Upworthy posted this fascinating ethnographic look at American cycling, from a Dutch perspective. Narrated in Attenborough-style, Mark Wagenbuur documents different scenarios of Americans biking on the streets of San Francisco, Chicago, Davis, and Nevada to prove his point that cycling here is just not the safe, relaxing, and efficient activity it should be.
Wagenbuur points out that we American cylists wear silly spandex and bike helmets, are always competing with moving and parked cars for lanes, and need very explicit signs and explanations like sharrows to protect us from vehicular traffic. He explains that few people are brave and fit enough to ride our streets because of the conditions we have to deal with.
To give him some context, in the Netherlands, the majority of citizens — of all age groups and fitness levels — ride “sit-up” bikes in their normal clothes as their main means of transportation. Many Dutch balk at helmets and other safety gear because they have segregated cycling paths away from traffic, their bike roads are well paved and maintained, and cyclists have their own set of rules and signals that people actually abide by. They’re never competing with scary cars and angry drivers who want to run them over. So of course, it makes sense that Wagenbuur would be unimpressed (and maybe even frightened) by our bike turn boxes, bike lanes segregated by plastic poles, and silly signs explaining bike turn signals.
I see Wagenbuur’s point and I do wish the United States was as bike friendly as Holland. Still, I contend that anyone and everyone can bike our streets as they are today — and most of us don’t do it in spandex. Maybe we’re not as advanced as the Dutch in that sphere just yet, but at least in San Francisco, we’re making moves to being biking safer and better everyday.
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