No Gear at Any Time

[JeffOlson]

I love the Netherlands and bicycling with children! Oh, to be young and free from worry:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SfLJ876lXsQ

Imagine how well this would go over in [guess which country ], the land of frightened hand-wringers. The internet would blow up!

[jbell]

Oh my God, oh my God.  Somebody do something.  Think of the children.

[bigbikerrick]

It all looks great to me! Nice video. Brings back memories..of when my son was young.
Rick.

[fotoguzzi]

that was great, thx 4 posting. !

[Daleroso]

Aah! Fun memories. My 5 & 7 yr olds riding with me on our GL1000 ALL OVER Fla. The 5 yr old between my knees with feet on the manifold tubes occassionally napping on the thin pillow on the tank. The 7 yr old behind between me & the backrest. They waved @ people including LEO's who waved back. Al of us helmeted & jacketed. Rode this way for several yrs. How times have changed. I'd probably be brought up on charges today.📢🚨🚁

[Aaron D.]

Looks great!

BTW, Netherlands has very high bike usage, very low helmet usage, very low injury rate.

[Moto]

Looks great!

BTW, Netherlands has very high bike usage, very low helmet usage, very low injury rate.

I love the European, and specifically Dutch, attitude too. They are mystified by our use of helmets on bicycles.

On the other hand, one of my European colleagues in my college department had barely arrived here in town before he crashed his bike on the bike path, sans helmet. The resulting concussion really did a number on his ability to concentrate, for months as I understand it.

Sometimes a little worry is a good, though depressing, thing to cultivate.

I'm looking for a "Know Fear" sticker for the back window of my car.

 

[fotoguzzi]

http://www.ebay.ca/itm/Vinyl-Decal-Sticker-Know-Fear-02-Car-Truck-Bumper-Window-Laptop-JDM-Fun-7-/321967560611

[tris]

I love the European, Excluding the UK and specifically Dutch, attitude too. They are mystified by our use of helmets on bicycles.

Fixed it for you
Elf and safety is rife over here. Only last night there was an article on TV saying that graduating students couldn't thrown their mortor board hats in the air incase they got hit by said hat 

[swmckinley54]

  I will be there next week on bidness. It always marvels me.

[charlie b]

Yep, all would be arrested for child abuse and their kids would be taken away from them until a child services psychiatrist deemed them decent enough to return the kids.

Out here a kid was taken by child services cause a neighbor saw the kid (4yrs old) playing in a fenced yard by himself.

The nanny state is alive and well.  Glad I don't have grandkids.

[drlapo]

I wonder what Dr. Beijing does ( last few frames)

[oldbike54]

 We see kids on bikes all the time around here , in fact my neighbor carries her 8 month old in a papoose sling while riding . One thing to remember , Holland and the other surrounding countries have designated bicycle lanes , separated from car traffic  . Much different than trying to ride on most American roads , where the bike lanes are normally just a very narrow area attached to a main road .

 Dusty

[huub]

living in the netherlands , i cant see anything special, cycling is just daily routine for us.
when she was 5 years old, i used to take my daughter to school on the bike, she was sitting on the fueltank of my enfield bullet.
not exaxtly legal, but she enjoyed it enough for me to take the risk.
she's 17 now , she doesnt seem to have suffered too much :-)

[Cross-tie Walker]

I think its kind of like our motorcycle helmets or car seat-belts. You don't need them until you do...then you're glad you participated. I too think bicycling in Europe and well The Netherlands shown there is a much calmer atmosphere than our ill-designed and/or nonexistent thoroughfares for bicyclists in this country by comparison. I would imagine there is a flip side of this idyllic scene and there are some nasty results on occasion as well.

[PJPR01]

We see kids on bikes all the time around here , in fact my neighbor carries her 8 month old in a papoose sling while riding . One thing to remember , Holland and the other surrounding countries have designated bicycle lanes , separated from car traffic  . Much different than trying to ride on most American roads , where the bike lanes are normally just a very narrow area attached to a main road .

 Dusty

Very true...and there was a very active education and campaign for car drivers who MUST yield to cyclists at intersections.  My dad lived in Eindhoven, Nijmegen and Grubbenvorst for many years, and riding around any of those towns on a bike was always a pleasure with the dedicated lanes and high awareness of car drivers for cyclists and pedestrians.  The complete opposite experience however I experienced while living and travelling in South America...there you must have eyes on all sides of your head because as a cyclist or pedestrian you have no rights and will be run over promptly by most drivers...cars, buses or trucks.

[not-fishing]

Sorry, not for me.  I used a Blue Sky Trailer with a roll bar for my kids.  the hoops were good for tip-overs

Then again I always have worn a bike helmet since 1970.  and broken a few

[jas67]

One thing to remember , Holland and the other surrounding countries have designated bicycle lanes , separated from car traffic  . Much different than trying to ride on most American roads , where the bike lanes are normally just a very narrow area attached to a main road .

 Dusty

If there is a bike lane at all.     Bike lanes are basically non-existent here in Central PA, and, most of our rural roads don't even have a wide enough shoulder to the right of the white line to ride a bicycle.   

[kirkemon]

I love the European, and specifically Dutch, attitude too. They are mystified by our use of helmets on bicycles.

In Sweden everyone wears a helmet while riding.

[JeffOlson]

[Wissing]

In Denmark bicycles is a means of transportation. This is rush hour in my original hometown Copenhagen: http://youtu.be/FXw_t172BKY

[oldbike54]

In Denmark bicycles is a means of transportation. This is rush hour in my original hometown Copenhagen: http://youtu.be/FXw_t172BKY

 WOW! You folks are really fast  Seriously , there is probably a reason why you never see chubby Danes 

 Dusty

[JeffOlson]

In Denmark bicycles is a means of transportation. This is rush hour in my original hometown Copenhagen: http://youtu.be/FXw_t172BKY

What a great video! I wish it were like that here in the U.S., but I doubt it will ever be like that (we are too spread out, for one reason).

[Rusnak_322]

I used to think that they are overboard, but my 6 year old son loves to ride his bike. got off training wheels before he turned 3 because he kept lifting the back tire off the ground in turns. He was excellent oh his balance bike.

But he crashed and knocked out two teeth. the end of the handle bar hit him when he fell. then he fell again and rashed his whole face. He does have the best helmet we could find (paid $70). I am sure it has saved his life more then once. And he only rides on sidewalks in our neighborhood.

I wear a helmet on my bike (kids got it for me for fathers day). I wheelied over and smacked my head hard. Glad I had it.

[Anders Pedersen]

Saw Wissing beat me to it, but here's another video on bicycling in Copenhagen (we don't care much for being outdone by the Dutch ):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vyrTx9SXkVI

Apparently, a few years ago there was an international conference on urban bicycling in Cph., and this video is more or less based on the experience of the US participants while in town (NGO's, city planners, academics and so on).

So if the American members of this board would like to hear about urban bicycling from their fellow countrymen (horse's own mouth), I highly recommend you watch it.

Pro-tip:
If you want to teach a child to bicycle, you attach a broomstick to the back of the bike (stick is vertical). Hold on to the stick as the kid learns to pedal, keeping the balance. First you will walk along, later you will run and soon you will be out of breath.

That was how my grandmother taught me to bicycle, many years ago. She's long gone, but that was the proverbial gift that keeps on giving, and I still can't thank her enough.


/Anders

Edit:

Rusnak, I'm sorry for your boy, and I hope it hasn't put him off or scared him from riding. Me, I've never worn a helmet while bicycling. Probably out of vanity (also, when I was a boy buying helmets for your children simply wasn't an issue. At all).
 

[kidneb]

"A well respected literature review states �When the risk of injury to head, face or neck is viewed as a whole, bicycle helmets do provide a small protective effect. This effect is evident only in older studies. New studies, summarised by a random-effects model of analysis, indicate no net protective effect."  https://ecf.com/

Feel free to wear a helmet or not when you mount your bicycle,- that`s the way to go !



 

[HDGoose]

WOW! You folks are really fast  Seriously , there is probably a reason why you never see chubby Danes 

 Dusty

Much less sugar, sweetners and GMO in European foods.

[oldbike54]

Much less sugar, sweetners and GMO in European foods.

 Also true , odd that where the general population gets more exercise the food is less fattening .

 Dusty

[normzone]

" (also, when I was a boy buying helmets for your children simply wasn't an issue. At all). "

When we were boys helmets had yet to be invented.

[Tom]

The pendulum has swung the other direction here.  There are enough bicycles on the road that are for recreational use vs. basic transportation.  Those riders tend to violate traffic laws.  My guess is that most are American.  Most non-American riders tend to follow the traffic laws.  Being in Kona for the Ironman Championships doesn't give special dispensation to violate traffic laws while they're training.