Amsterdam biking capital of the world
17 Jun 2011
Amsterdam has emerged as the biking capital of the West by opening the world’s first rent-a-bike business in 1869.
Soon, the bicycle - or fiets - became the preferred mode of transportation for everyone from the clog-clad worker to the royal family.
Today there are some 550,000 bikes in this city of approximately 800,000 people, with Amsterdammers collectively cycling an estimated two million kilometers each day.
There are opportunities aplenty for visitors to make use of the dizzying array of two- (or one- or three-) wheeled vehicles.