What is the general perception of daily bicycle riding in your countries? In the US there seems to be the attitude bike riding is for: Children Poor people Exercise and training Pure recreation It's not for: Legitimate transportation Also, does bike riding decrease fertility and sperm count?
Germany here: Bicycles are for Children Very very poor people Exercise and training Tourism and having fun People in big, overcrowded cities start to appreciate bikes as a serious means of transportation. Haha, don't think there's a problem. You might get a temporary ED when you ride long distances.
Used to cycle to school but when I left I had enough of it and stopped. Although over here I know some people do cycle to work.
I'm from Germany, too, and in my town everybody has always been using it as a serious means of transportation. At some places you see dozens or hundreds of bicycles parked. Unless you use the Autobahn, it often is even faster than going by car, or using any sort of public transportation. It takes up less space, you don't have to look for a parking lot, you get to move your body a bit, you feel the wind in your face, you don't pollute the environment. The only disadvantage would be that you get wet when it's raining. Other than that, comparing this, cars are just for people's egos, transporting stuff or for people who can't ride a bike for health reasons. As long as you stay in the town, that is. There are also cycle paths in every 50km/h street where I live. When I lived in Düsseldorf, they weren't everywhere, and I went by bike far less. The traffic scared me. I even wore a helmet. It depends a lot on the city, it must not be too big, I suppose. One more condition is there: There shouldn't be steep hills in your area. But my town is perfectly flat, not a single hill anywhere. It's close to the Netherlands, where there are even more cyclists, and even wider cycle paths. People often use crappy bikes, because they don't want to have them stolen, and if they are stolen, they at least won't have lost so much money. It just isn't fun to buy a decent bike when you have to be afraid everytime you leave it in the dark somewhere. I just looked it up: In my town of Oldenburg (Oldb) with 160 000 inhabitants, 43% of ways are done by bicycle. It actually looks like that is the highest number in Germany, and actually the second highest in the whole of Europe! Wow, I didn't know that. I knew that we have a high number of cyclists, but people always said that Münster is at the top of the list in Germany. So, my impression might not be the statistical average Well, in my town driving a car when it's not necessary is for: Posers Elderly people Slackers Cars are noisy and smell. Unless you show me a scientific study which says otherwise, I suppose not.
I have only ever had one car for our family, which is somewhat rare for most middle class people in Phoenix (6th largest city in the US). I have and continue to bike to work everyday. I think I would prefer transit systems like they have in much or Europe. We have the opposite problem to rain. We have brutal and unrelenting heat in the triple digits for 8 months of the year.
In Canada, bicycles are for those who have a DUI and cannot afford the fines and breathalyzer installation fees.
My parents recently went to Amsterdam and made me a scrap book of bicycle pictures they took. I would love to have that mindset in the states more often.
It not only the mindset, it's also the way our country is organised. The Netherlands is small, dense populated and flat. The bike is theirfore in many cases the best option.