Originally Posted by
ch9862
I'd say in Berlin percentage of lycra-clad cyclists is:
on the road: 60%
on the sidewalk: 0%
I'm assuming "sidewalk" to mean "bike path", "road" to mean "road, even if there is a bike path alongside".
Numerically, non-lycra cyclists are in overwhelming majority.
Others may know more though.
In Germany cycling is a totally different animal than in the US.
Most people cycle in Germany for utility. Hell, my grandma, who is over 80 still cycles to the store for shopping and to visit her kids and grand kids.
I used to cycle in my jeans and t-shirt during my apprenticeship for more than 3 years day in day out since you can't drive a car until you're 18. In the US, 16 is the age you are allowed to drive and you don't need any drivers ed to get a license as the drivers test can be accomplished with some common sense. So everyone drives and shows off their cars in the high schools here.
In the US, cyclists are either: messengers, roadies or sunday morning nice weather cyclists going 7mph.
The commuters and utility cyclists have definitely picked up with the raising gas prices, but it's nothing compared to Europe.
Thomas