Old Photos

[gwd]

I enjoyed looking at some of these old photos.

http://www.rijwiel.net/foto_e.htm

[gerv]

I've been reading a book about the history of bicycles and I still can't figure out why Belgium, Holland and Denmark are such great cycling countries and, in the US, bicycles are generally considered toys for children.

[meteparozzi]

I've been reading a book about the history of bicycles and I still can't figure out why Belgium, Holland and Denmark are such great cycling countries and, in the US, bicycles are generally considered toys for children.

Relatively reduced distance between cities and flatness of the land. Similar to the reason why France, Japan and Taiwan have bullet trains and many other countries don't. It's easier to implement these things on a country-wide basis when your country is relatively small.

Bicycles being treated as toys (or only as high-end sports equipment) is a shame though.

[arpy]

I enjoyed looking at some of these old photos.

http://www.rijwiel.net/foto_e.htm
Very cool. Great find!

[Christof H]

Relatively reduced distance between cities and flatness of the land. Similar to the reason why France, Japan and Taiwan have bullet trains and many other countries don't. It's easier to implement these things on a country-wide basis when your country is relatively small.

Bicycles being treated as toys (or only as high-end sports equipment) is a shame though.


Remember that it's best to think in terms of regions, not necessarily nation state borders here. Cycling was very big in the US, but died off in part because of the oil/auto companies (it's documented, along with mass transit buyouts and streetcar removals) and partly because of the regional distances in our more recently settled areas out west.

The bullet train analogy is interesting, but I think it has a lot more to do with privatized lines- which is what prevent sbeter amtrak service where I live- and less to do with an idea that a high speed train has to go across a nation. The sacramento/SF/LA bullet train plans here in California are being killed by politics, not by any difficulty in implementation.

[Roody]

Cool pictures, gwd. I like seeing how bikes were just a normal part of life, not something special as is often the case in the US.

There's more old pictures at carfree.com (http://www.carfree.com/).