visible and show the local gov't that people do want to commute with bicycles and other modes. Getting infrastructure is the reverse of in the movies; if people come, they will build it.
+10 for an old school ICE buzzing by at 8:15.
There are certainly more oldschool ICE around.
But the idea of crossborder transport is great.
@@theonly5001 That was a first generation ICE. A lot of them have been "!downgraded" to be used as IC's. Modern ICE's have a different design and colour scheme.
@@Atombender That is a 3rd Gen ICE.
Otherwise calle ICE3 or the class number DB 415 or 411.
They are roughly 10 years younger than the "original" ICE.
And no. They are nit downgraded to run IC routes. Rather the mentality in Germany has been shifting a bit, since it's network is not the best for running high speed trains all over the place. There are good routes for that, but there are places as well, where a ICE has to mix with Cargo trains.
Its a bit of a detour but because of road works in Duiven this is actually part of my morning commute.
As a moped rider of 20+ years, I am very well aware that we're not wanted on either the cycle path or the road. We're not at home on either. On the cycle path we are noisy, fast and bulky. On the road we are very fragile and relatively slow. It is what it is though. And it's dictated when and where we have to take the cycle path or the road. That said, though not ideal, it's still a lot better than it is in the US and Canada from what I've seen from NJB. Plus, I went electric like a week ago, that should count for something, right? BTW. I live about 800m from the crossing at 11m30s :D
I may have gone a little overboard with the scooter thing in the video, so I didn't mean to make you feel badly. For me, the issue is that they come up on me very quickly and are loud (to me), and therefore I get startled! And when that happens, I'm likely to jump, causing me to lose my balance and possibly swerve into the path of the moped! Of course neither of us want that.
I do think that the bicycle path is the best place for the blue-plate, slower two wheeled motorized vehicles. It's the safest place for you, and safety is my #1 consideration. So I would rather share the path with you than see you on the street with the cars, for sure. And I like your electric comment! Does that mean that it is quieter? If so, that eliminates the noise part of startling me. I think how fast people go by me also makes a difference, so I appreciate when folks start their pass around me at speeds closer to my own. This could be a behavior (by scooter folks and fast bicycle folks) that helps us all work together. I'm aware that I like to bicycle slower than the average Dutch person, so I make an effort to go faster when others are nearby so I'm not causing traffic issues. :)
And yes, it's much safer for mopeds here in the Netherlands than in the US (and probably Canada). Also, hello "neighbor"! Maybe we'll see each other on the bike path!
@@nikkiabridged "Does that mean that it is quieter?" - the indicator switch is louder than the final drive whine. So, yes, I'd say it's quieter :D I call her Whisper, because the only thing I hear is the wind in my helmet.
Get yourself an eletric moped or even better an e-bike!
@@Schokland2007 Yes. I did. I mentioned that twice. :)
@@fnglert Sorry!
Excellent! Thanks
I agree with other commenters that this is a really great video showing Americans, like me, what a great infrastructure, not to mention surrounding areas, looks like. I would love to see more rides in your area, too.
Thank you! It's an interesting challenge to show what daily life is like here. The big items are easy to see and identify - separated bike lanes, traffic calming, and the like, but it's also the little details that fill in the picture but are hard to point at sometimes. We have more videos in mind and hope to keep showing those things, even if we can't yet describe them. :)
at 4:50 a clear example where NO traffic-lights deserves +2 points !
lots of crossings and roundabouts in the Netherlands are designed in such a way that NO traffic-light are needed !
NO NEED to STOP !!! traffic going fluidly ! why nobody recognises that as a miracle, i don't get :-( !
Exactly! That's one of the reasons we spent so much time on that intersection; we wanted to make sure to explain how it's so different from a lot of North American (default) intersections and why it has such a huge impact on safety and comfort, and also point out how this is normal here! It's amazing and we are very grateful for the way intersections (and infrastructure in general) are done here.
The trend in the Netherlands is to remove traffic lights as much as possible, even in places where you don't expect it. Here's an example in Amsterdam, a daring experiment: ua-cam.com/video/mAmlI0mYFu0/v-deo.html
Thank you for sharing that video. I loved the point where it was pointed out that eye contact was happening. It's such a practical thing, easy to have as part of your interactions. and yet overlooked so easily.
@@nikkiabridged there's a bicycle Revolution going on, wordwide 😃!
So here I am, halfway into the video, ready to add some informative points to things not mentioned. I rewind, type, and a little past the halfway mark you mention the thing that went uncommented the whole time. Well I'm keeping my comment!
0:54 'miljeon' or 'miljoen'? ;P
11:42 'Fietsstraat auto is gast' Great example of how really low car traffic volumes can be combined with cycling traffic while maintaining safety and without having to add more infrastructure.
These fietsstraten are cycling roads where there are a few homes attached. So to not take away transportation options (i.e. the car), the car is allowed on this road if it adjusts itself to the cycling traffic.
11:46 Here are thosen few buildings where cars get to go
11:52 If you don't miss it, here the 'fietsstraat' with guest cars changes into a bicycle only road. See the blue sign.
12:41 End of this section of bike only, and we're back on a fietsstraat.
12:47 Presumably for these people till 13:08
13:08 The stop sign is possibly there because this is the only place where car traffic can leave the fietsstraat
13:31 And here a new fietsstraat begins and ends at 13:59
15:33 Oh *now* you notice the sign. Well I already wrote all the other stuff! :P
23:32 Honestly, it's not that uncommon for cars to stop for bikes anyway. But you do have the most guarantee if there's something else they need to stop right before or after you.
Plus, since you can communicate clearly with the other road users, it's fine to ignore the legal priority and get to a temporary but safe alternative.
Thank you for the detailed explanations! Living here, I think we're already getting used to some things, so it's good to have another voice saying similar things but in a different way, so folks not from here can see things from multiple perspectives.
And I guess we did have a typo. :) We're still learning Dutch so we still have a miljoen mistakes to make. :D
Ahh was a moment of calm before the fatbike infatuation
Beautifull made video! I didnt see a reaction of NJB. Did he react to this well made addition?
I don't believe he has done a reaction video, however he did create a Plus 1 Minus 2 playlist and this video is on it! Here's the link: ua-cam.com/play/PLJp5q-R0lZ08SqU4spUBi7ZuYkAwPJ1ie.html
Thanks for the playlist!
The island in the middle of the road you were missing around 13:21 has been added somewhere in the last month!!
That's great! Center crossing islands make an intersection so much more friendly for both pedestrians and cyclers.
I find myself inspired. If I did this in my city, the score would very likely be -100 or worse, and tyhat's a shame because otherr than being completely car-centric, it's a nice place to live. To get from my car-dependent suburban neighborhood to literally anywhere else in the city requires me to ride about 2 miles on a narrow, two-lane, zero shoulder car road with a 45mph speed limit. Not at all safe.
It does break my heart that not everyone has access to this kind of infrastructure, at least they don't right now. Who knows; with time and people making their interests known, it can change.
4:25 that most Dutch of lifeforms: the ANWB couple ;)
edit: 9:51 even clearer example. Identical "his 'n hers" e-bikes, very similar outfits, Birkenstocks on their feet. And of course a sunny Saturday afternoon on a route like this is prime-time for ANWB-spotting.
11:13 identical models of e-bike again, though surprisingly dissimilar outfits…
Wow! You have better eyes than me! :D
Since you're in Gelderland, how about a video on the Rijnwaalpad? It's been done before several times, but I think you could bring something new to it if it had the quality of this video.
Aw, I appreciate your confidence in our production and cycling abilities. I'm happy with short trips; my sweetie is more likely to do those longer trips, so we'll keep this one in mind!
Fun fact I have cycled on that exact path just today
It was a nice day for it, in-between all the rain and wind storms we've been getting!
Has anyone made a guide on how to make a +1 -2 video?
I would love to learn how to do the graphics and sounds. I'm thinking of doing 1 hardware store visit and my commute to work across multiple seasons(finally got my snow video)
As far as I know, there isn't a guide. I think each person is doing whatever they want with the skills they have. We used KDENLive and such. I'll see if my sweetie can jump in here with another comment and more details. :)
Hahah, zit nu in de trein zevenaar naar Arnhem, net voorbij Westervoort wanneer het vernoemd word
Hoi! Ik ben blij dat we hier een treinhalte hebben. Ik hoor dat het er niet altijd was.
The reason why the intersection at 13:08 has a stop sign is because cars are actually allowed to drive there.
I'm used to seeing intersections like 15:24 as the more "modern" approach. This design (which I prefer) uses yield signs and a center island. The stop sign really sticks out, and feels like an older design.
My guess is many will choose e-bike in the future instead of scooter (or maybe a silent e-scooter ?)
24:01 auto traffic ? This is a word I would think English speakers would normally never use ?
I think we used to just say traffic, but that was in a very car-centric place. Now I see there are lot of different kinds of traffic, so I use different language. Plus, I probably heard it on Bicycle Dutch or Not Just Bikes. :D
@@nikkiabridged I meant the normal way would be car traffic instead of auto traffic ? Isn't auto a Dutch word (not English) ?
Any time someone says "a butcher, a baker" I am disappointed that they don't continue "and a candlestick maker".
It was tempting, but I don't think there is one. How about "a butcher, a baker, and kaas winkel". All the important things, right? (To be honest, we haven't used the butcher yet either but the cheese shop *is* fantastic.)
Personally, at 3:42 I'd give a -2 for a cycle path being shared with bromfiestsen, but I note that you do deduct points later on when actually encountering them.
LOL @ the "sports cyclist" riding along with no hands on the handlebar - obviously not racing.
I like your addition of the "cars off the road" marker and the "traffic light" counter - but I think you should have included that stop-sign there.
The stop sign is such an oddity that it does stand out and I wasn't quite sure if we wanted to include it in a category or not, so we point it out but don't add it.
One thing we notice a lot is how *few* traffic lights there are here. Coming from the US, we're used to long, straight stretches of roads where traffic comes to a stop regularly because of the intersections and lights at those intersections. So calling out the lights, "signalized intersections", was an interest of ours.
that almost 200 meters of car traffic on 2 lane, one way road removed.
So let me get this straight, the only things that were bad were the fact that he was riding a faulty bike, and the occasional moped?
It's true, bicycling in the Netherlands is delightful, especially when you are used to typical United States bicycle infrastructure! You are often riding on separate infrastructure than cars, and because heavy vehicles aren't driving on it the surface stays in much better condition.
Rural Gelderland is no comparison
It is very beautiful out here. I like that the same bicycle paths we have here are found throughout the Netherlands so it's easy to navigate even if I'm somewhere new-to-me.
@@nikkiabridged it's beautiful here too..and cycling and finding your way through the Netherlands is peanuts..so many signs and also knooppunten (make your routes by following certain collored dot signs) i can cycle 100 km in unknownareas without getiing lost or follow a specific plan...still finding destinations on my way
6 scooters??? just one was enough so it not fair -2 for wyning about every scooter
Did we deduct for all of the scooters? Maybe next time we'll deduct 0 points for scooters to even it up.
@@nikkiabridged Okay ill make it up to you with a nice video who diserve 1million points :)
ua-cam.com/video/4MuvT50llaQ/v-deo.html
De titel voor deze video had kunnen zijn: "Amsterdam = the Netherlands debunked".
:D
Westeveurt
Als jongeren op een scooter rijden is dit vaak een alternatief voor fietsen, niet voor een auto. Auto's zijn eigenlijk te duur voor de meeste jongeren
Maar ze worden niet gehaald/gebracht met de auto, zoals dat in de VS vaak zou gebeuren. Volgens mij doelt ze daar op.
I've thought about getting a scooter though (shocking!) as an alternative for when I might want a car, so I was thinking of things from that perspective, but good point Martin. And yes, Jelle has it - in the US, the child/teenager would be driven there and dropped off, the driver would return home, then come back later to pick them up and drive them back home. It's a lot of driving.
Most of the scooters are electric these days.
I dislike this methodology.
There is just something wrong about it
Yes, it is very subjective! I think the point of Plus 1 Minus 2 for cycling is to really think about what things you enjoy (or not!) about the infrastructure around you.