Originally Posted by
adamrice
The demographics of bike commuting in the USA are also completely different, which I think is important. Bike commuting in NL is normal. Everyone does it. In the USA, it's rare (0.6% of all commuters, per the above report), and the only people who do it are A) those who don't have a more convenient option, and B) those who actively prefer cycling. For those of us who prefer cycling, we'll probably tolerate longer distances because hey, we get to ride our bikes.
All True. I assume that Dutch riders who prefer or enjoy longer bike rides, probably also tolerate longer commute distances than the average Dutch cyclist.
I suspect that the long distance bicycle commuter is a relatively rare bird in both locations. The people who post of their commuting experiences and equipment (and especially those who post about their speed and distance metrics and equipment upgrades) on the BF commuting list are hardly representative of typical US bicyclists or US commuters.