3 ms·

The American or British mental image of a cyclist commuter[1] is very different than the Dutch or Danish one[2]. In the Netherlands cycling is just a faster an

• masklinn 6y ago
  > In America many cyclists dress like they're training for a sport event. I’m sure roadies dress that way in the Netherlands. The difference is that US cyclists are mostly roadies because you need to really want to bike to do so, which in the Netherlands roadies are a minority of cyclists because it’s just the normal way to move around.
  • em500 6y ago
    Sure, for every individual American cyclist that may be sensible and rational. But I'm afraid that collectively it could trap them in a bad equilibrium, where bike-infrastructure improvement are seen by the larger public as benefits for a narrow interest group.
• analog31 6y ago
  The American climate is also different from the Dutch one. The Wisconsin city that I live in has temperatures that are both 15 F hotter and colder than typical northern European cities. And we commute roughly twice as far because our cities are more spread out. I'm fortunate that I don't sweat very much, my commute is only 4 miles each way, and I can tailor my schedule around the weather. So I start out early before the sun has cleared the trees, and ride slowly. As a result I'm not particularly sweaty when I arrive at work. Also, I have a casual-dress job with no public interaction. I live on a street that happens to be a preferred route for cyclists commuting to and from the downtown area. So I see a lot of people on bikes. Most of the commuters are in fact just wearing normal street clothes. I don't even own any cycling-specific clothing.
  • wasdfff 6y ago
    The american climate can mean dramatically different things depending on the city.