Children on the way to school on a coastal cycle path near The Hague (Den Haag).

This photo was taken in 2002. The 3 metre wide path shown has now been upgraded to four metres and a smoother surface.

This is a very small section of the LF1 cycle route which runs all the way up the west coast of the Netherlands. This is just one of many Landelijke Fietsroutes.

Bicycles at a school in Kloosterveen, Assen. Virtually all children arrive at school by bicycle in the Netherlands. Watch this video to see just how many bikes arrive at this school every single morning.

This is not exceptional. All schools in the Netherlands have most children arriving in this way. The children also go on school trips by bicycle.

On the morning that the photo and video was taken, the temperature was -2 C (28 F).

If you are interested in seeing how children are provided with genuinely safe routes to school in the Netherlands, the accompanying video is particularly worth watching.

A bus giving way to children riding to school by unicycle. Kloosterveen, Assen, the same school as in the photo above. In how many other places in the world could children safely commute to school by unicycle ? A wide variety of cycles are used by children here: hand-cycles for disabled children, unicycles, tricycles as well as normal bicycles.

The unicyclists are actually on the pavement in this photo. The red path next to the pavement is the cycle path. The bus is on a special bus road. There is no road for cars in this location so close to the school.

Dutch children returning from a school trip by bicycle in Assen, the Netherlands. It is perfectly normal here for children to go on outings from school by bicycle. Watch this video to see this group of children as they ride along.

This is the only photo on this page which shows people cycling on a normal road. Generally you are segregated from traffic. This is a 30 km/h (18 mph) residential non-through road.

Here in Eindhoven we see another group of children about to cross the road. Note the width of the cycle path and crossing and that they can cross this wide road in one go, not needing to stop in the middle.

There is a youtube video of this junction.

This secondary school in Assen has 725 students and 850 cycle parking spaces. It is expected that students will arrive by bike, and they all do. In the winter, cycling rates sometimes drop as "low" as 95%. Some students make more than a 40 km round trip ride each day to get to school and home again on their bicycles.

Due to the number of bicycles which arrive each day, the amount of space taken by them can be quite large. That's the reason for the high density cycle parking here, with bikes hanging from their handlebars.

I've also taken photos of the parking at a different school.

Children here have enormous freedom of movement as the conditions are such that they can travel around on their own safely.

Cycle paths are smooth, continuous, wide ( 4 metres is the standard width for new bidirectional paths ) and well separated from the road even in residential areas, such as in this photo in Assen. There is a parallel road to the left of the picture.

Rubbish bin next to a cycle path on a school route for cyclists on the move to throw rubbish into.

This section of cycle path heads for an underpass which avoids a main road junction.

The cycle path is four metres wide.

Cycling keeps you fit throughout your life.

The demographics of cycling in the Netherlands are more varied than in any other country. Even the over 65s make 24% of their journeys by bicycle in the Netherlands.

This cycle path is four metres wide.

This photo taken at a road junction in Assen shows two teenage girls cycling together, a pre teenage boy and an adult man, all of them making different journeys. Given the time that the photo was taken, the boy is probably returning to primary school after having had lunch at home.

All types and ages of people cycle independently in the Netherlands

Note that the pedestrian crossing and path is separate from the three metre wide cycle path. The glass screen and trees separate us from a major dual carriageway road. The combination of the quiet road surface, 70 km/h speed limit and the noise barrier make the road virtually inaudible at this point.

Cycling around the Koopmansplein in Assen.

This is the centre of the city and one of the busiest streets for bicycles. Motorised vehicles are allowed here for access only. There are a couple because of the marbles competition which is being held today.

Watch the video to see the cycle parking around the square.

A view of how this area used to look can be seen on our review of the book "Assen Verandert" ("Assen Changes").

Cycle parking in Assen.

This photo was taken in December when the temperature was -4 C ( 24 F ).

This only shows a very small part of the cycle parking. A youtube video shows more.

A view of how this area used to look can be seen on our review of the book "Assen Verandert" ("Assen Changes").

This photo shows the centre of Assen.

City centres here are designed for the use of people cycling and walking, not for motor vehicles.

Note the child sitting in front of its mother on one of the bikes.

Cyclists also need to be able to access industrial estates and similar areas outside of the centre. Good cycling facilities are provided here just as they are provided everywhere else..

Note that there is a single stage crossing for a road with 5 lanes.

The cycle path is four metres wide.

At many junctions between cycle paths and roads, cyclists have priority, including this one.

This older cycle path is 3 metres wide.

Note how the cycle path surface continues through the road, rather than the other way around. It is very much the case here that the road crosses the cycle path rather than the cycle path crossing the road.

Cyclists journeys are made more convenient by provision of routes which are more direct than those for drivers. In this case, the underpass goes beneath two roads and the railway line in Assen and avoids a set of traffic lights. It reduces some journeys length by around a kilometre.

There is a youtube video showing this underpass.

This tunnel provides a four metre wide path for cyclists and an additional 2 metre path for pedestrians (their entrance is separate).

This bridge was built to take the dual carriageway ring-road in Assen over two cycle paths. This allows cyclists to cross the road on the level instead of going through a tunnel, and means that they don't have to stop at traffic lights..

The glass barriers on the side of the bridge reduce noise from cars travelling over it.

Progress here is swift. This area went from the existing flat road junction where cyclists used to have to wait for traffic lights, to a completely finished bridge and new cycle route in just a few months.

This area has not been finished yet. The road carrying on directly from this cycle path at the other side of the bridge is to be redeveloped into a 5 metre wide "Bicycle Road" which leads cyclists the 2.5 km distance straight to the centre with no interruptions. This is shown in the next image.

Drivers on the bridge who are heading for the city have a detour and several sets of traffic lights to get through before they reach their destination.

This bicycle road is the other side of the bridge in the last photo. It provides one of the main arterial routes for bicycles to the centre of Assen and from this direction is the most direct route to the centre of the city. Drivers who live on this road are allowed to use it for access to their homes, but it is not a through road for cars - only for bikes.

Cars which are driven on this road are considered to be "Guests of bicycles". It is not permitted to drive fast or to park a car on this road.

The rough surface in the middle of the road separates cyclists travelling in each direction, but makes driving uncomfortable as the wheels on one side of the car will be on a rough surface.

The road is 5 m wide, and provides two 2 m cycle paths and a 1 m rougher barrier in the middle, which it is also possible to cycle on. When this photo was taken, construction of the road had not yet finished, but the popularity of the route was already established.

Most driving routes to the centre of the city involve at least one set of traffic lights. This route has no traffic lights to stop for. Together with the shorter distance, this helps to ensure that cycle journeys are more efficient than driving journeys.

There is an youtube video of this bicycle road.

New housing estates are built with excellent cycle paths both for access to housing, as in this photo, and for access to the next town, as in the next photo.

This path is the standard 4 metre width.

New housing estates are built with excellent cycle paths.

Note how at the road junctions the road gives way to these paths, and that the cycle paths are not only more direct but also smoother than the roads.

These paths are not just within the housing estates but continue out of the estate. In this case, you can follow the direction of the camera in a straight line by bike, but drivers have a detour in the opposite direction instead.

There is a youtube video of this cycle path showing the route as far as the edge of the city (it stops after about 4 km travelled at the bridge shown above).

This path is four metres wide.

All Dutch railway stations seem to have thousands of bikes parked at them. This is Assen station. There is a youtube video of this cycle parking.

Groningen railway station's new €10M cycle parking. This accomodates 4150 bicycles, making a total of 6000 normal spaces a the railway station and about 1500 guarded spaces in a different building.

Since this photo was taken, the cycle park has been expanded.

There is a youtube video of cycling through this cycle parking. The video goes through only some of the cycle park, and none of it more than once.

This photo shows a main cycle route into Assen. It is alongside a canal and a bus road. The road also allows access by drivers to their homes alongside, but does not allow them to drive out of both ends. The bus is allowed through by a moving bollard (bright yellow)

Watch the video to see that the crossing for cycles has a loop to detect approaching cycles (as well as a button "just in case"), has relatively short timing allowing cyclists to cross quickly and goes past cycle parking for a bus stop.

The main driving route to the city is less direct than the route for bikes and buses.

Note that while we show a crossing here that cyclists have to stop for, this is the only place that cyclists lose priority in about 5 km to the centre of the city. Drivers have many more sets of lights, roundabouts etc. to stop at than just the one.

Two fathers cycling with children on their bicycles pass on an Assen cycle path. Cycling is a family activity here. It is quite common to see fathers having rides just for pleasure with small children, or taking them to events by bike.

Note that the path is straight, wide, smooth and has no junctions for over a kilometre. It has lights, a separate pavement for pedestrians and is a very pleasant and safe place to cycle. This is merely a secondary route into the city, which is why it is just a 3 metre wide cycle path (+2 metre pedestrian path). However, it is still a very efficient route, taking the cyclist directly to the city centre while avoiding traffic.

There are many tunnels to avoid main roads in Assen. This one allows cyclists to ride directly from a housing area on one side of the road to a major employment area on the other without having to take a detour and stop for traffic lights as you would if you were to try to drive this route.

The old bridge has been removed in this location and drivers can no longer cross the canal. A temporary bridge has been installed to allow cyclists to continue to cross. It is important for cyclists to be able to make direct journeys, and they usually can even if there are roadworks in the way.

Note the effort that has gone into making sure that the way onto the temporary bridge is not bumpy. The bridge itself is three metres wide and smooth.

The temporary sign shows that two directions are currently close for drivers, but "Uitgezonderd fietsers" underneath means that cyclists are excepted from these closures. Cyclists can nearly always continue to take a direct and safe route even if there are major road works.

There are more examples of how road works are managed for cyclists in the blog.

Also there is a post showing how extensive temporary cycle parking can be.

Cyclists are excepted from a lot of traffic restrictions. In this case, several one way restrictions within a few hundred metres of each other in a residential area of Assen.

One way restrictions very rarely apply to cyclists.

Cycle routes here are often shorter than equivalent driving routes.

The blue (driving) signs show Groningen 14, Assen 16, Zuidlaren 9.

The red (cycling) signs show Groningen 12, Assen 15, Zuidlaren 8.

The two signposts are by the same road junction.

The speed limit through villages and residential areas is always 30 km/h - equivalent to about 18 mph.

Speed limits on country roads in general have recently been reduced.