There are 23 million bicycles in the Netherlands which is more than one for every person. The country has over 21,000 miles or 35,000 kilometers of dedicated cycle paths. This is the outcome of deliberate political decisions made half a century ago, and understanding how and why it happened is one of the most instructive stories in urban design.
How the Dutch Got Here
In the early 1970s, the Netherlands looked much like any other Western country, it was car-dominated, with growing congestion and rising road fatalities. Then two things happened simultaneously: the 1973 oil crisis (which prompted car-free Sundays and renewed popular interest in cycling) and a citizen movement called "Stop de Kindermoord" (Stop the Child Murder) which was a protest movement formed by parents furious at the rate at which children were being killed by cars in residential streets. The combination of fuel scarcity and civic anger produced political will. The Dutch government began investing heavily in dedicated cycling infrastructure, and not painted lanes beside traffic, but physically separated paths with their own signals and rules.
The Fietspad (Cycle Path)
The key feature of Dutch cycling infrastructure is the fietspad which is a dedicated cycle path physically separated from both motor traffic and pedestrians. On a Dutch fietspad, cyclists have the priority. All of the intersections are designed for cyclists first. The parked cars are placed between the cycle path and the pavement, not between the cycle path and the road and this eliminates door-zone accidents. The system is so well designed that Dutch cyclists rarely wear helmets, and the country still has one of the lowest cyclist injury rates in Europe.
Cycling Routes for Visitors
The LF1 North Sea Route runs along the Dutch North Sea coast from the Belgian border to Den Helder and it is flat, scenic, and entirely on dedicated cycle paths. The LF4 Midden-Nederland Route crosses the country through forest and heathland. In the cities, the best cycling is in Utrecht and is regularly voted the best cycling city on earth where the historic canal ring is now largely car-free and the cycle infrastructure is more advanced even than Amsterdam's infrastructure. In Amsterdam itself, cycling on the tourist-area canals is really fun, but remember to give way to the local commuters who have somewhere to be.
Renting a Bike
Every Dutch train station has a fietsenverhuur (bike rental) operated by NS (Dutch Rail) and the OV-fiets system allows one-way rentals between stations. A day rental costs around €4–5. For longer stays, second-hand Dutch city bikes can be bought from markets in any Dutch city for €50–100 and the upright Dutch style with coaster brakes and enclosed chain is optimized for comfort over speed and is perfect for exploring the cities and the countryside.