The word that I think of when I see the photo above is “dapper.” Those bikes look dapper posed against the white stone of the building. (Close newelty readers will also recall when I described this older gentleman as dapper, as well. Similar feel to both.)

And what about this huge fiestsenstalling pictured below? Any idea where all this wonderful bicycleness was captured?

The answer after the jump!

Believe it or not, it was shot in Oxford, in the U.K. Surprise! I had been to Oxford a few years ago, but had no recollection of this kind of mad bicycle energy in the town.

It’s absolutely wonderful to see. The top photo was shot outside of the Asmolean Museum, by the way. More on that museum in a future post.

In the meanwhile, isn’t there something just very high-brow and pleasing about the photo of the bicycles pictured above? The bikes look downright academic to me, whereas the bottom picture could really be interchanged with Delft’s bicycle garage (albeit not quite as immense).

Speaking of dapper cycle chic, I stopped by Seattle’s own Hub & Bespoke shop this weekend. Having dropped crazy cash on various bicycling necessities (read: not necessities), I’d recommend them as lovely little pit stop for anyone who finds the top photo in this blog post as inspiring as I do. Here’s a cute photo of their store from their blog.

As regular newelty readers know, I am obsessed with Dutch bikes, a result of being obsessed with the Dutch in general.

Which is why I was immediately drawn to Boneshaker: A Bicycling Almanac, which I picked up at one of my favorite bookstores today. It includes such novelties as a review of Swedish army bicycles, but, really, it was the poems and comics that drew me in.

All in all, without sounding too much like this “Portlandia” video, Boneshaker: A Bicycling Almanac–not be confused with British Boneshaker–is a complete treat for those of us who are fond of our bikes to the point of absurdity.

Also, I like their fonts. And feel as though they would probably enjoy this video, and forgive its shaky quality for the heartfelt statement of love for Euro-biking that it is.

Called the Avenue Verte, it already includes views like this in the finished sections:

Here’s how the writer described the French side:

Towards Paris, you travel for a number of miles along the wooded banks of the Seine, long stretches of which look as though they have changed little since Monet and Renoir captured the green-tinged reflections of the water more than a century ago. Then, after a stretch of industrial hinterland, the route follows canal towpaths to within a stone’s throw of its end-point – Notre Dame cathedral.

More on the British side after the jump.

He also calls out his fellow Brits for not rising to the challenge of converting their side:

The French have converted the railways into broad, hard-surfaced tracks, suitable for rollerbladers and wheelchairs as well as cyclists. They have also kept control of vegetation around the path, so that for the most part the surrounding countryside can be seen and enjoyed.

On the British side the paths are so overgrown that they resemble tunnels, providing barely a glimpse of the world outside. Mile after mile, this becomes monotonous.

One of my favorite things about Europe is how their leaders are willing to invest in plans like these. They might seem far-fetched and expensive, but they will benefit generations, never mind tourists.

Check out the videos he took while on the trails, and see what you think. Oh, and you can watch video of my own bike-based daily commute while I was in the Netherlands this summer.

Infrastructure = heaven.

1. It’s fantastic.

2. It fits in with design week here on newelty.
3. We were lucky enough to snag Genna’s time to do our own redesign of newelty after this was originally posted in February!

I spent today out in the bright sun on my Dutch bike. I was able to bike through downtown Seattle in weather so nice that it was warm enough to wear just my skinny jeans and my Little Edie tee–a revolutionary costume of the day in Februrary!

After ignoring the internets all day, I came home to see not only was one of my favorite sites Copenhagen Cycle Chic now also on Twitter, but that this artist, Genna Campton, had created the incredible illustration you see above as an homage to that site.

I now have a new goal for newelty, some day in the far, far future.

I searched the Google maps nearby towns looking for a B&B, and mapped out my route using Google street view. It looked like the total commute time by bike would be 30 minutes, 45 tops. After my freakout about how it would work and my test drive in Delft, I found out that the Netherlands really makes biking easy, no matter where you are.

Video of my daily ride after the jump.

I’m hoping the cute song makes the bumpiness charming, rather than nauseating.

I live in Seattle, and we have nothing like this. We have someone who seems to be an ineffectual mayor (my skeptical friend nicknamed him Mayor McCheese). He actually complimented my own Dutch bike when I saw him in my neighborhood, which is nice. But what would be nicer is a plan for a real biking infrastructure like the kind in this tiny town in the Netherlands, so small it barely has a wikipedia entry. Does this plan exist already? I don’t think so. And if not, Mayor McGinn, could you create  it? Because the video above shows how fantastically great that was for many reasons.

In case you want to enjoy some much-more-professional videos (sans rockiness and something on the lens), try out these favorites sites that always inspire:

• Cycle Chic
• Amsterdamize
• Let’s Go Ride a Bike

It seemed like it had to be possible. After all, this is a place that includes bikes in every layer of their daily lives–check out this super-cute bike garage in Delft, complete with a painted tile. (Delft is world-famous for its blue-and-white ceramic Delftware):

Still, it’s not the most natural thing for a non-fixie, non-hard-core American cycling enthusiast to figure out. How does it all work? I had read about the bicyclist-only road signs. Would I miss them? Be unable to decipher their directions?

I shouldn’t have worried. If there’s one thing the Dutch excel at, it’s organization.

In Holland, which–strictly speaking–is a province in the north part of the Netherlands, three main cities make up the heart of the “randstad“: Amsterdam, Rotterdam, and the Hague, which abuts Delft (home to the bike garage pictured above).

Got all that?

No matter–the point is that the clever Dutchies, seeing their industrial, crowded cities spreading together like the cities of China’s Pearl River Delta decided to preserve the lush meadowland that lies between all the cities of the randstad.

To see how easy it was to get around by bike, we headed into the Groene Hart.

Here’s your road through the Groene Hart, a.k.a. the “green heart”:

In between moments of quiet solitude, you’ll come across sheep. Or cows. Or bridges. Or high schoolers taking their horses out for a little run. Here’s a little shot of rush hour in the Groene Hart:

Oh, and those street signs I was worried I might miss, or not be able to interpret? They’re easy peasy, and include nearby towns, landmarks, and the mileage in kilometers:

Stay tuned to find out how it actually went when I needed to bicycle between towns to language school. Eep!

They’re not precious about biking. Everyone bikes. Including this gentleman, who took the passenger ferry across the river IJ with us, from Amsterdam’s central train station to the other side:

How wonderfully elegant is he?

I’m excited to report on my recent Dutch adventures, including being there during the World Cup. As regular readers know, I’m obsessed with the Dutch, and have plenty of posts in mind for this week and next, including quite a few on Dutch biking. Betty and I will be doing our best to publish a piece every weekday, so please keep checking back!

I’m experiencing a grown-up version of that now, as this Friday will be my final day at my job. After that, I will have two free weeks before I launch into my next gig.

Photo credit: Todd Klassy

What to do? Where to go?

It’s kind of fun when you have zilcho time to plan for a holiday. While Lia has been working on her Dutch Princess School excursion for months now, I basically have a week or so to figure out if…and where…I’ll go.

I first called my frequent flier plans to see if I could cash in any of my miles at the last minute. I wasn’t that interested in flying within the US (prefer to use miles internationally or on swanky hotels state-side), or Latin America (too hot)…And I didn’t have enough for Asia. Only one plan was able to find a flight to Frankfurt, but nothing on the return. Boo.

I was relieved in a way.

Seattle is notorious for its “June Gloom.” It always rains on the 4th of July, and then, miraculously the week after, the region becomes this out-of-control-this-is-why-we-live-here type of paradise. Today it’s 80 degrees and sunny. Not an ounce of humidity.

So I think I’m going to stick around, but will take long weekend road trips. Right now, I’m considering one or more of the following:

• Methow Valley – Incredibly, I’ve never been here and I’ve lived in the Pac NW for a long time. It’s apparently a breathtaking valley with wonderful hiking on the east side of the Cascade Mountains.
• San Juan Islands -The long ferry lines can sometimes be a drag, but once you land, each island has its own magical character. I’ve been to the islands of San Juan and Orcas many times. Lopez Island is supposed to be fantastic for biking as it’s really flat.
• Vancouver Island – The novelty meter goes way up because you get to go across the border, and the majority of the island is a park. I’ve been to Victoria, BC, but never explored the island.
• Olympic Peninsula – It recently gained fame as the setting for the Twilight zeitgeist, but I’m not going to let that get in my way. Olympic National Park is one of my favorite parks.

Any other suggestions?

This one is a favorite, of two people catching a quick smooch, probably at a stop light:

I’m also fond of this photo, which shows a dad clearly gleeful about taking his kiddo for a ride in his bakfiets:

Just booked my final hotel for my upcoming trip to the Netherlands, and the hotel website lets visitors pre-book bikes. How great is that?

Check out the whole series.

Yesterday was truly the first beautiful day of spring in Seattle. I dusted off my Dutch bike to ride into work, and loved how this dark purple tulip looked next to its Dutchie kin.

Readers of this blog know that I’m obsessed with the Dutch, and with Dutch biking in particular as the ultimate, elegant solution for transportation bliss. I bought mine from David, owner of the Dutch Bike Co. here in Seattle, who also thinks that a little touch of Holland is the solution to life’s troubles.

I can never travel as much as I want to, but I can try to incorporate the things that I adore about other places in my life back home. For me, it means biking to work in heels for the first time–which, oddly, seemed to work out better than flats!

I’m inspired, in particular, by Copenhagen Cycle Chic, and photos like this one:

As well as perennial favorite, Amsterdamize:

I have such fondness for other Americans who share the same ideal, like the lovely lasses over at Let’s Go Ride a Bike. This pic of their friend Trisha in a birthday party dress is so charming, no?

 And if I’m not mistaken, that fab dress she has on is from the Zac Posen collection for Target. Total bicycling cuteness.