The best description of U.S. urban (and Burlington, VT) bicycling comes
from a visitor, Dutch blogger Mark Wagenburr (NL Bicyclist) in this
video:
http://www.upworthy.com/a- dutch-guy-is-disgusted-by- america-but-he-has-a-hell-of- a-point?c=reccon1
Getting serious about bicycling means we need to commit to the "infra" (Mark's
great new word for infrastructure). Dutch busy streets feature 16,000
miles of protected bike lanes (cycle track) and lots of roundabouts.
This goes a long way to explaining why even with mostly young adult men
biking in the U.S. our urban bicyclists experience injury rates 25 times
the Dutch/German average rate in those two nations where everyone of all
ages, skill and gender bicycle--most without wearing a helmet.
As an older bicyclist, am a "sider" (sidewalks, sidestreets and backways) after years of riding on busy Vermont city streets and once in a while on narrow shoulders along 50-mph highways.
Mark's NL Cyclist home website:
Time for some cycle track and roundabouts patched for bicyclists for North American bicycle infra?
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