Aidan Bikes in Europe!

Now that I've been abroad for almost a month (and soon to wrap up this class) it's time to share the top 5 insights that I've learned so far.  The academic purpose of this post is to make an argument to someone back home as to why we should implement changes related to better cycling/infrastructure. My target audience is a homeowners group or city council, as I feel they have one of the larger voices in whether to actually pass a decision like this. As you already know, I've had the lucky experience to be able to go abroad and take a class directly related to how European cities are built to support bicycle transportation. For those that haven't been abroad, in certain bike-friendly cities, a vast majority of the population uses bicycle transportation to get around the city. A small part of this high percentage is due to historical/cultural reasons (which might not necessarily translate directly in the states), however, a large reason that biking is so popular abroa...

After a long and wonderful week in Amsterdam, our group headed off to Nijmegen, making a brief stop before making our last stop in Utrecht. While we were only there for a day and a half and two nights (by far the shortest stay of any city thus far in our trip), I took away a lot more than I expected. First, the ride over was very easy and user-friendly (as on par with everything thus far). From our hostel, we were able to take the Metro to the Central Station. Conveniently, as of just recently, the Metro (not just in Amsterdam, but also most of the country) takes a tap to pay directly on their fare gates, which makes it super convenient for non-locals to get onboard. After arriving at Central Station, a quick Google Maps search will tell you exactly when and where to catch the fastest train to your destination (in this case, Nijmegen). Our 'Intercity' train showed up right on time, and we had no problem picking a seat. Unlike the Danish trains, the Dutch trains do not do seat r...

As previously mentioned, Meredith Glaser of the University of Amsterdam assigned us on a little scavenger hunt. We spent about half our time in Amsterdam doing as much of the scavenger hunt as we could. There were a variety of missions on the scavenger hunt. Most ask us to visit neighborhoods, make observations, interview neighbors, or use Google Streetview to get a glimpse at how the street has 'evolved' over the years. Some of the missions on our scavenger hunt After getting our bikes, my teammate and I wasted no time getting around the city, crossing off as many from the list as we could. My favorite activity was visiting the Waterfront ferry terminal. It was fascinating to watch the scramble of pedestrians, bikes, mopeds, and more as the ferries arrived. With our limited internet, it is next to impossible to upload longer videos onto the blog, however, this video gives a good sense of what kind of multimodal activity is in the area. (note: this area has been slightly re-d...

Now that I have had my fair share of time exploring Amsterdam by bike, I would like to make some comparisons on how it functions versus in Copenhagen. Since each aspect compares differently, I have broken down the comparison into sections of culture, convenience, safety, and 'implementation in the US.' Cultural Differences These are less important but still notable. The Danish are much more formal and orderly. Eg. most people in Copenhagen are very consistent with their turn signal usage. Also, they wait out red lights. Their bike lanes (cycle tracts) have a consistent style to them which can be found on any street. Meanwhile in the Netherlands , biking rules the streets here. Rules are only a suggestion here. I have also noticed a lot more construction here blocking the bike lanes. When this happens, bikes will either take up the adjacent road or they will bike the 'wrong way' down the bike lane on the other side of the street. Surprisingly, this is viewed as being no...

It has been a long week! Since my last post, our group has made it to Amsterdam and we have been here for about a week. As we were on the series of trains it takes to get from the airport to our hostel, I was very excited to be back in the big city. (Side note: I have 'been to' Amsterdam before, and have even biked around the city for a bit. However, that was only for one day on a layover).  As we finished the final segment (the walk from the Metro station to our hostel) my first impression was how differently their streets were set up. The big visual difference of course is that most of the bike lanes here are red. The second was how 'chaotic' it feels. When we were walking around the Amsterdam Central Station area, I couldn't help but notice just how many people were there. Even outside of that area, there can be huge waves of bikes which can be a little intimidating at first. The third was that the intersections are a lot different (most have protected left-hand ...

For the weekend our group made a brief visit to Malmö, Sweden before we head off to the Netherlands. While many used it as a weekend of rest (between big cities),  I still made it out a considerable amount and would like to share my impressions about the city as a whole. I also want to note that our entire time here it was overcast and rainy (which, honestly for me was a little nice to get a break from the heat. The weather reminded me of springtime in Oregon). First of all, the train ride over was extremely easy. We all gathered at Copenhagen Central Station and hopped on a very clean and modern train that would take us the Øresund, into Malmö. Even though this is technically an 'international' tain, being in the EU makes the whole process so much easier. Other than a quick crew change at Hyllie - the first stop in Sweden - (and unless you have a trained eye you wouldn't even notice this) we were in Malmö in no time.  The train to Malmö After getting our bags dropped off a...