Rule #1: When on a bicycle and you turn either right or left, you signal first by sticking out the appropriate hand so other know what you are gonna do and don't T-bone you when you try to go left and pedestrians don't cross in front of you when you are trying to go right. especially when not on dedicated cycling paths or shared spaces. Rule #2: Always follow rule #1 And yes, I know, many Dutch ignore it too but it is for your safety and that of others. Heck people go as far as not signalling themselves but scoffing at you when they hit you because YOU didn't signal. "mini light": In the Netherlands people as young as 4 years old will cycle everywhere. Having a traffic light at their eye height helps them navigate the streets safely. And mate... why the hurry, enjoy the ride, take your time. Those bridges and towers are going nowhere.

I just came back from there. We stayed in Delft. It was a cyclists paradise. There is definitely better cycling in the Netherlands outside of Rotterdam but they are still miles ahead of us in North America

Dutch guy here, I'd say slow down lol. In terms of safety, you are clearly going faster than traffic expects, which is probably what surprised the women at that intersection and also might have caused the car that crossed in front of you to see you too late or expect to have more time. Especially on intersections it's often safer to go with the flow a bit, especially if you're not yet used to Dutch traffic patterns. But also, you're panting all the time! You end up all sweaty and tired despite being on a ride for leisure with all the time in the world. There's no need to hurry.

The only thing I have to say, is keep to the right more.❤

Always amazed at how LOUD those mopeds are! Can't believe they haven't banned the gas-powered ones yet, and adopted something like the Gogoro system.

The smaller light at the bottom of the stoplights gives you the option to not tilt your head high if you are close by, also when raining no need to put your face up in the rain.

Nice video! And what a coincidence: The opening shot drew my attention since it is only about 200 meters from the office I work in. After watching I saw the link to your to your Strava activity and guess what: in the FlyBy's we pass each other (I'm the 'Johan' in the FlyBy's) , I just started my commute home when you went back to starting point🙂

You mention Frankfurt, Brussels and now Rotterdam: All those cities are still "in the transition". If you still have some time, I'd recommend something like Utrecht, Groningen or Münster - in those cities you see _WAY_ more bike traffic than car traffic. Smaller options very close to you might be Delft or Leiden.

What do you think? What else should I try or look out for in the Netherlands? Expect some of my other Europe stops as videos soon too

I grew up in Rotterdam. So funny to see you there!

There is one rule in bicycling to ride safe “ go with the flow “ and you will be okay 😅👍👍

Wow…,you can actually build bike infrastructure from one part of the city all the way to another part unlike here in the states where the bike lane just disappears (or sidewalks) and the city planners just expect you to merge with cars going at 30 to 40 miles per hour.

Great video in my home town 👍you are a great cyclist too. Hope you enjoyed your stay in Rotterdam

Fabulous video.

Please don’t race so fast, relax man. Rotterdam is the most car-centric big city of the Netherlands. You should definitely visit Delft or Utrecht

The lower traffic light is for people standing right next to it, so it's in obvious field of vision, and the higher up one is for people behind them, who can't look through the people in front of them. Also Rotterdam isn't the best place to cycle in the Netherlands. And hand signals are generally only done when they're necessary. They're meant to communicate something to a specific other person, not to just signal for the sake of signalling. If I'm not about to cross paths with anyone, I'm not signalling.

Great fun probably not the most 'relaxed' city in the country for your first ride but you are doing well. Also i find the number of mopeds to be higher than normal (and we hate them esp. the sound). Some people do signal but watching how they move and small signals from head/eyes and steering is the trick takes a while to get that. Have fun riding there are many videos in my channel to see a slightly more relaxed city of utrecht and its surroundings while biking. Rotterdam's history is partly to blame it will take a few more years for some of the (just after the war) parts to be at the same level than some other places. Still a great city to visit and ride but just like amsterdam has a slightly different bicycle feeling (for other reasons) than most of the country. I hope you also make it outside of the main cities its the way the whole network works that makes it great.

Enjoy my motherland! People dont really signal, its more of feel that you can see where someone is looking/steering you can predict where everyone is going. If there are cars involved always signal!

Cool that you saw Rotterdam. But as far as dutch infrastructure goes, its probably the only city that has the least common dutch layout? Rotterdam is very much still structured as a car centric city.

Nice to see you ride my home town! Rotterdam has a long history of Chinese immigration, going back more than a century, when harbor laborers came over from the Dutch Indies and other parts of Asia. Rotterdam was home to the largest Chinatown in Europe in the 1930s. The boat you passed at the end is an Asian supermarket.

It looks like a person really has to pay attention while riding. It has to be hard to not wear a helmet, and look like a dork 😅. The key to riding in the Netherlands is what you said, Hanock, ride with flow .

I was just in Amsterdam in April, wish I could've rode a bike around there. I got to rent a bike in Paris though! So many more people biking around Europe than Seattle

Nice! Isn't it interesting that you chose not to wear your helmet just because most people weren't? When I was there, I only saw 2 cyclists wearing helmets and they were also wearing the full kit. Surprised you didn't bring your Brompton with you. I know it can be a hassle to travel with the bike sometimes. Have you thought of riding the Eurovelo at all? I'm thinking of doing the Eurovelo 15 next year with the B. No definite plans yet but seriously considering it. Next month, I'll bring the B to Okinawa for some riding. Cheers from Sacramento! Enjoy!

More than Brussels, the Limburg region of Belgium has some interesting places, like "Cycling through Water", "Cycling through Heathland" and "Cycling through the trees". May be next time, you can visit them.

When people is in your way, you are allowed to use your bell!

Why were you racing ?

Love the modern architecture in Rotterdam but as a carpenter who help to rebuild the citycenter of Rotterdam its a plus because i build 5 a 6 buildings in it haha ;p

I'm not 100% sure, but I'm guessing the mini-traffic light at the cyclists traffic light is a great help when it rains and people don't wanna be looking up to see the normal traffic light?

U did'nt block them woman,u were both in the wrong lane😭😉

I knew the Dutch had a bike culture, but it is different when see how many bikes there are. I do wonder if you missed all the hills in Seattle?

I live in Rotterdam. I saw the area where I work and lived. You passed the hospital where my sister was born. I never used the tunnel by bike. Interesting. I live ten minutes bike ride from where you turned left to the Euromast. This was definitely not rush hour, but a regular number of bikes on the round. Since we are used to mopeds we aren't bothered by them. Also passing and crossing many bikes, also at close distances is not something I would notice or get irritated by.

It looks like you are google maps for navigation, this is quite a badly designed app for bike navigation. It does not handle the situation where you have a road with 2 directional bike lanes on both directions. Some regions have this mapped correctly on their map, but many do not

Should have rented a OV fiets.

They allow micro cars as well.

6:48 not in the wrong perse, but you have to remember that riding an e-bike at speed is not expected by a lot of people. You're not recognizable as such (no special sounds to warn, though you do have the bell you should use to warn someone you're intending to overtake, which hardly anyone uses these days) and your higher speed is difficult to anticipate by others.

why you no 'take' your Brompton???

i don't think they allow mopeds on bike lanes since a few years ago, at least that's what i've heard

We all hate the mopeds but we do not really know what to do about them. You can't forbid people to ride them

Take it easier dude, you bike a bit fast. Learning rules of the road is a necessity for safe riding (bike/car/).

I'm a little surprised that no one wears helmets there.

why on earth do you wear gloves, you are on a city bike not a racing bike.

Next time watch the traffic, not your bloody phone.