At the lunch table, colleagues reminisce about the winters of the past. Do you remember? If your suit didn’t get wet from heavy rain or snowfall, then it would be from a car that drove through a puddle too fast. Yes, cars still drove through the city back then.
A lot has changed. Now it is the bicycle that determines the streetscape. The bicycle in all its forms: the bicycle ‘from the past’, the cargo bike, the tricycle with pedal assistance, the covered bicycle taxi, everything you can imagine. There is a bicycle for everyone.
Older colleagues remember that they used to be waiting at traffic lights for what felt like hours. And they just kept pressing the button, because there seemed to be no end to the stream of cars. Built-in sensors have taken over the task of the button. That was no longer responsible with all those flu-waves. ‘Did you see that episode of Different Times about the construction of the connecting road between the A8 and A9 at Assendelft?’, a colleague asks. ‘Truly unimaginable. You should have seen the comments on Tweeper.’
For the Fietsersbond, the position of the bicycle on the road is still an important issue in 2040. The cars that cyclists meet are fortunately limited in speed by intelligent speed assistance. Children all have a bicycle, an unalienable right.
Yes, the Fietsersbond still exists. It is a club for everyone, which defends the interests of all cyclists, starting with those of the most vulnerable. In the hall of the National Office is a beautiful sculpture. It was won in the election of the most accessible, innovative, visionary and inspiring social organisation. What makes the prize extra special is that it was awarded by King Willem-Alexander and Queen Máxima, who of course came to the festivities by bicycle.
