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Amsterdam is both the most bicycle-friendly capital city in the world and, with an urban area population of over 1.1 million people, it is also the most bicycle-friendly city with over a million people in the world.〔(【引用サイトリンク】url=http://www.nytimes.com/2013/06/21/world/europe/a-sea-of-bikes-swamps-amsterdam-a-city-fond-of-pedaling.html )〕 In Amsterdam, over 60% of trips are made by bike in the inner city and 40% of trips are made by bike overall in the greater city area.〔(【引用サイトリンク】url=http://amsterdamize.com/2011/11/21/bicycle-cultures-are-man-made/ )〕 Nevertheless, though people outside of the Netherlands consider Amsterdam to be one of most famous and important centres of bicycle culture worldwide, the city itself is actually not at the top in terms of bike-friendliness compared to many smaller Dutch cities. This is reflected in the fact that Amsterdam is not on the short-list for the ''Fietsstad 2014'' (BikeCity 2014) awards, announced by the Dutch ''Fietsersbond'' (Cyclists' Union): the cities of The Hague, Eindhoven and Almere were nominated for the ''Fietsstad 2014'' awards, while the Netherlands' most bicycle-friendly city of Groningen won the award back in 2001. It should be made clear that for bicycle-friendliness, one must consider the Netherlands as whole. ==The basics== As is common in Dutch cities, Amsterdam has a wide net of traffic-calmed streets and world-class facilities for cyclists. All around are bike paths and bike racks, and several guarded bicycle parking stations (''Fietsenstalling'') which can be used for a nominal fee. In 2006, there were about 1,000,000 bicycles in Amsterdam. Bicycles are used by all socio-economic groups because of they are quick from A to B, their convenience, Amsterdam's small size, the 400 km of bike paths,〔(【引用サイトリンク】 publisher = amsterdamtips.com )〕 the flat terrain, and the arguable inconvenience of driving an automobile: driving a car is discouraged, parking fees are expensive, and many streets are closed to cars or are one-way. Amsterdam's bike paths (''Fietspad'') are red in colour, in order to differentiate it from a both the road way and footpath. Amsterdammers ride a wide variety of bicycles including the traditional ''Omafiets'' - the ubiquitous Dutch roadster with a step-through frame - to anything from modern city bikes, road bikes, mountain bikes, and even recumbent bikes. Many tourists discover Amsterdam by bike, as it is the typical Dutch way to get around the city. Bicycle tour groups offers a guided bike tour through the city. Bicycle traffic, in fact traffic in general, is relatively safe: in 2007, Amsterdam had 18 traffic deaths, of all types, in total. Bicycle theft in Amsterdam is widespread: in 2005, about 54,000 bicycles were stolen and every year between 12,000 and 15,000 bicycles are retrieved from the canals. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Cycling in Amsterdam」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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