The crash rate in the Netherlands is about 40% the crash rate of the U.S. It's dangerous if you're not used to it, but once you adjust to how traffic flows it's actually very safe. And gosh, using all your senses actually makes things much safer than here in the U.S., where distraction is a major factor in crashes.

As for the flatness of Portland -- go to portlandmaps.com and use the drop-down for elevation. It's not completely flat, but it's flat enough to not cause major problems once you start biking a bit. And if you need to walk your bike up the four or five blocks of hill you hit on the east side, do so. Yes, those hills provide some exercise. But they're not prohibitive.

Portland may not be 80% on the east side, but it's close. Look at the map of county commissioners in Multnomah County, http://tinyurl.com/aoopz, and you'll see that more than 3 of the 4 districts are east side. Throw out the 100,000 of the 700,000 people in Multnomah County who don't live in Portland, and you still have the vast, vast majority of folks on the east side. Flat enough.

The inner west side that's not hilly is NW Portland and parts of Lair Hill, etc. -- yes, some of the west side is hilly, but it's not hilly to get to NW 21st, Portland's densest neighborhood.

Culturally, the Netherlands actually has reversed some trends. They were investing in the car significantly through the 1970s, then decided they couldn't afford it. So biking rates that had been falling dramatically turned back up. From 20% in the 1970s to 35% today, or 30% in the 1970s to 50% today.

And Sam's trip was paid for by private donors -- and a trip through your own eyes is worth a lot more than surfing the web. The world. Experience it.