Bikes are Nice

In this part of Canada, when you see a number of bicycles parked together, you might be right in thinking you have found a bicycle store. In a small urban center like Winnipeg, which is very flat, there is no reason why bicycles aren't used more.
Where we visited in Germany and The Netherlands, bikes were a widely used and accepted form of transportation. They are given space on the road and it would seem there are very few accidents, as almost no one wears a helmet. When a traffic light changes colour, there is a small separate light for biccycles that lets them enter the intersection a few seconds before the motorized traffic.
Signs like these are a common reminder that both bikes and people may use the sidewalk.The sidewalks themselves are marked in a similar fashion.In fact, in the Netherlands, they have a divided area in which they can ride.You are encouraged to take your bike (and baby carriages) onto the subway. The subways have special areas for them to stand as well as spaces where the seats fold up so you can lean your bike in that area. I did not see one person irritated by this. This was one of the bigger bike stores we saw. The biggest one was in Marl; this one was in Musselkanaal.

This is the bicycle parking area at the Dortmund Hauptbahnhof. One side was fenced and guarded, the other side was just a regular place to lock your bike.

Tina didn't know what these containers were for. They were near the trainstation in Witten-maybe longterm storage?

And there is no reason not to take your children or stuff. This bicycle has seatbelts for three children. Some bikes had big compartments on the front for groceries and other stuff.
With the ease of public transit and the acceptance of bicycles, I suspect many people do not own cars.