Pro-bike propaganda film
 

I just watched this film, and, despite its Pollyanna-like tone, sorta liked it:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5rwwxrWHBB8&NR=1

Thanks for finding that. I did notice that no one was wearing helmets. Of course no cars around to fear an accident. (Not trying to start a debate on helmet use, just an observation)

I noticed the lack of helmets, too, and then decided it's because they're all riding around on really heavy Dutch 3-speed bikes at a speed that rarely exceeds 12 mph. Combined with the relative absence of cars, they couldn't really hurt themselves anyway, unless they got drunk and fell into a canal, in which case a helmet wouldn't help them much anyway.

I also noticed that they were all wearing "normal" clothes. Not a stitch of Lycra anywhere. I've said this elsewhere, but I'll say it again: if they didn't feel that they had to wear special clothing, more people would ride bikes.

It was filmed in countries where people don't wear helmets on a regular basis. ie; Denmark and The Netherlands. They also have a well developed cycling infrastructure where they don't necessarily have to fight for road space, with vehicles that out weigh them by a ratio of 200-800:1 I honestly think the lack of cycling specific infrastructure is what keeps a fair number of people from cycling in the US. That and the constant sensationalism by the media when a cyclist gets killed or injured, followed by the ignorant, uniformed comments of the average motorist, and the rhetoric as well as divisiveness of the various groups lobbying for cycle structure. Also the lack/lax enforcement of traffic laws on everybody, cyclists included.

I saw a comment somewhere on Copehagenize that the last 6 cyclists that died in Copenhagen were killed when they ran into signpost or light poles after a night drinking.

Aaron:)

This video is amazing; every city planner should have to watch it.

Soon someone will post....."In America the distances are so far and
America isn't flat like Denmark."

Anything to take away from the hard truth in this video.

Nice - I made my own videos. I think I was going a bit faster - but no helmet for me either...

I've seen this before and I really like it. I think could show North Americans that cycling for transportation can be as "normal" as getting into a car.

Either it was edited with great focus, or most of the young women there are simply beautiful.

;)

How we gonna get that on every TV in the US?

It's all those dairy products and beer. And maybe cycling.

I got the tingles watching this. Its very hard for me to imagine living in such places yet-- there they are.

Did anyone notice that the people in Bogota seem to bike faster than the other places mentioned or is it just me?

They are able to incorporate moderate yet consistent exercise into their everyday lives - of course they are beautiful. :) Unless you are using lots of cosmetics and/or plastic surgery, good health = beauty most of the time.

A really wealthy yet eccentric bikey person?

I noticed it, too. I think if more North American cities begin the shift to this way of life, we'll be more like Bogota than Copenhagen in that respect.

Great video. It brings back memories of living in Japan, Switzerland and Germany. I biked everyday and never wore a helmet as I didn't have to. The roads were biker friendly. I wonder what the theft is like in Colombia being that commuting is relatively new to the people.

glad i watched it then, planning on majoring on CRP at cal poly slo next year
no pun intended

Wow, the Netherlands looks so peaceful with everybody walking and riding bicycles. The street scenes look like something from a fairytale. I wonder if life really is like that in the Netherlands.

One thing they mention in the film is that the average rider travels 7 kilometers in 30 minutes. That is 14 kilometers per hour = less than 9 miles per hour! WOW, that really is a slow pace. I don't think people in the USA can even think that slow much less bicycle that slow. No wonder they are riding around in wool instead of Spandex.

Now, I understand why they ride those big gas-pipe frame bicycles with bathtub sized baskets on their bicycles. At 9 miles per hour, you can just about pedal a mobile home around town.

So, we can understand that it is peaceful in bicycle paradise, but you still better leave for work early because the slow traffic is going to be a problem.

Still, it is encouraging to see a country where automobiles do not rule supreme. The place sure does seem to be comfortable without automobiles zooming around and making noise.

It's about shifting mental gears Mike so you're not in a hurry. I regularly ride heavyweight roadster bicycles over rural roads and the simple joy of taking your time on a solidly made low geared bicycle that rolls on 28inch wheels is something I never get tired of.

Most Americans are so busy "doing things" that they can't seem to grasp the concept of slowing down and taking life a slower pace. That one thing that cracks me up in the commuter forum on here, the constant quest for a faster commute, should I use straight bars or drop bars, which tires are the fastest...

I went for a ramble Saturday on my grocery getter (got lost on the way to the grocery store:rolleyes:) went past a couple of the farms I buy my veggies from just to see what was available this early in the season (mostly strawberries) I stopped off and watched a couple brim (fish) in the creek making their nesting beds and one had just laid some eggs. Stopped and talked to a couple of people that I hadn't seen in a while. Rode a grand total of maybe 12 miles...and was gone for 5 hours (nice average mph there!) Yes a couple of chores didn't get done, but they weren't critical to my or anyone else's survival for the day. I have enough deadlines during the week, so I don't plan any on weekends.

Also FWIW the Danes and I believe the Dutch have a shorter mandated work week than we do, flex scheduling of that work and longer/more vacation time. So they aren't in as much of a hurry as Americans.


Aaron:)

+1.

I'm first to admit I like to sleep late and so have absolutely no extra time in the mornings. It would be rational for me to look into ways of shaving my commute time. Then there was this recent thread in Touring about wattage and cadence on tours, with a post stating that with better average speed one would finish a day's ride earlier or could do longer legs per day.

All this is true, and there's nothing wrong with it. But for me, smelling the roses is an essential part of both bike touring and commuting.

--J

I thought I WAS shifting mental gears by bicycling at 16 mph instead of driving at 70 miles per hour (slower in school zones, of course :eek:)

Every few months I seem to post this web cam link in response to a question like that.
http://www.eyelogue.com/donniecam.html

The extent of biking in the Netherlands is phenomenal, both in the countryside and in the cities. I have visited in the Hague a few times and the vast majority of car drivers simply adapt their driving to all of the bicyclists - at some point they bike, too, so the awareness is astounding. You will see lots of granny-bikes, parents hauling 1, 2 or even three kids (two child seats behind on the back rack and one small toddler seat on the handlebars). Besides driver awareness, however, part of the safety of biking in the Netherlands is that the cyclists are also responsible. Peddling along at a comfortable, non-sweating pace to work also means that the cyclist doesn't make rash manoeuvers in traffic - with only 1 meter between the park cars on the side of the road and cars and streetcars, it requires that cyclists stay with the flow of bike traffic.

In the countryside it is fascinating to watch all of the kids biking into the villages for school - not on the roads, but on an extensive network of bike paths. On the weekends and in the evenings then the cycle clubs head out en masse. Pretty cool to see a bunch of old boys in club colors zipping along.

The video is/was available on the web site of the outfit that made it. I did not observe any copyright restrictions, so I downloaded it and have it on my computer with a few other bike-related videos.

I actually have mailed it on a CD to the planning departments of a few cities in my area. Not that it will do any good.

It's also available as a free video podcast on iTunes. It's the episode titled, "Cycling Cities Show The Way", posted by Quickrelease.tv.

http://phobos.apple.com/WebObjects/M...5&id=252244643

If you rode 15 mph on those paths with all that traffic, you would probably end up in the hospital. Everyone rides at beach cruiser speed because anything faster would lead to accidents.