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If You Build It, the Dutch Will Pedal (2017)
- effnorwood 7y ago*Petal
- jzig 7y agoCan we flag paywalls?
- Silverwood 7y agoOutline: https://outline.com/unsh8n https://outline.com/unsh8n
- bluetomcat 7y agoIn an alienated society where everyone lives in his own bubble, biking and not having a car is an easy proposition. No need to drive your sick parents to the hospital, no need to help a friend with moving the furniture, putting your child on the backseat of a bike on a rainy day is not frowned upon. Almost every aspect of social life is handled by a company in the private sector or by a public institution. The majority of people in the world do not share those views of the Dutch and the Scandinavians, so it might not work elsewhere.
- perfunctory 7y ago> putting your child on the backseat of a bike on a rainy day is not frowned upon This is the best thing you can do for your child.
- perfunctory 7y agoAlso, recommended: “The Happiest Kids in the World: Bringing up Children the Dutch Way” https://www.amazon.com/Happiest-Kids-World-Bringing-Children-ebook/dp/B01E7Q3MD4 https://www.amazon.com/Happiest-Kids-World-Bringing-Children...
- teekert 7y agoAs a dutch person I can say, as temperatures are dropping on the northern hemisphere, little makes my kids happier that announcing we are taking the car to school. This book, I wonder, is its only mission to make people feel bad that they are not doing well? My kids are dutch and only play outside by themselves from 6-7 y/o, don't bike to school until they are 10-12 or so usually and they really didn't sleep very well as babies. And I definitely know some 14-18 y/o rebels.
- teekert 7y agoAnd then there is of course this one: http://www.hollandse-bakfietsen.nl/kopen/media/catalog/product/cache/1/thumbnail/9df78eab33525d08d6e5fb8d27136e95/w/i/winther_cargoo_regenhuif_2_1.jpeg http://www.hollandse-bakfietsen.nl/kopen/media/catalog/produ...
- Steltek 7y agoMy kids' only complaint about biking in the rain (or snow) is that we don't stop at the playground on the way. They're in normal exposed bike seats as well, albeit wearing clothes appropriate for the weather, so they're not even in a trailer or those fancy rain canopies that you see on box bikes.
- joelbluminator 7y agoJesus christ if something's wrong with your parents you can call them an Uber right? or an ambulance
- freefal 7y agoAs someone who bikes to work most days and thinks cycling infrastructure like this is great, what do the people profiled in this article do when it rains?
- airza 7y agoBike through it :) It's certainly quite rainy and windy some days, though.
- Jackim 7y agoIf your bike has fenders and you dress as you normally would in the rain, it's not that bad! http://www.copenhagencyclechic.com/2014/11/its-raining-its-pouring.html http://www.copenhagencyclechic.com/2014/11/its-raining-its-p...
- n4r9 7y agoI cycle to work almost every day come rain or shine. I wear cycling shorts and vest, a light waterproof fluorescent jacket, a rucksack with a foldout waterproof covering, an underhelmet cap, and I've just invested in some overshoes to protect my shoes and socks. I change into that in the morning, and when I get to work I change into clothes from my rucksack and hang the cycling clothes somewhere to dry if need be. Only when it's absolutely bucketing it down will I consider taking the bus.
- gonzus 7y agoIt is just a fact of life. Not enjoyable, of course, but so what. Of course, if the bike ride is really long, it might become unfeasible.
- sgwil 7y agoYou're not made of sugar.
- teekert 7y agoAs my mother used to say when I complained about rain haha, I say the same to my kids now :)
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- gok 7y ago> “These old cities weren’t made for cars,” Mr. Wagenbuur said. Kind of the key issue with applying this to new, post-car cities, unfortunately.
- hannasanarion 7y agoWhich largely don't exist. With the exception of like, Phoenix and greater Los Angeles, US cities were also not designed for cars. Even Western cities that are famous for sprawl like Denver and Houston, their streets were laid down in their modern form in the 1870s, decades before Karl Benz first had the idea of attaching a motor to a wagon. Cars are recent invaders to our cities, and retrofits were made to accommodate them (thanks in part to massive lobbying from auto makers and hostile takeovers and subsequent shutdowns of private mass transit). There is almost no such thing as a "city designed for cars"
- spodek 7y ago> Utrecht, like many other European cities, spent several postwar decades trying to make automobile use easier. > The effort included building a four-lane highway over centuries-old canals, making space for parked cars on its narrow cobblestone streets, and planning for a highway that was to cross the medieval city’s cathedral square. What better to do with history than learn from it? Next step: see the similarities of our focus on airplanes to that view on cars and how it's not improving our lives, environment, or communities, but rather hurting them all.
- vectorEQ 7y ago"Cycling is like a piece of magic: It only has advantages,” said Ms. van Hooijdonk . (who never cycled into gale force winds in freezing cold and rain ;'D... wtf)
- teekert 7y agoGranted the Dutch climate has little extremes but even at -5 degC and snow or 0 degC and rain, you will still see many people on their bikes with rain suits and gloves.
- baud147258 7y agoHe also has the chance to be fit enough to bike regularly and to live in a place where it's feasible to do a lot of trips on bike, with shorter distances than what you'd find in the US
- sgwil 7y ago> The city recently surpassed Amsterdam in a widely respected ranking of bike-friendly cities and is now second only to Copenhagen, which is more than twice its size. I visited Copenhagen last year, and while it's a lovely city I have absolutely no idea how it is ranked number one cycling city in the world. Mark Wagenbuur, cited in this article, is also sceptical: https://bicycledutch.wordpress.com/2018/11/27/is-copenhagen-a-city-of-cyclists/ https://bicycledutch.wordpress.com/2018/11/27/is-copenhagen-...
- lumberjack 7y agoWhy is cycling sexy but public transport not so much?
- jbverschoor 7y agoNot so friendly anymore, as you're not even allowed to put your bike on many places.