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In German Suburb, Life Goes On Without Cars (2009)

nytimes.com

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Re: In German Suburb, Life Goes On Without Cars (2009)

#51

Post by limmeau »

gritzko wrote: post #38
whatusername wrote: post #31

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Some of us live in cities where it rains pretty frequently. Today would be lovely on a bike. Yesterday in the rain - not so much.

Netherlands is a really rainy country. Still, bikes are extremely popular, like the average is 2 bikes per person. The typical commute scheme is (1) bike to the station, then (2) train (trains are good, really good), then (3) another bike to work.

Speaking of the Netherlands, one of their contributions to cycling are the Rainmates overtrousers: http://www.rainmates.nl/?ln=en

I've got a pair of those and they are really convenient: I can put them on quickly, even while wearing shoes, and my legs don't get as sweaty because the rainmates are open in the rear side.

Re: In German Suburb, Life Goes On Without Cars (2009)

#52

Post by brazzy »

unwind wrote: post #43
whatusername wrote: post #31

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Some of us live in cities where it rains pretty frequently. Today would be lovely on a bike. Yesterday in the rain - not so much.

In Sweden (average 164 days/year with rain), there's a saying typically used by parents when their kids complain about the weather. It goes, translated very verbatim: "there is no bad weather, only bad clothes". It's far snappier in Swedish where it rhymes, but I guess the point comes across, still. Update: after reading a few more comments, I guess this doesn't address the other end of the spectrum, that it can be t…

I've always thought that it was a common saying in Britain, notorious for its bad weather. IIRC the world's rainiest place is some island off the coast of Scotland.

Re: In German Suburb, Life Goes On Without Cars (2009)

#53

Post by moconnor »

coffeejunk wrote: post #39
bitboxer wrote: post #3

I lived in Münster, Germany for a few years. Münster is THE bike town in germany. Statistically every citizen has 1.8 bikes. And i begann to love biking there. A lot is done in that city to make biking the #1 way of transportation. Now I am living in Cologne, Germany and see the difference. I miss the good bike lanes but I kept biking in cologne. Nothing is better for your head than biking a few miles home after a ha…

I now live in Munich, which also calls itself a bike town. Although there are a lot of people riding their bikes, the streets are not at all as bike friendly as the ones in Münster. Each trip is somewhere between a suicide mission and a pleasant journey depending on where you want to go.

I'm in Munich too; compared to the UK it feels like a cyclist's paradise, especially with the ubahn as a backup in case the heavens really open.

Re: In German Suburb, Life Goes On Without Cars (2009)

#55

Post by cosmohh »

coffeejunk wrote: post #39
bitboxer wrote: post #3

I lived in Münster, Germany for a few years. Münster is THE bike town in germany. Statistically every citizen has 1.8 bikes. And i begann to love biking there. A lot is done in that city to make biking the #1 way of transportation. Now I am living in Cologne, Germany and see the difference. I miss the good bike lanes but I kept biking in cologne. Nothing is better for your head than biking a few miles home after a ha…

I now live in Munich, which also calls itself a bike town. Although there are a lot of people riding their bikes, the streets are not at all as bike friendly as the ones in Münster. Each trip is somewhere between a suicide mission and a pleasant journey depending on where you want to go.

Sure, compared to towns like Münster, Freiburg or Amsterdam, Munich could offer better bike support, but there are still lots of bike lanes and you are rarely forced to use car lanes, so I would still consider it quite bike friendly.

Re: In German Suburb, Life Goes On Without Cars (2009)

#56

Post by Luc »

I think having the right legal framework helps a lot to get a good bicycle culture.

Here in Belgium, when a car hits a bicyclist, the car driver's insurance will always pay for bodily damage of the bicyclist, even if the bicyclist is at fault.

Most streets where I live (in the center of Antwerp) are one-way for cars, but two-way for bicycles. And cars are limited to 30 km/h.

My wife goes to work on her bicycle and gets paid for it (per km) by her employer, enough to buy a new bike every year.

At busy crossings with stop lights, bicycles get a designated space in front of the cars. That way when the light turns green the bicyclists can get going first, safely turn etc.

I just saw 2 policemen on bicycles pass in front of my window...

Measures like these help make bicycling something accepted by society, not something only crazy lycra-clad hipsters do.

Re: In German Suburb, Life Goes On Without Cars (2009)

#57

Post by bitboxer »

Kliment wrote: post #30
bitboxer wrote: post #3

I lived in Münster, Germany for a few years. Münster is THE bike town in germany. Statistically every citizen has 1.8 bikes. And i begann to love biking there. A lot is done in that city to make biking the #1 way of transportation. Now I am living in Cologne, Germany and see the difference. I miss the good bike lanes but I kept biking in cologne. Nothing is better for your head than biking a few miles home after a ha…

Nice to see another Köln-resident here. Meet up at some point?

Everyone: write me at bodo (a) bitboxer . de . I will setup a google group and stuff for a cologne hn meetup.

Re: In German Suburb, Life Goes On Without Cars (2009)

#58

Post by credo »

harscoat wrote: post #24

21st Century, that anybody can argue against (in this thread or elsewhere) that going by bike to work is way better, healthier, more humanly fulfilling, than by car leaves me speechless. Vote for mayors pro bike roads or ask for showers at work, there is always a solution.

well, here is one argument that you may not have heard :)

as per http://www.denverpost.com/election2010/ci_15673894 Republican gubernatorial candidate Dan Maes is warning voters that Denver Mayor John Hickenlooper's policies, particularly his efforts to boost bike riding "could threaten our personal freedoms"

Re: In German Suburb, Life Goes On Without Cars (2009)

#59

Post by arethuza »

brazzy wrote: post #52
unwind wrote: post #43

Earlier quoted context omitted.

In Sweden (average 164 days/year with rain), there's a saying typically used by parents when their kids complain about the weather. It goes, translated very verbatim: "there is no bad weather, only bad clothes". It's far snappier in Swedish where it rhymes, but I guess the point comes across, still. Update: after reading a few more comments, I guess this doesn't address the other end of the spectrum, that it can be t…

I've always thought that it was a common saying in Britain, notorious for its bad weather. IIRC the world's rainiest place is some island off the coast of Scotland.

No - not even close for total amount of precipitation.

However, the Scottish Highlands do excel in miserable drizzle that falls continuously for days, weeks and probably months ("dreich").

And yes, I am Scottish and have spent a lot of time outdoors!

Re: In German Suburb, Life Goes On Without Cars (2009)

#60

Post by w00pla »

harscoat wrote: post #24

21st Century, that anybody can argue against (in this thread or elsewhere) that going by bike to work is way better, healthier, more humanly fulfilling, than by car leaves me speechless. Vote for mayors pro bike roads or ask for showers at work, there is always a solution.

Especially the handicapped and elderly like bikes (or not). A good train system (such in Japan) is much better). That way even children and elderly can travel long distances.
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