The Dutch are famously great bikers. That is, until there is even the slightest incline — then the struggling Nederlanders miss their flat land.
You’d think all that cycling would make the Dutch super-fit, but the lack of hills in the landscape means they get exhausted pretty easily.
What is it?
Everyone bikes in the Netherlands, that’s just the way life has been for decades, if not centuries.
But the Dutch are not used to biking uphill, making them totally unprepared for any terrain that’s not smooth, flat and horizontal.
When people say biking in the Netherlands is popular only because it’s mostly flat, they forget about these infamous “Dutch hills.” https://t.co/8pSzlZwIYm
— 🚲Bike JC🗽 (@bikejc) March 11, 2021
Even though the lowlands are extremely flat themselves, there are A LOT of bridges to deal with.
READ MORE | How the Netherlands became a cycling country
You can expect the Dutchies to graciously float around the flat Dutch countryside but clumsily pant their way over the thousands of bridges in this watery land.
Why do they do it?
How exactly do the masters of cycling get stumped by a minor bump in the road?
Well, we’ve already mentioned the extreme lack of hills in the Netherlands.
And by hills, we mean literally any inclination whatsoever. Dutchies find comfort in their pancake-like landscape, using it to their advantage in most aspects of life.
READ MORE | 19 things the Dutch did to make cycling easy and attractive
But the general flatness of the Netherlands might have caused more harm than good. The Dutch are best friends with first gear and first gear only.
Also, let’s talk about the amount of cheese Dutchies consume. Some might say it’s calcium-fuelled pedal power, but maybe it’s just weighing — um, slowing — Dutch bikers down.
A friend told me a joke as I was moving from Amsterdam:
— 🖤 Taylor Wright 🖤 (@redlamp) December 14, 2022
France and the Netherlands are both known for their cheeses and biking.
In the Netherlands the chesses are hard and the biking is soft because it's flat.
In France the cheeses are soft and the biking is hard due to the hills
Why is it quirky?
Biking in most other countries is just a healthy hobby. In the Netherlands, it’s a way of life that you can’t avoid.
People of all shapes and sizes have to bike, which means they have to struggle over bridges, simply because the Netherlands is designed that way.
READ MORE | Dutch Quirk #2: Bike with an umbrella
Come rain or shine, Dutchies’ main mode of transport is their bike: it’s part of their casual, easygoing lifestyle.
What struck me the most when I moved here is how easy life feels. Everyone speaks English, everything is designed to be efficient and productive, and everything is either a bike ride or a train ride away.
Should you join in?
You might find yourself struggling on the Dutch bridges, and don’t worry, you’re not the only one.
@dutchreview It takes a while… 🤕 #dutchlife #thenetherlands #cycling #dutchmemes #expatlife #expatsinthenetherlands #learndutch #dutchreview #meme #memecut ♬ son original – Caroline #prendresoindesoi
But it might be a nice fitness goal to aim for an exhaustion-free bike ride in the long term.
What do you think of this Dutch quirk? Have you experienced it? Tell us in the comments below!
Could the bridge struggle be because many Dutch bikes tend to be single speeders? When I visited I brought single speed folding DaHon that worked nicely on the flat terrain. Back in the USA I was pushing that bike up hills which never happened in NL.