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Old June 29th 20, 10:27 AM posted to rec.bicycles.tech
Wolfgang Strobl[_3_]
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Default Concerning commuting by bike

Am Sun, 28 Jun 2020 10:31:13 -0700 (PDT) schrieb Lou Holtman
:

n the Netherlands the cyclists are well off. The
authorities are doing a pretty good job as far as I am
concerned and I'm happy to pay tax for that. If I encounter
a dangerous situations like loose pavement or bushes that
need to be trimmed I report that to the local authorities
(special website) and in 90% it is taken care off within two
weeks. We cycled in Germany today and Herr Strobl has a lot
of work to do there, at least across the border in Nordrhein
Westfalen. A lot of his 'Landsleute' living at the border
come cycle here in the Netherlands.


The Netherlands foremost are a flat and tiny country, essentially a
small stripe of shore of the north sea. This is obviously a good
opportunity to cycle on paths along coasts and canals that were
originally used for a different purpose, using Dutch style biycles that
are resistant to salt and sand.

Unfortunately, that model doesn't scale, because it depends on those
very circumstances. In addition, it depends on busybodies and
enthusiasts who report deficiencies to the administration. This doesn't
scale, either. Having been a fan of Dutch style infrastructure myself,
about 30 years ago, I have first hand experience.

When my children were of the right age, we often went on vacation in the
flat part of Germany and in the Netherlands where we cycled. It was fun,
as long as it lasted. I didn't care about the strange fact that most
rentable bicycles didn't even have a front brake, because, well, young
children don't pedal that fast on sandy paths. A coaster brake as the
only brake is good enough. Later, I even bought a Dutch style bicycle, a
Sparta Cornwall*), using it for riding to work for a while. After
ruining two forks and two hub gears, a Pentasport and a Super-7, I gave
up. The Rhine valley unfortunately isn't flat enough for that kind of
bicycle. Most parts of Europe aren't. Or perhaps I've grown too strong.
Or perhaps both.

Anyway, at that time I was a fan of the Dutch model and so let myself be
persuaded by the chairman of the district association and then Federal
Chairman of the General German Bicycle Club (ADFC) to work as a
consultant for traffic issues on the handling of complaints from members
and to work together with the administration for this and for the
general traffic planning.

During that time I learnt a lot about how that works. For example, I
learned that such organisations are being outvoted by families with
young children and by pensioners, all of whom do not want to travel
quickly or during peak hours. They mostly can't, don't want and don't
have to. In fact, this club was not a representation of interests, but
a tourism association, in which the transport policy served only to win
members, a fig leaf, at best.

When my children and I had grown out of this phase, cycled faster,
further and with suitable bicycles, I noticed that most of the people I
was dealing with at that time had long since switched to other means of
transport, mostly to the car. I then gave up this role and later also
left the club, after I noticed that the clubs board had systematically
shunted active people who were more attached to vehicular cycling or at
least not exclusively to the seggration model.

I think Mr. Holtman advertisement for cycling holidays in the
Netherlands speaks for itself. As far as I'm concerned, I've spent my
whole life riding my bike to work, learning how to ride a bike through
heavy traffic and in hilly terrain. For the holidays we preferred
unspoiled roads in rural and hilly regions of France and Italy. Now I'm
having fun riding on nearby country roads far and fast.

And that's why I don't like the Dutch model. It's not even suitable for
children, at least not suitable to turn them into competent cyclists.
It's a nice playground, though, for a while.


*) https://www.mystrobl.de/ws/pic/fahrrad/1992/til2.jpg

My Sparta Cornwall and one of my sons on his tiny bicyle, 1992.

After fifty kilometers of cycling in the Emsland, we finally go to the
beach. The holiday photo is from 1992.




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