5 ms·

If you think so, it means the author did not emphasize enough that cycling is a life-style and a voluntary effort from the Dutch. There are many flat and dense

by gbog 13y ago

If you think so, it means the author did not emphasize enough that cycling is a life-style and a voluntary effort from the Dutch. There are many flat and dense cities with much less bikes, think New-York, but the Dutch seem to have decided together some time ago that biking was cool and cars not. They were just in advance. Right now the top-du-top of the "bo-bo" chic in Paris is to not own a car. It means using the bike renting service (velib) and renting a car when you go outside. Oh, and as I live in Beijing, I can tell you how much I would love the Chinese to take early this bike-turn: they have plenty of them, and many Chinese cities are flat. It's just that for most people in China riding a bike is sign of the past, poor and hungry China, while driving a German multi-ton mammoth is a sign of the future.

iskander 13y ago
You probably know this, but for the sake of HN: Beijing used to be a lot more like Amsterdam. This wasn't a choice on the part of the population: cars were simply unavailable and affordable. You still have some pretty sweet separated bike lanes attached to major roads...but often I was the only riding a bike in them.
- walshemj 13y ago
  Yes I recall back in the early 80's on campus at cranfield we had a masters student from china and he had one of the flying swallow bikes and the uniform.
megablast 13y ago
I think don't think many New Yorkers love cars. And they have just started a new bike share scheme, so hopefully things will change. And Parisians still love there cars, which is damn ridiculous. If one city needs to take action, it is Paris. Far too many cars, so many they can park anywhere and not get in any trouble. Awful narrow streets, and badly designed as well. One way streets heading into each other. They have the Velib, but most people I know are just too scared to use it. I do, and I have no problem with cars, but I have ridden among cars since I was a kid. Even on a beautiful sunny day, as we have had the last few weeks, people would rather take the underground. They need to take some clues from London, introduce a congestion charge, lots more bike lines. But they will not. Paris would have been a nightmare if it had the olympics instead of London.
- gpvos 13y ago
  I've been told that cycling in Paris is a lot safer than in London.
  - yoran 13y ago
    That's because they drive on the left in London!
    - SimHacker 13y ago
      But they're phasing in driving on the right in the UK -- first all the lorries, then once everyone gets used to that, the rest of the cars.
- SimHacker 13y ago
  Citi Bike: A Nazi, Muslim Plot to Create a Dresden-on-the-Hudson, Says Frontpage Mag Writer http://observer.com/2013/06/citi-bike-a-nazi-muslim-plot-to-create-a-dresden-on-the-hudson-says-frontpage-mag-writer/ http://observer.com/2013/06/citi-bike-a-nazi-muslim-plot-to-... Editorial board member Dorothy Rabinowitz on New York City’s new bike-share program. http://live.wsj.com/video/opinion-death-by-bicycle/C6D8BBCE-B405-4D3C-A381-4CA50BDD8D4D.html#!C6D8BBCE-B405-4D3C-A381-4CA50BDD8D4D http://live.wsj.com/video/opinion-death-by-bicycle/C6D8BBCE-... "Do not ask me to enter the mind of the totalitarians running this government."
coldarchon 13y ago
Driving a Chinese copy of a German multi-ton mammoth would be more appropriate wording ..
gpvos 13y ago
Actually, we Dutch were late with building large thoroughfare roads through our cities. That's part of what allowed us to do this.
johnchristopher 13y ago
It's a life-style that only works on mostly flat surface. But I agree it's not enough and there needs a voluntary effort from gov. or groups to promote it. Nothing wrong with that of course.
jfb 13y ago
Having been a passenger and a pedestrian in Beijing, I can confidently say that anyone crazy brave enough to get on a bike there is deserving of respect, from a safe distance.
- iskander 13y ago
  But they have awesome bike lanes! See: http://www.newyorker.com/online/blogs/evanosnos/2011/03/the-bike-lanes-of-beijing.html http://www.newyorker.com/online/blogs/evanosnos/2011/03/the-... The only trouble is that the lanes are often under-utilized, encouraging all sorts of other people, vehicles, and piles of random boxes to accumulate there.
  - jfb 13y ago
    I took an all day cycling tour around Beijing the last time I was there (2009), and it was great, except for those times you'd get close to an intersection.
ordinary 13y ago
cycling is a life-style This is exactly wrong. Cycling is common in the Netherlands but it's not a life style. I intentionally do not say 'popular' there. You just buy a bike and you're all set. You don't need a helmet or a special outfit. You don't have to spend a ton of money on a super light weight carbon fiber monster. When you want to go somewhere, you don't have to check if the roads are bike-friendly, and you don't have to check if you can park your bike there. I'm Dutch. I am not a cyclist; I just have a bicycle. It's as natural to me as having three meals a day. Of course, that's only true on a personal level. As a nation, we very much designed for the conditions that are conducive to cycling. The article gets that right.
- ef4 13y ago
  You're misunderstanding the term "lifestyle". What you're describing -- an activity that is so common and natural that it becomes unremarkable -- is precisely what a "lifestyle" is. It has almost nothing to do with "style" as relates to "fashionable" or "trendy".
  - gbog 13y ago
    Yes, that's what I meant, thanks. Cycles become transparent and integral parts of daily life.

by gbog 13y ago

iskander 13y ago

You probably know this, but for the sake of HN: Beijing used to be a lot more like Amsterdam. This wasn't a choice on the part of the population: cars were simply unavailable and affordable. You still have some pretty sweet separated bike lanes attached to major roads...but often I was the only riding a bike in them.

walshemj 13y ago
Yes I recall back in the early 80's on campus at cranfield we had a masters student from china and he had one of the flying swallow bikes and the uniform.

megablast 13y ago

I think don't think many New Yorkers love cars. And they have just started a new bike share scheme, so hopefully things will change. And Parisians still love there cars, which is damn ridiculous. If one city needs to take action, it is Paris. Far too many cars, so many they can park anywhere and not get in any trouble. Awful narrow streets, and badly designed as well. One way streets heading into each other. They have the Velib, but most people I know are just too scared to use it. I do, and I have no problem with cars, but I have ridden among cars since I was a kid. Even on a beautiful sunny day, as we have had the last few weeks, people would rather take the underground. They need to take some clues from London, introduce a congestion charge, lots more bike lines. But they will not. Paris would have been a nightmare if it had the olympics instead of London.

gpvos 13y ago
I've been told that cycling in Paris is a lot safer than in London.
- yoran 13y ago
  That's because they drive on the left in London!
  - SimHacker 13y ago
    But they're phasing in driving on the right in the UK -- first all the lorries, then once everyone gets used to that, the rest of the cars.
SimHacker 13y ago
Citi Bike: A Nazi, Muslim Plot to Create a Dresden-on-the-Hudson, Says Frontpage Mag Writer http://observer.com/2013/06/citi-bike-a-nazi-muslim-plot-to-create-a-dresden-on-the-hudson-says-frontpage-mag-writer/ http://observer.com/2013/06/citi-bike-a-nazi-muslim-plot-to-... Editorial board member Dorothy Rabinowitz on New York City’s new bike-share program. http://live.wsj.com/video/opinion-death-by-bicycle/C6D8BBCE-B405-4D3C-A381-4CA50BDD8D4D.html#!C6D8BBCE-B405-4D3C-A381-4CA50BDD8D4D http://live.wsj.com/video/opinion-death-by-bicycle/C6D8BBCE-... "Do not ask me to enter the mind of the totalitarians running this government."

coldarchon 13y ago

Driving a Chinese copy of a German multi-ton mammoth would be more appropriate wording ..

gpvos 13y ago

Actually, we Dutch were late with building large thoroughfare roads through our cities. That's part of what allowed us to do this.

johnchristopher 13y ago

It's a life-style that only works on mostly flat surface. But I agree it's not enough and there needs a voluntary effort from gov. or groups to promote it. Nothing wrong with that of course.

jfb 13y ago

Having been a passenger and a pedestrian in Beijing, I can confidently say that anyone crazy brave enough to get on a bike there is deserving of respect, from a safe distance.

iskander 13y ago
But they have awesome bike lanes! See: http://www.newyorker.com/online/blogs/evanosnos/2011/03/the-bike-lanes-of-beijing.html http://www.newyorker.com/online/blogs/evanosnos/2011/03/the-... The only trouble is that the lanes are often under-utilized, encouraging all sorts of other people, vehicles, and piles of random boxes to accumulate there.
- jfb 13y ago
  I took an all day cycling tour around Beijing the last time I was there (2009), and it was great, except for those times you'd get close to an intersection.

ordinary 13y ago

cycling is a life-style This is exactly wrong. Cycling is common in the Netherlands but it's not a life style. I intentionally do not say 'popular' there. You just buy a bike and you're all set. You don't need a helmet or a special outfit. You don't have to spend a ton of money on a super light weight carbon fiber monster. When you want to go somewhere, you don't have to check if the roads are bike-friendly, and you don't have to check if you can park your bike there. I'm Dutch. I am not a cyclist; I just have a bicycle. It's as natural to me as having three meals a day. Of course, that's only true on a personal level. As a nation, we very much designed for the conditions that are conducive to cycling. The article gets that right.

ef4 13y ago
You're misunderstanding the term "lifestyle". What you're describing -- an activity that is so common and natural that it becomes unremarkable -- is precisely what a "lifestyle" is. It has almost nothing to do with "style" as relates to "fashionable" or "trendy".
- gbog 13y ago
  Yes, that's what I meant, thanks. Cycles become transparent and integral parts of daily life.