Building the Cycling City: The Dutch Blueprint for Urban Vitality

levity

levity

Member
Though we may be focused in off-road riding here, the book and the article linked below have interesting info about how the Dutch created an urban cycling infrastructure and culture.

Perhaps in the future we can all become “fietsen” (bicyclists) as well as “wielrennen” (wheel runners, or sporty cyclists). Kudos to those who already are.

https://islandpress.org/book/building-the-cycling-city

https://www.vox.com/science-and-hea...bike-cycling-netherlands-dutch-infrastructure

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levity said:
Though we may be focused in off-road riding here, the book and the article linked below have interesting info about how the Dutch created an urban cycling infrastructure and culture.

Perhaps in the future we can all become “fietsen” (bicyclists) as well as “wielrennen” (wheel runners, or sporty cyclists). Kudos to those who already are.

https://islandpress.org/book/building-the-cycling-city

https://www.vox.com/science-and-hea...bike-cycling-netherlands-dutch-infrastructure

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The girl in the first pic is holding her mouth all wrong.

The second one looks like Hollywood Bowl's parking lot.

But honestly, most people in CA will not ride anywhere. I've seen more people riding sidewalks and on the wrong side in the street with a Class 4 bike lane 30 feet away.o_O

Hope springs eternal, but the "bike culture" will be a long time coming here.
 
As much as I am an advocate for riding as a replacement for driving when possible, we will never be a cycling society here. Sure, it MAY become more popular. And maybe more people will jump in. But without cheap, reliable eBikes, it won't happen. Holland is SUPER flat, Southern California is not! I do more climbing going to meet my friends on my Tuesday night ride than the highest peak in Holland!

I would love for us to be more cycling friendly. More, better bike lanes. More protected routes (hopefully unlike the SART, actual enforcement to keep the illegal gas vehicles off of it!), mass transit that is bike friendly (like the Metrolink), and other things. Light rail and bikes go together real well, are way easier to use than you imagine (I learned that when I was forced into bike commuting), and convenient.
 
Helmets?

Excerpt from: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bicycle_helmet_laws

There is no consensus on whether helmets themselves are effective, useful, or worth either promotion or compulsion. Cycling in the Netherlands and in Denmark is perceived as a "normal" activity requiring no special clothing or equipment.[33] Official organizations[who?] have supported the use of helmets without calling for laws; the Dutch Institute for Road Safety Research (SWOV) finds contradictory evidence but on balance concludes "that a bicycle helmet is an effective means of protecting cyclists against head and brain injury".[34] Some Dutch cycling experts and planners have opposed the use of helmets, claiming that helmets discourage cycling by making it less convenient, less comfortable, and less fashionable. They also mention the possibility that helmets would "make cycling more dangerous by giving cyclists a false sense of safety and thus encouraging riskier riding behavior."[35]
 
kioti said:
Helmets?

Excerpt from: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bicycle_helmet_laws

There is no consensus on whether helmets themselves are effective, useful, or worth either promotion or compulsion. Cycling in the Netherlands and in Denmark is perceived as a "normal" activity requiring no special clothing or equipment.[33] Official organizations[who?] have supported the use of helmets without calling for laws; the Dutch Institute for Road Safety Research (SWOV) finds contradictory evidence but on balance concludes "that a bicycle helmet is an effective means of protecting cyclists against head and brain injury".[34] Some Dutch cycling experts and planners have opposed the use of helmets, claiming that helmets discourage cycling by making it less convenient, less comfortable, and less fashionable. They also mention the possibility that helmets would "make cycling more dangerous by giving cyclists a false sense of safety and thus encouraging riskier riding behavior."[35]
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All of it makes sense. I am convinced my wife wont ride with me more often due to helmet hair.
 
Helmets are not required by law in California.

However, I was on a group ride last night where there was a pile up (I was luckily not involved, but saw the carnage) and the helmet definitely helped the rider get LESS head damage. From what I hear, there was a concussion and possible broken collar bone, but I wasn't on first aid detail (I did traffic control).

https://www.strava.com/dashboard/following/30

However, again, Holland is very flat. Riding a single speed upright bikes you are likely going to see people cruising no more than 13 MPH or so. The group last night was going downhill in a pack, one of the riders who went down was doing 34 MPH. Holland doesn't have any downhills...
 
As a motorcyclist, I understand people being gear nazis and safety sallys, but personally I'm more ambivalent about it.

I forced my kids to gear up before they turned 18, but that was less about direct safety and more about not giving LEOs another excuse to harass them. As a habit, I wear a lid while mountain biking, and 99% of the time while commuting on a bike.

But, while taking my daughter, (Now an adult,) to LAX, we stopped in Santa Monica and rented some beach cruisers. Flip-flops, no helmets, and no worries. Similarly if I'm goofing around in the parking lot, or on the flatland freestyle bike, I'm not usually wearing a helmet. When I was a kid, I flew down Mormon Hill with no lid, and on the way back home, I'd be standing on the frame or at least no hands, down Rosecrans. That might alter my perspective on it some.

I've been on STR Floop rides where folks would make passive-aggressive snipes at lidless riders who weren't in our group, and then act astonished when they got back in spades what they were dishing out.

I'm certainly not denying that helmets can prevent life threatening injuries, but I not looking to censure someone because they choose not to wear one.
 
Sidewalk said:
Helmets are not required by law in California.

However, I was on a group ride last night where there was a pile up (I was luckily not involved, but saw the carnage) and the helmet definitely helped the rider get LESS head damage. From what I hear, there was a concussion and possible broken collar bone, but I wasn't on first aid detail (I did traffic control).

https://www.strava.com/dashboard/following/30

However, again, Holland is very flat. Riding a single speed upright bikes you are likely going to see people cruising no more than 13 MPH or so. The group last night was going downhill in a pack, one of the riders who went down was doing 34 MPH. Holland doesn't have any downhills...
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A few weeks ago I saw a rider hit the road going over 55mph down PID.
His helmet had a big dent on it, but he suffered no major head trauma.
He was very lucky to live to tell about it.
His helmet might be one reason why he will be able to ride again.


Personally, I fill "naked" riding without a helmet...... (not an attractive image even for me)
 
I didn't even scratch my helmet when I got taken off my ten speed by a car on the way to school one fine morning. Only because I wasn't wearing one. Didn't even own one.

I looked at my motorcycle helmet after my first crash, and never went bareheaded again.

I wear one now on my bike because it's better to have something besides your head soak up that initial strike and slide along the dirt/gravel/asphalt. :geek:

But those who don't want to wear one? Have at it. :thumbsup:
 
Although the article focuses mainly on Dutch urban riding, which they equate to walking, it does clarify that the "sport" cyclists do wear helmets. Upright and unhelmeted versus hunched and helmeted. They even have two different words to describe the two types of riders.

As far as not wearing one here- I'll keep mine on. It took most of the impact when I face planted last month. As it was, I still had a scraped forehead, nose, lip, and chin. But it would have been far worse if the brim hadn't taken the brunt.
 
Grassblade23 said:
As a motorcyclist, I understand people being gear nazis and safety sallies..
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No Safety Sally here (I prefer Safety Sam). But to each their own. I just noticed the lack of helmets in the photo and checked the back story. To be honest, I read the wiki but not the links. As @Sidewalk said, too many hills around here for that lifestyle to take hold. And speaking of hills, I can go 50 mph on the road out of our neighborhood. On a cruiser bike with a basket. Without even pedaling. :) Would that be considered "normal" activity since I might just be going to the store?
 
kioti said:
No Safety Sally here (I prefer Safety Sam). But to each their own. I just noticed the lack of helmets in the photo and checked the back story. To be honest, I read the wiki but not the links. As @Sidewalk said, too many hills around here for that lifestyle to take hold. And speaking of hills, I can go 50 mph on the road out of our neighborhood. On a cruiser bike with a basket. Without even pedaling. :) Would that be considered "normal" activity since I might just be going to the store?
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Well, you do have to ride back up.
 
I have had three separate collisions with cars. In all three cases it was the car driver's fault. I ALWAYS wear a helmet. But I also try to stay away from road miles as much as possible.

And having been to the Netherlands... I can honestly say that I don't recall seeing a ton of bikes - anywhere. I know that in Germany they certainly didn't have a ton - at least where I lived.
 
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BonsaiNut said:
I have had three separate collisions with cars. In all three cases it was the car driver's fault. I ALWAYS wear a helmet. But I also try to stay away from road miles as much as possible.

And having been to the Netherlands... I can honestly say that I don't recall seeing a ton of bikes - anywhere. I know that in Germany they certainly didn't have a ton - at least where I lived.
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Not a lot of bikes in Netherlands? There are more bikes than people in Amsterdam alone! I am born and bred, trust me there are a lot of bikes there ! And indeed never a helmet on your upright bike. No need. Traffic fatalities are less common there anyway. Separated bike lanes. There is just more public invesment for the common good in general.

No hills though!! That is a big difference. Lack of sweat helps if you just casually go with your bike to the nearby store / post office / you name it
 
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