Dutch Cyclists: A Photo Essay

Today was beautiful, sunny day here in Holland; the perfect day for a special bike ride.

The idea for today’s ride goes back a few months, when we promised our friend Shirley Agudo that we would take her on a tour of the area where we live. She wanted to photograph local cyclists for her Bicycle Mania book, especially on the bike paths that run along the beaches of the North Sea.

The only problem is that it’s hard for Shirley to cycle AND take pictures at the same time, so…. we rented a Dutch cargo bike as her chariot for the day. Voila!

These bikes are huge. Traditionally they were used to move large loads of goods around towns. Today, you hardly ever see them in use. Sometimes they’re used to move house, but more often than not they end up in a driveway as an ornament. Like this one we saw a few weeks ago…

Because they are so rarely used, these bikes gather a bit of attention when you drive one around town; even more so when you put someone in the front like this. We made a lot of people smile!

As we were cycling, we got some great photos of other people out enjoying the late autumn sunshine. There was this man out walking the dog…

Someone taking a break…

Racers and people out for a leisurely ride…

But best of all were the cyclists we saw as we headed back into town at the end of the day. They were side by side…

Two on one bike…

And just going home from shopping.

At the end of the day, many headed for the train station to go home. How do they ever find their bikes here, amongst the thousands in the racks??

We headed home too, after a long but very fun day. Thanks Shirley!

Want to see more photos from the weekend? Here’s the full set of 25…

, , ,