Friday, 25 September 2009

Yesterday's morning commute


I took these photos on the way to work yesterday morning. It took 57 minutes all in for the 30 km from door to door with the camera dangling from my arm. The sun hadn't come up yet, so there are a lot of blurry shots.

Amongst the photos you find several things that have been featured before, including traffic lights which default to green, a right turn on red, long distance school children, priority on a countryside cycle path and a lifting bridge which is sometimes open.

It was quite foggy, though that doesn't really show in the photos. The majority of the commute is on unidirectional cycle paths, 2.5 m wide on each side of the road. Some parts are on bidirectional cycle paths and well away from the road. I also ride on very quiet roads for about 1.5 km.

At the moment I ride a Pashley PDQ recumbent bike. In a few weeks I'll be upgrading to a Sinner Mango velomobile. That takes 10 minutes off the journey time in each direction and it'll be a lot more comfortable in winter.

6 comments:

  1. Yangmusa25 September 2009 at 23:23

    I'm going to have to unsubscribe from your blog soon, it makes me too jealous ;-) Hmm, how long would it take me to learn Dutch....?

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  2. David Hembrow26 September 2009 at 09:58

    How long ? That depends on you. We've been here for two years now, and it's still a bit of a struggle. The children are doing very well, though.

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  3. Unknown26 September 2009 at 12:19

    People here in Canada complain if they have to go 300 metres by bike.
    Like Yangmusa, I should limit my reading of blogs from Denmark & Netherlands. Far too envious of all you over there.

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  4. Mark W.26 September 2009 at 14:36

    Lovely pictures David! What a joy this commute must be.
    Great that you are showing people what they really should stand up for: this is what real cycling infrastructure looks like. Observe carefully and demand nothing less for yourself. This is not to make you all envious, jealous or misarable (sarcasm aside), it is to show you what you could have, or better: should have!

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  5. Steven Vance27 September 2009 at 06:57

    Consider buliding yourself a handlebar mount for your camera. I built one using $5 worth of parts from the local hardware store.
    http://www.flickr.com/photos/jamesbondsv/sets/72157606482121596/

    Thanks for the photos and commentary of Dutch bicycling infrastructure.

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  6. Anonymous28 September 2009 at 21:21

    Great post - the commute photos. I have been biking 31 years - no car.
    Now in bike unfriendly Miami, FL. I have been to the Netherlands. It is biking paradise. Thanks for sharing your info. raywelch

    ReplyDelete

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