5 ms·

“Most of us learn how to ride a bike during childhood. But as we grow older, many of us stop riding and put those once-beloved bikes in storage.” As a Dutch pe

by Aaargh20318 8y ago

“Most of us learn how to ride a bike during childhood. But as we grow older, many of us stop riding and put those once-beloved bikes in storage.” As a Dutch person, this is so weird to read. How can you get by in day-to-day life without a bike ? Mine broke the other day, nothing big just a snapped cable, but I was without a bike for all of 2 days and it felt like being handicapped.

theredbox 8y ago
Because we live in a different kind of cities where we cant use bikes as much. It takes me 1.5h each day in seoul to reach my destination and we have an excellent public transportation.
trustfundbaby 8y ago
> How can you get by in day-to-day life without a bike ? By living in most cities in the USA? :D
- Aaargh20318 8y ago
  I’ve only been to the US once (San Francisco) and US cities are strange to me. Especially the fact that there is no real city centre, just blocks of buildings with wide streets between them.
  - kurthr 8y ago
    The city isn't flat either... it has many hills in the middle that are 10-12% grade and a few at around 30%.
  - trustfundbaby 8y ago
    Most American cities do have a city center though ... which ones have you visited.
afroboy 8y ago
Where i live there is no why you find flat ground, if you drove a bike you spend most of your time up and go which is very exhausting and don't forget not everyone has special roads for bikes.
j7ake 8y ago
How flat is Netherlands compared to other countries?
- mrob 8y ago
  It's flatter than average, but I think most people bringing up flatness are non-cyclists. Regular cyclists know that wind speed is just as important, and the Netherlands has higher wind speed than average. If you've never ridden into a strong headwind you might not realize how much it slows you down.
  - kaybe 8y ago
    What always gets me is that you don't really feel a tailwind. Riding just becomes so easy, and you'd think it's you, or your bike and the street are in a good condition.. and then you try to turn around. A great metaphor in life as well, really.
    - aidenn0 8y ago
      Yeah, I remember as a kid I covered 20 miles in under an hour and at first thought that I had just gotten in way better shape. Then I rode back...
  - robotresearcher 8y ago
    > It's flatter than average It's the flattest country in Europe, or close runner up. https://beyondthemaps.wordpress.com/2017/01/28/flatness/ https://beyondthemaps.wordpress.com/2017/01/28/flatness/
rhinoceraptor 8y ago
There isn’t the road infrastructure for most people to feel comfortable riding a bike in the US, so people give up riding bikes after the get a driver’s license, and their bike handling skills and confidence go down. Also, most bikes in the US aren’t practical like dutch bikes, they’re harder to maintain and they don’t have fenders or racks.
Broken_Hippo 8y ago
There is a lot to unpack here, honestly. Simple infrastructure is one of them. Many folks don't have safe options for bicycle transportation, regardless of whether you live in a city or not. Lack of sidewalks, lack of bike lanes, and lack of folks watching out for you. If you live outside a small town, you might have to take non-main roads and have a much longer commute as well. Weather is an issue in some areas as well. While I can get studded snow tires for a bike here in Norway, I couldn't get them in Indiana. Not only are there these things, but employers frowned upon people arriving to work sweaty or wet (from rain). There were often no employee break rooms to change in, let alone a safe place to store one's bicycle or accessories while one is at work. Another thing I'd like to point out is that the bicycles themselves were differently styled, at least judging what I saw in Amsterdam. Often, they had wide seats with springs and decently wide tires and a basket or two to hold your stuff. A bike built for comfort plus a place to put stuff helps tremendously. This leads me to my final point: Distance. I imagine that you can reasonably travel to the grocery store and whatnot on a bicycle. Unfortunately, things are pretty spread out in much of the US. You might have to drive for 20 minutes to get to the grocery store because there aren't any near your house or on your way home from work. This takes much longer on a bicycle. If you do have convenience in this area, you are often paying more for it.
aequitas 8y ago
As a fellow Dutchman I must confess my bike is in the shed most days of the year. I live in the suburbs of Arnhem so maybe its different from cities like Utrecht/Amsterdam. Most transport for me is either by car or walking.
kalleboo 8y ago
They drive. And yes, it's as bad as it sounds. My wife can't ride a bike (balance issues) so she drives everywhere. If I don't have milk for my morning coffee I hop on the bike and it's 5 minutes or less to get to the supermarket. She wouldn't go out to just buy milk since just finding a parking spot takes 5 minutes.
black-tea 8y ago
Laziness and obesity.

theredbox 8y ago

Because we live in a different kind of cities where we cant use bikes as much. It takes me 1.5h each day in seoul to reach my destination and we have an excellent public transportation.

trustfundbaby 8y ago

> How can you get by in day-to-day life without a bike ? By living in most cities in the USA? :D

Aaargh20318 8y ago
I’ve only been to the US once (San Francisco) and US cities are strange to me. Especially the fact that there is no real city centre, just blocks of buildings with wide streets between them.
- kurthr 8y ago
  The city isn't flat either... it has many hills in the middle that are 10-12% grade and a few at around 30%.
- trustfundbaby 8y ago
  Most American cities do have a city center though ... which ones have you visited.

afroboy 8y ago

Where i live there is no why you find flat ground, if you drove a bike you spend most of your time up and go which is very exhausting and don't forget not everyone has special roads for bikes.

j7ake 8y ago

How flat is Netherlands compared to other countries?

mrob 8y ago
It's flatter than average, but I think most people bringing up flatness are non-cyclists. Regular cyclists know that wind speed is just as important, and the Netherlands has higher wind speed than average. If you've never ridden into a strong headwind you might not realize how much it slows you down.
- kaybe 8y ago
  What always gets me is that you don't really feel a tailwind. Riding just becomes so easy, and you'd think it's you, or your bike and the street are in a good condition.. and then you try to turn around. A great metaphor in life as well, really.
  - aidenn0 8y ago
    Yeah, I remember as a kid I covered 20 miles in under an hour and at first thought that I had just gotten in way better shape. Then I rode back...
- robotresearcher 8y ago
  > It's flatter than average It's the flattest country in Europe, or close runner up. https://beyondthemaps.wordpress.com/2017/01/28/flatness/ https://beyondthemaps.wordpress.com/2017/01/28/flatness/

rhinoceraptor 8y ago

There isn’t the road infrastructure for most people to feel comfortable riding a bike in the US, so people give up riding bikes after the get a driver’s license, and their bike handling skills and confidence go down. Also, most bikes in the US aren’t practical like dutch bikes, they’re harder to maintain and they don’t have fenders or racks.

Broken_Hippo 8y ago

There is a lot to unpack here, honestly. Simple infrastructure is one of them. Many folks don't have safe options for bicycle transportation, regardless of whether you live in a city or not. Lack of sidewalks, lack of bike lanes, and lack of folks watching out for you. If you live outside a small town, you might have to take non-main roads and have a much longer commute as well. Weather is an issue in some areas as well. While I can get studded snow tires for a bike here in Norway, I couldn't get them in Indiana. Not only are there these things, but employers frowned upon people arriving to work sweaty or wet (from rain). There were often no employee break rooms to change in, let alone a safe place to store one's bicycle or accessories while one is at work. Another thing I'd like to point out is that the bicycles themselves were differently styled, at least judging what I saw in Amsterdam. Often, they had wide seats with springs and decently wide tires and a basket or two to hold your stuff. A bike built for comfort plus a place to put stuff helps tremendously. This leads me to my final point: Distance. I imagine that you can reasonably travel to the grocery store and whatnot on a bicycle. Unfortunately, things are pretty spread out in much of the US. You might have to drive for 20 minutes to get to the grocery store because there aren't any near your house or on your way home from work. This takes much longer on a bicycle. If you do have convenience in this area, you are often paying more for it.

aequitas 8y ago

As a fellow Dutchman I must confess my bike is in the shed most days of the year. I live in the suburbs of Arnhem so maybe its different from cities like Utrecht/Amsterdam. Most transport for me is either by car or walking.

kalleboo 8y ago

They drive. And yes, it's as bad as it sounds. My wife can't ride a bike (balance issues) so she drives everywhere. If I don't have milk for my morning coffee I hop on the bike and it's 5 minutes or less to get to the supermarket. She wouldn't go out to just buy milk since just finding a parking spot takes 5 minutes.

black-tea 8y ago

Laziness and obesity.