Amsterdam: Lock Your Bike Please

Bicyclists parked (and locked) at Amsterdam’s Central Station.

In the Netherlands, it is said, there are more bicycles than people.

The statistics, thanks to the web site Amsterdamize:

• Population: 16.5 million
• Bikes: 18 million
• New bikes sold a year: 1.35 million
• Bikes stolen a year: between 1.2 and 1.4 million

Bike rental companies repeatedly warn guests to lock their bikes. Two locks are typically provided, one built-in unit that locks the back wheel and another consisting of a heavy chain that rental shops advise to strap around “something permanent.” Otherwise, the girl who rented to me joked, the bikes end up in China – or at the bottom of a canal.

Avid Cruisers who want to see Amsterdam in true Dutch fashion should rent a bike when their ship calls in this lively city.