Just back from a week working in Amsterdam (no, not that kind of working! Giving a presentation at an international conference on research into increasing physical activity 
)
As expected, loads of cycling in Amsterdam (we were all given a bike at the conference to use to get around - fab!). But a few things really struck me about how different it was from the UK. All 'users' have their own, properly separated routes - paths for pedestrians, cycle tracks for bikes, roads for cars and trams. So walkers, cyclists and cars don't mix. All the bikes are 'utility' cycles - designed to carry loads front and back (and perfect for giving people backies home from the pub!), everyone just wears normal clothes and no helmets (literally everyone, I saw no cycling kit at all), there's not many cycle shops - things like panniers are just sold in normal bag shops, and cyclists have priority at all junctions over cars, and even pedestrians.
So in the end, all normal life is conducted by bike - work, shopping, nights out. Great for health (the dutch levels of physical activity are twice as high as in the UK), noticable lack of air and noise pollution, and remarkably easy and efficient. But it did make me realise that you couldn't have that many cyclists wizzing around if they shared routes with either pedestrians or cars, and that you really need bikes which are designed for functional utility.
Would the same ever be achieved in the UK?
