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Dutch guys view of cycling in America - looks familiar!!

Comments

  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 4,491 ✭✭✭Seweryn


    C3PO wrote: »
    Don't know whether this was posted before but I thought it was interesting and very familiar!

    http://www.upworthy.com/a-dutch-guy-is-disgusted-by-america-but-he-has-a-hell-of-a-point
    Interesting... spotted this related article recently:

    http://bicycledutch.wordpress.com/2013/06/20/us-cycling-from-a-dutch-perspective/

    "The main difference between the US and the Netherlands is that cycling is not seen as transportation in the US by the general public. Only very few people use the bicycle to go from A to B for their daily business. For the average American cycling is something kids do or when you do cycle as an adult, it is mainly for recreational purposes. And you dress up for the part: wearing hi-viz, a helmet, with a bicycle to match, one the Dutch would call a ‘race bike’.
    The social pressure to wear a helmet in the US is enormous and it is almost completely absent in the Netherlands. In that respect the two societies couldn’t be further apart. That is just an observation, I don’t want to get into a helmet discussion here. Many in the US genuinely believe in the helmet and only very few do in the Netherlands. A given, that won’t change. But the outfit of the average rider in the US gives cycling an image of a ‘dangerous activity’. On top of that, traffic makes that cyclists seem to be in a constant “hurry”. Not surprising that cycling this way only appeals to a small group: the younger and fitter adults, mostly male."


    Interesting question:

    Are we closer to NL or rather US?


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 358 ✭✭Rambling Man


    First post. I think we are increasingly resembling the Hollanders, with the bike to work and Dublin Bikes schemes putting a lot of people on wheels for transportation. Recession also has people looking to get around for less money. I think its had a knock on effect too for racing and fitness cycling which seem to be thriving.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 6,123 ✭✭✭fat bloke


    I've cycled in America - leisure cycling - and I love it. Rural roads have super low speed limits - like 25 mph if there's a bend - on roads that would be 60mph here, and cars give you an almost comical Lusitania-style wide berth when they're passing. Get off the highways and there are lovely quiet roads to cycle on with good surfaces and loads of cyclists on them.

    City or small town commuting I wouldn't be so sure about. In that respect it's seriously car-orientated of course.

    On balance though, America is by a long way the safest place I've ever cycled.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 380 ✭✭slideshow bob


    Fair explanation of how the Dutch do so much biking.

    http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-23587916


  • Moderators, Motoring & Transport Moderators Posts: 14,111 Mod ✭✭✭✭monument


    Ireland as a whole is closer to the US.

    It'd be nice to say parts of Dublin are closer parts of the Netherlands but in truth, it's more like parts of Dublin being somewhat comparable to Portland, San Fran etc in the US.

    The road design and planning focus on cycling in the Netherlands is nothing short of amazing compared to here and not matched by even a small area here.

    A bulk of Dublin City however is remarkably close to Amsterdam in some key ways: population size, population density, a large number of narrow streets, and the weather. Dublin could learn a lot from Amsterdam.


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