10 ms·

In 1897, a Bicycle Superhighway Was the Future of California Transit

137 points by weston 13y ago

tnuc 13y ago
Copenhagen has had bicycle highways for a while now. http://www.copenhagenize.com/2012/04/launching-copenhagens-bicycle.html http://www.copenhagenize.com/2012/04/launching-copenhagens-b... The elevated highway that mjn mentioned is only a few hundred metres long while the new highways have 300Km planned.
- mwilcox 13y ago
  Similarly, Auckland's proposed cycle network includes a number of cycle highways and connections: http://transportblog.co.nz/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/Regional-Cycle-Network.jpg http://transportblog.co.nz/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/Region...
- larsberg 13y ago
  The pictures in that article don't really give a sense for how bicycle-friendly that city is. I went there for a conference last September, and the fact that there were bikes and bike lanes everywhere as well as more bike parking at every train station than you can imagine really stuck with me. That and the lack of worry about theft. At a coffee shop and going to the bathroom? Just leave your laptop, wallet, and cell phone on the table. I couldn't physically do that if I tried, after growing up in Chicago.
  - toomuchtodo 13y ago
    Fellow Chicagoan. Could not imagine doing that. Happy to know there are still places like that in the world though.
- konstruktor 13y ago
  And they don't just support cycling as a way to get around in town: Many roads between villages/cities have dedicated, separated and wide bike paths going parallel to them, which makes cycling great even for longer commutes.
hawkharris 13y ago
I enjoyed the article, but I'm very hesitant to believe any news sponsored by or affiliated with Vice. On top of questionable reporting practices, companies can pay to influence the content of articles and the type of coverage. Examples: http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2013/04/08/130408fa_fact_widdicombe http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2013/04/08/130408fa_fact_...
- weston 13y ago
  I haven't had a chance to read that New Yorker article yet, but who would you think would benefit from this bike article? Do you think it's a paid placement from a bike manufacturer? (I'm not being snarky, it's a genuine question.)
- IvyMike 13y ago
  I am kind of cynical but I just assume that's true with most of the media these days.
- onedognight 13y ago
  I've seen the original plans on display in Pasadena.
- rdouble 13y ago
  companies can pay to influence the content of articles and the type of coverage. Like every other publication in the USA? http://www.paulgraham.com/submarine.html http://www.paulgraham.com/submarine.html
  - hawkharris 13y ago
    There's a significant difference between Vice and the publications (like the NY Times) that PG refers to in his article: Vice has a POLICY of taking money from companies in exchange for allowing editorial control. As in, they encourage and have acknowledged this practice. They represent a strange, blurry hybrid between an ad agency and a news outlet.
    - 13y ago
mjn 13y ago
On a much smaller scale, Copenhagen is reviving the idea of a grade-separated bike "highway" in at least one place. A major bicycle commuting route currently goes through a complex congested area (with a bunch of 90-degree turns, pedestrian cross traffic, canals, and even a staircase at one point), but will from next year bypass it on a 1/4-km overpass: http://politiken.dk/ibyen/nyheder/gadeplan/ECE1594066/koebenhavn-faar-235-meter-lang-cykelsti-i-foerstesals-hoejde/ http://politiken.dk/ibyen/nyheder/gadeplan/ECE1594066/koeben... In the rest of the city the goal is to string together something more like arterial bicycle roads, though, rather than fully grade-separated highways.
lsanza 13y ago
This sounds like a vintage version of Elon Musk's Hyperloop http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hyperloop http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hyperloop
- backprojection 13y ago
  But Musk hasn't really released any real details about it. How can you comparte this to something you don't know anything about? Or has he released more details?
- kayoone 13y ago
  uhm no, this was just a highway for bikes.
josephjrobison 13y ago
I think this is still an excellent idea for a lot of areas, especially Los Angeles where the traffic is horrendous all the time. It wouldn't take much to build this alongside major freeways so that you won't have to claim eminent domain and go through private properties. This would take up a max of an extra 10-15 feet on the side of freeways. Now, in LA a lot of freeways are built out so much that there's not even 10-15 ft without hitting a building or house, but there are a lot of areas this could work. Sometimes it takes 3 hours to go 10 miles in LA during rush hour, and this could make everything better.
- zevyoura 13y ago
  As an LA motorcyclist, I can tell you that almost no one would want to bike 10-15 ft. from the edge of the freeway. It's extremely loud and unpleasant, and there's a significant amount of debris that would need frequent removal.
  - rdouble 13y ago
    Such a bike lane would be loud and unpleasant, but if separated from the road it would be similar in loudness and unpleasantness to the Williamsburg, Queensboro and Manhattan bridge bike lanes, which are widely used. That said, it would likely not work because the distances are much further in LA, and following the path of the freeway is not going to be the most direct route on a bicycle.
    - coolsunglasses 13y ago
      >would be similar in loudness and unpleasantness to the Williamsburg, Queensboro and Manhattan bridge bike lanes Lol nope. You clearly haven't been on a Californian freeway. --- has ridden a motorcycle in NYC, CA, Detroit, etc...
      - akgerber 13y ago
        On the Manhattan Bridge bike lane, my current daily bike commute, you ride within a couple feet of incredibly loud subway trains. It's definitely louder than the segment of my old daily bike commute when I rode on Interstate 5.
nbloom 13y ago
Yes, so in 1897 we missed an opportunity. Have we completely missed the boat to bring bicycling back as a mainstream form of local travel, like they do is so many European cities? Maybe the biggest challenge is: people need to stop thinking about cycling only as exercise.
baddox 13y ago
> The notion that anyone could profit off of such a venture—a bicycle toll road—seems insane now. I completely disagree.
- prawn 13y ago
  Same. Monthly and annual membership or donations, or sponsorship options, etc.
svachalek 13y ago
This reminds me of something that came up in Google's Field Trip app one day. It said that there used to be light rail running through Cupertino about 100 years ago (down Steven's Creek IIRC) and it got torn down to make room for the age of the automobile. The app is just giving me timeouts now though, and I've never seen mention of an old light rail system elsewhere.
JoeKM 13y ago
As an avid cyclist in California, I sometimes daydream about having the entire 101 and I-5 free of cars, and what a blast it would be to tour with a host of friends. Well, at least until my daydream reminds me that there isn't much scenic pleasure on those highways, and I'd probably get bored 30 miles in.
EEGuy 13y ago
* The 1897 Pasadena-to-LA Cycleway looks appealing to this native Angelino [perhaps in part because it's empty in all the photos?], but had it been completed and survived, I would it to be heavily subcribed now. * Some related thoughts: ___ o My favorite LA commute replaced a 80-minute auto commute with a 90-minute total { auto + Metrolink commuter rail + bike locker + 1.6 mile bike ride } commute. By driving to the "home end" and renting a bike locker (where I kept a bike in storage overnight) at the "work end" of the commute, I solved the "last mile problem". And I got 20 minutes of reading time each way on commuter rail. ____ o Folding bikes [1] solve the "last mile" problem given that (within certain restrictions) they can be taken on-board folded on LA busses [2]. Having put over 8,000 miles on three different folding bikes, I have found them to be practical but at-times finicky. ____ o LA is getting a bike share program under beta rollout in "LA-adjacent"-Anaheim [3]. These bikes use driveshafts (instead of chains) for cleanliness. ____ o Adapting a mountain bike or hybrid bike using an "Xtracycle" attachment [4] creates a long wheelbase cargo bike cable of carrying a week's groceries for a family of four. I have over 2500 miles on one of these. It won't go on public transportation nor on the bike rack of a car, but it can carry up to 300 pounds (if the hills aren't too steep and the load is well-distributed). ____ o My present LA commute is 5 miles, suburban all the way, and takes 30 to 35 min by bike, independent of auto traffic. Taking my auto instead saves 10 to 15 minutes, depending on traffic. ------- [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Folding_bicycle https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Folding_bicycle [2] http://www.metro.net/bikes/bikes-metro/ http://www.metro.net/bikes/bikes-metro/ [3] http://la.streetsblog.org/category/issues/bike-sharing/ http://la.streetsblog.org/category/issues/bike-sharing/ [4] http://www.xtracycle.com/ http://www.xtracycle.com/
ry0ohki 13y ago
If I told you there was a new form of transport that would allow travel over great distances without having to maintain a horse or use gas, it would be revolutionary right? I can't help but wish the bicycle had a longer time period between when the safety bike and automobile were invented...
- dredmorbius 13y ago
  Even in countries where it was widely adopted (look at China), the car has a tremendous appeal. There are parts of Europe where war and high gas prices didn't drive bicycle use completely underground (despite fairly inclement weather), but it's a tough sell. More's the pity though, I agree.
  - seanmcdirmid 13y ago
    Back in 1999 on my first visit to Beijing this was true: there were lanes dedicated to the sea of bicycles that was used for commutes. This sea has mostly disappeared, and many of the bicycle lanes used exclusively for bikes before have turned into a mess of parking and extra car lanes. Using these lanes today for non-electric biking is very frustrating.
Samuel_Michon 13y ago
“The plan was to charge bicyclists 10¢ a pop for hopping on the bike-only highway one way, or 15¢ round trip. That's a savings of 50% if you make a day of it, folks.” Is it just me, or is that math off? The round trip is 50% more expensive than the one way ticket. The round trip costs 75% of what 2 one way tickets would cost, it’s a 25% discount. “If you make a day of it”, savings of 50% would mean a round way ticket costs the same as a one way ticket.
CoreDumpling 13y ago
True story: I moved from southern California to Holland in no small part because of how amenable the country is to cycling. People like to think that cycling is popular here naturally because the country is flat and densely populated. However, it's easy to forget that during the postwar boom years, a major shift toward cars happened and it took a concerted effort of willful resistance and politically non-expedient measures to bring back the bike paths (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XuBdf9jYj7o https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XuBdf9jYj7o). Clearly, 1897 was not the last chance the Dutch had to fix their transit system, and with the groundwork they've laid over the years, it now costs only €30 per person in funding annually! (http://www.aviewfromthecyclepath.com/2010/05/487-million-euros-for-cycling.html http://www.aviewfromthecyclepath.com/2010/05/487-million-eur...) Yet I see very little chance of this happening in California, not because cyclists lack a voice, but because we need to create more disincentives to driving. This obviously is a political no-go considering that motorists are by far the majority demographic. It's saddening, though, that there is so much willful ignorance (or apathy) with regard to how we've externalized the true cost of driving, whether it's in the form of: - damage to the environment - subsidy to cheap gas prices by the DoD budget (and body count) for controlling the world's oil flow - casualties from motor vehicle accidents - health problems resulting from sedentary lifestyles - zoning rules that require abundant free parking to be available in communities. We'd probably have to see gas hit $10/gallon and parking lots charge $50/day before Americans start to reconsider. (These prices are actually quite typical in European cities.) Oddly enough, I think it's good that the Great Recession has caused a lot of Americans to reconsider their car expenses and choose to scale back their lifestyles in ways that are more healthy, safe, and environmentally friendly. I hope this trend (not the recession, of course) continues and if America can set an example of moving away from a car culture, it will do far more good around the world to discourage the growing middle class in China, India, and other developing countries from adopting the same wasteful practices. In the meantime, though, I'll piggyback on the 40-year head start on bicycle infrastructure in the Netherlands. If I sound bitter, it's my sore legs from yesterday's 70km ride talking ;)
- toomuchtodo 13y ago
  I visited Amasterdam (from Chicago) in November of last year, and fell in love with the cycling-centric environment in Hollad. How difficult is it to pick up and move to Holland from the US?
brokentone 13y ago
The biggest problem with bicycle transport isn't how to get from A-B but what to do with your bike once you arrive. In NYC there are decent bike lanes around (although the tourists stepping out into them make them difficult in certain areas). Do I lock my bike to a pole and hope it doesn't get stolen? Do I use a bike share system (starting roll out now), and walk way out of my way at the start and destination of my journey to find the nearest one? Maybe I get one of those fancy fold up ones and hope my building lets me take it inside.
- jaibot 13y ago
  The bike sharing system in DC is sufficiently dense that I can usually just go to my destination and spend a minute finding the nearest station when I arrive.
  - ams6110 13y ago
    How do they avoid theft? My town tried bike sharing and within weeks all the bikes were gone or destroyed.
    - jaibot 13y ago
      Specialized biked and specialized docks - when you park a bike in a dock, a heavy bolt locks it into place. This is done within an enclosure that covers much of he front wheel, and the only way to get at the lock would be to dismantle the entire apparatus. The bikes themselves have no detachable parts and are _extremely_ distinctive with a street value of "You have the right to remain silent".
- pmahoney 13y ago
  I've been lucky to work in areas where theft isn't a huge issue. My biggest problem is the weather. In the hot, humid summers, I wish my building had a shower, or at least some area to change clothes larger and less smelly than a bathroom stall. When it rains, there isn't always an appropriate place to hang dripping, often muddy clothes (and I hope they dry off before the ride home). I'm also lucky to not need to wear a suit, but I don't envy those whose responsibilities include being more presentable. If the roads aren't covered with snow and ice, the worst part about winter is the darkness, but that isn't something an office building can solve.
dominic_cocch 13y ago
Minneapolis actually has a bike highway, though it's public and free. I'm not entirely sure why the article calls the idea crazy so many times. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cedar_Lake_Trail http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cedar_Lake_Trail

137 points by weston 13y ago

tnuc 13y ago

Copenhagen has had bicycle highways for a while now. http://www.copenhagenize.com/2012/04/launching-copenhagens-bicycle.html http://www.copenhagenize.com/2012/04/launching-copenhagens-b... The elevated highway that mjn mentioned is only a few hundred metres long while the new highways have 300Km planned.

mwilcox 13y ago
Similarly, Auckland's proposed cycle network includes a number of cycle highways and connections: http://transportblog.co.nz/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/Regional-Cycle-Network.jpg http://transportblog.co.nz/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/Region...
larsberg 13y ago
The pictures in that article don't really give a sense for how bicycle-friendly that city is. I went there for a conference last September, and the fact that there were bikes and bike lanes everywhere as well as more bike parking at every train station than you can imagine really stuck with me. That and the lack of worry about theft. At a coffee shop and going to the bathroom? Just leave your laptop, wallet, and cell phone on the table. I couldn't physically do that if I tried, after growing up in Chicago.
- toomuchtodo 13y ago
  Fellow Chicagoan. Could not imagine doing that. Happy to know there are still places like that in the world though.
konstruktor 13y ago
And they don't just support cycling as a way to get around in town: Many roads between villages/cities have dedicated, separated and wide bike paths going parallel to them, which makes cycling great even for longer commutes.

hawkharris 13y ago

I enjoyed the article, but I'm very hesitant to believe any news sponsored by or affiliated with Vice. On top of questionable reporting practices, companies can pay to influence the content of articles and the type of coverage. Examples: http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2013/04/08/130408fa_fact_widdicombe http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2013/04/08/130408fa_fact_...

weston 13y ago
I haven't had a chance to read that New Yorker article yet, but who would you think would benefit from this bike article? Do you think it's a paid placement from a bike manufacturer? (I'm not being snarky, it's a genuine question.)
IvyMike 13y ago
I am kind of cynical but I just assume that's true with most of the media these days.
onedognight 13y ago
I've seen the original plans on display in Pasadena.
rdouble 13y ago
companies can pay to influence the content of articles and the type of coverage. Like every other publication in the USA? http://www.paulgraham.com/submarine.html http://www.paulgraham.com/submarine.html
- hawkharris 13y ago
  There's a significant difference between Vice and the publications (like the NY Times) that PG refers to in his article: Vice has a POLICY of taking money from companies in exchange for allowing editorial control. As in, they encourage and have acknowledged this practice. They represent a strange, blurry hybrid between an ad agency and a news outlet.
  - 13y ago

mjn 13y ago

On a much smaller scale, Copenhagen is reviving the idea of a grade-separated bike "highway" in at least one place. A major bicycle commuting route currently goes through a complex congested area (with a bunch of 90-degree turns, pedestrian cross traffic, canals, and even a staircase at one point), but will from next year bypass it on a 1/4-km overpass: http://politiken.dk/ibyen/nyheder/gadeplan/ECE1594066/koebenhavn-faar-235-meter-lang-cykelsti-i-foerstesals-hoejde/ http://politiken.dk/ibyen/nyheder/gadeplan/ECE1594066/koeben... In the rest of the city the goal is to string together something more like arterial bicycle roads, though, rather than fully grade-separated highways.

lsanza 13y ago

This sounds like a vintage version of Elon Musk's Hyperloop http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hyperloop http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hyperloop

backprojection 13y ago
But Musk hasn't really released any real details about it. How can you comparte this to something you don't know anything about? Or has he released more details?
kayoone 13y ago
uhm no, this was just a highway for bikes.

josephjrobison 13y ago

I think this is still an excellent idea for a lot of areas, especially Los Angeles where the traffic is horrendous all the time. It wouldn't take much to build this alongside major freeways so that you won't have to claim eminent domain and go through private properties. This would take up a max of an extra 10-15 feet on the side of freeways. Now, in LA a lot of freeways are built out so much that there's not even 10-15 ft without hitting a building or house, but there are a lot of areas this could work. Sometimes it takes 3 hours to go 10 miles in LA during rush hour, and this could make everything better.

zevyoura 13y ago
As an LA motorcyclist, I can tell you that almost no one would want to bike 10-15 ft. from the edge of the freeway. It's extremely loud and unpleasant, and there's a significant amount of debris that would need frequent removal.
- rdouble 13y ago
  Such a bike lane would be loud and unpleasant, but if separated from the road it would be similar in loudness and unpleasantness to the Williamsburg, Queensboro and Manhattan bridge bike lanes, which are widely used. That said, it would likely not work because the distances are much further in LA, and following the path of the freeway is not going to be the most direct route on a bicycle.
  - coolsunglasses 13y ago
    >would be similar in loudness and unpleasantness to the Williamsburg, Queensboro and Manhattan bridge bike lanes Lol nope. You clearly haven't been on a Californian freeway. --- has ridden a motorcycle in NYC, CA, Detroit, etc...
    - akgerber 13y ago
      On the Manhattan Bridge bike lane, my current daily bike commute, you ride within a couple feet of incredibly loud subway trains. It's definitely louder than the segment of my old daily bike commute when I rode on Interstate 5.

nbloom 13y ago

Yes, so in 1897 we missed an opportunity. Have we completely missed the boat to bring bicycling back as a mainstream form of local travel, like they do is so many European cities? Maybe the biggest challenge is: people need to stop thinking about cycling only as exercise.

baddox 13y ago

> The notion that anyone could profit off of such a venture—a bicycle toll road—seems insane now. I completely disagree.

prawn 13y ago
Same. Monthly and annual membership or donations, or sponsorship options, etc.

svachalek 13y ago

This reminds me of something that came up in Google's Field Trip app one day. It said that there used to be light rail running through Cupertino about 100 years ago (down Steven's Creek IIRC) and it got torn down to make room for the age of the automobile. The app is just giving me timeouts now though, and I've never seen mention of an old light rail system elsewhere.

JoeKM 13y ago

As an avid cyclist in California, I sometimes daydream about having the entire 101 and I-5 free of cars, and what a blast it would be to tour with a host of friends. Well, at least until my daydream reminds me that there isn't much scenic pleasure on those highways, and I'd probably get bored 30 miles in.

EEGuy 13y ago

* The 1897 Pasadena-to-LA Cycleway looks appealing to this native Angelino [perhaps in part because it's empty in all the photos?], but had it been completed and survived, I would it to be heavily subcribed now. * Some related thoughts: ___ o My favorite LA commute replaced a 80-minute auto commute with a 90-minute total { auto + Metrolink commuter rail + bike locker + 1.6 mile bike ride } commute. By driving to the "home end" and renting a bike locker (where I kept a bike in storage overnight) at the "work end" of the commute, I solved the "last mile problem". And I got 20 minutes of reading time each way on commuter rail. ____ o Folding bikes [1] solve the "last mile" problem given that (within certain restrictions) they can be taken on-board folded on LA busses [2]. Having put over 8,000 miles on three different folding bikes, I have found them to be practical but at-times finicky. ____ o LA is getting a bike share program under beta rollout in "LA-adjacent"-Anaheim [3]. These bikes use driveshafts (instead of chains) for cleanliness. ____ o Adapting a mountain bike or hybrid bike using an "Xtracycle" attachment [4] creates a long wheelbase cargo bike cable of carrying a week's groceries for a family of four. I have over 2500 miles on one of these. It won't go on public transportation nor on the bike rack of a car, but it can carry up to 300 pounds (if the hills aren't too steep and the load is well-distributed). ____ o My present LA commute is 5 miles, suburban all the way, and takes 30 to 35 min by bike, independent of auto traffic. Taking my auto instead saves 10 to 15 minutes, depending on traffic. ------- [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Folding_bicycle https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Folding_bicycle [2] http://www.metro.net/bikes/bikes-metro/ http://www.metro.net/bikes/bikes-metro/ [3] http://la.streetsblog.org/category/issues/bike-sharing/ http://la.streetsblog.org/category/issues/bike-sharing/ [4] http://www.xtracycle.com/ http://www.xtracycle.com/

ry0ohki 13y ago

If I told you there was a new form of transport that would allow travel over great distances without having to maintain a horse or use gas, it would be revolutionary right? I can't help but wish the bicycle had a longer time period between when the safety bike and automobile were invented...

dredmorbius 13y ago
Even in countries where it was widely adopted (look at China), the car has a tremendous appeal. There are parts of Europe where war and high gas prices didn't drive bicycle use completely underground (despite fairly inclement weather), but it's a tough sell. More's the pity though, I agree.
- seanmcdirmid 13y ago
  Back in 1999 on my first visit to Beijing this was true: there were lanes dedicated to the sea of bicycles that was used for commutes. This sea has mostly disappeared, and many of the bicycle lanes used exclusively for bikes before have turned into a mess of parking and extra car lanes. Using these lanes today for non-electric biking is very frustrating.

Samuel_Michon 13y ago

“The plan was to charge bicyclists 10¢ a pop for hopping on the bike-only highway one way, or 15¢ round trip. That's a savings of 50% if you make a day of it, folks.” Is it just me, or is that math off? The round trip is 50% more expensive than the one way ticket. The round trip costs 75% of what 2 one way tickets would cost, it’s a 25% discount. “If you make a day of it”, savings of 50% would mean a round way ticket costs the same as a one way ticket.

CoreDumpling 13y ago

True story: I moved from southern California to Holland in no small part because of how amenable the country is to cycling. People like to think that cycling is popular here naturally because the country is flat and densely populated. However, it's easy to forget that during the postwar boom years, a major shift toward cars happened and it took a concerted effort of willful resistance and politically non-expedient measures to bring back the bike paths (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XuBdf9jYj7o https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XuBdf9jYj7o). Clearly, 1897 was not the last chance the Dutch had to fix their transit system, and with the groundwork they've laid over the years, it now costs only €30 per person in funding annually! (http://www.aviewfromthecyclepath.com/2010/05/487-million-euros-for-cycling.html http://www.aviewfromthecyclepath.com/2010/05/487-million-eur...) Yet I see very little chance of this happening in California, not because cyclists lack a voice, but because we need to create more disincentives to driving. This obviously is a political no-go considering that motorists are by far the majority demographic. It's saddening, though, that there is so much willful ignorance (or apathy) with regard to how we've externalized the true cost of driving, whether it's in the form of: - damage to the environment - subsidy to cheap gas prices by the DoD budget (and body count) for controlling the world's oil flow - casualties from motor vehicle accidents - health problems resulting from sedentary lifestyles - zoning rules that require abundant free parking to be available in communities. We'd probably have to see gas hit $10/gallon and parking lots charge $50/day before Americans start to reconsider. (These prices are actually quite typical in European cities.) Oddly enough, I think it's good that the Great Recession has caused a lot of Americans to reconsider their car expenses and choose to scale back their lifestyles in ways that are more healthy, safe, and environmentally friendly. I hope this trend (not the recession, of course) continues and if America can set an example of moving away from a car culture, it will do far more good around the world to discourage the growing middle class in China, India, and other developing countries from adopting the same wasteful practices. In the meantime, though, I'll piggyback on the 40-year head start on bicycle infrastructure in the Netherlands. If I sound bitter, it's my sore legs from yesterday's 70km ride talking ;)

toomuchtodo 13y ago
I visited Amasterdam (from Chicago) in November of last year, and fell in love with the cycling-centric environment in Hollad. How difficult is it to pick up and move to Holland from the US?

brokentone 13y ago

The biggest problem with bicycle transport isn't how to get from A-B but what to do with your bike once you arrive. In NYC there are decent bike lanes around (although the tourists stepping out into them make them difficult in certain areas). Do I lock my bike to a pole and hope it doesn't get stolen? Do I use a bike share system (starting roll out now), and walk way out of my way at the start and destination of my journey to find the nearest one? Maybe I get one of those fancy fold up ones and hope my building lets me take it inside.

jaibot 13y ago
The bike sharing system in DC is sufficiently dense that I can usually just go to my destination and spend a minute finding the nearest station when I arrive.
- ams6110 13y ago
  How do they avoid theft? My town tried bike sharing and within weeks all the bikes were gone or destroyed.
  - jaibot 13y ago
    Specialized biked and specialized docks - when you park a bike in a dock, a heavy bolt locks it into place. This is done within an enclosure that covers much of he front wheel, and the only way to get at the lock would be to dismantle the entire apparatus. The bikes themselves have no detachable parts and are _extremely_ distinctive with a street value of "You have the right to remain silent".
pmahoney 13y ago
I've been lucky to work in areas where theft isn't a huge issue. My biggest problem is the weather. In the hot, humid summers, I wish my building had a shower, or at least some area to change clothes larger and less smelly than a bathroom stall. When it rains, there isn't always an appropriate place to hang dripping, often muddy clothes (and I hope they dry off before the ride home). I'm also lucky to not need to wear a suit, but I don't envy those whose responsibilities include being more presentable. If the roads aren't covered with snow and ice, the worst part about winter is the darkness, but that isn't something an office building can solve.

dominic_cocch 13y ago

Minneapolis actually has a bike highway, though it's public and free. I'm not entirely sure why the article calls the idea crazy so many times. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cedar_Lake_Trail http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cedar_Lake_Trail