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I am glad this was written and wish more cyclists began thinking along these lines.

My two cents, I tune out whenever someone starts rhapsodizing about the Netherlands or Copenhagen. We are not they. They are not we. We need to find our own answers from our own situation.

Pretty well written, but I call baloney on the Copenhagen observation. People seeming friendlier or more respectful on bikes in Copenhagen isn't why cycling works so well there. Rather it's a result of investing in proper bicycle infrastructure that encourages people to ride. Period. The niceties of people using signals and such comes naturally from high mode share.

Build proper infrastructure here and people will do the same. Encouraging people to be more respectful of their space is certainly helpful, but will do next to nothing to get people on bikes if they're still scared of dying.

I'm not sure I was able to pick the message out from among this tidal wave of words. Was it "take a chill pill & bike defensively"?

I don't think it's well written (e.g., "...leaving my bike and I laying..."), but that's hardly the point.

Others have it right, above. To wit, the culture here and in (wonderful) Copenhagen is overwhelmingly determined by the relative numbers of people who drive and cycle. I don't see anything else being more than a trivial factor. When cycling is a marginal and risky activity of a small minority of risk takers, the populations behave accordingly. When our grandmothers are out there they'll get and give a lot more respect than we do.

Further, the piece confuses safety, respect, and appearances. For example, it is perfectly safe and legs, but not necessary, for me to weave to the front of a line of cars stopped at an intersection. However, it gives the appearance of squirreliness and pisses drivers off. That's why I tend not to do it (if I'm in a benign mood) because I think it leads to greater peace on the roads. On the other hand, when I claim a lane, as I do twice a day, out of common sense and bitter experience, it unavoidably pisses the hell out of some motorists and makes them want to kill me and the next bike geek they see.

This is an important conversation that doesn't get enough attention. I didn't feel the point of this article was to compare us to the Netherlands, or say we should be them. Instead, I felt the author was trying to point us in the direction of the individual's responsibility (whether on 2 wheels or 4) to model safe behavior and practices when on the road.

I agree that infrastructure plays a huge role in ensuring more people will ride bikes in cities. However, I also hear there is a need to address perceptions of safety. For example, even with protected bike lanes, many riders still feel unsafe or uncomfortable biking. There needs to be more education and awareness within and outside of the biking community, so that people feel empowered to ride safely.

Obviously, this is one individual's story, but the main point shouldn't be ignored. By not addressing bike safety at the individual level, the biking community will only drive away the grandmothers and individuals they want on their team.

@Biker Girl: You hit the nail on the head. My goal with this article was to get people thinking about the things they can control. To wit, their behavior. I thought that sharing my experience might help make this thought process relatable. And as I said myself, I'm not perfect and still lose patience myself.

There are multiple factors that go into creating a safe cycling culture. Many of them are beyond the control of individuals, but it will only help (certainly won't harm) for individuals to improve in areas that they can.

Will it have sweeping changes? Maybe not. But you might avoid an accident. I know I had many close calls before ultimately getting hurt, regardless of who's fault it was.

Nothing is universal - of course there are going to be situations where you have to claim your space, and it's going to piss some people off. That's where the macro cultural shifts need to occur.Is the cultural shift a precursor to better bike infrastructure, or is it a result of better bike infrastructure? That is the struggle.

Being more mindful of individual safety can literally save your life, and it might have some nice side effects in the process. Which is the main point I was trying to drive home.

"Nothing is universal - of course there are going to be situations where you have to claim your space, and it's going to piss some people off. That's where the macro cultural shifts need to occur.Is the cultural shift a precursor to better bike infrastructure, or is it a result of better bike infrastructure? That is the struggle."

I agree completely on this issue of behavior, but the perception of behavior is shaped by the culture and, I maintain, culture is more sensitive to things like the prevalence of cycling than the fact that you or I behave ourselves in traffic.

I think infrastructure is ahead of culture, but maybe that's just the view of someone who doesn't enjoy bike paths.

More people on more bikes. That is the only way to change the culture.

And the only way to do that is to make those people who do not ride bikes now feel safe and comfortable doing so.

And the only way to do that is to change the physical infrastructure in ways that make it safe and comfortable for our children and our grandmothers.

Denmark and the US were not that much different in 1970. The reason Copenhagen is so different now is because of how they invested in their transportation network. Their culture is an outgrowth of those societal decisions.

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