On Bicycles...

Today I became the 2907th person to ride my bicycle past an electronic sign keeping track of this statistic. I love this city (and country) for its deep and dedicated bike culture. In my habitual romantic outlook on life, I see a societal undercurrent of cycling being the 'purer' breed of transportation. Bike racks abound, shops do booming business, and there are more bike paths than roads, since every road has its own bike-only lane.

The affection for two-wheel (or sometimes three-wheel) mobility is more subtly apparent in the relationship between motorists and cyclists. In my own adventures on the streets of America, car drivers frequently harangue and even molest the bicycle-bound. There's mutual fault, since I've seen plenty of cyclists arrogantly filling up half or more of the vehicle lane. Yet, no clear idea of "who started it" is ever offered; only insults and too-often gory accidents echo the question. Blame is counterproductive anyway, but this dangerous reality makes the disparity between the U.S. and e.g. Copenhagen clearer to see.

Here, bicyclists are given incredible leeway. There are times when auto drivers honk, rev their engines, or narrowly miss clobbering the offending rider, but the majority of cases favor the cyclist. It helps that nearly everyone has a bike, and that brings to the fore the greatest reason for this cultural difference. Due in part to the sprawling urbaniverses (and suburbaniverses) that make up our continental geography, we Americans love our cars. Furthermore, the last five or so generations (guessing?) have, on average, made the automobile part of their personal identities. These factors (and others I don't want to cogitate about because I'm hungry and haven't blogged in forever so I want to write some of these thoughts down) have set up today's American car-centered lives. Of course there are exceptions, but I write in generalities to stave off a repetative stress disorder.

Maybe someday we will ride more bikes. I would love to see that day. I think I will abandon my efforts to institute a public bike share program on my college campus (for entirely different reasons I won't elaborate on at this time), but continue to promote the healthy, efficient, and fun habit of bicycling. Before I sign off, here's a picture of the bike I've been riding all over eastern Sjælland (Copenhagen, Lynby, Roskilde, etc...):

I bought this bike about two weeks into my stay here. It cost 600 DKK (~$100).

When I get back to Golden, I think I may try to build my own "errand bike," inspired by the picture below:

A large wooden crate or box can sit on the platform. I could haul around my groceries, books, camping gear, guitar, and a fair amount of any junk (even people!).