I spend at least five weeks a year in America where I always spend some time cycling in New York. I have also spent time cycling in different parts of Europe. These are my (personal) impressions of the different perspectives towards cycling.
1. Helmets.
Probably the most divisive issue. Americans will invariably be very ‘pro helmet’. They see wearing a helmet as ‘absolutely crucial’. (possibly something to do with the road infrastructure and the way Americans drive.)
Europeans, at least, in cycle cities like Amsterdam and Copenhagen don’t wear helmets and can’t understand the issue. To them it is like asking why would a pedestrian wear a helmet walking down the road?
2. Safety
Cycling in America is statistically more dangerous than Europe. There are far more fatalities and injuries per Km travelled in the US than elsewhere. The relatively safety of cycling in Europe probably explains why Europeans are more likely to be relaxed about not wearing helmets. Americans have one of the highest rate of wearing helmets but the highest fatality rates for cycling.
3. Numbers Cycling
This shows that US has one of lowest rates of cycling. Though there also appears to be a big divide between north and south Europe. Perhaps the heat in Spain, Greece and Portugal puts people off cycling to work?
Apart from a few cities such as Portland, cycle use in America is very much a minority issue. It is rarely considered as a practical form of transport (more a leisure activity to be tolerated in certain places). The rate of cycling in US, is a small fraction of most European countries. To some extent this is changing as quite a few American cities are making partial attempts to increase cycle use.
Love of the Motor Car
Americans love their cars. Europeans are happy to contemplate car free city centres / pedestrian areas. But, it would be hard to see a US Politician being able to survive suggesting car free city centres. I’ll refrain from making comparisons on obesity, though I’m sure some countries have greater willingness to exercise.
Politically divisive
In American cycling tends to be more politically divisive (it is almost perceived to somehow be liberal / left wing to be a cyclist). In New York, attempts to provide cycle lanes, led to great controversy and debate over political ideology. (litigation against cycle lane provision) In Europe, cycling is much less political.
Utilitarian vs Sport
For many European countries, cycling is very much a utilitarian exercise of getting to work. Cycling is slow and often on specially designed cycle paths. In US, laid back cruiser bikes are much rarer, cyclists tend to focus more on the sport aspect of cycling.
Legal Perspectives
The US seems a much more litigious country, where the police are much more willing to give tickets. In New York, police frequently ticket cyclists for many situations (including not cycling in cycle lanes).
Compare this to Copenhagen where people who illegally parked their bicycle are given a free bike maintenance check and a note kindly asking them to refrain from doing it again (bike butlers in Copenhagen). This would never happen in America! The bike would be impounded and you would be charged $100 to recover it.
Antagonism
Because cyclists in America are a much smaller minority there seems to be greater conflict between cyclists and motorists / authorities. Where cyclists are more numerous people are more likely to have been cyclists themselves so there is greater tolerance of cycling.
Notes.
I am making generalisations which may not always be the case. But, this is the different impression I get from cycling in US and different parts of Europe. Someone else may get a very different impression. However, the overriding factor is that the US has a low cycle rate. A low cycle rate does tend to make many things more difficult. It means
- Cycling is more dangerous,
- Motorists are less used to dealing with cyclists on the roads.
“Europe” is also a very large generalisation. There is a huge difference between cycling perspectives in Spain (where cycling is quite low) and a cycling country like Denmark, Germany or Holland.
cycling has been part of my life for many years,i am 66 now. I was a member of a racing club in the 60`s competing in road time trials,these were held evenings and weekends to avoid traffic,helmets were not worn accidents were few, thank goodness.Today i am glad i am not involved. Today i walk an mountain bike but i do use a car and i have see many a motorist completely ignoring cyclist. It should not deter cyclist in enjoying there pastime/sport just because of these uncaring motorist,just keep your eyes open and WEAR a Helmet,it makes sense.
I’m currently in Philadelphia for the summer after spending three years in Oxford (studying for the degree I just got there). My own observations on cycling here (I haven’t participated myself yet: I’m currently in the city centre so there’s little need) are that cyclists at least in the city centre go far slower than in the UK. This may be caused by the almost unbearable heat (it’s regularly been over 35 degrees Celsius this last month, some days well in excess of 40), but it almost seems that people don’t want to get anywhere fast (I’m pretty sure I used to cycle up the hill on Divinity Road faster than people here cycle on the almost perfectly flat city). Other observations include that despite cycle lanes being common (although you’d have to know which streets have them), most people cycle on pavements even when next to a cycle lane. Clearly traffic isn’t trusted. Cyclists however do take more risks, a lot cross on red and junctions and I’ve seen several close misses due to this in just a month of being here. Cycling shops seem pretty common, but far more of them are dedicated to repairs rather than joint selling and repairs. They also seem to be in odd places, such as a converted ground floor in a residential area. Specialist cycles also seem pretty common – bikes with two back wheels and large containers at the from clearly used for trade. Cycling baskets seem far more common, almost everyone has one, but they are all utilitarian (unlike perhaps the majority of Oxford ones). Common are improvised ones using plastic crates (I did something similar with a metal shopping basket I bought from a hardware store on Cowley Road when in Oxford as it was larger than any of the metal ones sold in cycling shops and significantly cheaper). There’s even some metal wire-frame ones that fold down when not in use. D-Locks here seem to be standard fair, often combined with the long wire for connecting the other wheel to the lock.
Historically, Spain has had few cyclists. However, numbers are rising very quickly. I have just completed a 1200 km cycling tour of Spain with my teenage daughter and some other friends. We found that drivers, and especially truck-drivers, were almost always extremely careful and courteous when passing. The greatest recent improvement for long-distance cyclists in Spain has been the introduction of very wide shoulders on the vast majority of rural roads. We also chose to ride without helmets (although they are legally required on rural roads) and not one of the traffic policemen (Guardia Civil) we chatted with even raised the subject.
Please please John do wear hemlet they save life (at least mine) and are compulsory for a reason!