It is the last Thursday of the year, so that means my last post for 2013. This is not a regular post but one in which I look back to another year of cycling. This blog has seen an increasing number of readers. Which makes writing the blog posts, filming and editing the videos worthwhile for me. In the tradition of looking back to what was hot and what not I give you the top 10 and the bottom 5 posts of this year. It is strange but the post that got most views is actually one from 2012. The Hovenring in Eindhoven keeps drawing visitors from all over the world. That what is exceptional always gets most attention. But this list is only about posts published in 2013, so you won’t find it here.
Top 10 posts 2013
- US Cycling from a Dutch perspective
Funny that my most watched post is not really about Dutch cycling, but because it is how I as a Dutchman look at cycling in the US, it does say something about cycling in the Netherlands after all. The video with this blog post is already the second best watched video of all time with over half a million views in under six months. That’s just how it is; whenever I give an opinion about the US it gets a lot of attention… - A modern Amsterdam roundabout
Great that also this post gets so much attention, because there is hardly anything special about this roundabout. This is standard Dutch cycling infrastructure embedded in normal street design. This is what should be studied about Dutch cycling, so I am glad it is! - Visit to a Dutch bicycle shop
A surprising third place for me. But apparently people are curious to see what a typical Dutch bicycle shop looks like. This was the first video I edited with new editing software after my computer crashed beyond repair in April. That took some getting used to but it was a video with a lot of complicated editing of especially sound. It meant I learnt to use the software quickly! - Cycling with a baby
This was just a small little video and post as far as I was concerned. But apparently this is what you like! I never really know what will score best! - The moped menace in the Netherlands
My rant about scooters gets a lot of attention. Probably because nobody understands why these machines are allowed on the Dutch cycle paths. Well, most of the Dutch don’t understand either. It is high time that the scooters are sent to the carriage way! - Amsterdam Children fighting cars in 1972
This was one of the pearls waiting to be found on YouTube. I didn’t find it myself, but when I got the tip I instantly knew this was an important video to share with the world, because it sheds some light on what the Dutch went through to get to where they are now. The post is very recent but already made it to 6th place. I expect this to be one of those posts that will keep on drawing attention in the coming months! - The new king of the Netherlands on a bike
The start of the reign of the new king in the Netherlands was a nice occasion to look into the cycling habits of the Dutch royals. Five generations of Dutch royals have been, or still are cycling. That gives us some really great pictures that everyone loves! - Experimental Bicycle Roundabout in Zwolle
Not so experimental as it sounds. The urban roundabout with priority for people cycling has been a great and proven concept in Dutch street design for over twenty years now. The only thing experimental about this particular roundabout is that it is made impossible for motor traffic to drive a full circle. It helped a former problem junction to become a great junction for all traffic. - Parking your bike at home
Home end parking is just as important as end of trip parking possibilities. Apart from good cycling infrastructure, having a practical bike available in home end parking is one of the essentials for convenient cycling. You have to have easy access to your bicycle so even the shortest trips make sense on your bicycle. - F35 High Speed Cycle Route in Twente
Another one of the ‘hyped’ pieces of infrastructure. It is not really special, this cycle route. The only thing that is different from other routes is its length. That always seems to make headlines: the biggest, the tallest, the longest. What ever: it is great cycling infrastructure as you will find it all over the Netherlands!
Bottom 5 posts 2013
- Summer Cycling
Apparently you were all on holidays, or you didn’t like how I tried out my new camera. Here’s your chance to see it after all! - Pedestrian and cycle bridge in Rotterdam
Not a lot of attention for this interesting bridge in Rotterdam. One with shared space; there is no real separation between walking and cycling, which is unusual in the Netherlands. Could do with some extra views. - Testing road surfaces in the Netherlands
This is too far away from the frame of reference of the average reader of my blog perhaps. Elderly in Vught who cycle around town to do a survey of cycle path surfaces. But this post informs nicely how the Dutch municipal governments work together with the Cyclists’ Union and other stakeholders. Deserves more attention I think. - Cycling to the dentist
Either you all hate the dentist or you don’t have the patience to watch videos showing a real ride. A pity, because rides do show how beautifully connected the cycling infrastructure in the Netherlands is. Even though cycle paths can’t go from door to door, in effect cycling is being considered from door to door. - Cycle bridge over the A28 near De Bilt
I understand… nothing sexy about a more than 30-year-old cycle bridge over a motorway… but it does tell you how cycling has been part of road design in the Netherlands for decades!
Posts I particularly like
- Arriving at school
See how Dutch students arriving at school by bicycle fill up a parking lot with their bicycles. I love the way that looks! - Holiday cycling in the Netherlands
We had a great day cycling with two US friends. It was nice to see recreational cycling through their eyes. - Drainage in the Netherlands
Details that we all usually miss, but that have to be right to make cycling convenient. You don’t want water on your protected cycle way. This post shows how the Dutch do it.
In 2013 I made an introduction video which is shown to every viewer to my YouTube channel who is not yet a subscriber.
This year 2013 had some very nice highlights for me. Presenting Dutch cycling in Sydney in my holidays was one very special event! I need to thank everybody who made that possible! I hope I will be able to inform and entertain you again in 2014. So from the Netherlands I would like to wish you all the best for the new year! See you again in 2014!
BICYCLE DUTCH 
Thank you for the fabulous videos. I’d very much appreciate one or more on the different ways that Dutch people carry things on their bike & why. For example, panniers that stay on the bike, that come off the bike, front baskets, front racks, front nothing, front crates… I’ve been scrutinising all your videos to get a sense of who does what. But that cannot tell me why!
All your videos are and inspiration. I live in Ireland and I cycle everywhere. I am one of a hand full of people in our town the cycle commute. It is so depressing seeing everyone take the car for every sort of journey either long of short. I have started to ask our local government to help make the town more cycle friendly and they simply as much as answered me back who will the changes be for seeing only a few use bikes in the town. Keep up the great work. I have shown your videos to our Local Government and they as much as told me to go and live in Holland as they cannot see a day where we will ever be even close.
I love all of your videos, but one of my favorites, understandably, because I am 60 plus years of age, has to be the one where older riders were riding with city officials to spot things that could be changed for the better. Can’t imagine that happening here in the States. (Avatar of my wife and I in Brugge a few years ago.)
Thank you, Mark. I, too, share your videos with the Bicycle and Pedestrian Commission in my city (in the U.S.A.), as well as the city’s engineering and planning staff. Keep up the good work!
hallo Mark, jij ook een gelukkig 2014 en blijf ons bestoken met je fantastische
filmpjes en reportages. Niets leuker dan de jaloerse commentaren uit het buitenland…!!!
I was raised in the Netherlands and lived there in Vught till I was eight years old. Then I emigrated to the US, more than 50 years ago. My husband, Kent, and I just spent a month in the Netherlands, bicycling through the country on our Bromptons to many of my Dutch cousins, enjoying the safe cycling. We are now advocates in the US for creating the bicycle facilities you can take for granted. Bicycling seems to be in my blood. I love your blog and share it with my fellow advocates here in Santa Monica, California, often, as your pictures and films are so instructive.
I serve on the Bicycle Advisory Board for my city, and regularly ask my fellow board members, as well as engineers and city planners, to watch your videos and read your excellent posts, in preparation for our work. One of my personal favorites this year was the post on planning for senior cycling in Vucht! It is light years ahead of where we are, but absolutely something we should be striving for! Thank you for everything!
Awesome job Mark thanks
Happy New Year! Velo Mondial is happy to continously promote your blog!
Thank you Mark for all your hard work! You’re a gem. Looking forward to new posts in 2014.
Thanks for all the posts!
Three more videos and you will have another thing to celebrate, Mark! Congratulations on an impressive record and keep up the good work.