Originally Posted by
randya
so based on your experience there, is the difference between the US and Europe that the US is 'too spread out' to support higher levels of bicycling, as stated by you-know-who you-know-where?
Well the distances between cities may be too huge anywhere, but in the US, in San Diego, there are neighborhoods where the local radius of a couple miles is fairly flat, where bikes could be easily used for local errands. (I do this now, and have done it in other areas of town), but one has to "brave" the traffic which is quite heavy anywhere you might go (everyone is driving... one to a car, one huge car space to a person). So in spite of a difference in density... I have heard arguments that cycling in places in Europe succeeds due to their density (people in small villages) yet the US has a similar "village system" we call neighborhoods (within the cities, country areas are another story altogether**), and our populations in these neighborhoods is high enough to support local merchants, but "everyone" simply drives, thus crowding the streets and making cycling "uncomfortable" for many. There is also this uncanny pursuit for speed, both shared by motorists and by the vehicular cycling set (JF himself mentions the pursuit for speed and equates it to cycling pleasure).
I don't see a similar pursuit for speed by cyclists here... the mode seems to be rolling pedestrian in the core of the city, and a bit faster out between destinations... but no one is working to go 17-18MPH, as I typically pursue in the city.
**Aside: I was really reminded of the vast distances "in the country" while in a holding pattern over central Ohio... outside of Columbus... the checkerboard arrangement of the farmland and the individual house set on a huge chunk of land does somewhat bring to mind that distances to convenient services may not be all that convenient to everyone. Some of those lonely roads looked like they might be quite nice to bike upon... but that is the vision of someone who has toured and has enjoyed long distance cycling... something that is hardly practical for that section of the population that might live 20+ miles to the nearest food store.
But certainly this distance issue doesn't apply to our densest cities, where there are food stores and all sorts of services within just a mile or two. The cities should be filled with cyclists short hopping from one place to another, but instead we chose to go that mile or two in car, while complaining about traffic.
