This week, we have…

• Trainwreck Meetup 2025

• A fun fact inspired by Globle: Capitals

• Answers to last week's games

• Reader survey

 How did Amsterdam become the city of bikes?

Have you ever stepped foot in a city where bikes outnumber people? Such is the case in Amsterdam (Capitals answer for Feb 4), a city where two thirds of trips in the city centre are taken by bike. The city is saturated with bike paths and cyclists, and is often called the bike capital of the world. The cycling network is so established and safe that all citizens, from children to the elderly, use bikes as the primary mode of transportation. 

The presence of bikes is no accident, and no small feat. It is due to fierce activism and decisive events. After the Dutch post-war economic boom, more people were able to afford cars, and traffic accidents went up in tandem with the presence of cars. This led to protests from action groups who were deeply concerned about the future of the city and its inhabitants. They held bike demonstrations and blocked off streets for children to play on safely. Municipal politicians began listening to protesters, even subsidizing some of the action groups, allowing them to develop safer urban planning solutions. These actions, in tandem with an awareness of vehicle pollution, and the 1973 oil crisis, led to transport policies in the 1980s becoming more cyclist-friendly. Cities began constructing networks of cycle paths, which led to more bikers. 

Today, the Netherlands hosts 22,000 miles of bike paths. While other cities deal with car congestion, Amsterdam has bike congestion - arguably a much more pleasant problem to tackle. The city has defied the siren call (or honk?) of cars, and along the way, has managed to preserve more canals and narrow streets thanks to not prioritizing automobile traffic. Cycling infrastructure includes bike friendly traffic signals and multi-level bike garages. Cycling is more about lifestyle than commuting, and with over a million bikes, the people of Amsterdam are outnumbered by their transportation options. That’s wheely cool!

Learn more: CityChangers, The Guardian, Bloomberg

Trivia

Answers to last week's games

Monday, February 3 to Sunday, February 9.

Linxicon

The following are the shortest paths from last week:

• #357 measurement → timekeeping → time → immediately

• #358 exercise → movement → space → galaxy

• #359 use → purpose → precisely → exactly

• #360 meanwhile → alongside → together → join → member

• #361 advantage → beneficial → grateful → thanks

• #362 fewer → numbers → rounds → missiles → missile

• #363 history → timeline → duration → until → except

• #364 Play now!

Elemingle

• #12 Gold

• #13 Lawrencium

• #14 Beryllium

• #15 Phosphorus

• #16 Titanium

• #17 Rubidium

• #18 Rhenium

• #19 Play now!

Forgeous

Play Forgeous for Feb 10