My husband thinks I hate bikes. I don’t hate bikes, I like them… a normal amount. I can ride a bike, but I don’t own one. My daughter owns a bike, and I have no problem with her riding it, as long as she wears her helmet. However, I won’t allow her (as long as I can control that) to become one of them.
Allow me to backtrack a little: when I lived in Copenhagen, I was used to seeing lots of bikes on the road. It was somewhat surprising that so many people would use a bike as a mean of transportation in the dead of winter in Copenhagen (it’s really, really cold), however it is also true that it was completely flat, which made it almost ideal for traveling by bike. Of course the fact that it was flat also allowed the constant wind to sweep the streets for miles and miles and I just couldn’t see myself riding a bike against the wind (have I mentioned it was really, really, really cold?).
It never fails to surprise me, however, how many people choose a bike as their mean of transportation in Zurich. There are lots of hills in Zurich, and trams, and though it’s not nearly as cold as Copenhagen or anywhere in Scandinavia, it still gets pretty cold in winter. How do hills and trams and intense cold spell “good biking”???
Not to mention that said trams are part of a very efficient public transportation system, possibly the most efficient in the world. And trams and buses in Zurich don’t use gas, so they are very eco-friendly. So where exactly is the appeal of the bike?
To each his own, right? I shouldn’t care so much how many people choose to bike. It’s good exercise, after all.
No, I shouldn’t care. However, the majority of bikers on the road happen to be in violation of road rules 90% of the time. They don’t wear helmets, they zigzag through cars, they see a red light and just keep going. And they are everywhere. Every frigging day, just bringing Sarah to school and driving home, I pass between 5 and 10 bikers. All of them without a helmet. Most of them pass red lights. Some of them zigzag through traffic. Every.Frigging.Day.
So I care. Because if something happens and they collide with my car, even if it’s their fault, I will be in trouble, because, well, I guess car trumps bike. Even if bike belongs to a jackass who runs red lights all the frigging time.
And Sarah sees these people. And I don’t want her to get the idea that it is ok to do all those things. It’s hard to explain to a child that something is wrong when she sees so many people doing it.
“I thought you liked bikes” my husband says to me. “I like motorbikes” I reply. “What’s the difference?” Uhm, where do I start? You need a license to drive a motorbike? People on motorbikes use helmets and can move faster out of the way in case of danger? Not to mention that motorbikes are just cooler 
Let’s use visuals, shall we?
Yeah, that’s the same.
{ 13 comments… read them below or add one }
yeah, a vespa is definitely cooler than a bike.
Well I’ve never been to Zurich, so I’ll take your word for it that trams are better than biking! I was astounded by the sheer number of bikes and bikers we saw when we visited Amsterdam. We were definitely in the minority as walkers!
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Cycling in Zurich is for retards. Fact.
I love my bike, but I’m now a careful road user. I must plead guilty to being a psycho before I drove a car myself. I just didn’t get it. I don’t take the bike out in winter any more, though – that’s just silly. Or for teenagers.
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You seriously prefer death-trap motorcycles to a bicycle? hahaha My husband is obsessed with BOTH of those two-wheeled contraptions, neither of which I can really wrap my head around. He says they’re more fun than cars.
I can see why you’d hate all the jackasses on bikes, though. But if the rider uses helmets and follows the law they’re a whole lot safer than a motorcycle!
Jessica @ This is Worthwhile´s last blog ..My valiant little burger
ih…ih…
bloody bikers, do they know that jeans get holes on their a… by riding so much
in the cold season?
Technically, it also happens in summer, but then it doesn’t have the “frosted cupcake” side-effect.
As a rule, whenever me and my daughter come across those bikers – or pedestrians or cars – that cross with red I mention the mashed potato story. Guess you can imagine how it goes…..
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LMFAO!
I bike a lot, BUT I don’t run red lights. That’s a quick way to getting smooshed and/or just pissing people off. But primarily I’d rather avoid the smooshed part.
I am so with you on this one. There aren’t as many cyclists here, but like the ones by you, they rarely stick to the rules of the road. It seriously drives me nuts. Especially the ones that cycle on a fast road, where they can’t possibly get up to the speed limit.
Lady Mama´s last blog ..Too tired to tweet
Ooh, a Vespa! Now there’s an idea.
Jeff and I spent two weeks biking in Switzerland long ago. And we popped too many inner tubes braking so hard down the mountains the heat from the friction burst holes.
I haven’t experienced crazy Zurich biking yet, but I have been to Viet Nam where they take the idea of bicycle insanity to a whole new level. So maybe I’m prepared.
Gwen´s last blog ..A Vacancy
Hilarious. I also hate clueless bikers (of course I do). I already worry about Dean’s biking habits and he’s not even 2 yet! It’s because our neighbors ride around the street on a four-wheeler with their 11 month old and NO ONE wears a helmet. Gr.
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Ummm…. Exercise? I know, I know. No fun. But if I could figure out a way to incorporate it into my life in a way I liked (which does NOT include biking in any way, shape, or form, ESPECIALLY over hills in Europe, no matter how beautiful and REALLY especially not in the winter!) I’d be all over it. Though I would always follow traffic signals. But maybe not the helmet. So uncool.
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I think cycling is pretty easier and less time consuming in cities like New York.
My husband LOVES bikes. Fixed-gear, road, mountain – he loves them all. I never imagined I’d ever become a bike rider, but I did when I started dating him. I also never thought I’d use a bike as my primary mode of transportation, but I do ever since moving to CH. See, I live in the boondocks with no tram and a bus that comes only twice per hour. For the record, I always where a helmet and follow traffic rules.
I used to live in Manhattan for 4 years, and I desperately miss the subway…
You’ve got it in spades. It’s the inconsistency with bikes that drives me mad. Are they following the road rules and stopping at a red light? Or are they just blasting through because no one is coming. Are they on the road, or the sidewalk/pavement. It’s all very anarchy in my town with the bikes. And I just want to walk to work in peace.
NFAH´s last blog ..Ahh winter