Why Was John Lennon in Bed with a Bicycle?

Why Was John Lennon in Bed with a Bicycle?
(and Why This Matters for the Mobility Transition)

An iconic photograph from 1969 shows the newly married John Lennon and Yoko Ono in their hotel bed at the Amsterdam Hilton—accompanied by an old, white-painted Dutch bicycle. What appears playful and eccentric at first glance turns out to be deeply symbolic: the bicycle played a crucial role in the mobility transition the Netherlands underwent in the decades that followed—though in a very different way than one might expect.

Anyone seeking to meaningfully contribute to today’s mobility transition must look beyond technology and infrastructure. Our current mobility system is rooted in deeply embedded layers of language, worldviews, and assumptions. Challenging these underlying narratives is a necessary precondition for real transformation.

In this lecture, we will explore how language shapes mobility, how traffic engineering has been historically constructed, and which powerful alternatives might open new paths forward. Along the way, we will sing a song, learn a magical trick—and discover why we should never be Bobo again.

Marco te Brömmelstroet is Professor and Chair of Urban Mobility Futures at the University of Amsterdam and a leading international voice on the future of mobility. His research and teaching focus on the relationship between land use, mobility behaviour, and the underlying narratives that shape transport systems.

As founding academic director of the Urban Cycling Institute, he strengthens the connection between academic research and the social and urban dimensions of cycling, using it as a lens to fundamentally rethink mobility and the role of streets. Beyond academia, he leads the Lab of Thought, which accelerates transformative change through provocative interventions in public space.

Known to a wider audience as the “Fietsprofessor” (The Cycling Professor), he reaches more than 70,000 followers via social media, inviting citizens, professionals, and decision-makers alike to actively co-author the future of mobility and to explore paths beyond established ways of thinking.