Biking in the Netherlands.

My pedals won't move, my bakfiets (cargo bike) grinds to a stop, the back wheel overcome by the fabric of my skirt. Suddenly, I see three men on either side of me. One of them says, “I have a knife.”

In any other place I would have expected the worst. But I knew why these men were on the scene. I had heard about how supportive the biking community is here in the Netherlands. The rumors are true!

Attune to my predicament, these men came to my rescue. The man with the knife immediately cut me free and we all then worked together removing the jammed pieces of my skirt from the wheel. “My heroes! Thank you, thank you, thank you!” was all that I could come up with. “You’re welcome. Next time tie up your skirt." And we were all on our respective ways.

Barbie in the Netherlands

The Netherlands can quickly convert you into a biking believer. The country has invested in all the necessary infrastructure (bike lanes, slow speed limits, bike-friendly laws), and the community appears to have accepted a cyclist-safety-focused mindset. We bought our bakfiets before arriving and acquired a loaner bicycle on our second day. It was our only mode of transportation while we waited for our car to cross the Atlantic. Overnight, and with surprising ease, biking became a part of everyday life.

My last bike ride before arriving in the Netherlands was b.k. (before kids) in New York City in 2017. A death-defying ride across the George Washington Bridge into New Jersey for Korean food. No bike lane, drivers frustrated with our presence on their roads, and my fearless cousin-in-law in the lead (he never thought to look back to gauge the terror in our eyes). It felt like we were playing Frogger on level 38. Even in a busy Dutch city like Amsterdam, I can't imagine a similar scenario. Sadly, the U.S. car-focused infrastructure and mindset is to blame.

And since I hate driving, I love the Dutch biking culture. It’s currently one of my favorite things about living here.