During the summer of 2022 Dr. de Ridder and four BTTF students traveled to the Netherlands and Belgium to witness firsthand some of the best transportation networks in the world. Traveling by plane, train, tram, cable car, boat, walking, and, of course, the bicycle, they did not use a car once. Starting in the cycling capital of the world, students learned firsthand about the history of Amsterdam as a cyclist's city by conducting interviews with Alex Baum and Cornelia Dinca, both of whom are well-respected professionals in bicycle utilization and policy. Students also conversed with members of the Fietsersbond, the Netherlands' cyclist union composed of grassroots activists, and learned how they are pushing for more opportunities for cyclers in the wake of the current climate crisis. Next, students traveled to the administrative capital of the Netherlands, Den Haag (The Hague) to interview Rina Adriani, a current city councilmember fighting for equitable bicycle transport. From Den Haag students took a day trip to the utopian town of Houten, twice voted the best cycling city in the Netherlands, to talk with International Cycling Ambassador André Botermans about Houten's development as one of the world's premier bicycle cities. Next, students traveled to Bruxelles (Brussels) to interview GRACQ (Wallonia's Cyclists' Union) official Luc Goffinet. There, students were able to contrast Dutch and Belgian cultures to see how infrastructure needs varied based on the region. From Bruxelles, the group took a train to Ciney to experience one of Wallonia's many bike paths that comprise the RAVeL—a state-of-the-art bicycle network that offers cyclists routes that span the entire nation. Led by GRACQ volunteer and regional bike expert Simon d'Ennetières, students pedaled down a picturesque sixty kilometer route along the Meuse river, traveling from Ciney to Liège in one day. Lastly, in Liège, students conducted an interview with Liège's GRACQ director Jean-Yves Lovens to discuss how the GRACQ was able to take a more active role in initiating safe and marked bicycle routes in the city. This international research proved invaluable to BTTF's collective knowledge of transportation infrastructure and its impacts on different segments of the population.

July 7th: Fly out of Columbia to Atlanta and then to Amsterdam

July 8th: Arrive in Amsterdam and tour with Alex Baum

July 9th: Tour with Cornelia Dinca

July 10th: Exploring the Amsterdam-Noord NDSM District

July 11th: Amsterdam Fietsersbond interview with Marjolein de Lange and then travel to Delft

July 12th: Tour of Den Haag with Rina Adriani

July 13th: Houten with André Botermans and Jan Peter Westein

July 14th: Den Haag fietsersbond interview with Nol Witte

July 15th: Delft Tour with Teiko, Thuis, and Mareen and then to Brussels, and then to Namur to get bikes, and then back to Brussels

July 16th: Ciney to Huy to Liège suffering with Simon

July 17th: Namur tour with the GRACQ

July 18th: Tour of Brussels with Luc and Ghent party

July 19th: Tour of Liège and then to Antwerp

July 20th: Exploring Antwerp and then traveling back to Amsterdam

July 21st: Fly back home

Our research would not have been possible without the GSSM Alumni Foundation, the GSSM Department of Research and Creative Inquiry, and the South Carolina State Department of Education, all of whom granted the funds for us to perform this research.