Woonboten (house boats) are regulated in cities with canals or rivers. You get certain specific sections designated for them, and you have to pay a hefty monthly rent in many places for your ligplaats (berth). Add on to that the cost of the boat itself, your utility bills, and maintenance of the boat, and this can make it a pretty pricey proposition. But there are lots of people romantically drawn to them, understandably. My ex partner was looking into moving into a woonboot, but she was dissuaded by the cost. Then again, that's Amsterdam, where all housing is expensive.
@@ActiveTowns Yeah, I like the channel, I really like your enthusiasm for dutch bicycle culture, even though I'm a bad dutchman who at the moment doesn't even own a bike. Had to chuckle at your comment about the bikes being parked against the railings of the canal and it looking so pretty. I think most dutch people would consider that quite annoying, all the bikes randomly parked against the canal, but you seem to think they add to the beauty of the canal. I suppose it is a quintessentially dutch thing, a bicycle parked in a space where it isn't supposed to be, next to a canal. 😏
It usualy started with people living on real boats. Trucks came, smaller boats became obsolete, owners found a spot, bought a truck or retired... regulation came later :)
Yeah, sorry about that. I need to up my game regarding the documentation of my Active Towns wanderings. However, I have good news for you, a couple of dedicated fans of the Channel did the hard work of recreating it for the benefit of others. See below. Thanks so much for watching - enjoy your visit to Utrecht. A Komoot map by Evert van Harten: www.komoot.com/tour/1046983912 And the description by Lucas K: Start at Catharijnesingel going south. Then turn left to Mariaplaats. Then they cycle some circles in the Old Town. Eventually they go under the rail tracks, Van Sijpesteijntunnel. Then they go Leidseweg with the canal on the right. They turn to the right to Kanaalweg. Then left in the direction of the Dafne Schippersbrug. On the bridge they go back and go left on the Joseph Haydenlaan. To the right on the Vleutenseweg back to the Central Station. At the end they go back under the tram tunnel going to the same longer tunnel under the train.
Thanks, I've watched a couple of your videos and have enjoyed and got some good info from them. My husband lived in Utrecht for a year + back in the 70s between high school and college. Looks like things will be way different than he remembers.
Yes, great point. Having visited Utrecht several times in the past "getting lost"... funny though the first time I visited the city, I got hopelessly lost and separated from my travel mate at night, in the pouring rain... when we eventually reconnected, we came up with a plan of meeting up at the central train station in whatever city we are in should this ever happen again. Note: we also didn't have reliable cell phone connectivity so that made things feel very pre-2000s😂
Man.. at 14'21 you took a turn to the right (Oude Gracht onwards 'Winkel van Sinkel' (used to a bank)) but you should have taken a left to the best Greek Gyros of Utrecht (El Greco)..! Hahaha.. Also you bicycled on the Voorstraat and Lijnmarkt earlier. Particularly the Lijnmarkt used to a normal car road but most of these roads downtown were converted to bycicle/pedestrian streets. In most occasions it was done to prevent cars clogging up the streets, safety (pedestrians), noise, pollution and Utrecht (Also is an old city and even dates back to 870 or futher and was called Ultrajectum) build on catacombs which otherwise would collapsed from the heavy car traffic. Thanks for the entertaining tour again :D Cheers from Utrecht!
21:30 - yes, the house boats are grandfathered in. 😀 New ones aren't being added, but existing ones are allowed to be replaced, that's why you see quite modern ones.
Nice to see a lot of my hometown, hope you had a blast! ,and using Utrecht as an example how biking should be. It's not always a fun ride when rush hours comes.
Yes, always love visiting Utrecht. Yeah, I've documented rush in the past - in 2018-2019, I believe. Really amazing how many people can move through space. Crazy to think if each person was in a big North American-style SUV. Thanks so much for watching, I hope you are enjoying the Active Towns Channel. Cheers! John
Yay! It's been such a joy to see the improvements in active mobility and quality of life measures over the years since my first visit in 2015... clearly, it's changed a lot (some good, some not-so-good) since 1983, let alone 1961. Thanks so much for tuning in. I really appreciate it. Cheers! John
Back before modern Navigation, when I was growing up and exploring as a teen in the 90s, it was not easy for me to learn the ropes. I wore out several paper maps.
The Dafne Schippersbrug is a great design, but one topic i find really interesting is desire paths, which is something that is also present at this ramp, at 30:55. They should've thought about that before hand and they should've facilitated it or made it impossible.
Just load up a bakfiets with bricks and a shovel and do some guerilla streetscaping at 10 in the evening, put in some little steps. No one's going to complain, they might even offer you a beer...
Excellent! I was wondering if that was an official rule. Now that I see it here in writing, I shall henceforth consider this official documentation. Hehe 😂 Thanks so much for watching. Cheers! John
Houseboats are on public space, the quays or waterside, and in public space also, because the water is from the municipality or the regional waterboard (the public organization which takes care of and manages our water, every citizen lives in a waterboard area, waterboard elections are on March 15th this year). Houseboats are only possible at the locations listed in the zoning plans from the province. There are waiting lists for most of these locations in case of rent. You can buy a listed houseboat, but be sure to check if the location is also on sale or in case of rent can be taken over. But it is more important to have a location before you buy a houseboat. Not only because your houseboat has to comply to municipal rules but also because the houseboat must be transported to the location. With transport over water the size of the houseboat is important, height for bridges, depth and width for the waterways and locks and length for curves and corners in the waterways or the lengths of the locks. With transport over the road the height (viaducts), weight (road surface), width and length (curves and corners of the roads, removal of road signs, light posts, traffic lights).
@@Snowshowslow It became our plan B when we got drenched going from Haarlem to Warmond. We were attracted to Warmond when looking for places to stay. The Guest House Warmond looked delightful. We explored Warmond as we dried out and found it delightfully charming with friendly people and things to see. And we found a windmill museum in Leiden which was so wonderful to explore as well as educational. So we liked them, too. Some times Plan B''s work out really well.
You ran a red light at 24:42 - It's true that as a cyclist you "can stop a bit further ahead of where the cars have to stop" but only within the box before the traffic lights, hence the beg button (the car actually stopped a bit too far). The place where you did stop is a reserved area for cyclists for when the traffic lights aren't working. Traffic lights can stop working due to a malfunction but in some cities traffic lights are switched off at night and just blink yellow at low intensity intersections (not saying that is the case in this intersection), because nobody wants to wait when there is no other traffic.
The area where you stopped was actualy for cyclists from the left turning left. But I usualy use that too when no pedestrians are crossing. To get a bigger head start on the cars :)
26:34 - Just curious, how do you view this path that leads to the actual cycle path? As a dutch person I feel like this is a footpath. You can tell by the angles and the width. It is a bit confusing as it is red and there is no physical difference in pavement where you entered the path. It does have a tile with a figure on it, not sure what it says. Maybe it was designed as a foot/bike hybrid path or cycling is allowed.
Yeah, I'm thinking this is actually primarily a footpath, definitely not the intended primary route. We kind of stumbled upon it, but I was delighted once we were there with a different angle, looking up at the ramp from the side since I had experienced the normal approach multiple times before. Cheers! John
Oh man, I wish. We didn't have a computer running and we were just wandering. Beginning this year I will start turning on a tracking program. Thanks for watching. Have a wonderful visit. Cheers! John
They start at Catharijnesingel going south. Then turn left to Mariaplaats. Then they cycle some circles in the Old Town. Eventually they go under the rail tracks, Van Sijpesteijntunnel. Then they go Leidseweg with the canal on the right. They turn to the right to Kanaalweg. Then left in the direction of the Dafne Schippersbrug. On the bridge they go back and go left on the Joseph Haydenlaan. To the right on the Vleutenseweg back to the Central Station. At the end they go back under the tram tunnel going to the same longer tunnel under the train.
Having lived in and around Utrecht all my life, the highway was a blip on the timeline, the canal is what it always was and should have stayed. It was a blip. An expensive blip, but no more than that
Yes! Good long-term look... in many ways, that's how I consider cars, in general, a blip in the human mobility story. Hehe 😜 Thanks so much for watching. Cheers! John
An expensive blip and very terrible - I grew up in the 80s and that section was horrible to be outside a car. But yes, we usually took the car to the Hoog-Catharijne garages, in those days.
The "oo" in Woonerf is pronounced more like "oa" in oak.. The way English speaking people butcher the "oo" in Dutch is written like "oe".. Sorry to take on the role of Language police...
I don't get why these guides only take you to the more affluent neighborhoods. There are some large neigborhoods in Utrecht where there is hardly any bike infrastructure. But those are the places where people with migrant background are concentrated. Perhaps that is why they don't want to show you those areas. As an Utrecht native, it is quite frustrating when our city is presented as some kind of biking utopia, while there is a substantial proportion of the population who can't cycle to school or work safely. The next time you visit Utrecht you can contact me if you want to see the more dangerous places to cycle, where children have to cycle in between buses and parked cars on 50km/h roads without even a bike lane, staight through residential neighborhoods, or the places where you have to share the lane with international industrial traffic.
Well, technically, we were not riding with a guide on this ride... we were just following our noses. But sure, it would be good to see the areas that are in need of attention. Feel free to contact me via my website at www.activetowns.org and we can stay in touch for my return trip, whenever that might be. Documenting neighborhoods with cycling conditions that are less than perfect and striving to get better can be quite helpful for car-dependent cities because that's closer to their reality. Thanks so much for watching and for contributing to the conversation. Cheers! John
You guys should contact the channel The Blackforest Family. He is engineer developing new bicycles, loves to bike and they live in Freiburg/Germany coming from the U.S. originally, which is famous for it's bike friendliness. Maybe you guys can do something together?
@@mardiffv.8775 Yes. I can relate. I have a special case that I use for air travel, and in my situation, it is treated as a normal piece of luggage, thereby saving nearly $300 to 500 bike box travel fees. Thanks so much for watching. I hope you enjoyed the video. Cheers! John
@@ActiveTowns Thanks, I really enjoyed this video. I was wondering how an American would see my city Utrecht. I love descend the Daphne Schippers Bridge too with my trike. Feeling the speed and the G-force in those sharp bends. Feels like a rollercoaster ride.
You both keep talking about the brick streets and that they are bumpy. But the main problem for you both was using the wrong bicycle: the Brompton is nice for train commuters but not for driving around for longer distances. Why didn't you borrow or rent a decent Dutch bike ? With the larger wheels they are so much more comfortable even on the bricks ......
Yeah, we just needed to drop the PSI down a tad. The Brompton's essential due to the ease of international travel (I ended up going to Paris and Brussels as well) also, renting and borrowing bikes while filming is just not a bright move. I've been filming on this bike for over a decade so I know it well. Thanks so much for tuning in. Much appreciated. Cheers! John
@@ActiveTowns i understand the technical argument with filming, mounting the camera etc. But the small wheels behave so much different then the normal 28" wheels. Changing psi helps a bit for comfort, but these bikes were never intended for normal longer stretches. And bringing your bikes from the States to the Netherlands is as bringing water to the see .... And then my final and very Dutch direct argument: Bromptons are so not cool to see. It's not without a reason only some older guys are riding them here in the Netherlands .... Boomer ! 🤪
@@ce17ec Guilty as charged! Although technically, I'm Gen X but, at 58 tomorrow, close enough. Yeah, once I get home, I'm on my normal-size quasi-Dutch-style upright bike or my e-assist cargo bike. Hope I can earn back some cred points on that account. 😂
Seriously, the Brompton's are super comfortable. I just needed to drop the PSI down a tad. The Brompton's essential due to the ease of international travel (I ended up going to Paris and Brussels as well) also, renting and borrowing bikes while filming is just not a bright move. I've been filming on this bike for over a decade, so I know it well. Thanks so much for tuning in. Much appreciated. Cheers! John
isnt it impossible to rent an ov-fiets unless you have a dutch bank account? I remember looking into it and it not being possible unless you have the ov-chipcard that has your picture on it and to get that you need a bank account. Id love to be wrong though, id love to rent one when i visit :)
I love Jordans sarcasm, makes me chuckle everytime 🤣
Hehe 😆 just between you and me, I dig it too, but we don't want it to "go to his head" 😉 Thanks so much for watching. Cheers! John
Woonboten (house boats) are regulated in cities with canals or rivers. You get certain specific sections designated for them, and you have to pay a hefty monthly rent in many places for your ligplaats (berth). Add on to that the cost of the boat itself, your utility bills, and maintenance of the boat, and this can make it a pretty pricey proposition. But there are lots of people romantically drawn to them, understandably. My ex partner was looking into moving into a woonboot, but she was dissuaded by the cost. Then again, that's Amsterdam, where all housing is expensive.
Makes sense. Thanks for watching and for the information. I hope you enjoyed the video and are enjoying the Channel. Cheers! John
@@ActiveTowns Yeah, I like the channel, I really like your enthusiasm for dutch bicycle culture, even though I'm a bad dutchman who at the moment doesn't even own a bike. Had to chuckle at your comment about the bikes being parked against the railings of the canal and it looking so pretty. I think most dutch people would consider that quite annoying, all the bikes randomly parked against the canal, but you seem to think they add to the beauty of the canal. I suppose it is a quintessentially dutch thing, a bicycle parked in a space where it isn't supposed to be, next to a canal. 😏
@@gladtobeangry Oh no! Say it ain't so. Will you get in trouble admitting this publicly? hehe 😉Stoked that you are enjoying the content. 🙂
@@ActiveTowns Well, it used to be a capital offence until we abolished it 😉. But it's still frowned upon, and rightly so.
It usualy started with people living on real boats. Trucks came, smaller boats became obsolete, owners found a spot, bought a truck or retired... regulation came later :)
Just back from 5 days in Utrecht, GOLD ❤
Cool! Thanks for watching 😀
15:01 That is an incredibly beautiful scene
Yeah, that's one of my favorite parts of historic Utrecht for sure. Thanks so much for tuning in. Cheers! John
Wish you had told us cross street names, etc so we can figure out where you were. We are heading to Utrecht next year and we want to explore
Yeah, sorry about that. I need to up my game regarding the documentation of my Active Towns wanderings. However, I have good news for you, a couple of dedicated fans of the Channel did the hard work of recreating it for the benefit of others. See below. Thanks so much for watching - enjoy your visit to Utrecht.
A Komoot map by Evert van Harten:
www.komoot.com/tour/1046983912
And the description by Lucas K: Start at Catharijnesingel going south. Then turn left to Mariaplaats. Then they cycle some circles in the Old Town. Eventually they go under the rail tracks, Van Sijpesteijntunnel. Then they go Leidseweg with the canal on the right. They turn to the right to Kanaalweg. Then left in the direction of the Dafne Schippersbrug. On the bridge they go back and go left on the Joseph Haydenlaan. To the right on the Vleutenseweg back to the Central Station. At the end they go back under the tram tunnel going to the same longer tunnel under the train.
Thanks, I've watched a couple of your videos and have enjoyed and got some good info from them. My husband lived in Utrecht for a year + back in the 70s between high school and college. Looks like things will be way different than he remembers.
@@dalefluke6472 Yes, oh wow! For sure much, much different. I hope y'all have a fabulous visit. 😀
In such cities it's best to make sure you have a general orientation first, and then "get lost" on purpose.
Yes, great point. Having visited Utrecht several times in the past "getting lost"... funny though the first time I visited the city, I got hopelessly lost and separated from my travel mate at night, in the pouring rain... when we eventually reconnected, we came up with a plan of meeting up at the central train station in whatever city we are in should this ever happen again. Note: we also didn't have reliable cell phone connectivity so that made things feel very pre-2000s😂
"Good at riding slowly": that's my quote of the day, maybe a future mantra.
We should all strive to maintain this skill and ability as long as we can.😀
Makes all the difference for a good traffic flow at rush hour.
Man.. at 14'21 you took a turn to the right (Oude Gracht onwards 'Winkel van Sinkel' (used to a bank)) but you should have taken a left to the best Greek Gyros of Utrecht (El Greco)..! Hahaha..
Also you bicycled on the Voorstraat and Lijnmarkt earlier. Particularly the Lijnmarkt used to a normal car road but most of these roads downtown were converted to bycicle/pedestrian streets. In most occasions it was done to prevent cars clogging up the streets, safety (pedestrians), noise, pollution and Utrecht (Also is an old city and even dates back to 870 or futher and was called Ultrajectum) build on catacombs which otherwise would collapsed from the heavy car traffic.
Thanks for the entertaining tour again :D
Cheers from Utrecht!
Yay! Thanks so much for watching and for these delightful tips and tidbits, Sanny. Cheers! John
26:00 - "there's the river" - that is the Amsterdam-Rhine Canal. It's the busiest canal in the world. Entirely man-made.
Yes! I think I have heard that before. And it makes sense that the bridges are much taller in this area for this reason.
Americans call the city moat a canal, the canal a river, and the river a little waterway.
21:30 - yes, the house boats are grandfathered in. 😀 New ones aren't being added, but existing ones are allowed to be replaced, that's why you see quite modern ones.
Ah, good to know. I'll make sure Jordan sees this comment. Thanks!
Nice ride, really enjoyed it! 👍🌷
Yay! Glad you enjoyed it
Nice to see a lot of my hometown, hope you had a blast! ,and using Utrecht as an example how biking should be. It's not always a fun ride when rush hours comes.
Yes, always love visiting Utrecht. Yeah, I've documented rush in the past - in 2018-2019, I believe. Really amazing how many people can move through space. Crazy to think if each person was in a big North American-style SUV. Thanks so much for watching, I hope you are enjoying the Active Towns Channel. Cheers! John
Love your channel & really enjoyed seeing you exploring the Town is was born (in 1961) and am living in since 1983 - present.
Yay! It's been such a joy to see the improvements in active mobility and quality of life measures over the years since my first visit in 2015... clearly, it's changed a lot (some good, some not-so-good) since 1983, let alone 1961. Thanks so much for tuning in. I really appreciate it. Cheers! John
Enjoyed the tour of the city. Looks easy to navigate.
Yay! Glad you enjoyed it and yes, it was quite easy to navigate. Cheers! John
Back before modern Navigation, when I was growing up and exploring as a teen in the 90s, it was not easy for me to learn the ropes. I wore out several paper maps.
The Dafne Schippersbrug is a great design, but one topic i find really interesting is desire paths, which is something that is also present at this ramp, at 30:55. They should've thought about that before hand and they should've facilitated it or made it impossible.
Yeah, I hear ya.
Just load up a bakfiets with bricks and a shovel and do some guerilla streetscaping at 10 in the evening,
put in some little steps. No one's going to complain, they might even offer you a beer...
When you ride your bike for 45 minutes, you are allowed 1 oliebol. 😏
Excellent! I was wondering if that was an official rule. Now that I see it here in writing, I shall henceforth consider this official documentation. Hehe 😂 Thanks so much for watching. Cheers! John
Houseboats are on public space, the quays or waterside, and in public space also, because the water is from the municipality or the regional waterboard (the public organization which takes care of and manages our water, every citizen lives in a waterboard area, waterboard elections are on March 15th this year). Houseboats are only possible at the locations listed in the zoning plans from the province. There are waiting lists for most of these locations in case of rent. You can buy a listed houseboat, but be sure to check if the location is also on sale or in case of rent can be taken over. But it is more important to have a location before you buy a houseboat. Not only because your houseboat has to comply to municipal rules but also because the houseboat must be transported to the location. With transport over water the size of the houseboat is important, height for bridges, depth and width for the waterways and locks and length for curves and corners in the waterways or the lengths of the locks. With transport over the road the height (viaducts), weight (road surface), width and length (curves and corners of the roads, removal of road signs, light posts, traffic lights).
Thanks so much for all the information! Cheers! John
Sorry we missed Utrecht on our trip to the Netherlands. But we spent extra time in Warmond and Leiden. 🙂
Next time!😀
What did you think of Leiden and Warmond? :) Not the most obvious places to go, but I like them 🙂
@@Snowshowslow It became our plan B when we got drenched going from Haarlem to Warmond. We were attracted to Warmond when looking for places to stay. The Guest House Warmond looked delightful. We explored Warmond as we dried out and found it delightfully charming with friendly people and things to see. And we found a windmill museum in Leiden which was so wonderful to explore as well as educational. So we liked them, too. Some times Plan B''s work out really well.
@@garyharty1902 I'm glad it was a happy accident after all :)
You ran a red light at 24:42 - It's true that as a cyclist you "can stop a bit further ahead of where the cars have to stop" but only within the box before the traffic lights, hence the beg button (the car actually stopped a bit too far). The place where you did stop is a reserved area for cyclists for when the traffic lights aren't working. Traffic lights can stop working due to a malfunction but in some cities traffic lights are switched off at night and just blink yellow at low intensity intersections (not saying that is the case in this intersection), because nobody wants to wait when there is no other traffic.
👍
The area where you stopped was actualy for cyclists from the left turning left. But I usualy use that too when no pedestrians are crossing. To get a bigger head start on the cars :)
@@arthurhagen3826 Of course! How could I've missed that it was made for cyclists from the left. 😅
Yeah. That’s one of those, yeah, technically you went through a red, buuut.
26:34 - Just curious, how do you view this path that leads to the actual cycle path? As a dutch person I feel like this is a footpath. You can tell by the angles and the width. It is a bit confusing as it is red and there is no physical difference in pavement where you entered the path. It does have a tile with a figure on it, not sure what it says. Maybe it was designed as a foot/bike hybrid path or cycling is allowed.
Yeah, I'm thinking this is actually primarily a footpath, definitely not the intended primary route. We kind of stumbled upon it, but I was delighted once we were there with a different angle, looking up at the ramp from the side since I had experienced the normal approach multiple times before. Cheers! John
17:30 - that stretch is famously the busiest cyclepath in the Netherlands.
Yes! Pretty sure I captured it in my video with Geert as well. Cheers! John
Can you post your route somewhere? I'm going there this weekend to visit!
Oh man, I wish. We didn't have a computer running and we were just wandering. Beginning this year I will start turning on a tracking program. Thanks for watching. Have a wonderful visit. Cheers! John
They start at Catharijnesingel going south. Then turn left to Mariaplaats. Then they cycle some circles in the Old Town. Eventually they go under the rail tracks, Van Sijpesteijntunnel. Then they go Leidseweg with the canal on the right. They turn to the right to Kanaalweg. Then left in the direction of the Dafne Schippersbrug. On the bridge they go back and go left on the Joseph Haydenlaan. To the right on the Vleutenseweg back to the Central Station. At the end they go back under the tram tunnel going to the same longer tunnel under the train.
So i tried posting a komoot of the route. However you cant post links aparently...
@@evertvanharten3193 Awesome! I found you there :) Thank you!!
@@larl07 no problemo
Having lived in and around Utrecht all my life, the highway was a blip on the timeline, the canal is what it always was and should have stayed. It was a blip. An expensive blip, but no more than that
Yes! Good long-term look... in many ways, that's how I consider cars, in general, a blip in the human mobility story. Hehe 😜 Thanks so much for watching. Cheers! John
An expensive blip and very terrible - I grew up in the 80s and that section was horrible to be outside a car. But yes, we usually took the car to the Hoog-Catharijne garages, in those days.
The "oo" in Woonerf is pronounced more like "oa" in oak.. The way English speaking people butcher the "oo" in Dutch is written like "oe".. Sorry to take on the role of Language police...
No worries, Eddy. I'm happy to get the Dutch language coaching. Thanks so much for tuning in. I hope you are enjoying the Channel. Cheers! John
I don't get why these guides only take you to the more affluent neighborhoods. There are some large neigborhoods in Utrecht where there is hardly any bike infrastructure. But those are the places where people with migrant background are concentrated. Perhaps that is why they don't want to show you those areas. As an Utrecht native, it is quite frustrating when our city is presented as some kind of biking utopia, while there is a substantial proportion of the population who can't cycle to school or work safely. The next time you visit Utrecht you can contact me if you want to see the more dangerous places to cycle, where children have to cycle in between buses and parked cars on 50km/h roads without even a bike lane, staight through residential neighborhoods, or the places where you have to share the lane with international industrial traffic.
Well, technically, we were not riding with a guide on this ride... we were just following our noses. But sure, it would be good to see the areas that are in need of attention. Feel free to contact me via my website at www.activetowns.org and we can stay in touch for my return trip, whenever that might be. Documenting neighborhoods with cycling conditions that are less than perfect and striving to get better can be quite helpful for car-dependent cities because that's closer to their reality. Thanks so much for watching and for contributing to the conversation. Cheers! John
You guys should contact the channel The Blackforest Family.
He is engineer developing new bicycles, loves to bike and they live in Freiburg/Germany coming from the U.S. originally, which is famous for it's bike friendliness.
Maybe you guys can do something together?
Yes! I love their Channel and would be stoked to do a collab with them. Thanks so much for tuning in and for the suggestion. Cheers! John
Ik ga op expeditie naar Nederland en ik neem mee ??? ... een Brompton vanuit de VS.
Yes, I know... it's sacrilege, hehe 🤣
Veel mensen gebruiken hun Brompton als vakantiefiets. Er zijn zelfs speciale koffers om een Brompton mee te nemen in het bagageruim van het vliegtuig.
@@mardiffv.8775 Yes. I can relate. I have a special case that I use for air travel, and in my situation, it is treated as a normal piece of luggage, thereby saving nearly $300 to 500 bike box travel fees. Thanks so much for watching. I hope you enjoyed the video. Cheers! John
@@ActiveTowns Thanks, I really enjoyed this video. I was wondering how an American would see my city Utrecht.
I love descend the Daphne Schippers Bridge too with my trike. Feeling the speed and the G-force in those sharp bends. Feels like a rollercoaster ride.
You both keep talking about the brick streets and that they are bumpy. But the main problem for you both was using the wrong bicycle: the Brompton is nice for train commuters but not for driving around for longer distances. Why didn't you borrow or rent a decent Dutch bike ? With the larger wheels they are so much more comfortable even on the bricks ......
Yeah, we just needed to drop the PSI down a tad. The Brompton's essential due to the ease of international travel (I ended up going to Paris and Brussels as well) also, renting and borrowing bikes while filming is just not a bright move. I've been filming on this bike for over a decade so I know it well. Thanks so much for tuning in. Much appreciated. Cheers! John
@@ActiveTowns i understand the technical argument with filming, mounting the camera etc. But the small wheels behave so much different then the normal 28" wheels. Changing psi helps a bit for comfort, but these bikes were never intended for normal longer stretches. And bringing your bikes from the States to the Netherlands is as bringing water to the see .... And then my final and very Dutch direct argument: Bromptons are so not cool to see. It's not without a reason only some older guys are riding them here in the Netherlands .... Boomer ! 🤪
@@ce17ec Guilty as charged! Although technically, I'm Gen X but, at 58 tomorrow, close enough. Yeah, once I get home, I'm on my normal-size quasi-Dutch-style upright bike or my e-assist cargo bike. Hope I can earn back some cred points on that account. 😂
@@ActiveTowns Appreciated! 62 myself so according to my kids a real boomer. But I think my bike is cooler (although electric....)!
@@avoutlet975 In my book, the key thing is to keep riding as long as we can... and keep smiling. 😀 Thanks so much for watching. Cheers! John
I think It would be much more comfortable and efficient to rent a ov-fiets this folding bikes are made for short distances.
Seriously, the Brompton's are super comfortable. I just needed to drop the PSI down a tad. The Brompton's essential due to the ease of international travel (I ended up going to Paris and Brussels as well) also, renting and borrowing bikes while filming is just not a bright move. I've been filming on this bike for over a decade, so I know it well. Thanks so much for tuning in. Much appreciated. Cheers! John
isnt it impossible to rent an ov-fiets unless you have a dutch bank account? I remember looking into it and it not being possible unless you have the ov-chipcard that has your picture on it and to get that you need a bank account. Id love to be wrong though, id love to rent one when i visit :)
Still too many cars. There needs to be draconian regulations against them.
Perhaps... but that rarely goes over well. In my estimation, Utrecht seems to be about it in the right way. 😀