I found this article and video about a group of Americans who went to the Netherlands - a country known for its many bicycles. They researched whether it would be possible to incorporate some ideas about environmentally friendly and healthy transportation into US cities.

Learning from the Netherlands About Bikes - WhoWhatWhy

[allimsaying]

Bikes are a big thing where I live. Miles of trails, city operated bike rentals, bike to work day. I wish it was more popular though, so many single occupant vehicles on the roads causing serious traffic jams and smog. The company I work at(a delivery company)is about one half staffed by bicyclists who use their bikes even in winter. Amazing! Its funny seeing them with icicles coming down their beards lol. These guys are pretty serious bikers and sponsor biking events in the city that bring in huge crowds of people who all spend money while they're here. Its a win/win for the city.

[spondiferous]

Bikes are big here too. There are a lot of efforts by communities and individuals to 'go green' but not enough by local governments and municipalities if you ask me. But I'm trying to focus on the positive because when I think about what's *not* being done in this area it's enough to drive me mad.

Where I live you ride a bike at your peril People tend to get really annoyed with bikers. Our bike lanes consist of a white line painted on the street about 2 feet from the edge of the curb of existing vehicle lanes. Losing 2 feet of roadway to bike lanes did not endear bikers to car and truck drivers. Didn't make bikers happy either. There are pockets of bike friendly areas but you need to drive to get there. I don't think this will be big in Texas until the oil is gone.

Thanks for your posts. It's interesting to hear about the preferred methods of transportation in the different cities. Having lived here and there, I can say that I really appreciated the cities where I was able to commute by bike. It's healthy, cheap and gives a feeling of freedom and it's a great way to integrate some exercise into our daily lives. Bike sharing is becoming popular in many places, which is good for people on budget and those who live in apartments and have no space to keep a bike.
There are many advantages of commuting by bike as opposed to taking cars, but I realize that not every city is able to implement bike friendly policies (yet). I also wanted to share this map of the most bike friendly cities in the US:
http://www.bicycling.com/news/advoca...riendly-cities

[Pikku Myy]

In pikku's city.... bicyclers are everywhere Glad to see the post!

[shezbut]

The area that I live in is very health-conscious, and there are many miles of bike/jogging paths. I do appreciate that a lot! One aspect that I don't appreciate is that the bike path is considered to be more of a leisure trail, so people still drive to work (to save time, I suppose) and then run or bike later for exercise.

At least there are safe stretches of land set aside for those that are health conscious and don't want to have to deal with cars in the process. However, imo, the goal should be letting go of our vehicles and walking/or riding to our destinations.

[NWgirl2013]

Hey Shez ~ my city is all about the bikes/ So many commuters! the "bike culture" is known for being kinda militant,

My osteopath moved here from TX planning to ride to ride to work~rain or shine ~ he's learned a lot about that! (must have fenders...)

All in all it's a great thing ~can't complain!

I'm proud to live here...