Saturday, September 10, 2011

Miamsterdam

Did you know that the Dutch are major bicycle enthusiasts? Of course you did. But did you know that there are more bikes than people in Holland? No, seriously, there are! That's because most people own AT LEAST one. I can see the MTV Cribs episode now, Dutch edition:

Yo, yo, what up? Welcome to my bachelor pad. I don't cook in this kitchen, but it's always stocked with gouda.... This is where the magic happens.... And these are, like, my most prized possessions. Check out my collection of rides! This one here's for cycling to the studio, this one's for impressing the ladies at the red light district, and this is my most pimped out one for red carpet events. Check out the rims on that baby!

MTV, you really should consider filming Cribs International. Also, you should play music again.

But back to the point: the Dutch live in a trafficless, clean air, bike-friendly utopia. Shockingly, their bike experts -- they have bike experts! how cute -- think they can do the same for Miami.

The Miami Herald reports that the Royal Netherlands embassy in D.C. sent us three "cycling as transportation" experts. They were charged with figuring out how to get more Miamians out of their cars and onto their bikes. Are they trying to tell us we need to work out more?

While this may seem a Herculean task for a city with such a rigid car culture, plans are already underway for several bike paths in key areas. If enough people show interest, who knows? This bike thing might just begin to take off. Can Miami be progressive on this issue? I hope so because, let's face it, we probably do need to work out more.

So welcome, Dutch bike experts! Try not to get run-over. That would make us look pretty bad.

2 comments:

  1. it's a great idea, but who wants to bike to work in the middle of summer? You've got muggy heat and torrential downpours to worry about.

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  2. Hi, Jorge! I doubt people would wanna bike around all day in the summer, but part of the year is better than nothing, right? Our winters are great.

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