In my region it really depends. There is a lot of effort to push for more cyclist, but also there're a lot of reactionaries who complain about having to share the roadways.
I live in South Korea. I tutor an older gentleman. He has some antiquitated ideas about cycling. -it's fundamentally dangerous because your could fall and break a limb. (True but rare. And car crashes can be fatal.) -it's unmanly. It puts pressure on your testicles and prostate and lowers your testosterone. (What?) -it's only for poor people. He remembers when he was a young businessman and back in the 80s and anyone with an ounce of success bought the biggest car they could afford. Bonus if it's imported. (This is still true but it's changing. Younger people often want a freer, healthier life rather than grind away to buy status. Cycling is a fun healthy hobby. It's an easy way to take short trips around town. It's a great way to save money. Now that cars are easier to buy, car ownership is less of a status symbol unless you want to go into massive debt buying a European sports car.) -you need a car to get around. (Half true. Some hobbies you need a car. Golf or skiing in South Korea you well need a car. But public transit is great here and car isn't really necessary in most cities and larger towns.)
There was a documentary about 20 years ago I watched that talked about that. How teenagers were losers if they couldn't get a car and go to make out points; the documentary also spoke of the history of cars and advertisements around it.
I think it's generational, i'm in my late twenties and coworkers my age often use a bike or say "i should" The mentality you're describing maybe was more prevalent before we got more aware of climate change issues
I just overheard some coworkers a few weeks ago talking about how guys using bikes gives them "the ick". I find that funny and sad at the same time. Like, you are saying that you find a person absolutely repulsing, based on their mode of transportation and them caring for the environment and their health?! Thats just stupid...
I find in funny how much it can vary. In the Netherlands, you're almost considered an ET if you're not used to driving a bike (though that might be hyperbole). In Belgium, a country _a lot_ more cycle friendly than the US, it's _still_ considered normal for a car to block a cross walk or park on the sidewalk just because they can. It's also considered normal to honk at the cyclist driving on the road because the cycle lane has been blocked. As I cycle most of the time, I have decided to stop give a damn. There's a lengthy stretch of my commute that I always will do on the raod as cycle infrastructure is in such a poor condition. It seems I'm training cars to be more accepting as I rarely hear honkong lately. Recently, a semi-acceptable bit of road has been redeveloped. Where there was space for cyclists to way, now that space has been greatly reduced while it's far easier for cars to block the road where it was somewhat seperated before. It's just crazy to see how the govt will call itself friendly to "weak" road users and then defecate on us all.
Great points! The length, speed and humour make it useful for showing to my grade 9 geography class to talk about WHY we are in a rush to get driving! The swearing in the one clip means I can't show it though.
I just edited the video so that the cursing is cut out. It may not show the new version for a couple hours but I would love to know if that worked for you!
Most people I know (city, 20s-30s) wish we could cycle more places. The US is just a nightmare for anything other than cars. If we didn't have to cross a 6 lane roads and a few miles of highway to get anywhere here, I'm sure cars would be much less prevalent for in-town trips.
1. Europe and Asia did not have a handy, smiling, huge, vertically integrated domestic petroleum industry infrastructure. So, they skirted our problematic reliance upon it. 2. Someone here noted "Not Just Bikes." Likeminded is "Strong Towns." Many other allied sites, too. 3. Buses here have bike racks: Intermodal . This proves helpful for dodging heavily trafficked areas. 4. People in cars should reconsider public trans.: They should give their ICE vehicles a rest--saving buku $ on petrol, maintenace, and repair costs.Yeah, it's not always possible. 5. Note the increasing blight of bold-grafittied, shattered-glass buildings--surrounded by huge parking lots. Stout weeds increasingly punch through. Where to drive? Nothing is immortal. 6. Road infrastructure increasingly proves massively difficult to maintain and upgrade. Upgrading does little good. Cost-benefit proves out as very poor. Cat chasing its tail! 7. Note how much land is fouled/foiled by parking infrastructure. Related laws have crippled communities.
The bus being for poor people is spot on though, and a bummer especially if you really need to use it and has probably stifled interest / funding for more bus routes and available operators in places like where I live
This video needs a Not Just Bikes shout-out. Unrelated pet peeve, what I find so annoying is that whenever a person in an American movie or show gets on their bike you almost always hear "RING-RING", as if that's what cyclists do.
I hate to drive and will choose to walk, bike or use public transportation. I do have option to use car when i need tho. Its far cheaper and better for nerves etc to not drive and look for parking and all that. But its safe and made quite easy in Helsinki. Dont know if id do it in 'merica since the image in my head is from movies and tv and it is like how you put it in this essee. Like why would i sit in some shitty car when i can be driven by someone else(bus, metro, tram or ferry) and be reading a book or srcoll Facebook or what ever at the monthly price equvialent to like 10gallons of gas? My old mother has to do shopping by car and my sisters family have to transport their kids so they have no choice, i have so i rarely drive. Hope you get the infra to the level that it gets easyer to make decions just by your liking not by "force".
I love taking the metro, bus, trains, etc for the same reason. It is so nice to be able to read or do anything else on trips instead of just sit in a car having to focus on the road. I find it nerve racking sometimes too when traffic is really bad and people are driving recklessly.
@@gs_3912 It is a stereotype but if movies didn't have them then movies wouldn't feel real. They would feel faked. Thats just my opinion though. Kids ride bikes, People who cant afford cars ride bikes... they are stereotypes but they are true to a point.
@@civilly2974 per example i live in Germany, so my perspective is different on this stereotyps. From a german or european perspective this stereotyps are really strange (even feel fake), because the culture around public transport and bikes is mostly really different here. A lot of different people take the bus or the bike. Bikes are seen as healthy and both are seen as environmentally friendly, so mostly positively. On the other hand there are more negativ stereotyps regarding SUV amd pick up drivers, which maybe more prevailed than in the US.
Maybe so but I’ve had plenty of instances where I try to cross the street in the cross walk with the walk sign and drivers fail to yield to me. I think it’s about building better infrastructure like raised crossings for pedestrians, beg buttons that actually work, and narrowing the crosswalks that help pedestrians feel like they have to jay walk or cross recklessly.
Cyclists always want to use the road, But very rarely do any of them obey traffic laws like they are required to. Never stop at lights/signs, never signal, get 6 inches from your car to get by you, But freak out if you get closer than 3 ft. from them when simply passing by not wanting to go 20mph under the speed limit. Motorcycle riders are 10 times worse.
Most people who want to use bikes as transportation absolutely do not want to use the road. The number of people currently cycling is a miniscule proportion of people who actually want to use bikes, but the car dominated infrastructure only allows for confident cyclists who are able to share the road with cars.
In my region it really depends. There is a lot of effort to push for more cyclist, but also there're a lot of reactionaries who complain about having to share the roadways.
I live in South Korea. I tutor an older gentleman. He has some antiquitated ideas about cycling.
-it's fundamentally dangerous because your could fall and break a limb. (True but rare. And car crashes can be fatal.)
-it's unmanly. It puts pressure on your testicles and prostate and lowers your testosterone. (What?)
-it's only for poor people. He remembers when he was a young businessman and back in the 80s and anyone with an ounce of success bought the biggest car they could afford. Bonus if it's imported. (This is still true but it's changing. Younger people often want a freer, healthier life rather than grind away to buy status. Cycling is a fun healthy hobby. It's an easy way to take short trips around town. It's a great way to save money. Now that cars are easier to buy, car ownership is less of a status symbol unless you want to go into massive debt buying a European sports car.)
-you need a car to get around. (Half true. Some hobbies you need a car. Golf or skiing in South Korea you well need a car. But public transit is great here and car isn't really necessary in most cities and larger towns.)
Thanks for sharing, I laughed out loud at the section about it being unmanly cause it puts pressure on your testicles😂
There was a documentary about 20 years ago I watched that talked about that. How teenagers were losers if they couldn't get a car and go to make out points; the documentary also spoke of the history of cars and advertisements around it.
I think it's generational, i'm in my late twenties and coworkers my age often use a bike or say "i should"
The mentality you're describing maybe was more prevalent before we got more aware of climate change issues
Yeah, when I bike into work, my colleagues basically applaud, but talk about it like it's something they could never do...
That’s a good point. I do find that this mindset is more common in older movies from 15+ years ago. But I do still notice it in some movies and Tv.
40 Year Old Virgin was on tv a few months ago and I noticed the bike stuff.....glad you made this video!
In The Netherlands there are more bikes than people but i geuss the infrastructure is made for it.
You make good points keep it up
The entire Netherlands would be the 3rd smallest state in the US.
Netherlands was the best country i visited. I wish i could live there.
I just overheard some coworkers a few weeks ago talking about how guys using bikes gives them "the ick". I find that funny and sad at the same time.
Like, you are saying that you find a person absolutely repulsing, based on their mode of transportation and them caring for the environment and their health?! Thats just stupid...
I find in funny how much it can vary. In the Netherlands, you're almost considered an ET if you're not used to driving a bike (though that might be hyperbole).
In Belgium, a country _a lot_ more cycle friendly than the US, it's _still_ considered normal for a car to block a cross walk or park on the sidewalk just because they can. It's also considered normal to honk at the cyclist driving on the road because the cycle lane has been blocked.
As I cycle most of the time, I have decided to stop give a damn. There's a lengthy stretch of my commute that I always will do on the raod as cycle infrastructure is in such a poor condition. It seems I'm training cars to be more accepting as I rarely hear honkong lately.
Recently, a semi-acceptable bit of road has been redeveloped. Where there was space for cyclists to way, now that space has been greatly reduced while it's far easier for cars to block the road where it was somewhat seperated before. It's just crazy to see how the govt will call itself friendly to "weak" road users and then defecate on us all.
Great points! The length, speed and humour make it useful for showing to my grade 9 geography class to talk about WHY we are in a rush to get driving!
The swearing in the one clip means I can't show it though.
Thank you for letting me know! I’m sorry I didn’t think about the swearing. I’ll see if I can bleep it out
I just edited the video so that the cursing is cut out. It may not show the new version for a couple hours but I would love to know if that worked for you!
Most people I know (city, 20s-30s) wish we could cycle more places. The US is just a nightmare for anything other than cars. If we didn't have to cross a 6 lane roads and a few miles of highway to get anywhere here, I'm sure cars would be much less prevalent for in-town trips.
1. Europe and Asia did not have a handy, smiling, huge, vertically integrated domestic petroleum industry infrastructure. So, they skirted our problematic reliance upon it.
2. Someone here noted "Not Just Bikes." Likeminded is "Strong Towns." Many other allied sites, too.
3. Buses here have bike racks: Intermodal . This proves helpful for dodging heavily trafficked areas.
4. People in cars should reconsider public trans.: They should give their ICE vehicles a rest--saving buku $ on petrol, maintenace, and repair costs.Yeah, it's not always possible.
5. Note the increasing blight of bold-grafittied, shattered-glass buildings--surrounded by huge parking lots. Stout weeds increasingly punch through. Where to drive? Nothing is immortal.
6. Road infrastructure increasingly proves massively difficult to maintain and upgrade. Upgrading does little good.
Cost-benefit proves out as very poor. Cat chasing its tail!
7. Note how much land is fouled/foiled by parking infrastructure. Related laws have crippled communities.
You'd have to pay me to bike DFW in the Summer but yes you raise good points
The bus being for poor people is spot on though, and a bummer especially if you really need to use it and has probably stifled interest / funding for more bus routes and available operators in places like where I live
I can’t tell you how many times I’ve heard people imply that public transportation is for “poor people. “ It’s a shame.
This video needs a Not Just Bikes shout-out.
Unrelated pet peeve, what I find so annoying is that whenever a person in an American movie or show gets on their bike you almost always hear "RING-RING", as if that's what cyclists do.
Haha true!
good video, but your microphone sounds bad, like theres wind blowing
Thanks for the heads up!
I hate to drive and will choose to walk, bike or use public transportation. I do have option to use car when i need tho. Its far cheaper and better for nerves etc to not drive and look for parking and all that. But its safe and made quite easy in Helsinki. Dont know if id do it in 'merica since the image in my head is from movies and tv and it is like how you put it in this essee. Like why would i sit in some shitty car when i can be driven by someone else(bus, metro, tram or ferry) and be reading a book or srcoll Facebook or what ever at the monthly price equvialent to like 10gallons of gas? My old mother has to do shopping by car and my sisters family have to transport their kids so they have no choice, i have so i rarely drive. Hope you get the infra to the level that it gets easyer to make decions just by your liking not by "force".
I love taking the metro, bus, trains, etc for the same reason. It is so nice to be able to read or do anything else on trips instead of just sit in a car having to focus on the road. I find it nerve racking sometimes too when traffic is really bad and people are driving recklessly.
I live in the country so its either a car or you don't get where you're going.
For the love of God, UA-cam... Please stop deleting my comments!
Thats a design issue though, nobody is saying to get rid of all cars for everyone.
which country?
@@ewoudvanimpe9772 _the country,_ AKA "farm country" or "the middle of nowhere"
@@davgg9621 there are a select few people who are saying that, but they are not to be taken seriously.
It's not that deep. These are movies for entertainment... not news articles ridiculing cyclists. LMAO
Yeah, they are for entertainment, but the way in which cyclist are depicted and used for entertainment shows culturel stereotyps
@@gs_3912 It is a stereotype but if movies didn't have them then movies wouldn't feel real. They would feel faked. Thats just my opinion though. Kids ride bikes, People who cant afford cars ride bikes... they are stereotypes but they are true to a point.
@@civilly2974 per example i live in Germany, so my perspective is different on this stereotyps.
From a german or european perspective this stereotyps are really strange (even feel fake), because the culture around public transport and bikes is mostly really different here. A lot of different people take the bus or the bike. Bikes are seen as healthy and both are seen as environmentally friendly, so mostly positively. On the other hand there are more negativ stereotyps regarding SUV amd pick up drivers, which maybe more prevailed than in the US.
To be fair, a lot of pedestrians are reckless and cross the street without looking.
Maybe so but I’ve had plenty of instances where I try to cross the street in the cross walk with the walk sign and drivers fail to yield to me.
I think it’s about building better infrastructure like raised crossings for pedestrians, beg buttons that actually work, and narrowing the crosswalks that help pedestrians feel like they have to jay walk or cross recklessly.
Cyclists need to grow up and get a REAL mode of transportation like an ADULT! Bikes are for children and grandmas!
orrrrr we just need walkable cities
Cyclists always want to use the road, But very rarely do any of them obey traffic laws like they are required to. Never stop at lights/signs, never signal, get 6 inches from your car to get by you, But freak out if you get closer than 3 ft. from them when simply passing by not wanting to go 20mph under the speed limit. Motorcycle riders are 10 times worse.
Sound like it would be good if cyclist had separate infrastructure.
On the other hand I find most drivers don't follow the law either.
Most people who want to use bikes as transportation absolutely do not want to use the road. The number of people currently cycling is a miniscule proportion of people who actually want to use bikes, but the car dominated infrastructure only allows for confident cyclists who are able to share the road with cars.