School trips by bike. An everyday occurrence where cycling is pleasant and safe

Dutch schools, especially primary schools (age 5-12) make a lot of trips. They do so to access sport facilities, to visit museums, city centres or the countryside. Actually, they go more or less anywhere by bike unless distances are very long in which case a coach will be hired. As a result, school bike trips are a very common sight in the Netherlands.

This video was made on the last day of the April study tour. Two different school groups passed us within a matter of minutes. We saw the first at a simultaneous green crossing - demonstrating precisely the sort of infrastructure which successfully keeps all cyclists safe in the Netherlands. The others were seen as they rode along a cycle-path a few short distance from that same crossing.

It is high quality infrastructure like this which enables true mass cycling to take place. What is good for the kids is also good for adults, and this is why cycling encompasses all demographic groups in the Netherlands.

It's quite common for teachers to wear bright clothing to make them identifiable. In this case there were two teachers or parents at the front of the group and one at the rear. Note how in this photo and in the video above, children are encouraged to ride side-by-side.

This group had clearly not come from very far away as some had decided to walk. A few of them "hitchhiked" on the back of other childrens' bikes.

A young group of children, with teachers in orange, at the museum in the centre of the city.

This photo from a few days back shows an increasing tendency for children to be given reflective vests. If the vests are intended simply to make children identifiable when in a busy area, that's one thing. However, if there's scaremongering involved then this is something we need to be very wary of. Children are in no significant danger when cycling on excellent infrastructure like this cycle-path.

We often see school trips during the study tours. I caught another on video last year.

Note that Dutch school children will have cycled to school and for other purposes for years and have been on many school trips by bike before they undertake any form of formal cycle training. It is the cycle-paths, arranged in a very dense grid serving all destinations, which make for safe cycling, not education.

School bike trip

This video has explanatory captions which will only be visible if you watch on a computer and not on a mobile device.

One of the "hazards" of cycling in the Netherlands is the frequency with which you'll come across large groups riding bikes slowly. Sometimes older people, sometimes children. You have to slow down until it's safe to pass, but I'm not complaining.

On the way home from Groningen a few days ago I came across this school group going somewhere or other. I rode behind them at their pace until it was safe to pass, then videoed them as I went by.

This is a very common sight here, but I usually miss it because I'm usually working when the schools are in session.

My 11 year old daughter setting off
on the end of primary school cycle
camping trip. This is not something
done by progressive schools in
"cycling cities" but normal for
almost all Dutch schools.

We knew before we moved here that Dutch children rode their bikes to school, and that the average age that they travelled independently to school was very young, but we had no idea that the schools also did the majority of their trips by bike.

That applies to primary schools as well as secondary schools. Sometimes they give the students instructions for where they should go, and leave them to find their own way and sometimes the teachers ride with the students.

The same daughter took this
photo last week on another
school trip. A good illustration
of the subjective safety which
makes this possible.

At the end of primary school, it is common for entire classes to go on cycle camping trips. Our youngest daughter took part in this, riding about 150 km over three days, and having a lot of related adventures including swimming in lakes and "dropping" - an activity where children find their own way back to the campsite at midnight after being left in the forest.

In the world's safest country for cycling, anything is possible. The emphasis has been on taking care of real dangers, not imaginary ones.

The road in the video is one of many small country roads which doesn't provide a through route by car, but only by bike.

School Triathlon

The circle shows the 20 km radius from within which children
cycle to school in Assen. The green spots are approximate
locations where friends of our children live and from where
they cycle to school. The red line shows the triathlon route

We're nearing the end of the school year and school activities are leaning towards the less serious. Yesterday my youngest daughter took part in a triathlon. All the children in the first year of education at her secondary school (most are now thirteen) were given a pink sheet of instructions with directions to a running track and swimming pool roughly a 35 km round trip distance. It is, of course, expected that every child will have arrived at school by bike and be able to take part in the activity.

The instructions start "at the front of the school, by the cycle parking". Part of her school's cycle parking is shown at the left. There are more cycle parking spaces than students.

Perhaps some of the more sporty minded children rode quickly, but I'm quite sure that for many children the journey was made at a more relaxed pace while talking with friends. At secondary school, constant supervision isn't usually necessary, but during the triathlon there were teachers out on the route at controls every few km to make sure no-one was taking a short cut !

Last year my daughter was still in primary school at this time of year. The last primary school cycle trip was a 150 km cycle camping tour. At that age they were accompanied by teachers or parents at all times when cycling.

Staying on the school theme... Last year I made a video of primary aged children going to school by bike on a perfectly normal (though cold) morning. That video has now had over 20000 views. It's worth seeing again:

Explanatory captions on this video are only visible if it's played on a computer and not on a mobile device.

While we knew that children cycled to school before we moved over here, we had no idea about the number of other school trips that they made by bike.

School bags dangling from flag poles are a common sight right now. When school is over, this is a way of announcing the fact.

While most live closer, some secondary students ride a 40 km round trip each day just to get to school.