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I think the difference is that in the US, it is viewed more of as a sport but in other parts of the world, it is viewed as a mode of transportation. I would doubt if any of us were to bike to the local supermarket, we would be decked out in gear but more likely in regular shirt and pants.
Oh I see the geared out people at the grocery store.
Dutch people often have several bikes. In adittion to the daily bike it's not unusual to have a road bike in the garage and the full kit too. Bike sport is popular.
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Dutch cycling should not have been posted in a segment called *Hobbies and Recreation*.
In the Netherlands, cycling is first, just another mode of regular transportation.
Then maybe next also as a mode of recreation,
and then finally as a hobby, which then turns into a sport such as bicycle racing.
In the USA, it has a very long way to go if it wants to become a mode of regular transportation.
It is my personal opinion, from watching riders in my neighbourhood,
that it is a mode of recreation in a wannabee state of disguised sport.
People on mountain- or racing bikes riding at maybe 5-10 miles an hour !!
I said *my neighbourhood* !! I did not say in the *wilderness*.
Those who ride in *the wilderness* do use mountain bikes, and they should,
for those bikes were built for trails as such.
I have grand children who do that with their parents in Southern Utah,
almost the perfect place to do that kind of stuff !
Those who rides in small packs on *racing style* cycles,
are doing the right thing and they are using the right gear to do it.
I grew up in The Netherlands, and I had a regular *heavy duty* bike for going to school every day.
I also had a true *racing bike* to go with the club on racing trips once and a while, and I wore the proper clothing, and we did ride hard and fast !!
Mountain bikes were not *invented* yet at that time ... (early 50's)
My parents had a car, to go places too far to bike to, or for long trips on vacation or so.
They also had regular *heavy duty* bikes, for daily use. To go for a quick shopping trip or other short trip. No fancy racing stuff for them ... , too old I assume ...
So ... , *Dutch Cycling*, is just another daily mode of transportation,
that has been around for a very long time.
When I came to the USA for work (early 60's), the job was only 18 minutes by car !
I often thought of using a bike to get to work, but decided against it, because I would not have lasted two days. Just not a good route to use a bike !!
Too bloody hilly (The Netherlands is flat flat) and no separate bike ways.
Most of the route was a 45 mph speed zone !
I never bought another bike for me, but the kids had bikes.
Today even motor bikes !!!
What do I do as a mode of recreation today ?
I fly an ultra light plane ... definitively NOT a sport !!
Yet the license I need to fly that plane is called *Sport Pilot* ...
LOL you do? maybe they were bonking and needed some food
LOL! Perhaps! I live near popular sections for the race-y people to ride. There are a few coffee shops and the like that are well known to be roadie hang outs. I am always getting smoked by roadies headed for the hills.
A few folks have already mentioned it but, having spent some time in the Netherlands, the most accurate descriptor I can think of 'Dutch cycling' is that it is ordinary. One needn't have a huge, loop-frame roadster (though they are common!) but simply a functioning bicycle, ordinary apparel and the right frame of mind. The whole purpose of cycling there is to get from point A to B, whereas here in the US, most of us think of cycling as something we do for recreation outside of our everyday commute.
The closest I have seen to actual transportation cycling has been in cities like Portland, Davis, Minneapolis and Boston, but even then actively choosing to cycle for transportation is something you have to work for. The infrastructure is growing, sure, but it will take some time.
I currently live in NYC, where there are a lot of bicycles on the road, but I would be hesitant to classify it as a city where cycling is the norm. Given road conditions and lack of proper infrastructure, cycling on most streets is still fairly dangerous. On the other hand, paths like the Hudson Greenway offer a glimpse of what cycling *could be* if expanded to other parts of the city (unlikely, but still nice to think about!)
I would love to cycle on a day-to-day basis. My current bicycle is a 1960 Rudge 3spd which is fantastic for upright, non-sweaty commuting, but I haven't found a good (read: reasonably safe) way to reach downtown Manhattan from Grand Central without risking life and limb during rush hour.
I'm guessing what passes for "Dutch cycling" in the US gets clowned on as "being a Fred" here.
Anytime I hop on my bike to go to work, or whatever, helmet and cycling gloves are all that do it for me.
I was never too fond of having to suit up in some sort of uniform just to go out for a simple, mundane, bicycle ride.
It's even worse when I talk about doing some "bicycle thing" on days off and everyone thinks it was some kind of sanctioned, Tour-de-France style, race.
Then I show them the pictures and they're shocked by a bunch of people wearing street-clothes and riding a hodgepodge of beach cruisers, mountain bikes, fixed gears, recumbent bikes, and even skateboards.
A few folks have already mentioned it but, having spent some time in the Netherlands, the most accurate descriptor I can think of 'Dutch cycling' is that it is ordinary. One needn't have a huge, loop-frame roadster (though they are common!) but simply a functioning bicycle, ordinary apparel and the right frame of mind. The whole purpose of cycling there is to get from point A to B, whereas here in the US, most of us think of cycling as something we do for recreation outside of our everyday commute.
The closest I have seen to actual transportation cycling has been in cities like Portland, Davis, Minneapolis and Boston, but even then actively choosing to cycle for transportation is something you have to work for. The infrastructure is growing, sure, but it will take some time.
I currently live in NYC, where there are a lot of bicycles on the road, but I would be hesitant to classify it as a city where cycling is the norm. Given road conditions and lack of proper infrastructure, cycling on most streets is still fairly dangerous. On the other hand, paths like the Hudson Greenway offer a glimpse of what cycling *could be* if expanded to other parts of the city (unlikely, but still nice to think about!)
I would love to cycle on a day-to-day basis. My current bicycle is a 1960 Rudge 3spd which is fantastic for upright, non-sweaty commuting, but I haven't found a good (read: reasonably safe) way to reach downtown Manhattan from Grand Central without risking life and limb during rush hour.
It is pretty popular here in Oakland. Try biking to the farmers market: no parking!
I bike 4-5 times a week for my around town stuff most of the time, unless there is a crappy hill to tackle!
We need more infrastructure. But it is still quite popular. I am secretly all about the tall scraper bikes.
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