Comments on: Are Bikes the Secret to Danish Bliss?

By: Elaina

Elaina — Tue, 28 Sep 2010 16:38:26 +0000

“Danes can all afford cars, but they choose bikes”

You fail to mention the 300% sales tax on any vehicle with a combustible engine.

By: Charlie D.

Charlie D. — Mon, 21 Jan 2008 19:31:46 +0000

I always try to bike in regular clothes, business casual when commuting, and casual clothes on the weekends. I think I look pretty darn cool. I want to send the message “I’m just a regular working guy that just happens to ride a bike”. As comfortable as bicycling gear is to wear, I think it often isolates bicyclists as being some kind of elite spandex-club, even though I know that’s not true. When you show people photos of people bicycling in Denmark, their response is often, “Hey that guy’s wearing a suit!”. Makes them realize that bicycling really is for “regular” people.

By: Mitch

Mitch — Mon, 21 Jan 2008 17:45:01 +0000

This is great, but isn’t that code for “boring, non-fun machines that get you no attention, are un-American, and force you to exercise… yuck.”

Actually, getting exercise is very American. But Americans tend to drive a few miles to the health club to run on a treadmill. Or, perhaps, they put on running clothes and go jogging in the park. Exercise is much esteemed, but it doesn’t occur to most Americans that they could get exercise on the way to work.

Also… if you want to show your status and your coolness while riding a bike, there are ways to do that, by the way you dress or the kind of bike you ride? I suspect that most guys who ride fixed-gear bikes with no brakes are hoping their choice of wheels will improve their chances of getting laid.

I think it’s a good sign that some people use a fixie, instead of an Escalade, to show how hot they are. We just need to make that attitude more common.

By: Susan D.

Susan D. — Sun, 20 Jan 2008 20:30:46 +0000

“simple, economical, nonpolluting machines that show no status and help keep people fit.”

This is great, but isn’t that code for “boring, non-fun machines that get you no attention, are un-American, and force you to exercise… yuck.” Being happy with such things is a pretty foreign concept. I think we need to find ways to make bike riding seem cool, getting you status, and keep your bod hot for the ladies/gentleman!

American environmentalism needs to have and American flavor.

By: Mitch

Mitch — Sat, 19 Jan 2008 16:48:06 +0000

Bike transportation probably adds to the general level of trust in a society; it allows you to interact with other people on the street, instead of impersonal glass and steel capsules.

But you need a certain level of trust to start biking in the first place. When I ride my bike on the street, I’m sometimes very aware that I’m putting my life in the hands of every motorist that passes by. Usually this is not a problem (and I’m generally a fairly trusting person), but sometimes I wonder…

I would guess that there was a high level of trust in the Copenhagen atmosphere even before bike transport became universal.