In this video, I bike from Delft Central Station to the center of The Hague. Part of the ride takes me along the beautiful Vliet river — peaceful, green, and calm. But not everything is picture-perfect: there are also traffic lights, busy intersections, and some less charming neighborhoods.
This is a realistic look at what a daily bike commute in the Netherlands might feel like — the good, the dull, and the unexpected. Join me and decide: would you choose the bike over the car for this route?
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Take a mindful break with me. Leave behind the noise and hurry. This is a slow journey — sometimes on foot, sometimes on wheels — always with presence. always with care. Beauty lives in stillness. In quiet streets, open roads, hidden paths. In how the world reveals itself
when we give it time and attention. Let the movement ground you. Let the rhythm calm your mind. There’s no need to rush. This moment is enough. Watch with presence, not haste. Notice the light, the details, the silence Every turn holds something new —
sometimes small, sometimes breathtaking. This is space to breathe deeply. A pause in a busy day. A quiet invitation to come back to yourself. The road, the path, the view —
they change, but the feeling remains. Stillness. Simplicity. Freedom. Stay with me until the end. Often, the most beautiful moments
appear just when you least expect them.
30 Comments
Thank you for taking us along. I would love to ride there. In my city, Vancouver, Canada, we have a few beautiful rides. We dont have anywhere near this level of bike infrastructure. Sadly.
pretty city but cycling 45 min to go to work and 45min to go back to home, daily? No thanks. That sounds like your part-time job is cycling.
Take a bus, you'll not deal with all street confusion and be more relaxed.
While infrastructure is a big part, the mindset is the key. Dutch people rode bikes long ago before the infrastructure was great. I'm a strong believer that infrastructure first is never the right step, because without user feedback and demand, the infrastructure will never be able to succeed in real life. Also many people (here in Germany) are just dumb and lazy, they are tied to their cars not for practical reasons, but it's their genital enlargement like an expensive watch. They will happily waste hours of lifetime in traffic jams within there SUV because it shows, they are rich (they think). A radical rationalist point of view needs to become common again.
Such a peaceful and interesting video! Perfect while having lunch or dinner for those into exploring different places. Immediately subscribed to your channel 🤗
A lot of people swooning over this but let’s not forget about rain, snow and strong headwinds. All too common in the Netherlands.
6:19 It's a shame that even NL has painted bicycle gutters.
well the bikpaths in utrecht look the same but try this in utrecht, not so relaxing and try it in rushhour, very stressfull. no matter how nice the bikepaths are, it all depends on how many people are biking and how they behave. this is nice
Could this be why the Netherlanders are the longest living people in the world?
Apparently you don't need to pay a lot of money for therapy.
now do this again in late November, at around 7am.
good for you
37:27 is rude, all those walking people have right of way
I wish it was like this in Fort Myers Florida, it is dangerous here and you have to stop constantly. I have very nice new 2200.00 ebike I never use.😢
I live in America and bike to work. It's not as therapeutic as you would think. With all the exposure to MAGA and all. Please, NATO……………..help…………………
Это выглядит так чудесно!.
25:39 there almost happened a second accident at the same spot 😉
Recently bought a new Koga Supermetro, to cycle to work 26 km back and forth. Intentionally didn’t wanted an electric bike to have the extra cardio haha. I love it.
not appealing at all lol , doing this same route daily looks dreading
Ever since watching Not Just Bikes, I just see this – even this – and think – could be better. Could that painted lane be turned into real cycling infrastructure? Could we get anything with an engine in it out of the way of the cyclists? Could we improve the lights so they prioritise cyclists? etc But yeah, it's great compared with what a lot of countries and cities achieve.
Being the devil's advocate . . What happens in winter . . Its cold, windy and raining . . even wearing waterproofs, doing a 10 mile journey like that can take the gilt off the gingerbread. I've done those sort of commutes up to central London, from the suburbs, on a motorbike and what can be a pleasant jaunt in good weather turns into a battle against the elements of the weather "Turns crook".
The other thing to consider is that after a 10 mile bike ride, particularly in summer, the rider will generate a reasonable sweat and require a shower ane changing facilities before starting work.
One thing that was apparent, eas that cyclicts were obeying traffic signals. . . something that's not always evident in cycling behaviour in the UK .
But overall, the impression was that thr road conditions and users seem more civilised than the UK.
Even cycling can't overcome the fact that the nearer you get to the city centre the denser everything becomes , . . buildings, vehicle, cycle and pedestrian traffic . . Together with the fact that the traffic intersections depicted here, between all three types of users, are complicated (By UK standards) and require the rider to be really "Switched-on" and observant.
Some of those junctions and confluences of traffic would give UK traffic planners recurring nightmares.
I think it was evident from the video of the final stages of the journey, in the highly used pedestrianised sections of the city centre, that the risk of collision must climb significantly.
IMHO, if you are going to pedestrianise an area, then pedestrianise it i.e. there should be no other traffic than pedestrians (Plus, perhaps, occasional service vehicles). Thr schena depicted looked to the unteained eye like cyclist versus pedestrian "Roller Ball" per the James Caan movie.
It would be nice if the Dutch would sort-out the excessive Nitrogen Dioxide pollution from the use of ICE in their agriculture and shipping at Rotterdam. This "Visits" South-East England with ever increasing frequency, courtesy of Global warming induced high pressure "Blocking" of Trans-Atlantic weather systems.When this effect occurs, it adds significantly to East London's indigenously generated No2 pollution.
IMHO, all Shipping traffic in the Channel and Southern North Sea should not be allowed to engage main engines until well clear of these areas.
I think some element of additional de-confliction needs to occur in such multi-mode transport systems, . . particularly in densely trafficked city centres. Junctions need to be simplified and lots of random cyclists and oedestrians don't mix well and need to be given adequate space to be able to give each other a wide berth.
They even have a parking garage for bikes!
This route gets even better if you turn left at Kalverbos and ride on the other side of the Vliet. I used to bike there every day, whole year round. It cleared my head 😊
Short answer, yes.
When this will happen in India. I am sixty and I still cycle but with fear of speeding vehicles.
Bei schönem Wetter ist das prima…
Really nice place. No graffiti, no pants sagging, continuous bike lanes.
omg yes I would 🤩
and the thing is: for the coule people that actually NEED to take the car it is way faster and more comfortable as well
Thank you for sharing – unedited, no music, not sped up 👍
Sometimes it looks like I'm watching a VR Design tool generated simulation of the perfect city.
But then I see a tilted signpost, or a fallen over waste bin or bicycle, which show that it's all real 😉