On 2017-10-16 01:08, wrote:
On Saturday, October 14, 2017 at 5:58:02 PM UTC-5, Joerg wrote:

But there is that small subset of people that if you have rails
to trails so that they feel relatively isolated from asshole
drivers WILL take up cycling and gradually grow in confidence.
Especially with the help of bike clubs.


There are a lot of those people, it is not a small sub-set. I'd
venture to say the majority of riders in our area. This is clearly
evidenced by the number of riders who cart their bikes to the bike
path, unload and then start their sports ride or mixed-mode
commute.



Thankfully I live in a city that has miles and miles of bike trails
in town and out of town. Several hundred miles in total trails. It
definitely helps get people on bicycles. There is a bar/town about
10 miles down one trail. In the summer there are several hundred
people riding to the bar and back several evenings a week. I don't
really care if the net benefit is a detriment to them or not. Or
whether they are healthy or not. As long as they are riding a bike,
its good. The trails see a lot of activity. I don't know if these
people would bicycle without trails or not. Some would not. Some
would.


Provided that those paths are built correctly it does increase cycling,
big time, no matter what the nay-sayers think or lament. We saw another
prime example again yesterday. 15mi of bike path for a quick ride afte
church. We trucked it there because a friend belongs to the majority of
cyclists who will not ride on roads unless absolutely necessary. On the
road, no cyclists. On the bike path, dozens. It's no problem to use some
quiet roads or even a busy main street where there is a low speed limit
but not major arteries because most cyclists I know won't ride those.

--
Regards, Joerg

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