First Time Cycling in the Netherlands | Rotterdam Bike Ride w/ Commentary

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Time Stamps:
Introduction - 0:00
Start of Ride - 1:06
Outro - 11:20
#netherlands #cycling #bike

[@mavadelo]

Rule #1: When on a bicycle and you turn either right or left, you signal first by sticking out the appropriate hand so other know what you are gonna do and don't T-bone you when you try to go left and pedestrians don't cross in front of you when you are trying to go right. especially when not on dedicated cycling paths or shared spaces. Rule #2: Always follow rule #1 And yes, I know, many Dutch ignore it too but it is for your safety and that of others. Heck people go as far as not signalling themselves but scoffing at you when they hit you because YOU didn't signal. "mini light": In the Netherlands people as young as 4 years old will cycle everywhere. Having a traffic light at their eye height helps them navigate the streets safely. And mate... why the hurry, enjoy the ride, take your time. Those bridges and towers are going nowhere.

[@ryantnttve1953]

I noticed Best Side Cycling didn't react on this comment but he did react on the comment before and after this one.. hmm seems like he can't appreciate great feedback! can't handle the Dutch directness yet ! LOL

[@eenstoelpoot]

Dutch guy here, I'd say slow down lol. In terms of safety, you are clearly going faster than traffic expects, which is probably what surprised the women at that intersection and also might have caused the car that crossed in front of you to see you too late or expect to have more time. Especially on intersections it's often safer to go with the flow a bit, especially if you're not yet used to Dutch traffic patterns. But also, you're panting all the time! You end up all sweaty and tired despite being on a ride for leisure with all the time in the world. There's no need to hurry.

[@user-of8lg5kr8q]

I just came back from there. We stayed in Delft. It was a cyclists paradise. There is definitely better cycling in the Netherlands outside of Rotterdam but they are still miles ahead of us in North America

[@BestSideCycling]

I visited there as well! Amazing amount of cyclists. Let me know if you have any route recommendations I can do from Amsterdam. Long adventure is okay!

[@BestSideCycling]

@@lotecque excellent! I was planning a ride thru Haarlem nice that there's shorter options with train

[@herfkr]

Please don’t race so fast, relax man. Rotterdam is the most car-centric big city of the Netherlands. You should definitely visit Delft or Utrecht

[@d3al3rplays68]

The smaller light at the bottom of the stoplights gives you the option to not tilt your head high if you are close by, also when raining no need to put your face up in the rain.

[@BestSideCycling]

After riding here for the past week 🤣 I realize how useful these are now.

[@d3al3rplays68]

@@BestSideCycling Third advantage, if one light breaks the secondary still works..

[@Mo-mu4er]

Always amazed at how LOUD those mopeds are! Can't believe they haven't banned the gas-powered ones yet, and adopted something like the Gogoro system.

[@BestSideCycling]

Yeah it felt ironic breathing in exhaust in the bike lane but I do like the sound they make as a warning. Hopefully electric mopeds can do something similar 😆

[@ChristiaanHW]

unfortunately the government isn't allowed to ban them. (something to do with unfair competition if you ban one type but allow other types) but yes, almost all Dutch cyclists would love it if they ban those mopeds. the electric ones are better but the downside is that they "sneak up" on you. the electric ones are quiet and just show up next to you. and that can cause it's own kind of problems. best thing would be to just get rid of mopeds altogether, with the electric bikes that are available now the're isn't a need for them anymore.

[@ooRobertoo]

ye slowly eletric ones make their way in. However Amsterdam and following cities ban them from cycle paths

[@kaasmeester5903]

@@ooRobertoo That's the case in most cities. Mopeds are usually kept out of the cycle lanes, except when the motorway next to it is deemed too dangerous for mopeds. That is the case with many of the larger roads, of which Rotterdam has many.

[@kailahmann1823]

You mention Frankfurt, Brussels and now Rotterdam: All those cities are still "in the transition". If you still have some time, I'd recommend something like Utrecht, Groningen or Münster - in those cities you see _WAY_ more bike traffic than car traffic. Smaller options very close to you might be Delft or Leiden.

[@BestSideCycling]

For sure! It's definitely not meant as a knock just what I observed. I'll be making some dedicated trips to Ultrecht for sure :)

[@kailahmann1823]

@@BestSideCycling it really shows this completely different level of expectations and how things have become "normal" for Dutch, German, Danish and now also Belgian people. And we still find so much to complain :) Something, you can also see in the mode share: If a US city gets 10% cyclists, that's considered sensational. If a German city only has 10%, we call it "cyclists hell" (don't dare Duisburg, if you don't want to die…). In the Netherlands you probably rarely find anything below 20%.

[@tonytigerking]

Wow…,you can actually build bike infrastructure from one part of the city all the way to another part unlike here in the states where the bike lane just disappears (or sidewalks) and the city planners just expect you to merge with cars going at 30 to 40 miles per hour.

[@dutchbicyclerides-ss1ko]

Indeed the impressive part of the dutch system is that its all connected the in the size of "Maryland" (well little bigger). It has 43.000km (27,000miles) of bicycle paths and a guessed 115.000km of shared roads / streets (71,000miles).

[@buddy1155]

Don't want to shock you but you can actually cycle not only from any place in the city to any other pace in the city, but also to any other city or town.

[@RikKoedoot]

And then to think that Rotterdam is one of the more car centric dutch cities

[@buddy1155]

@@RikKoedoot It absolutely is, Rotterdam is build after WW2 so car centric by design, and Aboutaleb is mayor for a while and he really don't understand that whole cycling thing. I doubt that he can even ride a bike.

[@jurgenvoogt1638]

Great video in my home town 👍you are a great cyclist too. Hope you enjoyed your stay in Rotterdam

[@CanyonWanderer]

Nice video! And what a coincidence: The opening shot drew my attention since it is only about 200 meters from the office I work in. After watching I saw the link to your to your Strava activity and guess what: in the FlyBy's we pass each other (I'm the 'Johan' in the FlyBy's) , I just started my commute home when you went back to starting point🙂

[@BestSideCycling]

What do you think? What else should I try or look out for in the Netherlands? Expect some of my other Europe stops as videos soon too

[@Ron-id1ze]

Utrecht

[@BestSideCycling]

@@Ron-id1ze I'll be there tomorrow

[@inyourhead462]

@@BestSideCycling try the centre in Utrecht, gonna be fun

[@Don19762]

I grew up in Rotterdam. So funny to see you there!

[@BestSideCycling]

It was really nice to visit and so far I enjoyed the quiet it was compared to Amsterdam.

[@dutchbicyclerides-ss1ko]

Great fun probably not the most 'relaxed' city in the country for your first ride but you are doing well. Also i find the number of mopeds to be higher than normal (and we hate them esp. the sound). Some people do signal but watching how they move and small signals from head/eyes and steering is the trick takes a while to get that. Have fun riding there are many videos in my channel to see a slightly more relaxed city of utrecht and its surroundings while biking. Rotterdam's history is partly to blame it will take a few more years for some of the (just after the war) parts to be at the same level than some other places. Still a great city to visit and ride but just like amsterdam has a slightly different bicycle feeling (for other reasons) than most of the country. I hope you also make it outside of the main cities its the way the whole network works that makes it great.

[@deetgeluid]

The only thing I have to say, is keep to the right more.❤

[@reynoutdecourt7983]

Fabulous video.

[@BestSideCycling]

Thank you for watching more to come soon!

[@allanohlsen7729]

It looks like a person really has to pay attention while riding. It has to be hard to not wear a helmet, and look like a dork 😅. The key to riding in the Netherlands is what you said, Hanock, ride with flow .

[@gerjannevanhees1496]

Ride with the flow and .............follow the rules!!!! It may seem like maeham, but in this craziness we follow the rules!!!

[@janottens6755]

There is one rule in bicycling to ride safe “ go with the flow “ and you will be okay 😅👍👍

[@PNW4K]

I was just in Amsterdam in April, wish I could've rode a bike around there. I got to rent a bike in Paris though! So many more people biking around Europe than Seattle

[@Wilem35]

There's always the salty cyclist.

[@sophiewillemhk]

Nice to see you ride my home town! Rotterdam has a long history of Chinese immigration, going back more than a century, when harbor laborers came over from the Dutch Indies and other parts of Asia. Rotterdam was home to the largest Chinatown in Europe in the 1930s. The boat you passed at the end is an Asian supermarket.

[@BestSideCycling]

Thanks for the context! Definitely felt great and I had some of my best pho ever there.

[@HjalmarDeVries]

Enjoy my motherland! People dont really signal, its more of feel that you can see where someone is looking/steering you can predict where everyone is going. If there are cars involved always signal!

[@dutchbicyclerides-ss1ko]

I akways signal !, i would guess about 10% signal, 5% probably correctly others with a slight underarm finger aiming at the ground.

[@cmmartti]

If you didn't have to take your arm off the handlebar I expect more people would signal turns Riding one-handed can be precarious, especially while braking. Riding in Canada in a small town with no bike infra and few cyclists, I only signal right turns if I'm approaching an all-way stop at the same time as another car, and left turns only if I'm riding on a busy street.

[@Wilem35]

Eye contact works well. Dutch aren't afraid to look you in the eye.

[@jannetteberends8730]

@@cmmarttion Dutch bikes you can easily ride without holding the handlebars. You can steer the bike with your legs. It’s the second thing you learn riding a bike. Riding it “without hands” 😀 So that’s not the reason, its laziness, I think.

[@ryn2844]

The lower traffic light is for people standing right next to it, so it's in obvious field of vision, and the higher up one is for people behind them, who can't look through the people in front of them. Also Rotterdam isn't the best place to cycle in the Netherlands. And hand signals are generally only done when they're necessary. They're meant to communicate something to a specific other person, not to just signal for the sake of signalling. If I'm not about to cross paths with anyone, I'm not signalling.

[@BestSideCycling]

Thanks for the information! No worries, I'm going to be hopefully hitting up a lot more including Ultrecht to get a better picture.

[@bosconian91]

Nice! Isn't it interesting that you chose not to wear your helmet just because most people weren't? When I was there, I only saw 2 cyclists wearing helmets and they were also wearing the full kit. Surprised you didn't bring your Brompton with you. I know it can be a hassle to travel with the bike sometimes. Have you thought of riding the Eurovelo at all? I'm thinking of doing the Eurovelo 15 next year with the B. No definite plans yet but seriously considering it. Next month, I'll bring the B to Okinawa for some riding. Cheers from Sacramento! Enjoy!

[@strikeformatik]

Cool that you saw Rotterdam. But as far as dutch infrastructure goes, its probably the only city that has the least common dutch layout? Rotterdam is very much still structured as a car centric city.

[@petersteinmeijer519]

Why were you racing ?

[@KaushikNSanji]

More than Brussels, the Limburg region of Belgium has some interesting places, like "Cycling through Water", "Cycling through Heathland" and "Cycling through the trees". May be next time, you can visit them.

[@BestSideCycling]

I missed out on the real good stuff but I did catch a giant car-free loop in the park? I think it was called The Bois de La Cambre if you have more details about that.

[@dimrrider9133]

There is a special route for with the Brabant province on both side its a great ride also to a flying roundabout (Hovenring) near Eindhoven.

[@dimrrider9133]

Love the modern architecture in Rotterdam but as a carpenter who help to rebuild the citycenter of Rotterdam its a plus because i build 5 a 6 buildings in it haha ;p

[@BestSideCycling]

Yes the depot and Markthal are super nice!

[@dimrrider9133]

@@BestSideCycling Dont forget the street you started to bike on the right there are some pretty constructionskills

[@Haroekoe]

I live in Rotterdam. I saw the area where I work and lived. You passed the hospital where my sister was born. I never used the tunnel by bike. Interesting. I live ten minutes bike ride from where you turned left to the Euromast. This was definitely not rush hour, but a regular number of bikes on the round. Since we are used to mopeds we aren't bothered by them. Also passing and crossing many bikes, also at close distances is not something I would notice or get irritated by.

[@alexhemel9678]

I'm not 100% sure, but I'm guessing the mini-traffic light at the cyclists traffic light is a great help when it rains and people don't wanna be looking up to see the normal traffic light?

[@lucasvanwijngaarden670]

There's a lot of benefits to it, but it all boils down to the light being in your field of vision when looking forward. So you can see the road and the sign at the same time.

[@Adventuregirl96]

I knew the Dutch had a bike culture, but it is different when see how many bikes there are. I do wonder if you missed all the hills in Seattle?

[@BestSideCycling]

I one hundred percent miss the hills xD not even a question.

[@jeannetitor]

rotterdam is like the most car-centric city of the netherlands ever since it was destroyed during ww2 and rebuilt in a more american-like fashion to prioritise car traffic, it may be hard to see for the foreigner but it shows to everyone else in the netherlands not brought up in rotterdam post-war

[@FerrybigGaming]

It looks like you are google maps for navigation, this is quite a badly designed app for bike navigation. It does not handle the situation where you have a road with 2 directional bike lanes on both directions. Some regions have this mapped correctly on their map, but many do not

[@ludwigguanipa3816]

When people is in your way, you are allowed to use your bell!

[@FrankHeuvelman]

But do it subtly. One little ping and you've got everyone's attention. If not, you go for a full ring-ring. That'll teach those headphone wearing bastards!

[@gerjannevanhees1496]

I disagree, do not use your bell

[@dutchuncle3310]

About mopeds on the bike path this is an inheritance of the past we’re in a transition phase at the moment mopeds with an yellow insurance plate aren’t allowed blue ones are for now. I haven’t seen fat bikes in this video they should definitely be on the main road, fast, and silent a combination that guarantees accidents.

[@larstueschjth2658]

U did'nt block them woman,u were both in the wrong lane😭😉

[@BestSideCycling]

Haha this is right. 🤣 Forgive me that was literally the first time I've ever seen the signage on the ground

[@lukaszspychaj9210]

Please signal when you turn

[@fladder1]

6:48 not in the wrong perse, but you have to remember that riding an e-bike at speed is not expected by a lot of people. You're not recognizable as such (no special sounds to warn, though you do have the bell you should use to warn someone you're intending to overtake, which hardly anyone uses these days) and your higher speed is difficult to anticipate by others.

[@BestSideCycling]

Haha I'm on a normal bike. Definitely I was fighting my habit of yelling on your left or ringing my been because no one else was doing it

[@fladder1]

@@BestSideCycling nice speed on a normal bike then! And while hardly anyone does it, ringing your bell is not frowned upon! Especially if you feel someone you're going to overtake hasn't noticed you.

[@gungfuriceboy]

why you no 'take' your Brompton???

[@BestSideCycling]

Family vacation. Needs of the many comes before the wants of me 😆

[@gungfuriceboy]

@@BestSideCycling fair enough! enjoy Sir!

[@michaelochoa3628]

Have you cycled in Utrecht?

[@BestSideCycling]

Check out my other recent video :)

[@intervrt]

i don't think they allow mopeds on bike lanes since a few years ago, at least that's what i've heard

[@kailahmann1823]

It still is allowed on default and needs to be banned with an extra sign - opposite to Germany, where it's illegal within cities (and needs to be allowed with an extra sign) :)

[@buddy1155]

That is only in Amsterdam inside the ring road, I would not be surprised that other cities are watching and might do the same.

[@Wilem35]

They allow micro cars as well.

[@Xenoxic]

Are you used to riding hard or something? You can just chill here and not be that tired at the end 😅🤙🏻

[@Mrdoriancourtney]

Should have rented a OV fiets.

[@kevartje1295]

Gosh who are you racing against???

[@Brozius2512]

It looks like he's going fast but he's actually not cycling that fast.

[@jeroenbakker52]

We all hate the mopeds but we do not really know what to do about them. You can't forbid people to ride them

[@BestSideCycling]

Yeah it just feels way too tight in some places and there's definitely people bringing in modded ones going way past 30 km

[@randar1969]

@@BestSideCycling Actually you can in Amsterdam Mopeds/Scooters are not allowed on bike lanes. Since a year or 2... But yeah for Rotterdam to follow Amsterdam's example i guess hell has to freeze over first.

[@randar1969]

Jeroen je zal wel nooit in Amsterdam komen waar het sinds een jaar of 2 niet meer mag. Op een paar uitzonderingen na waar het voor scooters te gevaarlijk wordt tussen het autoverkeer. Maar bij 95% van de fietspaden staat nu dat scooters er niet mogen rijden. Wat ze gelijk een stuk minder aantrekkelijk maakt om aan te schaffen. Nu nog de fatbikes ;-)

[@jeroenbakker52]

@@randar1969 Helaas trekken sommige scooters zich weinig aan van die regel want ze vinden het te gevaarlijk om tussen de auto's te rijden. Maar de fatbikes zijn inderdaad nog erger, die hoor je ook nog niet aankomen.

[@newmobile1455]

and America is still in last place with transportation cars are only good for long distance travel not traveling 2 miles

[@teunvanderwal646]

rotterdam is the least dutch city in the netherlands

[@HGZie]

Amsterdam*

[@Bramfly]

Take it easier dude, you bike a bit fast. Learning rules of the road is a necessity for safe riding (bike/car/).

[@Evolixe]

I can tell you're really getting a move on, but you might've been able to tell most people don't cycle here the way you do in the video. They're just cruising on their bikes. Roughly 20km/h is a speed most people can and do keep for a very long time

[@mandje2002]

why on earth do you wear gloves, you are on a city bike not a racing bike.

[@BestSideCycling]

Haha I ride all sorts of bikes on the channel. I am used to the gloves and they enhance my riding comfort so some habits die hard I guess :) not meant to offend anyone.

[@j.vanderson6239]

Watch the shark teeth on the road. When they point to you, you have to yield for all crossing traffic, including bikes

[@BestSideCycling]

@@j.vanderson6239 similar to the shark teeth do you know what the thin bars/rectangles mean? You see them on speed bumps but other places too... Does it just mean slow

[@ChristiaanHW]

@@BestSideCycling those lines on speed bumps make the bumps look bigger, so it makes drivers slow down a bit more. (and it makes the speed bump more noticeable) sometimes cities even paint those lines in places where there isn't even a speed bump, and drivers will still act like there is one.

[@lexievv]

​@@ChristiaanHWSame thing is applied on roads for cars. When entering a city you often see some kind of zig-zag line which is made to make it look less wide I believe, so your instinct tells you to slow down. Same as the road obstructions in neighbourhoods like the big planters. Also the reason why they use those smaller stones (klinkers) they make more noise when you drive over them which naturally makes (most) people want to slow down.

[@SpeedyBlueBiker1]

I'm a little surprised that no one wears helmets there.

[@dimrrider9133]

Its because our infra is that save.

[@Wilem35]

When your protected from cars there is no need for a helmet.

[@randar1969]

Actually when you wear a helmet , Cars usually give you less space causing more accidents. A car owner seeing a very vulnerable cyclist without a helm uncounsiously give them more space.. When you compare head injuries with countries where helmets are mandatory you would be surprised there are less accidents here. Ofcourse bike lanes seperated from all roads where cars are allowed to go faster then 30km helps enormously. And ofcourse 90% car owners have a bike for short distance travels here as well so they are more aware of the dangers.

[@herfkr]

In the Netherlands biking is walking-plus. When racing on a bike you waer a helmet.

[@Paul_C]

Next time watch the traffic, not your bloody phone.

[@meike7507]

Please keep your distance. You are right behind and sticking to other cyclists. Its rude and not safe. Why the rush?

[@peli71]

Learn to bike. It’s not a racetrack. You definitely drive dangerous. And put off the silly bikegloves.