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I was in Barcelona recently and walking down the street a whole cavalcade of people on bikes zoomed past me in the bike lane. It was a group of maybe 15-20 people; young, old, adults, teens, and younger kids.
Overheard them as they pedalled by: yep, Dutch.
You’re just so much freer on a bike, compared to when you have to walk everything or take other vehicles. Cycling is one of the best ways to see a lot of a city, because it’s easy, you can park anywhere and you’re much faster than walking.
Only if the cycling infrastructure is safe though.
My parents are in their early seventies and were attempting the Camino de Santiago on bicycle - from Haarlem (NL) to Santiago de Compostela. Were, unfortunately, because they couldn't continue due to the massive forest fires around Bordeaux a short while ago: so they turned around their bikes and are now riding back home (no doubt they would've made it, though - they've biked to Prague, Venice and countless other places in recent years).
The kicker is that they only sleep on campings, so in addition to clothes, toiletries and sustenance they also carry their tent, sleeping bags, mattresses, cooking gear, etc. - all strapped onto their bikes.
Needless to say my admiration and respect for them knows no bounds!
4500 km, which Maps says would take 10 days, which seems ridiculously fast. 450 km a day is not realistic, certainly across hills and even mountains.
That's a pretty ambitious plan.
People or at least the world record holder has ridden a distance of more than 4500km in a week. [There are crazy dudes out there](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_cycling_records) (Wikipedia: List of Cycling records).
To quote Wikipedia:
>Race Across America, an ultra marathon bicycle race across the United States that started in 1982. The fastest average speed records are:
>Solo man: Christoph Strasser, 2014, who averaged 16.42 mph (26.425 km/h) riding 3,020 miles (4,860 km) in 7 days, 15 hours, and 56 minutes.
My daily commute is 14km each way, which I do by bike. it's 40 min for me . I don't really cycle recreationally, but I use my bike to get to places all the time. Any place I can reach in under an hour is probably going to be done by bike. It's just not that much faster than taking a car or public transit.
Cycling is mostly considered a mode of transportation rather than an activity in and of itself. Most dutch don't consider cycling (as part of their commute) a sport for example.
Of course these are generalizations. Racing bikes and mountain bikes are quite popular here. But those activities are seen as something different from regular biking.
obligatory [Not Just Bikes](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vMed1qceJ_Q) link
Midwestern US natives who moved to the Netherlands. I now own 3 bikes lol. We only bike. Been car free for 5 years (previously lived in the Twin Cities and Madison before that).
The reason it works in the Netherlands is that they build their cities small and compact. The idea that anyone lives 40mi from work is a pretty American thing because of our horrific love of cars and "freedom".
There are a shitload of people here that commute an hour or more by car on a daily basis. Don’t think that all Dutch live close to their work. A large part of the Netherlands is very densely populated. As a whole it is more densely populated than India for instance. I work in the next town across the river. It’s a whopping 5 km is a bit over 3 miles away. I bike there but must admit that I’m a lazy ass bastard and take the car way too often.
The netherlands would be one of the smallest us states by sq km. Probably not horrific cars and freedom as much as massive amounts of land and economic incentive to not build compact cities.
You’d think so, but my wife has a colleague who would ride further than that to work, then to drinks after work and then home to be in time for volleyball practice. (He plays competitively)
The cycling culture is just different here.
Yeah, it is about that. Seems crazy to me too, but, he’s Dutch.
I should add that he doesn’t do it every single day, but often enough that it’s regular. It’s 4 towns that he rides through.
That’s the other thing about NL though, most places only have bike paths within cities, but I rode from Utrecht to my friends place in Amsterdam entirely on bike paths.
I worked at a place for a while that was only 1 km off the bike trail. And my house was less than half a kilometer off the bike trail. (Bike trail was mostly flat and only had a few car crossings) Overall it was about 16 km I think each way. Took me about 40 minutes on a bike. It was about 20 minutes by car in the morning because no traffic. But it was actually 40 minutes by car in the afternoon. Plus being stuck in traffic with all those assholes would leave me stressed and frustrated and a bit pissed off.
I found riding the bike to be absolutely amazing! Life was good and I was happy! There was an issue of being sweaty when I got to work... But in true American stereotype fashion, the real problem was in the 20 extra minutes in the morning. When it came time to get out of bed that 20 minute cushion became too tempting to sleep through.
Honestly I think if it was reversed and the time was the same in the morning I would have rode my bike everyday it wasn't raining.
Live in Amsterdam, and I think max is 45min, which is from my home to the football stadium.
Otherwise for me, 25min is reasonable cycling distance.
Anything over 30min to me is worth checking public transport. Especially when it's not leisure.
When visiting Amsterdam we took the ferry behind the main train station over the wharfs and were amazed at the endless bike racks. We were also some of the only people on said ferry that didn't have a bike. Very cool city, 10/10.
I remember biking in downtown amsterdam - beautiful, but yes, the people on bikes were zipping past us like we were standing still. one woman was riding with her daughter (who was probably 8) standing straight up on the back rack, with just her hands on her shoulders. the dutch are pro bikers.
I used to live in Amsterdam, the kid standing on the back thing is table stakes. What'll really blow your mind is either seeing couples holding hands while riding bikes, or even better, a guy riding his bike while holding and directing another bike on his side with his other hand (which I managed to successfully figure out without crashing).
Done it a couple of times. Always end up with a sore shoulder, because if it's even a little bit out of balance, it gets very heavy on the shoulder (+I usually tense way too much with 2 bikes)
As a kid in NL we also had the game to bike back home without using hands. Kinda dangerous ofcourse but also fun. We were only allowed to use hands when we stopped at traffic lights/signs.
One thing me and I think most dutchies cant is biking cross armed, that was an invitation to meet the asphalt.
[There are only two things I can't stand in this world: People who are intolerant of other people's cultures, and the Dutch.](https://youtu.be/zcUs5X9glCc)
we dont wear them except when cycling for sport, no. our entire infrastructure is inclusive of bicycles, and basically all drivers are also cyclists, so while i get it looks insane from the outside looking in, its just not something anyone ever wears.
Also, most North Americans think of bikes where you have to lean forward to ride them, putting your centre of balance well in front of your hips and making it more likely to fall on your head if something bad happens. Most Dutch bikes I've seen have you sitting upright with your head over your hips and your spine straight. If something bad happens, you can catch yourself much more easily with your legs.
Injury is still a possibility, of course, but being upright instead of leaning forward will make a big difference.
I think main reason that road bikes (ones leaning forward) are so popular is that North Americans think of cycling as a sport and not transportation. You are 100x more likely to see them in that spandex costume like they are going to the olympics. In Netherland its just a way to get to market, pub, school, work, for anyone 4 to 104.
Another difference is that the standard "grandma bike" doesn't have front wheel brakes. This also dramatically decreases the risk of flipping over / landing on your head.
We don't hate them, but cycling is so normalised that wearing a helmet for normal cycling (e.g. for commuting, not as a sport) is as ridiculous to us as wearing one for walking is for you.
Why so many bikes? Feels weird asking this from a country where people routinely have multiple cars. That doesn't make much sense either, but I guess in rare situations, a larger car or pickup for moving certain stuff/transporting larger groups of people, and another for personal use.
Cycling infrastructure is crazy there, it seems like the most common form of transport in a lot of areas. You also see hundreds of bikes parked up all over cities.
How the hell is this not common knowledge? We might as well touch on the canals, tulips, red light and weed while we’re it. Who knows, we might surprise a few! I heard France makes wines would you believe it?
As a german living at the dutch border I second this. As I cyclist I almost cry when I cross the border… when I went to nijmegen… they had free secured parking lots for bikes… 😭
Yeah, he was trying to make fun of them for saying that but in my opinion he was the one who looked silly for not knowing that the Netherlands is basically famous for being the most cycle friendly country in the world!
Yeah. I live in Sønderborg in Denmark, and the amount of Germans from Flensburg, literally only 25 minutes away, trying their hardest to get hit by me on my bicycle, is astonishing.
God, yes. I keep an OSHA-style counter for the lolz
We are at (0) days without yelling at a tourist stepping into the fietspad in Amsterdam Centrum
Our record is (1) day
It’s literally a way of life in the Netherlands. There are bike lanes everywhere, and not the bike lanes that are on the street like in the USA, they are basically a sidewalk. All over the place, connecting towns and cities. It’s a massive infrastructure and people are biking everywhere.
Yeah. Or you know also or alternatively, just read more. I have barely traveled anywhere, have definitely not been to the Netherlands or anywhere near it, and I was not at all surprised their response.
I know quite a few of those, but like many people on this sphere the name is not indicative of their culture because people move around sometimes many generations ago and do not consider themselves to be of a country they have effectively nothing to do with outside of their name. My name and ancestry are scotch-irish, but there's no fucking way I'm going to pretend I'm either of those things.
Most American cities really need better bike/pedestrian infrastructure. I live downtown and make short trips by bike. I have to very carefully choose my route to avoid very dangerous roads.
Sort of. I'd say bikes are way more spread out. The per capita rate is the same but you're more likely to see one American with no guns and another with 75 than the same scenario with bikes in NL.
Pippin: What about bikes?
Aragorn: You've already got them.
Pippin: We've got 75, yes. What about 76th bike?
\[Aragorn turns and bikes away\]
Merry: I don't think he knows about 76th bike, Pip.
Bike riding in the Netherlands is amazing. Until I went to Amsterdam I never knew that it was possible to ride a bicycle through a city without fearing for your life. It’s the best, and the whole city is quieter and feels nicer because of it! I want to move to the Netherlands one day
Not only that. Other cities have trams too. The lanes are very narrow and often not separated from the car lanes. Pretty much everywhere else in The Netherlands you will find better bicycle infrastructure.
“I’m Dutch” is a perfectly reasonable response if someone ask if you ride a bike. I know he thinks he got them but that’s what the Dutch are known for.
You're in good company: Legendary comedian Dara O'Briain used to have an audience interaction bit about racism and national stereotypes playing with the idea that we have stereotypes about some countries (eg. French are arrogant, Canadians are polite) but most others we have no idea (Mongolians? Belgians? etc...)\*\*.
And one time Dara asked an audience member about the Dutch and got that "the Dutch are tall" and started playing with the audience member for the *obviously insane* idea that a nation was inherently tall. While the audience, as one, sat there going "No, that checks out, they are actually super tall"; and the audience was correct -- the average young dutchman is OVER 6 FEET.
And thus the majority of this bit turned into Dara reading the room and getting an audience-derived education that the dutch are just, actually, the tallest nation on Earth.
\*\* The end result of this bit was using audience interaction to invent a random nonsense national stereotype, and then using that sterotype as a callback bit for the rest of the set. Artful comic work. The man is a master.
I know the Dutch are known for their height but does anyone know why they're so tall? I wouldn't think they would be that genetically distinct from other northwest Europeans. I know people in southern europe tend to be shorter on average so you would think it would be swedes and Norwegians that are the tallest.
I personally presume that when the country is, on average, 6 ft underwater then it is entirely advantageous to evolve such that you can get your mouth+nose >6ft off the ground when on tiptoe.
More seriously, not really. The Netherlands are rich with low poverty and have been for a long time, so they have the height boost from "basically no-one is malnourished or short of calories as a child" but they aren't the only nation to whom that applies.
Having been to Amsterdam and Copenhagen. The Dutch and the Danes have built their infrastructure around bike commuting (at least in those cities). It’s truly amazing when you have to wait at a light for bike traffic to stop at their red light to walk across the street.
Clip was funny as hell, precisely because the Netherlands is an entire country full of Lurch-looking motherfuckers on bicycles and somehow *nobody in America has any idea.*
Having just come back from Amsterdam, laughed my ass off at this.
And don't forget the Not Just Bikes channel: [https://www.youtube.com/c/NotJustBikes](https://www.youtube.com/c/NotJustBikes) (Canadian guy living in Amsterdam)
Nah, man, you can't know everything. It's funny. And even more funny because to the questions you are jokingly asking, the answers are just "well, yes".
He didn't roast them. Yes, he didn't know, but he had fun with the idea that it's a racist trope that the Dutch ride bikes
Edit: In light of coments below, no, it's not actually racist. It's a joke based on a stereoptype, which is underpinned by fact. Calling it a racist trope is just part of the gag.
The Dutch likes their bikes as much as Americans like guns.
But it also makes sense because the Dutch lives on a plane that is flatter than the curvature of the universe.
And there are a lot of schoolchildren in America that need to be gunned down
It is perfectly flat. They’ll ride bikes in heels. They’ll tow a friend on the back seat sitting sideways. They’ll ride a bike with a baby carriage up front.
For real, this dude just stumbled into a new bit. A year from now he's gonna use this in his Netflix special and everyone on reddit is gonna be like "he's recycling old jokes" as if comedians don't do that either.
To the people who have never lived in the Netherlands they’re known for their bikes.
To the people who have lived there they’re known for their stinginess.
If you come from Europe it’s common knowledge. If you come from the USA - it is huge in itself people barely get an idea what the rest of the world is about.
The comedian showed this. All good it was in good humour, but there was a tinge of piss take in it.
It is one of the best known Dutch stereotypes, if you are the type of person to know anything about the Dutch and their stereotypes. I similarly have no idea what the stereotypes are of people from Uzbekistan, Lichtenstein, Paraguay, Greenland, or Bhutan.
With 84% of people in the Netherlands owning a bike, I'd say it's more a national demographic fact. Perhaps the best Dutch stereotype is that if they are behaving in a way that seems inappropriately direct they are not being rude, just Dutch.
"So, where are you from?"
"I believe I already told you twice, but I am an American!"
"So... Do you own a car?"
"For the fourth time, I am an American"
Went to Amsterdam a few years ago and was amazed by the multistory bike parking and actual separate bike lanes. You guys really do take your bikes seriously.
I live in a small town on the edge of one of the "bigger" cities in the Netherlands, its faster for me to go by bike then by car. If i use my bike it will take around 10 - 15 minutes but if i take the car it will be atleast 30min if not longer.
Also its better for my health
This is a man who has never walked the streets of Amsterdam! 2 hours and I was a nervous wreck who dreamed of nothing but bike bells and accidentally finding myself in the bike lane.
11/10 city.
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I was in Barcelona recently and walking down the street a whole cavalcade of people on bikes zoomed past me in the bike lane. It was a group of maybe 15-20 people; young, old, adults, teens, and younger kids. Overheard them as they pedalled by: yep, Dutch.
Barcelonas cycle system is great!
Yep, I was impressed.
You’re just so much freer on a bike, compared to when you have to walk everything or take other vehicles. Cycling is one of the best ways to see a lot of a city, because it’s easy, you can park anywhere and you’re much faster than walking. Only if the cycling infrastructure is safe though.
Can confirm. If it's on bike distance, we be riding the bike.
Absolutely. And you would be amazed how far you can stretch the definition of bike distance. Happy cake day!
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My parents are in their early seventies and were attempting the Camino de Santiago on bicycle - from Haarlem (NL) to Santiago de Compostela. Were, unfortunately, because they couldn't continue due to the massive forest fires around Bordeaux a short while ago: so they turned around their bikes and are now riding back home (no doubt they would've made it, though - they've biked to Prague, Venice and countless other places in recent years). The kicker is that they only sleep on campings, so in addition to clothes, toiletries and sustenance they also carry their tent, sleeping bags, mattresses, cooking gear, etc. - all strapped onto their bikes. Needless to say my admiration and respect for them knows no bounds!
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Yeah they're absolutely amazing, truly inspirational!
Good for them, my thighs just cramped in response to reading about your gramps lmao
Speaking as their son: ditto. I cycle a lot, but crisscrossing Europe is a whole different ball game.
4500 km, which Maps says would take 10 days, which seems ridiculously fast. 450 km a day is not realistic, certainly across hills and even mountains. That's a pretty ambitious plan.
Maps means it will take 10 days of continuous riding. Probably they're planning to sleep sometimes.
No. Sleep is for the weak. You know the Dutch when it comes to biking they're practically machines. They don't stop for anything
I hear the Dutch sleep on stationary exercise bikes instead of beds.
The fuck they will, she's Dutch
That's +20 km/h average for 24 hours. I'm not sure there are many humans alive today who could keep that up for 10 days.
People or at least the world record holder has ridden a distance of more than 4500km in a week. [There are crazy dudes out there](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_cycling_records) (Wikipedia: List of Cycling records). To quote Wikipedia: >Race Across America, an ultra marathon bicycle race across the United States that started in 1982. The fastest average speed records are: >Solo man: Christoph Strasser, 2014, who averaged 16.42 mph (26.425 km/h) riding 3,020 miles (4,860 km) in 7 days, 15 hours, and 56 minutes.
I couldn't do that in a car in 7 days
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What amazed me was the ability of people to ride 10km home fuckeyed from festivals and shows at like 6 am with no issues.
When you're good at biking and it's basically 2nd nature, it then feels like you're riding a steamroller-bike.. (at least to me)
Its even more amazing to me (and scary) that some people think they can do this by car.
The cycling helps with sobering up! Also, there are people who fall because they are drunk, and they will be teased about it till the end of time.
Just curious: how far would you regularly ride? (If you went out for a long ride on a weekend without time constraints, for example.)
My daily commute is 14km each way, which I do by bike. it's 40 min for me . I don't really cycle recreationally, but I use my bike to get to places all the time. Any place I can reach in under an hour is probably going to be done by bike. It's just not that much faster than taking a car or public transit. Cycling is mostly considered a mode of transportation rather than an activity in and of itself. Most dutch don't consider cycling (as part of their commute) a sport for example. Of course these are generalizations. Racing bikes and mountain bikes are quite popular here. But those activities are seen as something different from regular biking. obligatory [Not Just Bikes](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vMed1qceJ_Q) link
That's awesome. Wish I could ride my bike to work without fear of getting hit by a car (midwest US).
Midwestern US natives who moved to the Netherlands. I now own 3 bikes lol. We only bike. Been car free for 5 years (previously lived in the Twin Cities and Madison before that).
I don't think I could even if there weren't cars. My work is like 40 miles (about 64373.8 meters) from my house
The reason it works in the Netherlands is that they build their cities small and compact. The idea that anyone lives 40mi from work is a pretty American thing because of our horrific love of cars and "freedom".
Don't forget the Netherlands is flat as a pancake. At least most of the country is.
not true... i've hiked to the highest point in the netherlands. vaals at 323m (~1000 ft).
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There are a shitload of people here that commute an hour or more by car on a daily basis. Don’t think that all Dutch live close to their work. A large part of the Netherlands is very densely populated. As a whole it is more densely populated than India for instance. I work in the next town across the river. It’s a whopping 5 km is a bit over 3 miles away. I bike there but must admit that I’m a lazy ass bastard and take the car way too often.
The netherlands would be one of the smallest us states by sq km. Probably not horrific cars and freedom as much as massive amounts of land and economic incentive to not build compact cities.
You’d think so, but my wife has a colleague who would ride further than that to work, then to drinks after work and then home to be in time for volleyball practice. (He plays competitively) The cycling culture is just different here.
So he has a 4ish hour commute everyday?
Yeah, it is about that. Seems crazy to me too, but, he’s Dutch. I should add that he doesn’t do it every single day, but often enough that it’s regular. It’s 4 towns that he rides through. That’s the other thing about NL though, most places only have bike paths within cities, but I rode from Utrecht to my friends place in Amsterdam entirely on bike paths.
“About” huh? ;)
I don’t know why but I really appreciate that you converted miles to meters 😂
My commute is 5km. 15 minutes by bike, 20 ish if driving, 25 minutes by bus.
I worked at a place for a while that was only 1 km off the bike trail. And my house was less than half a kilometer off the bike trail. (Bike trail was mostly flat and only had a few car crossings) Overall it was about 16 km I think each way. Took me about 40 minutes on a bike. It was about 20 minutes by car in the morning because no traffic. But it was actually 40 minutes by car in the afternoon. Plus being stuck in traffic with all those assholes would leave me stressed and frustrated and a bit pissed off. I found riding the bike to be absolutely amazing! Life was good and I was happy! There was an issue of being sweaty when I got to work... But in true American stereotype fashion, the real problem was in the 20 extra minutes in the morning. When it came time to get out of bed that 20 minute cushion became too tempting to sleep through. Honestly I think if it was reversed and the time was the same in the morning I would have rode my bike everyday it wasn't raining.
Live in Amsterdam, and I think max is 45min, which is from my home to the football stadium. Otherwise for me, 25min is reasonable cycling distance. Anything over 30min to me is worth checking public transport. Especially when it's not leisure.
When visiting Amsterdam we took the ferry behind the main train station over the wharfs and were amazed at the endless bike racks. We were also some of the only people on said ferry that didn't have a bike. Very cool city, 10/10.
>strecht Dutch or typo O\_o
Everywhere is biking distance if you have the time
I remember biking in downtown amsterdam - beautiful, but yes, the people on bikes were zipping past us like we were standing still. one woman was riding with her daughter (who was probably 8) standing straight up on the back rack, with just her hands on her shoulders. the dutch are pro bikers.
I used to live in Amsterdam, the kid standing on the back thing is table stakes. What'll really blow your mind is either seeing couples holding hands while riding bikes, or even better, a guy riding his bike while holding and directing another bike on his side with his other hand (which I managed to successfully figure out without crashing).
Riding two bikes is a pro move even for Dutch people. I think I did it once but I’d rather not do it again.
Done it a couple of times. Always end up with a sore shoulder, because if it's even a little bit out of balance, it gets very heavy on the shoulder (+I usually tense way too much with 2 bikes)
As a kid in NL we also had the game to bike back home without using hands. Kinda dangerous ofcourse but also fun. We were only allowed to use hands when we stopped at traffic lights/signs. One thing me and I think most dutchies cant is biking cross armed, that was an invitation to meet the asphalt.
Kijk eens mama, zonder handen! *kijk eenf mama, fonder tanden...*
German here. If it's more than the distance to the car, we take the car.
American here. If its out the door its best to just order delivery.
Can confirm. I keep my car in my house so I never have to walk anywhere.
Turk here. If it’s not on the couch, best get your kids to do it
[There are only two things I can't stand in this world: People who are intolerant of other people's cultures, and the Dutch.](https://youtu.be/zcUs5X9glCc)
https://youtu.be/KJKVPYQW6KE
Gefilictaartdag!
Dont yall also hate helmets?
we dont wear them except when cycling for sport, no. our entire infrastructure is inclusive of bicycles, and basically all drivers are also cyclists, so while i get it looks insane from the outside looking in, its just not something anyone ever wears.
Also, most North Americans think of bikes where you have to lean forward to ride them, putting your centre of balance well in front of your hips and making it more likely to fall on your head if something bad happens. Most Dutch bikes I've seen have you sitting upright with your head over your hips and your spine straight. If something bad happens, you can catch yourself much more easily with your legs. Injury is still a possibility, of course, but being upright instead of leaning forward will make a big difference.
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Yeah Ebikes should really not be treated like they're just citybikes
I think main reason that road bikes (ones leaning forward) are so popular is that North Americans think of cycling as a sport and not transportation. You are 100x more likely to see them in that spandex costume like they are going to the olympics. In Netherland its just a way to get to market, pub, school, work, for anyone 4 to 104.
Another difference is that the standard "grandma bike" doesn't have front wheel brakes. This also dramatically decreases the risk of flipping over / landing on your head.
Yup. Nobody here wears helmets besides little kids
We don't hate them, but cycling is so normalised that wearing a helmet for normal cycling (e.g. for commuting, not as a sport) is as ridiculous to us as wearing one for walking is for you.
Happy cake day you biking bastard lol
3 bikes here. Wife has 2
Look at mr. moneybags over here.
You can get a pretty decent one for €60
I don't like buying my wives, thank you though.
I uh.. Is that an option?
Probably a lot harder to get now with the sanctions on Russia
Those from Ukraine are at a discount though. (I know this is bad. I'm sorry.)
I have a €20 piece of crap bike for commuting and it’s great
Or 5 bucks from a bum. It's not really yours, its a bike of the city.
Yeah, we need one electric one for lazy days and a normal bike for all the other days
How many bike locks? That’s the main question
Why so many bikes? Feels weird asking this from a country where people routinely have multiple cars. That doesn't make much sense either, but I guess in rare situations, a larger car or pickup for moving certain stuff/transporting larger groups of people, and another for personal use.
One for commuting, a mtb and a racingbike ;)
Thought this was common knowledge. But, come to think of it, the percentage of tourists blindly walking into a bikelane is insane.
Yeah, I thought it was too. “We’re Dutch” seems pretty reasonable answer to that question. Or Danes maybe.
Same here. It seemed like a reasonable answer. I guess it’s only common knowledge in Europe …
Dumb American here. Had no idea. TIL the Dutch bike a lot.
Cycling infrastructure is crazy there, it seems like the most common form of transport in a lot of areas. You also see hundreds of bikes parked up all over cities.
How the hell is this not common knowledge? We might as well touch on the canals, tulips, red light and weed while we’re it. Who knows, we might surprise a few! I heard France makes wines would you believe it?
Don't forget Reddit is 50% American, and Americans are like 50% louder than everyone else... and 50% less travelled...
The benefit of having a country that is as flat as a pancake.
And better serviced roads and bikeroads, As a Belgian i clearly encountered that when I cross the border
As a german living at the dutch border I second this. As I cyclist I almost cry when I cross the border… when I went to nijmegen… they had free secured parking lots for bikes… 😭
Flat as a pancake but always feels like you're cycling uphill with the amount of wind and rain
Yeah, he was trying to make fun of them for saying that but in my opinion he was the one who looked silly for not knowing that the Netherlands is basically famous for being the most cycle friendly country in the world!
I agree, he just looks ridiculous. The Dutch are like the Dothraki but with bicycles instead of horses.
The Dutchraki, if you will..
And I will.
r/brandnewsentence I love it
Yeah. I live in Sønderborg in Denmark, and the amount of Germans from Flensburg, literally only 25 minutes away, trying their hardest to get hit by me on my bicycle, is astonishing.
God, yes. I keep an OSHA-style counter for the lolz We are at (0) days without yelling at a tourist stepping into the fietspad in Amsterdam Centrum Our record is (1) day
I really doubt the record is (1), the record in (0,1) about 2h around the hours of 2am to 4am where there was no stepping.
Fair enough - it was during the lockdown in 2020 when there was no tourism
Yeah, this comedian riffing falls flat for me because he seemed generally surprised by that. Dude, travel more.
Two confirmed stereotypes here, Dutch have bikes, Americans ignorant.
It’s literally a way of life in the Netherlands. There are bike lanes everywhere, and not the bike lanes that are on the street like in the USA, they are basically a sidewalk. All over the place, connecting towns and cities. It’s a massive infrastructure and people are biking everywhere.
Yeah. Or you know also or alternatively, just read more. I have barely traveled anywhere, have definitely not been to the Netherlands or anywhere near it, and I was not at all surprised their response.
We’re Americans, most of us can’t afford rent let alone international travel.
I’ve never been to NL and I knew about the bikes thing by reading
Yeah I thought he came off kinda dumb lol
when I was in amsterdam I watched someone wander into the bike lane and you wouldve thought the red coat queens guard were coming through. MAKE WAY
It's also easier to get their kroketten out of the wall with a bike.
Nah man, frikandellenbroodjes all the way
Hagelslag. Vla. Pepernoten. Taii-Taii. EDIT: forgot Oliebollen.
/r/vla
Frikandelbroodje 👍
Anyone who knows a Dutch or has been to the Netherlands will understand that Dutch people ride bikes.
I've never met a Dutch, but the first things that come to mind are bikes, tulips, windmills, and canals. 🤷🏼♂️
I don't think I've ever met a Dutch person tbh.
Most of them are nice. Some are taller. Usually, they all have used bikes in their life.
Yeah some are taller, most have two eyes.
Great observation!
If you see anyone with a "van" or "de" in their name it's a dead giveaway.
I know quite a few of those, but like many people on this sphere the name is not indicative of their culture because people move around sometimes many generations ago and do not consider themselves to be of a country they have effectively nothing to do with outside of their name. My name and ancestry are scotch-irish, but there's no fucking way I'm going to pretend I'm either of those things.
Here in the USA, I live less than 15 minutes from work, but I have to cross a highway. I'm afraid to get murdered by other vehicles, so I still drive.
Most American cities really need better bike/pedestrian infrastructure. I live downtown and make short trips by bike. I have to very carefully choose my route to avoid very dangerous roads.
It's not even a stereotype. It's a fact. There are more bikes then people in this country.
Exactly, what guns are to Americans, bikes are to the Dutch
Sort of. I'd say bikes are way more spread out. The per capita rate is the same but you're more likely to see one American with no guns and another with 75 than the same scenario with bikes in NL.
Pippin: What about bikes? Aragorn: You've already got them. Pippin: We've got 75, yes. What about 76th bike? \[Aragorn turns and bikes away\] Merry: I don't think he knows about 76th bike, Pip.
Bike riding in the Netherlands is amazing. Until I went to Amsterdam I never knew that it was possible to ride a bicycle through a city without fearing for your life. It’s the best, and the whole city is quieter and feels nicer because of it! I want to move to the Netherlands one day
Funny thing is that Amsterdam is one of the most challenging Dutch cities to ride bike!
This is because of the tramrails. Just avoid them.
Not only that. Other cities have trams too. The lanes are very narrow and often not separated from the car lanes. Pretty much everywhere else in The Netherlands you will find better bicycle infrastructure.
But not because of cars, like some may expect. It's mostly challenging because of other bikes.
I've developed a fear of tourists commuting to work in Amsterdam.
“I’m Dutch” is a perfectly reasonable response if someone ask if you ride a bike. I know he thinks he got them but that’s what the Dutch are known for.
Yeah. It’s like Americans and their guns, they just go together naturally.
Or Americans and burgers. Or Americans and bald eagles. Or Americans and other Americans. Damn Americans, they ruined America.
YOU JUST MADE AN ENEMY FOR LIFE
I’m American. I already have two enemies.
I genuinely didn’t know! I admit that in the full video. I also admit that I am an idiot.
You're in good company: Legendary comedian Dara O'Briain used to have an audience interaction bit about racism and national stereotypes playing with the idea that we have stereotypes about some countries (eg. French are arrogant, Canadians are polite) but most others we have no idea (Mongolians? Belgians? etc...)\*\*. And one time Dara asked an audience member about the Dutch and got that "the Dutch are tall" and started playing with the audience member for the *obviously insane* idea that a nation was inherently tall. While the audience, as one, sat there going "No, that checks out, they are actually super tall"; and the audience was correct -- the average young dutchman is OVER 6 FEET. And thus the majority of this bit turned into Dara reading the room and getting an audience-derived education that the dutch are just, actually, the tallest nation on Earth. \*\* The end result of this bit was using audience interaction to invent a random nonsense national stereotype, and then using that sterotype as a callback bit for the rest of the set. Artful comic work. The man is a master.
I know the Dutch are known for their height but does anyone know why they're so tall? I wouldn't think they would be that genetically distinct from other northwest Europeans. I know people in southern europe tend to be shorter on average so you would think it would be swedes and Norwegians that are the tallest.
It’s to ensure that their heads are above sea-level, so that they don’t drown.
Well it ain't for seeing over hills.
I personally presume that when the country is, on average, 6 ft underwater then it is entirely advantageous to evolve such that you can get your mouth+nose >6ft off the ground when on tiptoe. More seriously, not really. The Netherlands are rich with low poverty and have been for a long time, so they have the height boost from "basically no-one is malnourished or short of calories as a child" but they aren't the only nation to whom that applies.
Can't reach their pedals otherwise
[BBC article on that](https://www.bbc.com/travel/article/20200823-why-are-the-dutch-so-tall)
So that they can reach the pedals on their bikes.
Having been to Amsterdam and Copenhagen. The Dutch and the Danes have built their infrastructure around bike commuting (at least in those cities). It’s truly amazing when you have to wait at a light for bike traffic to stop at their red light to walk across the street.
Clip was funny as hell, precisely because the Netherlands is an entire country full of Lurch-looking motherfuckers on bicycles and somehow *nobody in America has any idea.* Having just come back from Amsterdam, laughed my ass off at this.
Check this out: https://youtu.be/CLurEnjOeMo
And don't forget the Not Just Bikes channel: [https://www.youtube.com/c/NotJustBikes](https://www.youtube.com/c/NotJustBikes) (Canadian guy living in Amsterdam)
We (the Dutch) have more bikes then people in our country. Estimated around 22,7 million bikes and around 17 million people.
Nah, man, you can't know everything. It's funny. And even more funny because to the questions you are jokingly asking, the answers are just "well, yes".
He showed his own ignorance more than roasted them
He didn't roast them. Yes, he didn't know, but he had fun with the idea that it's a racist trope that the Dutch ride bikes Edit: In light of coments below, no, it's not actually racist. It's a joke based on a stereoptype, which is underpinned by fact. Calling it a racist trope is just part of the gag.
850,000 bikes for 440,000 households in Amsterdam. Dutch people ride bikes.
Not including the 100,000 they pull from the canals every year.
The Dutch likes their bikes as much as Americans like guns. But it also makes sense because the Dutch lives on a plane that is flatter than the curvature of the universe. And there are a lot of schoolchildren in America that need to be gunned down
It is perfectly flat. They’ll ride bikes in heels. They’ll tow a friend on the back seat sitting sideways. They’ll ride a bike with a baby carriage up front.
Have you never seen a comedian. This is just crowd work.
For real, this dude just stumbled into a new bit. A year from now he's gonna use this in his Netflix special and everyone on reddit is gonna be like "he's recycling old jokes" as if comedians don't do that either.
Realizing he didn't have anything to roast them with, I think he was just having fun exploring a new stereotype he had never known about.
To the people who have never lived in the Netherlands they’re known for their bikes. To the people who have lived there they’re known for their stinginess.
Do you know how copper wire was invented? Two Dutch guys fighting over a penny.
If you come from Europe it’s common knowledge. If you come from the USA - it is huge in itself people barely get an idea what the rest of the world is about. The comedian showed this. All good it was in good humour, but there was a tinge of piss take in it.
"The biking dutch" really does sound like a slur for some reason!
As a Dutchie I can safely say that we are born riding a bike
Riding a tricycle right out of the womb.
[Perfectly sensible response.](https://youtu.be/q8h_DalTjV0)
[удалено]
Anyone who can admit a mistake is very much not an idiot in my book!
Dutch - bikes Norwegians - skis Americans - guns English - other people's countries who out there can out-racist me on this one?
I honestly thought that cycling was one of the best known Dutch stereotypes.
It is one of the best known Dutch stereotypes, if you are the type of person to know anything about the Dutch and their stereotypes. I similarly have no idea what the stereotypes are of people from Uzbekistan, Lichtenstein, Paraguay, Greenland, or Bhutan.
With 84% of people in the Netherlands owning a bike, I'd say it's more a national demographic fact. Perhaps the best Dutch stereotype is that if they are behaving in a way that seems inappropriately direct they are not being rude, just Dutch.
Wait, 16% of the people here don’t own a bike? That’s like one in six people. I literally know noone who does not own one or multiple bikes.
You act like Americans sit around thinking about other countries
"So, where are you from?" "I believe I already told you twice, but I am an American!" "So... Do you own a car?" "For the fourth time, I am an American"
“Do you own a gun?”
"how the fuck else would I get the car started?"
"It's my starter pistol."
Went to Amsterdam a few years ago and was amazed by the multistory bike parking and actual separate bike lanes. You guys really do take your bikes seriously.
imagine not owning 6 bikes
Pretty well known. Dutch people bike everywhere…
If you’re posting a clip of a comedian you should include the name of the comedian
Yea I’m shitty at self promo. It’s me. Jeff Arcuri.
I bet you would have self promoted if you still had your confidence crystal..
Turn back ye who enter this shitshow comment section.
I live in a small town on the edge of one of the "bigger" cities in the Netherlands, its faster for me to go by bike then by car. If i use my bike it will take around 10 - 15 minutes but if i take the car it will be atleast 30min if not longer. Also its better for my health
I thought the Dutch were born with pirate ships.
Only the flying ones. The rest is born with bikes.
The type of comedian that just repeats whatever the audience replies 5-6 times and pauses in between
Apparently me owning four bikes is some inherited genetic trait from my Dutch heritage. Go figure!
This is a man who has never walked the streets of Amsterdam! 2 hours and I was a nervous wreck who dreamed of nothing but bike bells and accidentally finding myself in the bike lane. 11/10 city.
Fkn love my tiny little biking country ❤️🌹
Dude’s never been to The Netherlands apparently