Ebook: In the city of bikes: the story of the Amsterdam cyclist

When Pete Jordan arrives in Amsterdam to study how to make America's cities more bicycle-friendly, he immediately falls in love with the city that already lives life on two wheels. His new bride, Amy Joy, joins Pete, and despite their financial hardships and instability, she eventually finds her own new calling as a bicycle mechanic as Pete discovers the untold history of cycling in Amsterdam. From its beginnings as an elitis t pastime in the 1890s to the street-consuming craze of the 1920s, from the bicycle's role in a citywide resistance to the Nazi occupation to the White Bikes of the 1960s and the bike fishermen of today, Jordan chronicles the evolution of Amsterdam's cycling. Part personal memoir, part history of cycling, part fascinating street-level tour of Amsterdam, In the City of Bikes is the story of a man who loves bikes'in a city that loves bikes.;Evan a man from America can see a few things : the arrival -- Lucky few : the 1890s -- Piggy hunters : the bike thievery -- King of the street : the 1920s -- It made my head swim : the elephants, centaurs, punks and nuns -- A matter of individual expression : the land of the automobile vs. the land of the bicycle -- Problem children : the 1930s -- Which one's the wrench? : The settling down -- We were true libertines : the first two years of the occupation -- Smash your bikes to bits, slice your tires to pieces : the mass bike confiscation -- You no longer think, you just pedal : the final years of the occupation -- Give my father's bike back : the occupation's legacy -- After you passed : the mystery rider -- It's chaos with the bicycles : the 1950s -- A bike is coming : the new additions -- A bike is something, yet almost nothing! The 1960s -- A big success : the urban myths of the white bicycles -- A typical Amsterdam characteristic : the bike fishermen -- Death to the car! : The 1970s -- It's a joy to be on a bike again! : The 1980s onward -- Let's r4ide : looking back and looking forward.