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Most people are simply not willing to bicycle. There are any number of reasons given. Many would express a desire to cycle more in an idealistic sense. It is si

Most people are simply not willing to bicycle. There are any number of reasons given. Many would express a desire to cycle more in an idealistic sense. It is similar to someone who expresses a desire to quit smoking next week or start a new diet. If people want to drive cars everywhere, that's a lifestyle choice they make. There's no need to make excuses for it. If they are happier, why not? Bicycling infrastructure is popularly cited as a reason, but this is an incomplete picture. I appreciate that some scenarios are intimidating to novice cyclists, but this is where skill building and progressive improvements in awareness, technique and fitness play a role. If people truly desired to use bicycles they might choose to live within 20 miles of their workplace and develop their cycling abilities incrementally. If this discussion is like any of the others which have been posted, we will see excuses where it is both too hot and too cold for posters to bicycle. Never mind the workarounds for these issues. If they are not comfortable, that's okay. These are not the voices which should be given precedence when we consider what bicycle infrastructure should look like. It isn't unreasonable to listen to these complaints about how impractical cycling is for their situations. There are many who will never become cyclists under any conditions. It is understandable given the political implications of the green agenda that posters wouldn't be forthcoming with these preferences. The result of this posturing is an ever changing set of trends for what cycling infrastructure should look like. An ideal tomorrow which can never come.

Vinnl 4y ago
> Most people are simply not willing to bicycle. That statement does not seem to mesh with statistics in the Netherlands [1]. Possibly people are simply not willing to bicycle using bad/unsafe infrastructure. Which, I should note, is not an "ideal tomorrow", but pretty good reality for a couple of decades already. [1] https://www.cbs.nl/nl-nl/visualisaties/verkeer-en-vervoer/personen/fietsen https://www.cbs.nl/nl-nl/visualisaties/verkeer-en-vervoer/pe... - "Dutch people aged 6 and above on average used a bicycle 0.8 times a day."
- aww_dang 4y ago
  In a previous lifetime I was a bicycle courier in the US. We rode around the city comfortably with traffic. It was as safe as we wanted to be. One of the unsafe points has always been the dedicated bike lanes. Drivers never expect you at that speed at that place on the road. People coming in or out of megamart parking lots have the wrong expectations or cannot judge speed well. Drivers attempting to make a right on red will overtake and t-bone the cyclist. Next, they added ridiculous fixed orange cones to the bicycle lanes. Now you cannot perform a lane change safely. Similarly, the bike paths have blind corners, people on in-line skates, joggers, women with baby strollers and other hazards. Not to mention the advantages of drafting a mid sized SUV or box truck. Moving with traffic is just better. The typical scenario in the US will have one or two points along a route where the novice cyclist is exposed to a road which makes them uncomfortable. With adequate planning a route can be selected which is appropriate to their skill level. Of course this is far from the ideal world of cycling. But if users were serious about their interests they could start now. Not sure it is reasonable to expect the rest of the world to become Dutch. There's more to say for the Dutch than just the geography (Posters here object to cycling on hills. If they loved cycling they would seek them out.) or the infrastructure. There's also the cultural values of thrift and efficiency. The avoidance of credit. Of the Dutch that I've known, they generally disdain a flashy automobile as a foolish purchase. You won't gain status pushing a bicycle in the US. Maybe for young angsty bicycle couriers there was an appeal in showing the world how indestructible we were. What is left is just empty green posturing... "I would ride a bicycle to work, but the gov. didn't tax and spend enough on my ever changing ideal of a fantasy bicycling experience. Oh btw, I hate pedaling or exerting myself. But yeah, I totally love bicycles. Except when it is raining, snowing or sunny. I love bicycling so much that I know how everyone else should ride..." https://www.moneyonthemind.org/post/the-influence-of-culture-on-conspicuous-consumption#:~:text=And%20in%20the%20Netherlands%2C%20the%20idea%20of%20blowing%20through%20money%20to%20show%20other%20people%20that%20you%20have%20money%20is%20a%20bit%2C%20weird https://www.moneyonthemind.org/post/the-influence-of-culture....
  - Vinnl 4y ago
    I don't know why you're going on about people "loving" bicycling and supposedly being hypocritical. I wouldn't say Dutch people particularly love bicycling, but it's the sensible mode of transport in many places, so people are willing to (not love to) do it. Dutch people aren't meaningfully different - we're all just humans, and work largely the same as other people. There's no reason Dutch people are somehow so unique that they're the only place people would be willing to ride a bicycle. The main thing that is different, though, is that the conditions are different in the Netherlands, in particular infrastructure. (But also keep an eye on other Western European cities. Many are making great strides in terms of infrastructure, and cycling is seeing more uptake.)

Vinnl 4y ago

> Most people are simply not willing to bicycle. That statement does not seem to mesh with statistics in the Netherlands [1]. Possibly people are simply not willing to bicycle using bad/unsafe infrastructure. Which, I should note, is not an "ideal tomorrow", but pretty good reality for a couple of decades already. [1] https://www.cbs.nl/nl-nl/visualisaties/verkeer-en-vervoer/personen/fietsen https://www.cbs.nl/nl-nl/visualisaties/verkeer-en-vervoer/pe... - "Dutch people aged 6 and above on average used a bicycle 0.8 times a day."

aww_dang 4y ago
In a previous lifetime I was a bicycle courier in the US. We rode around the city comfortably with traffic. It was as safe as we wanted to be. One of the unsafe points has always been the dedicated bike lanes. Drivers never expect you at that speed at that place on the road. People coming in or out of megamart parking lots have the wrong expectations or cannot judge speed well. Drivers attempting to make a right on red will overtake and t-bone the cyclist. Next, they added ridiculous fixed orange cones to the bicycle lanes. Now you cannot perform a lane change safely. Similarly, the bike paths have blind corners, people on in-line skates, joggers, women with baby strollers and other hazards. Not to mention the advantages of drafting a mid sized SUV or box truck. Moving with traffic is just better. The typical scenario in the US will have one or two points along a route where the novice cyclist is exposed to a road which makes them uncomfortable. With adequate planning a route can be selected which is appropriate to their skill level. Of course this is far from the ideal world of cycling. But if users were serious about their interests they could start now. Not sure it is reasonable to expect the rest of the world to become Dutch. There's more to say for the Dutch than just the geography (Posters here object to cycling on hills. If they loved cycling they would seek them out.) or the infrastructure. There's also the cultural values of thrift and efficiency. The avoidance of credit. Of the Dutch that I've known, they generally disdain a flashy automobile as a foolish purchase. You won't gain status pushing a bicycle in the US. Maybe for young angsty bicycle couriers there was an appeal in showing the world how indestructible we were. What is left is just empty green posturing... "I would ride a bicycle to work, but the gov. didn't tax and spend enough on my ever changing ideal of a fantasy bicycling experience. Oh btw, I hate pedaling or exerting myself. But yeah, I totally love bicycles. Except when it is raining, snowing or sunny. I love bicycling so much that I know how everyone else should ride..." https://www.moneyonthemind.org/post/the-influence-of-culture-on-conspicuous-consumption#:~:text=And%20in%20the%20Netherlands%2C%20the%20idea%20of%20blowing%20through%20money%20to%20show%20other%20people%20that%20you%20have%20money%20is%20a%20bit%2C%20weird https://www.moneyonthemind.org/post/the-influence-of-culture....
- Vinnl 4y ago
  I don't know why you're going on about people "loving" bicycling and supposedly being hypocritical. I wouldn't say Dutch people particularly love bicycling, but it's the sensible mode of transport in many places, so people are willing to (not love to) do it. Dutch people aren't meaningfully different - we're all just humans, and work largely the same as other people. There's no reason Dutch people are somehow so unique that they're the only place people would be willing to ride a bicycle. The main thing that is different, though, is that the conditions are different in the Netherlands, in particular infrastructure. (But also keep an eye on other Western European cities. Many are making great strides in terms of infrastructure, and cycling is seeing more uptake.)