Looking at cycling in some places in the US in June 2013, from a Dutch perspective.
Much more info in the blog post with this video: http://bicycledutch.wordpress.com/2013/06/20/us-cycling-from-a-dutch-perspective
Filmed in Chicago, San Francisco, Davis (CA) and the Lake Tahoe (NV) area.
the issue with bike shares is that while they could be great they are literally so fucking bad, the ones in my city literally are incapable of letting you check one out unless you get super Lucky, you have to wrestle with unresponsive sunburnt touchpads, painfully set up an an account and this can take up to 10 minutes, all to get a shitty clunky slow bike. not mentioning expensive
it's almost always so needlessly shit, like it was made horrible on purpose it pisses me off so much ugh
I think one of the important things to remember in comparison of the Dutch and American cycle systems is the average population density. In the United States there’s an average of 34 people per km^2 while in the Netherlands it’s 459 people per square km. I hope one day in Canada we will be able to improve it. I live in the Greater Victoria region and it has a score of 0.02 for bike paths while the Netherlands has a score of 8.83.
Sad to say in 9 years, in the USA, it has NOT change very much. Where I live, there are bike paths to nowhere, and where we need paths we share the road. Still car centric.
Your opinion is important to me because you have a quite well formed opinion of cycling in the Netherlands and can use that as a basis of comparison for cycling in other countries, as you have done.
"Little US in the South" (New Zealand) has the same problems, they are getting bettr, but also our bikes force us into the race posture unless you specifically ask for them to be adjusted or modded to a more upright stance – just move my handle bars and changed seat to get a better posture for my back and it has me more relaxed and looking around .
I appreciated this video substantially! It is refreshing to hear the perspective of a native Dutch person on cycling in the US, and especially one that takes a reasonable approach. Too often, it seems critiques outnumber either talk of solutions or current improvements, so hearing both is a nice change. As a bonus, the video was well-produced!
It’s lovely to see this video 9 years on. The bike infrastructure in most American cities is getting better year after year. I’m in Rochester, MN and there is a concerted effort by the city to get more protected lanes away from parked cars. Where car is king, it takes a long time to change.
I find that having a task like grocery shopping or running errands gets me more motivated to bike than going on a joy ride. It's fun to know that I accomplished a necessary task and got exercise without having to use a polluting car.
All this is true for Canada too, with the additional headache of bike lanes not always being properly cleared of snow in the winter. His impression that the cyclists appear to be racing is not because of traffic, but because the cyclists are riding road bikes rather than uprights, and also wearing helmets. FYI: By 'pavement', he means sidewalks. I'm always amazed by how well the Dutch and Scandinavians speak English. Also, I would never ride between moving vehicles – I always keep to the right. I want the sidewalk next to me in case things get hairy on the road. I do occasionally see goofballs riding on the sidewalk right right next to a bike lane 🙄, or in the wrong direction in the bike lane. And as for people not growing up – well, there are the skateboarders.😜
americans are dumber than you think, they live a sh**y life just because everyone does the same, why you think they voted for trump? bike infra is something they get to in a (hopefully) 100 years
eu so bike urbano da cidade de são paulo aki é muinto crmuda auél a lei para as bik no brasil inteiro a lei para ciclista é polemica roubos de bike são diréto e lugares ke poderiam melhorar com guaritas com pilociamento nada ai ciclistas sofrem com roubos em ciclovias e rodo aneis etc tem como melhorar maz niguem tanem ai com bicicletas bicicletas aki no brasil são muinto descriminadas em geral todo lugar do muldo mas fora do brasil as lei foncionam aki fica neutro e platicamente nois ficam ao deus ara kerdizer nimguem tanem ai com nois ciclistas
You should come back and check out Minneapolis, Seattle, Portland. Even New York (still gotta be careful there but it's better than it used to be). Chicago even. There's a whole swath in the Wisconsin and Minnesota that I rode which was respectful to riders.
As a German I've seen a lot worse bike infra than in the Netherlands. But if a street doesn't have a separated bike path, almost always something is very low: low speed (30 km/h or 20 mph in reality), low car volume, low space (usually goes hand-in-hand with the speed) or low money. A street were 50 km/h or 35 mph are realistic, space is no issue and you actually see cyclists (aka no obvious alternative route exists) is VERY odd to me.
I ride 20 miles everyday here in Singapore. Bike infrastructure is getting better every day. It is a joy to ride from Changi point all the way to marina bay area. If you guys are visiting Singapore, try that route. It is breath takingly beautiful.
46 Comments
the issue with bike shares is that while they could be great they are literally so fucking bad, the ones in my city literally are incapable of letting you check one out unless you get super Lucky, you have to wrestle with unresponsive sunburnt touchpads, painfully set up an an account and this can take up to 10 minutes, all to get a shitty clunky slow bike. not mentioning expensive
it's almost always so needlessly shit, like it was made horrible on purpose it pisses me off so much ugh
this is only one city, many cities are MUCH easier…
Biggest difference: hills
Don’t forget the endless feud between bicycles and cars. Where cars ignore bicycles and bicycles ignore cars.
I think one of the important things to remember in comparison of the Dutch and American cycle systems is the average population density. In the United States there’s an average of 34 people per km^2 while in the Netherlands it’s 459 people per square km. I hope one day in Canada we will be able to improve it. I live in the Greater Victoria region and it has a score of 0.02 for bike paths while the Netherlands has a score of 8.83.
I like the positive aspect of the "bicycle infrastructure" in America.
UK outside of the big cities is like this 🙁
Sad to say in 9 years, in the USA, it has NOT change very much. Where I live, there are bike paths to nowhere, and where we need paths we share the road. Still car centric.
Cycling in the US is a sport. Cycling in the Netherlands is a form of transport
Great Video. spot On.
I wish America was more like Amsterdam.
Why would you drive a bike in US…..it's just suicidal… but on the other hand, why would live in US sounds suicidal.
4:11 in the states you can run the short right though red.
I'm very glad I live in the Netherlands. The most bike friendly country in the world.
You can't DO cycling in Los Angeles: 1) MOUNTAINS 2) LONG DISTANCES 3) EXTREMELY HOT WEATHER 4)BAD CRIME
Netherlands: 1) Totally flat 2) No hot weather 3) Short trips 4) Low crime.
achei super legal essa comparação sobre ciclismo entre paises
Wow, thank-you that was a great overview.
Your opinion is important to me because you have a quite well formed opinion of cycling in the Netherlands and can use that as a basis of comparison for cycling in other countries, as you have done.
It is greatly appreciated!
"Little US in the South" (New Zealand) has the same problems, they are getting bettr, but also our bikes force us into the race posture unless you specifically ask for them to be adjusted or modded to a more upright stance – just move my handle bars and changed seat to get a better posture for my back and it has me more relaxed and looking around .
I appreciated this video substantially! It is refreshing to hear the perspective of a native Dutch person on cycling in the US, and especially one that takes a reasonable approach. Too often, it seems critiques outnumber either talk of solutions or current improvements, so hearing both is a nice change. As a bonus, the video was well-produced!
Wonder what's your opinion on today's infra!
It’s lovely to see this video 9 years on. The bike infrastructure in most American cities is getting better year after year. I’m in Rochester, MN and there is a concerted effort by the city to get more protected lanes away from parked cars. Where car is king, it takes a long time to change.
Ban civilian cars
Commercial only.
Government only.
Encourage bicycles
🚲 🚴🚴♀️🚴♂️
Make lanes.
Bring downtown back to life 💃
It’s halfway through 2022. No real progress on this anywhere in the US.
I find that having a task like grocery shopping or running errands gets me more motivated to bike than going on a joy ride. It's fun to know that I accomplished a necessary task and got exercise without having to use a polluting car.
cycling in north america is a joke, drivers are murderers
I imagine hell looks something like this 🤣
this has changed drastically though.
in minneapolis minnesota when rebuilding roads we put curbs for the bikes, and regular painted protected bike baths are becoming the standard minimum
I always enjoy practicing new curse word combinations when I see a car or truck stopped in a bike lane that I'm riding in.
Bikes are for children
This is normal in most countries of the world
The USA got stuck in the 1950s…How sad.
Simcerely, THE INFRA 💪😝
All this is true for Canada too, with the additional headache of bike lanes not always being properly cleared of snow in the winter. His impression that the cyclists appear to be racing is not because of traffic, but because the cyclists are riding road bikes rather than uprights, and also wearing helmets.
FYI: By 'pavement', he means sidewalks. I'm always amazed by how well the Dutch and Scandinavians speak English.
Also, I would never ride between moving vehicles – I always keep to the right. I want the sidewalk next to me in case things get hairy on the road.
I do occasionally see goofballs riding on the sidewalk right right next to a bike lane 🙄, or in the wrong direction in the bike lane.
And as for people not growing up – well, there are the skateboarders.😜
americans are dumber than you think, they live a sh**y life just because everyone does the same, why you think they voted for trump? bike infra is something they get to in a (hopefully) 100 years
So far they don't show hills !
Nice video, but please clean your camera sensor, that hair is driving me crazy😅
The sorry state of non-car infrastructure in the US makes me sad and angry
eu so bike urbano da cidade de são paulo aki é muinto crmuda auél a lei para as bik no brasil inteiro a lei para ciclista é polemica roubos de bike são diréto e lugares ke poderiam melhorar com guaritas com pilociamento nada ai ciclistas sofrem com roubos em ciclovias e rodo aneis etc tem como melhorar maz niguem tanem ai com bicicletas bicicletas aki no brasil são muinto descriminadas em geral todo lugar do muldo mas fora do brasil as lei foncionam aki fica neutro e platicamente nois ficam ao deus ara kerdizer nimguem tanem ai com nois ciclistas
You should come back and check out Minneapolis, Seattle, Portland. Even New York (still gotta be careful there but it's better than it used to be). Chicago even. There's a whole swath in the Wisconsin and Minnesota that I rode which was respectful to riders.
Riding like we're in a race is just the way we do everything in America. We are probably the most impatient people in the world.
Very nice tour, have a blessed week my friend! 💚✨
As a German I've seen a lot worse bike infra than in the Netherlands. But if a street doesn't have a separated bike path, almost always something is very low: low speed (30 km/h or 20 mph in reality), low car volume, low space (usually goes hand-in-hand with the speed) or low money. A street were 50 km/h or 35 mph are realistic, space is no issue and you actually see cyclists (aka no obvious alternative route exists) is VERY odd to me.
I ride 20 miles everyday here in Singapore. Bike infrastructure is getting better every day. It is a joy to ride from Changi point all the way to marina bay area. If you guys are visiting Singapore, try that route. It is breath takingly beautiful.
No, it’s not considered just something children do. Much more dismissive. It’s considered something the Dutch do!😂
holy fuck NotJustBikes stole your shit