Cycling in Amsterdam: What Two Years Taught Me That Nobody Warns You About

In Tokyo I took the subway everywhere. The system is precise, reliable, and requires almost no decision-making once you understand it. Amsterdam is the opposite of that. The decision you make once, at the beginning, is: get a bike. After that, almost nothing requires the subway.

Getting a bike

Don’t buy new. Don’t buy from a shop on a tourist street. Go to Waterlooplein market or Marktplaats and spend between €80 and €150. This is enough for a reliable secondhand bike. The bike will probably get stolen within 18 months regardless of what lock you use. This is the Amsterdam bike cycle and it is accepted.

Two locks minimum: one through the frame and rear wheel attached to a fixed object, one through the front wheel. Invest €40+ in the locks. A €10 lock is a suggestion, not a deterrent.

The rules that matter

Ride on the red bike lane, not the pavement, not the road. Signal with your arm when turning. Watch tram tracks — your wheel fits perfectly into them and will throw you if you cross at the wrong angle. Cross tram tracks at 90 degrees, always.

Amsterdammers cycle fast, rarely signal, and will ring their bell at you if you’re slow. This is not aggression. It’s communication. Ring back. Keep moving.

The ferry to Noord

You can take your bike on the GVB ferries from behind Centraal for free. The Buiksloterweg ferry runs 24 hours. This is how you get to Noord without effort and it’s one of the better short journeys in the city — the crossing of the IJ with the city behind you and Noord in front.

Within six months of getting a bike, I stopped taking the tram except in heavy rain. The city is 15 minutes wide by bike from most central points. This changes how you understand where things are.