Les Bicyclettes De Belsize
C.I.C.L.E. has a fascinating post about the bicycle culture of Amsterdam. Laura Domela’s uncannily beautiful photographs are all taken from her apartment window, looking down on the heads of the cyclists as they passed by. Check out the .pdf file to see the range of people of all ages and sizes on their bikes alone, or carrying children, pets, furniture, groceries.
Cycling in Amsterdam is not a specialized activity. It’s a daily mode of transportation. People don’t dress special to ride their bike any more than we dress special to drive our car to the grocery store. They are wearing business suits and high heels because they’re on their way to work and that’s what they wear to do those activities. When you drive to the store you don’t think “I’m going for a drive;� you think “I’m going to the store�…or to work, or to the park, or wherever. Culturally it’s a reflection of cycling not being an activity in and unto itself, but an enabler of daily life.
She notes that cycling is a great equalizer. The Dutch, even those who drive, aren’t as obsessed as many Americans and British are with their car as a status symbol.
I’ve always loved to cycle. In the USA it’s quite dangerous – in 15 years I made two trips to the emergency room, and since I was wearing a helmet, lived to tell the tale. I envy these sexy Dutch folks their cycling freedom – loose in a safe city, out for a ride.
At some post-petroleum point in the future these are images that might be as common in New Amsterdam as they are today in Old.
All images © Laura Domela 1998-2006
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