Amsterdam is often known as the bicycle capital of the world. If you are an advocate of active transportation, there are some YouTubers and bloggers praising Amsterdam for their bike friendliness. BicycleDutch and NotJustBikes come to mind. However, if you are visiting Amsterdam and wanting to ride a bike but haven’t since childhood, I can imagine it can be intimidating. I don’t blame people from North America traveling to Amsterdam and being fearful of riding a bike. If you normally don’t ride, it’s a difficult adjustment. My guess is if you are visiting Amsterdam from North America, you MIGHT hop on a bike for an afternoon as a novelty, but then go back to what you are comfortable with. Most people from North America drive. And most people from other parts of the world probably do not have the bicycling culture like the Dutch or Danish. It’s like if you’re not used to taking public transit in your home country, you might shy away from taking public transit when you travel. You’ll opt for the Hop On Hop Off buses, using ride share or joining a tour group. All are fine, but I would say you are missing out on a uniquely Dutch experience by not taking a bike to get you around town...and riding it as often as possible.
So what is it like riding a bike in Amsterdam? Here are some tips from my experience for visiting Amsterdam and riding a bike if you haven't ridden since childhood. If you are used to riding consistently as an adult, especially if your bike is your transportation, then you shouldn’t have a problem riding in Amsterdam. The learning curve shouldn’t be too steep.
Otherwise, you will probably be “that” tourist that doesn’t know the rules of riding. There’s plenty of websites that go more into detail on the rules of riding. I’m not going to get that detailed. Instead, I will touch on some basics of what it must feel like riding if you haven't ridden a bike since forever.
If you are “that” tourist and want to get on a bike, then here are some of my suggestions for “people who normally don’t ride a bike but want to in Amsterdam”.
First, get away from the city center, especially if you are visiting during the summer months where tourism is at its peak. It can get packed with people on bikes, on foot, cars and tour buses. The center of the city also seems to have less separated bike paths, so you’re riding close to other drivers. There’s also vans parked in the bike lanes, so you’ll need to navigate around them by safely moving around other riders and drivers. Plus, you’ll want to be careful crossing the tram tracks as bicycle tires can get caught in it and you will fall.
Find a hotel, hostel, Airbnb, etc outside of the city center that also rents bikes. You don’t have to go too far out but just far enough for you to practice. When I went there, I stayed near Vondel Park. My place rented bikes which was convenient and Vondel Park is a great place to practice riding around.
In the US (and I assume it’s similar in other countries), I notice beginner riders tend to weave around a lot and often ride really slow. There’s nothing wrong with that, but if you want to ride on the bike paths in Amsterdam, you’ll need to practice not weaving around so much and to ride faster. Basically, if you wouldn’t drive your car weaving from lane to lane, then you shouldn’t do that on a bike. Anyways, Vondel Park would be a good place to reintroduce yourself to the bike. Lots of people ride through here to get to their destination so you’ll see lots of riders. But the paths are wide enough for the locals to go around you as you’re starting off.
My biggest advice to those wanting to hop on a bike for the first time is don’t just randomly stop in middle of a bike path because you saw this cool cafe or bar or some interesting mural. Please pull off to the side of the bike path so you don’t block anybody or cause a crash. There is a 100% chance someone is riding right behind you. And just like driving, you don’t just stop in the middle of the road because you saw something cool off to the side. So don’t do that on a bike either.
My next advice is to use hand signals and turn your head to make sure it’s clear before you decide to turn, stop or slow down. Watch how the locals use hand signals. But all you need to do is slightly bend your right arm outwards to show you are turning right and slightly bend your left arm outwards to show you are turning left.
There’s no need to extend your entire arm out when you need to turn. By doing that, you’ll most likely smack someone riding next to you. This of course goes back to turning your head so you know who is around you.
Once you get comfortable riding around in the park, you can move onto neighborhood streets and separated bike paths outside of the city center.
Amsterdam has lots of bicycle signals, so make sure you pay attention to the signals.
Intersections can also be tricky because you’ll need to know when to yield and when not to yield. Pay attention to the "shark teeth" symbols on the ground.
The good thing about being on a bike is even if you are uncertain on what to do, everybody can still move around each other and usually not cause a crash. People can usually read your body language on a bike and you’ll be able to do the same the more your ride.
It’s not like being in a car, where you are unable to see the person driving. In a car, you can’t predict what the people next to you will do. But it’s easier on a bike because you can see the entire person.
One thing I also noticed is that drivers and cyclists will look for any open space to squeeze in (which to me is a bit reminiscent of NYC). There were a couple of drivers that came rather close to me in the city center. I noticed two types of license plates in Amsterdam. The yellow and the blue plates. I had a close pass with a blue license plate driver. I later overheard those are the taxi and delivery drivers? So I guess it makes sense they are more aggressive (even though they shouldn't be)?
And you know that saying “practice makes perfect”? The more you ride, the more you’ll get the hang of how things are done. And riding a bike in Amsterdam is absolutely amazing! It’s just not something you can experience in the US. Bikes really provide the freedom that cars do not (despite car ads from the last 100 years proclaiming driving is freedom). You don't need a helmet when riding, so you truly can feel the "wind in your hair".
And one final tips. Remember where you parked your bike. Take a photo or video of where you parked and the surrounding area. A lot of bikes look similar and they are often jammed together.
And once you get the hang of this, you can ride to grab coffee or a beer. Ride to a park or museum. You'll soon discover how easy it is to navigate the city by bike. And how many more places you can see without having to pay for the tram, Uber or follow a guided tour. With a bike, you can have the freedom to explore local neighborhoods, cafes and restaurants that might not be in a guide book.
I can’t wait to go back and ride again and I hope if you’re reading this and planning a trip there, you will want to ride as much as possible while you are there.
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