"Matthew T. Russotto" wrote in message
...
In article ,
Amy Blankenship wrote:

"Matthew T. Russotto" wrote in message
news:d7SdnSpHJ4AguZXbnZ2dnUVZ_qGjnZ2d@speakeasy. net...

I've been to Denmark. For cycling, it has one overriding feature that
much of the United States lacks: flatness. Not false flatness like
the US plains, but real table-like flatness.

That's *flat* silly. *Many* areas of the US have *way* more flatness than
Denmark. My British husband was commenting on how nice it was to see
actual
hills in Denmark compared to here.

We talking about the same Denmark? North part of Europe, lots of
windmills? Highest natural point 171m (561 feet) above sea level?
It's flat.

Not compared to some parts of the US. The highest point in Florida is 345
feet. The highest point in Louisiana is 535 feet. The highest point in
Delaware is 448 feet.

Only Delaware of those is smaller than Denmark, though not by much. Large
parts of Alabama, Mississippi, and Texas are equally flat. The parts of
Kansas and Missouri I've been to are also pretty flat. I'd say right there
that's more than enough flat parts to justify bikes.

Additionally, I have seen cyclists going *faster* than the speed limit (30
mph) on extreme slopes in Texas. great view from behind, let me tell you.

Presumably on the downslope.

Nope. Up a hill my car was struggling with. It was pretty amazing.

I've seen cyclists go 50mph down a hill
in Philadelphia. But the route to the top of that hill isn't called
"the Wall" for nothing. It's a hard climb. There are hills around
me which I can do 40+mph on, but again, it's a hard climb to get up to
them. They're easier than the one on my path to work; I've climbed
that one a few times, and doing it twice every day is just not practical.

There used to be a hill on my way to school (I went to college in one of the
hillier parts of Mississippi) that just killed me the first couple of months
I did it. But since I had no other means of getting to school I figured it
out eventually.