What do Dutch cyclists learn about bike handling in their vaunted public-school bicycling courses? Evidently not much. In the video here
(auch hier auf Deutsch), I don’t see even one cyclist who has learned how to stop and restart efficiently and safely. Many hop forward off the saddle. Others tiptoe with one foot on the ground while remaining seated. This is practical with a low saddle, but the saddle on most bicycles shown is too high to make this very stable. Gears are not used efficiently for acceleration, if a bicycle has them at all. I don’t see a single example of the pedal-step technique which is taught in League of American Bicyclist and CyclingSavvy courses.
0.09 kid is sitting on the saddle at a stop with both feet dangling, then hops off.
0:25, cyclist hops off with both feet, then reaches out to push the button on the pole.
0:32: one bicyclist hops forward, the other awkwardly remains sitting on the saddle tiptoeing with one foot to keep the bicycle upright.
1:19 a cyclist is using a pole for balance while remaining seated and tiptoeing.
1:41 A cyclist is seated on the saddle, one foot on the forward pedal near the bottom of the stroke, unable to apply power to restart efficiently, and the other foot on a curb, then finally pulls the pedal up when he has finished rearranging things in his bag.
2:27 A cyclist remains seated with both feet on the pedals, using a pole with a pushbutton for balance. This is actually efficient if you have a pole, or an assistant at a velodrome, to hold you upright. But 2:44, the cyclist starts out in a very high gear. This appears to be the only gear the bicycle has. A single-speed should be geared lower.
3:00 another pole-balancing act and the bicycle has derailleur gears but the cyclist isn’t using them effectively — starts in a middle gear, then appears actually to shift down as he speeds up.
3:15 A crowd of cyclists is waiting and not one is poised to restart efficiently. They start out awkwardly and slowly. The clip cuts off just as another cyclist is about to cut across at speed in front of them, having ignored a traffic signal and riding the wrong way. This is the only bicyclist in the video who displays a bike-handling skill: efficient pedaling. But the Netherlands does not support faster urban cycling either with infastructure or with education, and when this is so, faster cyclists tend to become outlaws.
3:50 cyclist is off the saddle but she put the wrong foot on the ground when she stopped, and doesn’t turn the cranks backward to starting position.
Looks exactly like cycling in Germany, too. My favourite part was when people would ride in front of you and then try to get started from a super-high gear with their feet in the wrong position. I was the only person I ever saw who geared up from low through an intersection.
Video is also available with English subtitles and narration: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-GcocOUVRa4
Cheers!
I don’t understand the point of this post. So even the Dutch use their bicycles in an inefficient manner. I’m not convinced it matters in any significant way. How often does it become a safety problem?
The point? I find it surprising and disturbing to see that clumsy and inefficient is the norm for the basic bicycle-handling skill of stopping and restarting in the Netherlands, which is held up as a paragon of cycling. You would think that people who had been riding bicycles regularly for a decade or more would have developed some skill and grace with this basic skill, but no.
Being well in control of the bicycle isn’t a safety skill? But also, isn’t being at one with the machine, rather than struggling with it, essential to enjoyment of cycling?
Pingback: Another embarrassing Dutch bicycle education video | John S. Allen's Bicycle Blog
Pingback: Another embarrassing Dutch bicycle education video | John S. Allen's Bicycle Blog
Is this a joke?
I mean really, do you take the time to write on your blog about how you are a better bicyclist than Dutch children? Maybe, you know, try going there, and see what it looks like in a country where everyone rides a bicycle, not just old, white men in lycra.
No, Ari, this is not a joke. Turning left from the right side of the road without checking for overtaking traffic (including other bicyclists, who are silent) is not a joke. Nor is riding close to right-angle parked cars that could back out. Or not teaching children how to mount and dismount smoothly. And so on. Nor is it about my being a better bicyclist than Dutch children (straw man argument). What is a joke is the claim that the Dutch instruction of 10-12 year old children is teaching them how to interact safely with other travelers, including other bicyclists. It is about, for one example, my son’s being a better bicyclist than Dutch children at the same age, because I actually taught him what he could learn at that age about how to look out for himself. And it is about crash avoidance in the Netherlands having much more to do with motorists’ caution and with separation than with bicyclists’ skills, because those skills — as also described in my review of a video of adult cyclists — remain in a state of arrested development right on into adulthood.
What are your thoughts on the efficiency of riding a unicycle? Or how about doing track stands while waiting for a light to change? I typically balance with one foot on my handlebars and the other poking the hi viz old dude to see what will happen.
You better watch out. That old dude values his personal space and might just push back.
My city is my country’s cycling “Mecca”, or a sort of a Serbian Amsterdam. I see things similar to those discussed here.
I went on to make a YouTube video demonstration of how to start and stop with a bicycle (in Serbian, with explanation of why it is the safest option).
Was met with a few sarcastic comments (basically people figuring everyone knows that), but a lot more people had no idea how it is done and how easy and safe it is when done properly.
So, even though it went naturally for me, having been cycling since the age of 4, there are many people who have also cycled most of their lives, but have failed to learn some basic skills (counter steering and using the front brake efficiently are among those, along with proper dis/mounting).
Discussing this and teaching people to safely handle any vehicle (not just bicycles) is about preventing accidents, not about criticizing, or laughing at how clumsy someone is.
Very nice comment and you are a kindred spirit! Have you seen the article which I partly wrote, https://sheldonbrown.com/starting.html?
Yes I have. The entire SheldonBrown website has been a tremendous help, guide and an inspiration to make something similar in my native language (with an English version) – at bikegremlin.com.
Made something similar, but a lot longer (and more tedious to watch 🙂 ) in Serbocroatian:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5dM_R-DUOrc&t=1s