Best of picnic days
The Dutch take picnicking to a whole new level. Once the sun comes out, it’s like entire kitchens are brought to the park! And the best way to get to the park is of course by bike! The Vondelpark was packed with picnickers this weekend. Where were you picnicking this weekend?
by Meredith
Boy in the back seat
Getting your two kids on your bike can be quite a balancing act. Check out how this dad gets his son in the back seat. He clearly does this more often!
How to cycle like a Queen (or King!)
Yesterday was a whirlwind of parties all over the city and what was the best way to get there? By bike of course. How did you flaunt your flair on your bike? Here are six ways some Amsterdammers showed their orange pride.
1. With a hat
2. With a traveling party
3. Tagging along with a friend (and ‘flag’ your cheeks!)
4. Bike together and scarf your orange
5. Adorn yourself in a King’s robe
6. Proudly fly your flag!
by Meredith
Ten minutes in an Amsterdam window
Let me invite you to Amsterdam, to have a look out of my window. Every minute at least one chic cyclist is passing by. Having a Cycle Chic blog in Amsterdam is therefore not too difficult, almost any cyclist is a chic cyclist.
Please enjoy, ten minutes hanging out of an Amsterdam window:
1st minute: Father cycling with baby
2nd minute: Cool cap
3rd minute: Checking out the neighbours
4th minute: No hands!
5th minute: Doubling
6th minute: Smoking a cigarette
7th minute: Taking your bike for a walk
8th minute: Cargo bike and cargo bike
9th minute: Too cool for school
10th minute: Strong sun
Hope you enjoyed your ten minutes in Amsterdam. Don’t you love the cyclists, the sun and the cyclists’ shadows on the pavement? Please come again soon!
Two people, one bike
Imagine: you are with two people, you have one bike, and you want to go to a friend’s birthday party. What would you do? You could of course leave the bike and go walking, go by car or take a tram. But you can also be inspired by these Amsterdammers and go together on one bike.
We show you five different ways to share a bike (also called doubling). No special seats or cargo bikes needed!
1. Sit on the back carrier (one leg at each side).
Sitting on the back carrier is the most common way to cycle together. Men normally sit with one leg at each side
2. Sit on the back carrier (two legs to the same side)
This is the version that women like best.
3. Sit on the front carrier
A very popular way amongst Amsterdams youth. (Don’t try this with a heavy person).
4. Stand on the rear carrier
For a good view. Like this son on the back of his fathers bike.
5. Sit on the rear carrier facing backwards
Not a very clear picture. They went too fast and I don’t see this way very often. We actually do not know why you would do this. Maybe when the person cycling doesn’t smell too good, or you prefer looking at the streets instead of looking at a back?
There are a lot of other ways to cycle together on one bike (sit on the crossbar, on the handlebars, or on the saddle). Take a look at more pics in this Cycle Chic Republic post.
Now, after being inspired by these cyclists from Amsterdam would you take a bike together?
Ladies with babies
Before kids can cycle themselves, they have already been on a bike many times. Dads and mums take them in a carrier, a child seat or in the cargo bike and cycle them around. To daycare, to the supermarker or just for a relaxed ride through town. Kids love it. You see them looking around, enjoying the speed when cycling down a bridge or just sleeping like angels.
by Joni
Cycle chic-in-training
Isn’t this the sweetest?! Daddy and daughter, hand on shoulder…and a cute little orange flag.
Now there’s a chic cyclist-in-training!
by Meredith
Sunday sledding
I’ve seen tons of adorable kids on or with their sleds these past few days and I keep thinking…where are they going? If you haven’t noticed, this city is really flat. Like really flat. Where are the hills for sledding?!
by Meredith
Cycle Piet!
Happy Sinterklaas!
I was a lucky girl this morning. I woke up to one of those Dutch organs playing the Sinterklaasje song–at 8 o’clock in the morning. I stumbled over to my balcony only to learn that Sint was coming! I had the best view, too. A million small children lined the alleyway and were waiting for Sint. He finally came, escorted by cycling Zwarte Pieten and he himself was on a motorbike! Maybe the white horse was ill?
Are you celebrating Sinterklaas tonight? I have my poem ready and the zuurkool is on the stove!
by Meredith
White bikes and Dutch nature
‘God created the world, and the Dutch created the Netherlands’, that’s what people sometimes say about our country. And indeed, it is quite difficult to find parts of the Netherlands untouched by men. But, this weekend I enjoyed the beauty of Dutch nature in national park ‘De Hoge Veluwe’. The natural beauty was amazing. The play between rain and sun caused dramatic skies, deers and hares walked through the forests and the wide heather sometimes made me think of the African savanna. But, the Dutch couldn’t help touching also this part of nature. A family built a museum in the park with famous pieces of Van Gogh, Picasso and Mondriaan. And through the park a network of cycle lanes was created to cycle around on the free white bikes that are all around the park. The Dutch just can’t help it; they ‘have’ to touch nature to make every part of the country bicycle friendly…
The free white bikes
A bicycle friendly natural park
African images
Which way to go?
Family cycling
Joni on a white bike
Well ahead of his family
Sunshine in the forest
Cyclist of the month: Ed, coolest Opa ever!
Ed is born in Assendelft. He moved with his sweet wife Ellie to Amsterdam in the 60’s where they got 3 daughters. Ed retired 8 years ago after having served as a social worker for 30 years. Next to his work, Ed has always been a big collector. He used to pile baskets on his bakfiets and cycle all over Amsterdam, looking for pieces of bikes, etc.
As you can see, both house and bicycle storage contain huge collections of all kinds of items Amsterdammers ever left on the street…
One day, Ed and his wife were asked by their daughter to look after her newborn twins: Ines and Sofia. Ed’s daughter is a graphic designer and works full time from home. She is very good by the way, see here.
As they live on opposite sides of Amsterdam, Ed had to find a solution to go and get Ines and Sofia twice a week.
So 1,5 year ago, Ed decided to give a new life to his bakfiets. He removed the pile of baskets and made this unique creation to carry this precious duo:
The bakfiets itself is actually older than Ed himself! But, as Ed likes to put it: «this sort of quality is nowhere to be found anymore these days».
As you can imagine, they do not go unnoticed. Many tourists as well as locals have already got a snap of them!
Don’t think this is the only bakfiets redesigned by Ed. He has one more, a very special one:
This is a picture he took of another of his daughters with some more grandkids:
This bakfiets has a nice story :
Translation : «The story started with my friend Henk. A long time ago he made a bakfiets in the form of a bible. He used to cycle around Amsterdam with it for years. He also set up the bakfietsclub of Amsterdam. I became myself the chairman, secretary and treasurer. Henk passed away a few years ago. It seemed that his last wish was to be buried in his bible. So we drove him in his bakfiets to his last resting place. Henk’s daughters offered me the undercarriage of the bakfiets. In his attic, Henk still kept a float of a waterplane;just to have something to sail away with, in case a deluge would ever occur. We have then installed the float on the bakfiets and it is still on it today.» Ed Koomen.
Ed never had a car, he is a member of the cyclist union Fietsersbond. He is a real Dutch man; healthy and happy to cycle! Inspired by the Roman times, his motto is «veni, vidie, fietsie».
Ines and Sofia : enjoy the ride!
Reportage by Aude
PS : As it’s never too late to start learning Dutch, here you go: Opa = grandfather and bakfiets = delivery bike
Fall colors in Amsterdam
One thing the Dutch love to talk about is the weather. I hear these conversations all day long. Such a lovely time of year in this city. The leaves of course are the highlight. All the oranges and yellows. Bring your layers though and get out your gloves: this is the time of year the weather can’t decide on anything.
I joined a local yoga studio and in one of the classes, the instructor spoke about the fall; that it’s a time to reflect inward and, like the trees, change your inner color, express yourself in a different way, and maybe think about shedding something you’ve been holding on to for a while. I’ve been thinking about that quite a bit because I can’t seem to pin something down. What could I let go of? Maybe I should be vegan again. Become a tea drinker. I don’t know. Maybe I’ll just think about it more and get back to you.
For now, I just looooove riding my bike in this city…
by Meredith
Hitchin’ a ride
I think this photo truly captures the strong, independent, and do-it-all mentality of Dutch women. Totally fantastic. You can give a man a ride on the back of your bike, purse on arm, and sport your leopard gloves, too.
It’s not easy giving a ride — and it takes practice. I completely fell over the first time I tried to give a ride. Ended up just sitting on the back like this guy. I’ll keep trying though!
by Meredith
Music and bikes: last chance to win!
This weekend is your last chance to send in pictures for the Music & Bikes competition to win a Hotelfietsbel. So we thought we might give you some more inspiration with these pictures of Amsterdam cyclists.
Boy giving an ‘air-drum-concert’ on his dad’s front carrier
Carrying a drumset on a bike while listening to music
Cycling with a guitar
Mum cycling home after her violin classes
To win a Hotelfietsbel (hotel bike bell), the coolest bell in Amsterdam, you can post your pictures of Music & Bikes to our Facebook wall, our Flickr Group, or just email them to amsterdamcyclechic@gmail.com
For more inspiration check out the Flickr group and the ‘Cycle to the music‘-post
Visit the Hotelfietsbel website for more information about the bell or read our blogpost about it.
Groningen Cycle Chic
This weekend we went to the beautiful city of Groningen. Groningen is in the north of the Netherlands. It has an old and famous university, a cool modern art museum ‘the Groninger Museum‘ an old city centre and as every Dutch city; it is full of bikes and everybody of all ages cycles.
Bike at Groningen University
Family cycling
Cheesy cargo bike
Art by Yin Xiuzehn in Groninger Museum
Groningen University
Bicycle parking
Love bike
Bike parking in Groningen courtyard
bikes in window
Learning to cycle / statue in Groningen
Amsterdam from above
Sunday it was ‘Open Monuments Day‘, the perfect day to discover buildings that you pass every day on your bike but you never see from the inside. One of the buildings we visited was the ‘Muiderpoort‘, an old gate and former entrance to the city where people had to pay toll. Nowadays it is the office of the Association of Dutch Tax Advisors. From the top of the gate we had a nice view over the area and over the cyclists passing by on a exceptionally warm September day.
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Cycling Berlin style!
Milou, one of the Amsterdam Cycle Chic team members, moved to Berlin a few months ago. So Else and Joni of Amsterdam Cycle Chic decided to visit her there.
Joni, Milou and Else
We loved it! And in between enjoying one of the many terraces, parks and museums, we spotted cyclists, quite a lot of cyclists, and many of them in cool Berlin style!
Check out these elegant ladies on their pink bicycles…
and the many other cyclists!
Cycling Berlin style
Listen to the music!
Mum and daughter
Dutchie on his racing bike
Groom going to the church
Those pictures were taken yesterday, at a beautiful Dutch wedding of friends where the groom had the great idea to cycle to the church with his family and best friends..
Last minutes of ‘single-life’ on 2 wheels, how cool!
Pictures taken by Aemilia
Busy sunny afternoon
The two-weeks of summer are suddenly over. The rain has returned. But sometimes, suddenly, the sun breaks through the clouds. Then everybody goes outside to enjoy it!
The little girl is a bit sceptical about the sudden sunshine and is checking if there really isn’t any rain falling from the sky…
Mums and dads cycling – Cycle Chic Republic
This last Friday of the month, the Cycle Chic Republic collected pictures of mothers and fathers cycling with their kids from all over the world.
Bohemian style
Pictures taken
by Aude
First I got the mother cycling by with her 2 kids (she is holding one against her chest). And few bikes later, appeared the daddy, carrying all the necessary for a day at the park…What a cool bohemian style!
Father and son
Father and son by Else
Amsterdam through Hungarian eyes
The final video that our friends from Hungarian Cycle Chic made of our city.
Thanks! It makes us love Amsterdam even more.
Amsterdam – bicycle city from Cyclechic hu on Vimeo.
Three kids, one mum (2)
In Amsterdam you see many parents cycling with their kids. With one or two kids it is easy enough, but cycling on one bike with three kids is quite a balancing act. Especially when it is not a cargo bike. Our friends from Hungary managed to capture this on film:
The Amsterdam Cycle Chic team spotted this mum. Cycling with two of her kids on her bike (one sitting backwards) and her third child on her own bicycle in Amsterdam City Centre.
This is not the first time we post images of one mum cycling with three kids, check out our other post.
