Amsterdam is a city of bikes, and has been for over 100 years! Which makes it an amazing place to be if you're a biker. Less so if your a pedestrian, or what local cyclists call speed bumps. They're not really out to kill you, but if you don't know the rules of the road (read: the whole city), you might just tempt them. Read the city's basic cycling FAQ here, and watch the below videos for a deeper understanding of this interesting Dutch quirk. By quirk we mean environmentally friendly, cheap, healthy form of transportation.
A Dutchie without a bike is like an American without a gun, though you do feel safer, it's pretty strange when you see it. Check out this video to see how the Netherlands became known for it's impressive bicycle infrastructure.
In 1971 3300 people were killed by cars in the Netherlands, 400 of them children. This (understandably) sent a wave of fury throughout the country, and in de Pijp neighborhood of Amsterdam, the locals took matters into their own hands.
A million bicycles for only 830, 000 residents + no guard rails + drunken (English) men = a unique problem for Amsterdam.
