Mostly by JJ
There are literally more bicycles than people in Amsterdam, as many people own two or three for different purposes.
They will have a light, fast bike for pleasure and a bike with kiddie carriers for taking their small children. Many bikes have two kiddie pillion seats complete with foot-rests, plus a trailer which has its own pedals so that the child passenger can contribute. Other bikes have an extension on the front – a wooden box with seats. The front wheel is steered by an extended arm from the handlebars. The parent will often have a third bike, a folding one that folds down to hand-luggage size for train journeys, complete with either hub gears or a single derailleur setup for seven gears.
We have noticed that children (and their parents) are very calm. Perhaps that’s a consequence of travelling in families by bicycle. Or maybe it’s just that the Dutch are fantastic parents. One rarely hears a distressed child. Parents ride their bikes along singing and talking with their children and many times we will see kids sitting in the bucket at the front of the bike nattering away to each other. We have never seen a child object to getting into or onto the bike – In New Zealand we see children throwing tantrums because they have to get into the car or into a car seat. Hmmmmmmmmm!!!!
The other day JJ watched a man walking along the street with his little girl, who for some reason begun to throw a tantrum. The man just smiled and kept walking, holding her hand. She carried on for about half a minute and then stopped, as there was no point. It was brilliant.
Tags: Bike Rides, daily living, family
