Sex and the City

flyingdutch said:

<part of lovely holiday acedote snipped>

Their yearly bike-toll is averaging lower than Australia's!

I love this place!!!

Oh yeah, the pancakes aint bad either...

Ah, Holland, Land of the Free! Actually, more like the land of common sense and practicality. Ok Australia has many obvious differences, ie: greater distances, aggressive road culture, but there's stuff to be learnt here, given our fondness for urban living and clustering around the coast. You've gotta have a chat to Bikesoiler (also a mega pancake fan)about riding through Europe and meeting up with the Fencemaster while in the UK. 🙂

[quote="cfsmtb"]Ah, Holland, Land of the Free! QUOTE]

Probably should of said "Land of the Free Bike" The bike thieves can stay over there, I have absolute faith in Mrs Vanstone in stopping this riffraff getting into the country, she has to 'consider' allowing a visa for a 104yo lady. The bike thieves have got no chance. </end off topic rant>

[QUOTE=You've gotta have a chat to Bikesoiler (also a mega pancake fan)about riding through Europe and meeting up with the Fencemaster while in the UK. :)[/QUOTE]

are you referring to the guy who chains stuff to a particular London property fence 'cos the owner put up a sign saying 'Chain no bicycles to fence' ???
And then proceeded to chain kitchen sinks, fridge doors, etc to it??? 😄

Did ya get to try the stroopwaffels? Heaven! Stroopwaffels... Belgian beer... Bikes everywhere... What more could ya want 🙂

Regards,

Suzy

flyingdutch said:

are you referring to the guy who chains stuff to a particular London property fence 'cos the owner put up a sign saying 'Chain no bicycles to fence' ??? And then proceeded to chain kitchen sinks, fridge doors, etc to it??? 😄

Ja, hoor! 🙂

cfsmtb said:

Ah, Holland, Land of the Free! Actually, more like the land of common
sense and practicality. Ok Australia has many obvious differences, ie:
greater distances, aggressive road culture, but there's stuff to be
learnt here, given our fondness for urban living and clustering around
the coast. You've gotta have a chat to Bikesoiler (also a mega pancake
fan)about riding through Europe and meeting up with the Fencemaster
while in the UK. 🙂

http://www.whatshouldiputonthefence.com/
for those that missed the 'fence guy' conversations 🙂

hippy

suzyj said:

Did ya get to try the stroopwaffels? Heaven! Stroopwaffels... Belgian beer... Bikes everywhere... What more could ya want 🙂

Regards,

Suzy

oh yeah, baby!
WAFFELS IMMERSED IN ANYTHING YOU CAN THINK OF, oh sorry. stop shouting now...

[quote="flyingdutch"]

You've gotta have a chat to Bikesoiler (also a mega pancake fan)about riding through Europe and meeting up with the Fencemaster while in the UK. :)[/QUOTE said:

are you referring to the guy who chains stuff to a particular London property fence 'cos the owner put up a sign saying 'Chain no bicycles to fence' ???
And then proceeded to chain kitchen sinks, fridge doors, etc to it??? 😄

flyingdutch <[email hidden]> wrote in
news:[email hidden]:

Quoted message said:

My first morning after being delivered to my abode or the week, we went
for a walk which took for ever simply bcos i kept stopping and staring
in amazement!

Yeah, I went for a walk like that in Amsterdam, but I was too polite to
stare at those poor women who didn't seem to be able to afford anything but
underwear 🙂

Graeme

Graeme said:

flyingdutch <[email hidden]> wrote in
news:[email hidden]:

Quoted message said:

My first morning after being delivered to my abode or the week, we went
for a walk which took for ever simply bcos i kept stopping and staring
in amazement!

Yeah, I went for a walk like that in Amsterdam, but I was too polite to
stare at those poor women who didn't seem to be able to afford anything but
underwear 🙂

Graeme

Hey! i resemble that remark!! 😄

i was starin at the bike-related issues, ok?

On Thu, 24 Feb 2005 at 23:47 GMT, suzyj (aka Bruce)
was almost, but not quite, entirely unlike tea:

Quoted message said:

Did ya get to try the stroopwaffels? Heaven! Stroopwaffels... Belgian
beer... Bikes everywhere... What more could ya want 🙂

I think they even have an astronomy department and/or observatory
(maybe no supercomputer, which is possibly why our export still uses
ours). Swoit.

--
TimC -- http://astronomy.swin.edu.au/staff/tconnors/
ATC: Airliner 123, turn right 20 degrees for noise abatement.
A123: Noise abatement? We are at FL310.
ATC: Do you know how much noise it makes when two 737s collide?
A123: Airliner 123 is turning right 20 degrees. -- John Clear @ ASR

flyingdutch said:

Sorry, none of the former (this is a family show, right?) but after spending a week in Amsterdam, i gotta share!

pix to follow (hey, im tired)

My first morning after being delivered to my abode or the week, we went for a walk which took for ever simply bcos i kept stopping and staring in amazement!

Nobody uses their horn! (i heard one 4 times in 6 days!!!)

Bikes and pedestrians somehow get priority. this aint in writing. its just a social more

There are more bikes than cars. by a factor of about 3!

Not that they really need bike lanes (never thought those words would pass my lips!) but every second street is a dedicated thru-rd for ped's and bikes.

More than half of the commercial deliveries are made on bikes. yes even huge stuff! They have funky custombuilt lugging bikes. I saw a removal Co that had a 4 person bike carrying a dining table!!! (no pix!@^#%!!! couldnt get the camera out in time...).

Fixed and SS make up about 80% as its too likley to get stolen and all bike asre parked outside in ANY conditions. Oh, and it IS Holland. the only 'hill' is the bump up over the canals

50,000 bikes get stolen annually in Amsterdam. 10,000 end up in the canals and they have a dedicated council cruising with a 'bike'arm' on the barge to pick out the bike out of the water.

Of these 50,000 bikes the majority get 'recycled' at the 'bike-bridge'.
This isa bridge near the Uni where junkies cruise past on appropriated bikes and instead of offering you 'charlie' ask if you want to buy a bike!
This seems to be an accepted practice by all Amsterdammers and most will simply buy a bike for the ride home if stranded near here, rahter than walk to their destination.
The going rate was 5euro. I ended up doing this on a few occasions but wierdly when i parked the bike oustide my loft it would still be there the next day.

Their yearly bike-toll is averaging lower than Australia's!

I love this place!!!

Oh yeah, the pancakes aint bad either...

All so true, you can add that drivers here basically dont use indicators. It looks like a serious social "no no" to ever use one. Ive had to ask people if you are taught not to. Drivers also dont mind just stopping in the street, one lane or not, to have a conversation with someone on the footpath.

There is alot to love here but they are also a bunch of red tape bureaucratic loving whingers, who are about as tolerant as a Sydney driver sharing a road with a cyclist.

I miss hills.