Helmet-less in the Netherlands feat. @BicycleDutch | NL by Bike – Day 4

https://www.patreon.com/NicTheDoor Join Patreon for early access and extras.

https://www.youtube.com/@BicycleDutch

The Whole Trip 👉 https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PL49bxTPhfjjkjBpPViPEZa23pOgPIKmiq&si=BiuhxOf4GTxV2C0o

Bike Tour 2024 👉 https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PL49bxTPhfjjlKx9RQY-HgREh4CE6J8xH2&si=35Wc2zi1lKmKXnZj

A-Bike Rental & Tours👉 https://a-bike.nl/

0:00 Netherlands Bike Tour, Day 4
0:44 Bicycle Dutch
1:35 Exploring Den Bosch
2:10 ‘s-Hertogenbosch History
3:26 The First two-way roundabout
4:00 Effortless flow on a bike
4:27 Why bike paths are red in the Netherlands
4:53 You are not made of sugar
5:22 Schwung traffic app
6:27 TURBO Roundabout
8:01 Underwater parking
8:59 Street turned into park
9:46 Park and ride, transferium
11:00 Why don’t the Dutch wear helmets?
12:36 Thanks Mark!
13:02 Pettelaarse Schans
13:42 Direct and boring routes
14:33 Oirschot
15:43 Eindhoven

This is a turbo roundabout, a relatively 
new iteration that helps to keep cars moving at intersections. And it’s 
just one of the things I got to see with Bicycle Dutch on day four of 
my bike trip across the Netherlands. And if you’re here for the turbo roundabout, 
you can skip ahead. But I really recommend coming along for the whole ride because we’ve got 
a lot of stuff to check out along the way. Today I start in Den Bosch with the final destination 
of Eindhoven over 40 km away. But before I leave, there is still so much to see in the capital 
of North Brabant. And I can’t think of a better way to see the city than taking a tour with 
Mark Wagenbuur, also known as Bicycle Dutch. Growing up in the Netherlands, he lived through 
the stop deck kind movement and has witnessed firsthand the country’s transformation over 
the past 50 years. What began as a few video responses to critics of Dutch bike lanes 
turned into a 15-year journey documenting cycling infrastructure around the Netherlands 
in hopes of inspiring safer and more livable cities across the globe. We met up at the train 
station and the first thing I got was an answer to a question I had been wondering. Mark, how are 
you? Nice to meet you. Welcome to Den Bosch Thank you. I was I’ve been wondering how to pronounce 
that. ‘s-Hertogenbosch. Close enough. All right. That’s it. We took off straight to the city 
center, passing by a very important statue. Golden Dragon has a nickname locally, 
the monument for all mother in-laws. That’s universal joke, right? That bridge is 
where the old city moat was and that was the historic and medieval city. You can still see the 
city wall here because the city wall is also the water defense here. So yeah, that was this was the 
city wall with the ramparts and everything. And so now we’re entering the old city center. Founded 
in 1185 by Duke Hendrickk I, Den Bosch began as a fortified settlement on forested dunes surrounded 
by marshlands. Its strategic location made it a natural stronghold, eventually expanding with 
canals and walls to match its growing population. And until the 1520s, Den Bosch was one of the most 
important cities in what is now the Netherlands, second in population only to Utrecht. It 
was a vibrant hub of trade, culture, and wool production, and the birthplace of visionary 
painter Hieronymus Bosch. Now that leading role was later taken over by cities in the Holland 
region like Amsterdam, Leiden and Harlem as the economic and political power shifted northward. 
But still the city played a pivotal role in the 80 years war, the French Revolutionary War and 
more recently was occupied by the Nazis during the Second World War. But today, Den Bosch blends 
medieval charm with modern energy. Landmarks like the St. John’s Cathedral and the old city walls 
sit along vibrant cultural spaces and bold new architecture. It’s a city that remembers where 
it came from and keeps moving forward. We’re now entering the old tiny city streets and it’s quite 
busy now. Bit chaotic here always. We cautiously continued through the bustling center and began 
north, quickly coming to a first in Dutch cycling history. This is the first bi-directional cycle 
path around a roundabout. That was the first in the country, this one. Yeah. And everybody said, 
“You can’t do it. You can’t do it because the cars will look the wrong way.” Which does happen. But 
actually, it’s much safer than people think. The polar bear in the middle is gorilla art that was 
there just one morning, but the city liked it so much that they bought it from the artist and now 
it’s permanent. Oh, that’s fantastic. Yeah. very Dutch thing to do. We continued north along a bike 
path that perfectly showcased the effortless flow of cycling in the Netherlands. We have the right 
of way for 5 km and before all these intersections were uh traffic light controlled and one after 
the other was converted to a roundabout and then suddenly hey wait a moment now it’s 5 km long 
right away. Nobody really planned it that way. I think it was just a happy accident to talk 
like Bob Ross. You sort of caught me pedaling around here a little bit. This country is known 
for its iconic red cycle paths, but that’s not always what you’ll find. Most cycle paths in the 
Netherlands are red, but where it’s not needed, where everybody understands what’s what, we 
sometimes cut cost cuz it is more expensive. Yeah, you cannot mistake this for anything else but a 
cycle path. You will occasionally spot red paint at intersections, just enough to signal to drivers 
to keep out. Here we reached the northern edge of the city, riding along the Muse River just as 
the looming clouds release the first of their payload. And you know the corny saying, you’re not 
made of sugar, which is true, will dry. There is also another saying, there is no bad weather, just 
wrong clothing. We certainly weren’t dressed for it, but it was just a light drizzle. We thought 
it would be fine, so we pressed on westward, eventually reaching a portion of the F2 cycling 
highway that offers a direct route right back to the heart of the city. I previously mentioned 
that one of my favorite features of the Dutch traffic system are the detection loops that inform 
junction lights for better flow, but Mark shared something with me that ups the ante quite a bit. 
We have an app and the app knows you’re coming 100 m in advance instead of 25 m in advance. And 
since every traffic light installation is is fully actuated, so they look exactly which vehicle 
is coming, which person is pressing the I want a cross button and you get 4 seconds of green per 
vehicle or per person. 4 seconds only. That means it’s very flexible. So if it knows you’re coming 
from 100 m ahead, there’s almost always space in the cycle to put you in to give you the 4 seconds 
to cross. And that’s so incredible. Yeah. And it feels like they’re all they’re all changing for 
you, which they essentially do. After our ride, I tried to install this app, but I was sadly 
denied. We went all the way through Den Bosch and started south towards the town of Vught, 
enjoying the paths along the rain soaked plains before getting passed by some lads who were out 
for a joy ride. And the reason we came all this way to the city was this roundabout. It’s actually 
a turbo roundabout, a relatively new iteration of the classic traffic junction. A normal roundabout 
would need equal traffic from all arms, right? Otherwise, it doesn’t function so well. This does 
not have equal traffic from all arms because that is towards the motorway towards the city. So, that 
stream and that stream is dominant. So, they made a turbo roundabout. That means you can’t switch 
lanes on the roundabout. Okay? So the traffic throughput is higher that way. See there are 
ridges in between. They have to uh choose their lane before they get to the roundabout and then 
they can’t switch. And that makes the throughput faster and higher. And you can see that it goes 
smoothly, not too fast but very steadily. And you can see that the center is not a circle. If you 
keep following you you’ll be exiting. So you might cross when you enter, but not while you’re on. I 
came across a bunch of these last summer driving around the rural parts of Zeeland and South 
Holland. And all I can say is that these are so much better than a two or four-way stop junction 
you typically see in North America. And you don’t want to mix that with crossings for cycling, 
right? That’s why we are on a viaduct now. So when they made this a turbo roundabout, they made 
these overpasses for cycling. We had to work a bit harder getting over the humps, but the separation 
is appreciated. And you just got to respect the flow. But from there, we went back to Den Bosch 
along the southern edge of the city center, which as you can see is also the southern edge of 
town. In following those old walls, we came across one thing that the Dutch do quite well. Hiding 
car parking. This was the original city mode. And up until 10 years ago, this was a parking lot. 
The parking lot is still there, but now it’s under the water. much bigger than it used to be. So they 
opened the old city wall so people can walk into the underwater parking garage. So we don’t only 
park bicycles on the water like in Amsterdam, but here is the cars. You know what it smells 
like looks like. Smells like a car park. This is actually the second one we came by. The first was 
west of the train station in the former industrial area. But here they had a modern city map where 
Mark outlined our journey so far. We are here and this is a bike parking a car parking garage. We 
went back into the city, coming across a rare site in the Netherlands, nearside pedestrian lights, 
and this suspiciously quiet road. The old road used to be there. Well, it’s no longer used cuz 
it was very expensive to take all the asphault out because this road has been closed for 20 years at 
least now. There was something really weird about this street. I stepped on it and was instinctively 
looking both ways. My brain was like, “Yeah, it’s a street. Watch out for cars.” But here, 
there are no cars. at least not anymore. And here is the playground. There’s also a roller skating 
track now that they just put on the old asphalt. And there’s some climbing things and a seesaw 
and swings. And these houses must have gone up in value so much when this road was closed. The 
solution to traffic problems isn’t more roads. It can often be fewer roads, especially when it 
includes options like a parking ride offering a great deal. This is a transferium. So, there’s a 
big parking lot here on the edge, sort of edge of town. And there’s a bus service to the city center 
that’s included in the fee. Here you can park for about €5 for all day and then four people can use 
the bus. That’s all included. Wow. Or you can take a a bike that’s for free. Go somewhere where you 
want to be instead of where the bus drops you. But they go every 10 minutes, so it’s really so 
convenient. This is one of the other Transferiums. Six story car parking. So, we saw the on the water 
one. We saw the one on the surface. And this is the most modern one. Very green. It’s also full 
of bee hotels as we call them. I love that. P and R. Park and ride. Park and ride the bus or ride 
the the bicycle. This is a great method to invite folks from out of town who need to or even just 
want to drive in without decimating your city with parking lots. Now, at this point, we were already 
quite wet, but the heavens turned it up just to be sure. Now, we’re really going back now. The rain 
is now pissing. It’s getting too rain. Before we finish, I had to ask Mark why the Dutch generally 
don’t wear helmets because I get so many comments either online or in person about not wearing one. 
It is focusing on the wrong thing. Cycling is not inherently unsafe. It’s only unsafe when a car 
drives into you and a helmet does zilch because we go so slowly and we’re also upright. We have 
a good vision because we’re sitting upright on Dutch cycling works in our advantage that it is 
no more dangerous than walking. Um, nobody would force people who walk, especially down the stairs, 
to wear a helmet. Yeah. Where that would make more sense even because more people die falling down 
the stairs than on a bike incident unless they are caught by a car and then the helmet doesn’t 
make any difference anyway. So, no. If you’re on a racing bike, it’s a totally different story, 
right? But, uh, no, I’m very much against helmets. The debate around helmet use is pretty murky with 
studies often pointing in different directions. Now, they are becoming more common in the 
Netherlands, especially among older ebike riders who are more vulnerable in a crash. Personally, I 
wear a helmet when I’m commuting to work because I like to go fast, but if I’m out for a relaxed ride 
with friends, I usually leave it at home. Overall, my take is just do what feels right for you and 
maybe don’t shout your opinion at others while you’re at it. If you’re curious about the topic, 
I highly recommend this video by oh the urbanity. It’s one of the most balanced takes I’ve ever come 
across. Mark and I made it back to the city center one last time denoting the end of the tour. I 
want to give a big thank you to Mark for such a fantastic experience, and honestly, I’m gutted 
that I had to leave so much great stuff on the cutting room floor. If you’d be interested in an 
extended cut, let me know in the comments. You can also check out my conversation with Mark on a 
little podcast I host. The link is below. Just as I set off towards Eindhoven, the clouds parted and 
the sun came out. The first thing I came across, still technically in Den Bosch, was a park. From 
ground level, it doesn’t look like much, but from above, it forms a distinct star-shaped symbol. 
Now, I would certainly butcher its name. So, this is pettelaarse schans, a former fortress 
built in 1623 as part of the city’s outer line of defenses. It connects to the same fortified 
history I mentioned earlier. These days, it is mostly used for festivals and events. But I think 
it’s pretty cool that a peaceful park still holds the shape of an old fort that once stood there. As 
I made my way south, I was briefly held up by both a foot race and a walk happening at the same time. 
I managed to pass through carefully and eventually found myself here. So, I’m on my way to Eindhoven 
and I’m dealing with a pretty decent headwind. I’ve almost lost my hat a few times uh beside this 
busy motorway. You can probably tell. Yeah. Um, but anyway, the ebike is helping tremendously. 
Tremendously. Night and day difference. So, on the first day of the trip, I criticized a 
bicycle route for not being direct enough. It is very convoluted compared to if you were in a car, 
much less distance needed to travel. I would later eat my words, but well, this was the first time I 
would do the eating of the words because here is a direct route and it was boring. It was so boring 
that I eventually decided to take the longer detour through Boxtel in search of something 
a bit more stimulating. And I’m glad I did. Passed Boxtel, halfway to Eindhoven. And you 
know what? Smells like we’re in farmland, baby. I legitimately almost got blown off my bike 
though. The gust of wind came in so hard made my bike buck. Jesus. But I’m okay. I’m okay. This 
neighborhood is really nice. I don’t know what you call this, a neighborhood or a township. It’s 
It just feels like one town on a road, but all the houses have a similar aesthetic. It’s really 
unusual, but I I really like it. This was simply the edge of a town called Oirschot, which led me 
to this canal. So, this path is up on a dyke. And while it is really windy today, all these trees 
that are surrounding this path make it a lot better than if it was just out there in the open. 
But I’ve been riding this path for at least two and a half kilometers now. I don’t know if there’s 
an end in sight. It’s just a straight line. I eventually made it to the outskirts of Eindhoven, 
coming across something that looked a little out of place in the Netherlands. I just doubled back 
now cuz I wanted to check this out. So this is a a makro. Never seen one or heard of one, but uh to 
me it looks like a Costco or maybe for my Canadian watchers, a great Canadian superstore. This is 
the Netherlands, folks. Cars aren’t banned here. So, this traffic hump thing, it’s pretty neat. 
I was coming down down this way, down that way, and a young man in a car from from this way 
came and went around it oncoming towards me. kind of scared the out of me. Um, so 
that he could avoid driving over it, which uh I don’t know what is that. I’m still not 
sure how I feel about the placement of that hump, but I made it safely to my hotel and got 
myself a sneak peek of Eindhoven’s city center.