It doesn’t matter if a fat person /can/ ride a bike, if they perceive it to be more difficult, chances are they won’t. Adoption is a huge part of the problem an

It doesn’t matter if a fat person /can/ ride a bike, if they perceive it to be more difficult, chances are they won’t. Adoption is a huge part of the problem and comparing adoption in a country that already has the infrastructure and public perception work out is laughable. Also a good time to point out that an overweight person is much more at risk of injury on a bike, and we don’t have universal healthcare. When you hit a curb in a car, you screw up your alignment, when you do it on a bike you crash into the ground, if you are unlucky it could be bad. While we’re talking about the average American, I’m getting (on mobile) that the average commute in the US is 16 miles, that’s a long way on a bike, especially if hills and inclement weather are involved. Denmark is a highly urbanized country with a temperate climate, unlike vast swaths of the US, and it is also mostly flat. A big part of that $800 monthly cost is related to how cars are treated as status symbols. My monthly cost of ownership is closer to $100, all thing included, and I can travel to and from work at 70 mph comfortably in virtual any conditions. People are going to feel absolutely miserable biking to work at their minimum wage job in inclement weather. Also >Urban biking doesn’t require athleticism While I agree in principle seems factually untrue in the US in my experience. The people I know who haven’t been hit by a car/bus on their bike skews strongly towards the fit crowd. You have to be fast, agile and alert to not get hit in the US, sadly. I’m also going to call BS on the west coast actually getting anything done on the mass transit front, possibly Seattle, I’m less familiar with how things get done there, but in California a billion dollars doesn’t go very far at all in the construction biz, don’t forget that the Eastern span of the bay bridge cost $6.5B, took over a decade, and had 0 costs associated with land acquisition and zoning. The high speed rail project is proving to be also be an enormous boondoggle.