In the Netherlands,cycling isn't seen as an eco-friendly exercise; it's part of everyday life, as it's people's top choice to school and work. "There are more bicycles than residents in the Netherlands. In cities like Amsterdam and The Hague, up to 70 percent of all journeys are made by bike," said BBC.  So how did cycling become such a popular means of transportation in the European country? In the 1970s, the Dutch government began to improve its cycling infrastructure due to both a social movement demanding safer cycling condition for children and the oil crisis in the Middle East, when oil producing countries stopped their exports to Western Europe. To make cycling safer and more appealing, the Dutch have built the widest cycling network in the world. The country has over 40,000 kilometers of bicycle lanes and paths,which are clearly marked. They have smooth surfaces,separate signs and lights for those on two wheels. The lanes are wide enough to allow side-by-side cycling and passing. In many cities the bike lanes are completely segregated from motorized traffic. And in many traffic situations cyclists are given priority over drivers. Sometimes,where space is limited and both must share, you can see signs showing an image of a cyclist with a car behind accompanied by the words "Bike Street:Cars are guests". As young people aren't allowed to drive alone until they are 18, cycling offers Dutch teenagers an alternative form of freedom. The government also makes cycling training lessons a compulsory part of the Dutch school curriculum . Bike parking facilities are everywhere in the country. Cyclists are accommodated in the way motorists are elsewhere. Take Groningen, a city in the northeastern part of the Netherlands, for example. The city's central train station has underground parking for 10,000 bikes. For many Dutch people, bikes are trusty friends for life's adventures. In that kind of relationship it is longevity  that matters--that's why many Dutch people ride older bikes. What is the author's main purpose in writing the article?
To explain why in Holland cycling isn't eco-friendly. To describe how cyclists are supported in the Netherlands. To inform us of important cycling rules in the Netherlands. To describe laws passed by the Dutch government related to cycling.