To bike or not to bike in Amsterdam?

I'm often asked by guests if it's fun to explore Amsterdam by bike. To be honest, I personally love exploring the city by bike. But did you know that Amsterdam is a small city and everything is within walking distance and I always recommend this to our guests?

If you look closely, you will find so many special things in the city. For example, look at the bookcase in the pictures here in the background. They can be found all over Amsterdam. The idea is simple: anyone can borrow books and put them back in the bookcase at a later time. The motto: pick a book and put one back in return. This is to ensure that the closet always stays replenished. 

Coming back to cycling. If you're not used to cycling, I don't think it's a good idea to start with that in Amsterdam. The streets are often very crowded and traffic comes from all directions. In case I did make you curious about exploring the city by bike, my advice is to rent a bike at the Black Bikes Frederiskplein shop. Their store is within walking distance from our hotel. 
For the daredevils among us, I've listed a few things to watch out for when biking in Amsterdam.

We locals have been known to break the rules while cycling. For example: cycling through red lights or cycling at night without lights. Don't imitate us!

Watch out for streetcar rails: make sure you cross the rails at right angles, should you cross them. You can easily get caught in the rails.

Make sure you park your bike in the designated bike parking spaces. Bikes not parked in the proper spots will be removed.

Do not cycle with more than two people next to each other. Also keep space for other cyclists who may want to overtake you.

Is your phone ringing or you want to look something up on your phone. If so, stop and pull over.

Wishing you a safe ride!