Originally Posted by genec
Oh BTW... I nearly missed your rant at "facilities" there... Facilities have nothing to do with it... it is all about acceptance of cyclists as legitimate users of the road and cycling as a valid form of transportation. France has "facilities" too, and drivers seem to respect cyclists just fine, whether in a "facility" or not.
It is the motorists mindset that is the problem.
This was clearly proven to me when I toured in Baja and the Locals had no problem giving me half the road and passing when it was clearly safe for them to do so... yet not a single American would do that (I could tell by license plates). The Americans chose to crowd the cyclists as their solution to the situation.
This is NOT a Bike Lane or facilities issue, it is an American motorist issue.
Do I need to post pics of "facilities" in France? Such as their Bike Lanes, and even cooler bike stop lights?
We've talked about this before.
What's the fastest way to infect Mexico with the American mindset about cyclists? Start painting bike lanes.
Compared to Germany and Holland, France is fairly light on bike lanes, and cyclists on the road are proportionately more accepted.