People keep saying this all over the thread but it rains so damn much in Amsterdam! The Dutch don't seem to mind, throw on some rain gear and bike 10km to work. Almost no one does that in the US, I think it's just a big expression of cultural differences.
Rain is not a problem - temperature is. In Poland we get two completely opposite extremes. Today it was 40C outside and I can't imagine biking anywhere, and in winter it can go as low as -30C. Again, almost impossible to bike. It leaves you with a few months when biking to work is a reasonable to choice. In the UK though, I could bike to work every single day of the year, because it's never too cold or too hot to cycle. I imagine that the Netherlands are similar.
You do realize that we just got past the heatwave here, and we also got quite low temperatures in December? The Polish winter is a bit harsher, but not that much.
I am from Warsaw, and biked there, and the difference in infrastructure quality and planner priorities is huge. I mean, people still think it's a good idea to build elevated highways in the cities there.
It rains a lot in Seattle, and we still have plenty of cyclists. Rain isn't as big of a factor as extreme heat/cold when considering whether to ride a bike or not.
People keep saying this all over the thread but it rains so damn much in Amsterdam! The Dutch don't seem to mind, throw on some rain gear and bike 10km to work. Almost no one does that in the US, I think it's just a big expression of cultural differences.