Utrecht

Huib Poortman cycled with me from Rotterdam to Utrecht, taking me through 'the green heart of Holland', a rural area which is protected from development. It was hard going as we faced a stiff north easterly breeze; Holland may be flat, but cycling can still be tough when the wind is against you.

In the evening of my arrival I was met by Bram, who took me to a meeting of Transition Voordorp. Voordorp is a district in the suburbs of Urtrecht, and they are just beginning with the process of transition - this was only their second meeting. They showed a film about Peak Oil and 'A farm for the future' and brainstormed ideas about how they could take things forward.


Utrecht is a really green city, and the next day I met a group from Groen Links who introduced me to Jacques, a local entrepreneur who has invented the cargo hopper, a sustainable method for the short distance transport of goods which is powered by solar panels located on the roof, ideal for making deliveries to local shops in the city centre. I did a video interview.

In the afternoon I met Wim Bot from Fietsersbond, the cyclists' organisation and I recorded an interview for the website about their activities and what they are doing about the Copenhagen climate negotiations. They are part of a very broad coalition of Dutch organisations demanding an effective treaty, including environmental and faith groups as well as lots of others such as trade unions.

Holland will be providing OV bikes (public transport bikes) for the participants in Copenhagen. These are bikes which are available for hire cheaply at railway stations, the idea being that you cycle to the station, leave your own bike there, take the train to your destination and hire an OV bike (there wouldn't be much room left for pasengers if all the Dutch took their bikes on the trains!)


Cycling is very popular in Holland, with many different sorts of bicycles, including one very popular model which can take heavy loads on the front, and is used by many parents for taking their children to school. It would cut congestion a lot in Britain if parents used these instead of driving their children to school