Why is Amsterdam the World's Cycling Capital?

As every discerning traveller knows, bikes outnumber humans in Amsterdam by a significant margin and the city is fully adapted around two-wheeled transportation. In fact, over 400 kilometers of cycle paths trails through the city’s centre, periphery and suburbs, allowing cyclists to quickly travel between Amsterdam’s many neighbourhoods.
Despite being a recreational activity elsewhere in the world, the Dutch have embraced cycling for over a century and have even developed certain road-safety skills related to bicycles which are almost completely unheard of abroad. This nationwide phenomenon is partly due to the Netherlands’ geography, as most of the country lies on flat ground, making it particularly accommodating to cyclists.
Although Amsterdam has always been ahead of curb when its comes to cycling, in the mid-twentieth century motor vehicles threatened to tear apart the city’s infrastructure and turn the Dutch capital into a particularly inhospitable place for bicycles. Like many other cities in Europe, Amsterdam rapidly modernised during this period and urban planners generally felt that cars should take priority over bikes, leading to expansive roadworks.