[*BCM*] WG: Cycling Culture

[Susanne Sauerbroim]

Hi,


I am from Germany
and I would like to give some comments to Ethans view on bike riding in Germany. (Because
I also got a culture shock here as to how people cycle in this country).


About myself and my bike habits:


I am living in Boston now, since half a year, and I brought
my German city-bike with me (with basket in the front, bike rack in the back,
generator, fenders in the front and back, bicycle stand, Ortlieb panniers =
standard in Germany = I guess that’s spec utilitarian, I love it!) . I don’t
like public transport so I ride my bike here, as in Germany
(Munich most of my life, but I biked in many
towns and on the countryside in Germany),
to all the places I would like to get to within the city (10 miles radius at
least) in any kind of weather. I am a peaceful rider, with a normal speed of
18km/h (maybe a brisk walker then?).


 


From my point of view it is much more dangerous here in Boston, than in Germany
to ride a bike because it seems that the car drivers think they are the only
vehicles in traffic so one has to be super cautious here whereas at least in Munich the majority of
drivers pay attention to bikes. Of course also there it is not safe to assume
they would pay attention. I also got doored there … But it is much more a
reality for drivers in Germany
than it seems to be here, that bikers do exist in traffic. 


(I never had a bike helmet before but here I thought I would
be crazy not using one.)


One of the reasons that biking is probably safer in Germany (Munich
at least) than in Boston may be that way more
bikers are on the roads in Germany
than here.  (Referring to Ethans
descriptions: Actually riding a bike on the pavement (= sidewalk?) is
prohibited for people older than age 12 years in Germany. And I don’t think it is
true that cycling on pavement is common in Germany.) My impression is that in
contrast to here, biking is an everyday transport method for a big variety of
people and reasonable big portion of the population. There are (from my point
of view extreme) bikers who weave through traffic, are faster than cars, then
there are some other (extreme) bikers, maybe eldery or unexperienced ones, who
ride on the sidewalks, and there there are the say 85% of bikers who ride on
the right side of the road, or the bike path if present (lots more than here!),
signal when they turn right or left, just commute. 


 


So my culture shock was how invisible or inexistent I am
here in traffic, how little equipped bikes are here (why would one want a bike
without fenders in a climate where it rains a lot?) and how few of the people I
get to know here ride a bike.


 


 


Susanne




----- Weitergeleitete Mail ----
Von: Ethan Woehrling <eew at postmaster.co.uk>
An: list at bostoncriticalmass.org
Gesendet: Samstag, den 21. April 2007, 05:56:04 Uhr
Betreff: Re: [*BCM*] Cycling Culture

I'm currently in Germany, experiencing culture-shock as to how they cycle in this country, and the state of their bikes here.  Normally I'm in Birmingham UK, and I find it interesting to pick up some of the things that you mention as being a "jerk" cyclist:

* weaving through traffic, legal in the UK and nothing wrong with going down the middle of a bunch of mostly stationary cars - nopt unsafe.
* Not signalling, annoying possibly, but then again cars don't signal (or signal but stay going straight ahead).  Also it's generally accepted that you shouldn't indicate when you're turning right (left in the UK) as it's a sign to the cretin behind you to overtake you and cut you up asd they turn.
* I'm not a big fan of them, but I have quite a bit of experience of cycle lanes and routes that go the wrong way up a one-way street.  
* No helmets, not a legal requirement in most of Europe, and (let's not get into this) not designed to protect in a collision with an automotive.

Like I said, I'm interested in the culture difference I see in cycling.  Here in Germany bikes are predominantly very low spec utilitarian bikes, which are cycled at a "brisk walking" pace and mostly on the pavement.  Lots of mainland european cycling is on the pavement as a rule.  In contrast in the UK most cyclists ride higher spec vehicles and generally keep a 10-20mph pace (which is better than motorised vehicles in inner cities) and always on the road.  I guess there are fewer 
inexperienced cyclists in the UK, you just cant survive a lackadaisical approach to it there.

Ethan

Just as driving like an jerk is fun, biking like a jerk is fun. ... We tell ourselves that we can weave in and out of traffic, ride the wrong way on streets, that we can blow
through stop signs and stop lights, that we don't need to signal our intentions to drivers, etc. I see the stereotypical bike messenger (a la "Lucas Brunelle") - fixed gear, no helmet, weaving in and out of traffic with no regard for laws - as having set the tone for urban cycling.



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