Biking

This is an example of "bike parking" at the mall. You should see the thousands of bikes parked at Central Station.
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Biking is a main stay for the Dutch. There are bike paths to get you anywhere you want to go in the country. It is not uncommon to see people bike to work in their best suits and dresses. The bike paths are well cared for and maintained and so far we have been using bikes as the main method of travel for our exploration around the city and our travel to work. This does not mean that there are not many cars but the weird thing for us to get use to is that the cars are actually looking for bikers and cars tend to yield to bikes at most stops. The bike paths often mirror the streets with the cars and so the bike paths at times have their own streetlights and signs.

Traffic signals for bikes. This one even has a turning lane!
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Besides the mere numbers of people using bike and traveling on bikes one big difference between the States and The Netherlands is the idea behind helmets. The only bikers who wear helmets are the serious bikers on road bikes. Adults and children do not wear helmets as a general rule. As Jen and I have rode around we have watched many kids of all ages travel on bikes without helmets. We have watched parents ride with their babies and young kids strapped to their front handlebars and another strapped to the back and not seem to worry about anything. That is not to mention the groceries, clothes, and other major appliances that they have on their bikes as well. We always chuckle and smile when we see the infants flying along on the seat positioned on the front of their parents’ handlebars. It is an absolute sight to see.

Jen riding to work through the forest.
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Much of our ride to work takes place through a park. We have included a picture that shows the forested path that we ride through each time we go to work. We are always greeted by some type of animal (roosters, ducks, swans, horses, or dogs) whenever we are out on our bike. Between the kids on the handlebars and the animals all over the place, the scenery we see on our bikes is generally very entertaining.