The passing of the Crap Cycling and Walking in Waltham Forest was a tragic blow for followers of wit and sullenness in equal measures. It's happened again.
Any blog about riding bikes, improving conditions for cyclists or general safety would link (or should have) to David Hembrow's blog, A View from the Cycle Path. I have been trying to read it for the last few days and could not understand why I kept being greeted with the Blogspot login page.
It's because it's been deleted. I only found out after reading commentary on As Easy As Riding A Bike and Vole O'Speed.
Once you read the reasons for why the blog was deleted you can fully understand why. It was exceptionally well written and informative but it would appear that the quality of the blog led to a lot of freeloading. It is a great pity because even if the blog were no longer to be updated, it is a huge resource of correct information about why so many trips in the Netherlands are taken by bicycle, why practically every child rides a bike to and from school over there and how pretty much everybody cycles - all ages, both genders. It also dealt with the many myths and excuses about why it is somehow impossible in other places to be able to make things pleasant for people on bicycles - myths about population density, distances, temperature, petrol prices, flatness and helmets.
More recently, David Hembrow co-wrote the blog with Mark Wagenbuur. He is the maker of some amazing videos that are all available on YouTube. He has also started a new blog called BicycleDutch, which contains a number of his own original posts.
If you're still convinced that bicycles are used for many trips in the Netherlands because it's a small, flat country with its cities close together, the blog is no longer there to help you. However anyone who wishes to benefit from David Hembrow's extensive expertise, especially local council and State government employees in charge of roads and/or cycling, book yourself a study tour or cycling holiday.
Update (4 March 2012)
It was all a terrible dream. The blog is back and now I know who Mark Wagenbuur is.
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One correction: Marc van Woudenberg has his own platform under the name Amsterdamize. I am Mark Wagenbuur and I was the one co-writing and making those videos and now the blog BicycleDutch you point to.
ReplyDeleteMy goodness. I do apologise. I must have been asleep. I've fixed it.
ReplyDeleteThanks for stopping by :)
David Hembrow produces the blog http://blog.dutchbikebits.com/ which goes along with this online store selling said parts http://www.dutchbikebits.com
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