....Oooh, and I forgot to mention speed and bike design.
As I was burning into Copenhagen on my recumbent trike, on a grade separated
cycle path in town, I got overtaken not only by other cyclists but also by a
very attractive Danish girl on roller blades...... I couldn't believe the
speeds we were doing adjacent to pedestrians on the footpath (which was only
separated by a white line). This "competitiveness" was evident everywhere.
Your comments about bike design are also interesting. In Denmark there
seemed to be an awful lot of what we in Britain used to refer to (back in
the 60's) as ladies drop handlebars...drop handle bars that are splayed
outward at a sharp angle (I have no idea what the technical term for them
are, nor why they were developed....but nowadays would be considered highly
retro!)
And I'm not entirely sure that I agree with you regarding the class aspect
of cycle design and speed. On a weekend there you'll see many many cycle
sporting clubs around, knocking on at a fair pace (I used to struggle to
keep up with them). And the Dutch have a long tradition of competitive
cycling). I've never noted much in the way of class segmentation...indeed
the Dutch Prime Minster appeared on the BBC cycling to parliament to hand in
his resignation the other day. But that might be my interpretation of
working definitions of social class between the UK and the
Netherlands...which I'd suggest are very different.
So I think the fondness for the traditional dutch design has more to do with
the pragmatic streak in the Dutch (oooh boy do I miss it!) which defines
bike purchases....a utility bike is a utility bike, so it's configured that
way (same thing applies to the fondness for terug trap remmen (back pedal
brakes for uninitiated!) 'cos it's easier to carry a bag in your hand and
brake with the pedals).
My Dutch bike dates back to the early post-war years when most of the
transport, including bikes, had been commandeered and exported. Once the
war was over and food production and distribution re-started one of the
major imperatives would have been to re-build transport. Bicycles would
have been the quickest and cheapest form of transport to get the country
back moving and were probably built in huge numbers to pre-war designs.
Considering the design of my own bike may offer some clues, though the bike
itself is a bit of an enigma. I took it to the museum in Nijmegen however
all they could tell me was that it was a 1938 Batavus design, but the frame
number didn't conform to that companies frame number (or any other bike
company). Instead they suggested it was more likely to be the asset number
for a company owned bike. I am speculating but my guess is that, in
addition to bike companies production, kits of parts may have been exported
to local workshops as a means to increase production (there some other clues
in the materials that were used to construct this particular bike) and may
not have been issued with a frame number. And the bike found its way onto a
company register.
I often wonder how the Dutch transport system was rebuilt after the war and
whether the influences of this period may have contributed to the longevity
of the sit-up-and-beg style of cycle.
Beste wensen
John
-----Original Message-----
From: Cycling and Society Research Group discussion list
[mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Oosterhuis Harry
(HISTORY)
Sent: 02 May 2012 11:04
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: I'm visiting Denmark
Dear John,
What is, in your view, the fundamental difference between the Danish and
Dutch bicycle infrastructure (and therefore perhaps also cycle policies and
national cycling cultures)? One of the latest developments in Dutch bicycle
policies concerns the construction of 'cycle-highways' in order to promote
long-distance commuting and increasing cycling speeds, but I agree that the
speeds of many Dutch cyclists is relatively low. For the average Dutchman,
cycling is not a competitive sport ('hot and sweaty'), but just an easy way
to get around. Probably the low speed has also to do with the particular
history of bicycling in the Netherlands: the national image of the bicycle
has been framed in terms of middle-class respectability and democracy: every
citizen (upper and lower class, young and old, men and women) should be able
to cycle. The typical Dutch bicycle (solid, black, chain-guard, dress-guard
etc. and putting the rider in an upright position) mirrors this image.
Best,
Harry
___________________________________
Dr. Harry Oosterhuis
Department of History
Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences
Maastricht University
PO Box 616/Grote Gracht 90-92
6200 MD Maastricht
T 00-31-(0)43-3883262
[log in to unmask]
http://www.fdcw.unimaas.nl/staff/oosterhuis
http://www.fasos-research.nl/sts/cyclinghistory
-----Original Message-----
From: Cycling and Society Research Group discussion list
[mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of John Meudell
Sent: woensdag 2 mei 2012 11:34
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: I'm visiting Denmark
Peter
You might want to try a bit of island hopping and check out the convenience
of cycle and pedestrian priorities on the ferries. Although it's many years
since I cycled around Denmark I was struck by the fundamental difference
underlying Danish and Dutch approaches to cycling provision.
And likewise the difference in typical cycling speeds....the Danish seem so
much more competitive!
Cheers
John Meudell
-----Original Message-----
From: Cycling and Society Research Group discussion list
[mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Peter R.H. Wood
Sent: 01 May 2012 21:38
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: I'm visiting Denmark
Hello, I'm going on an extended trip to Denmark tomorrow evening.
Can anyone suggest cycling things to do, and people to meet?
Currently I'm in Copenhagen from the 3rd to the 7th, University of Aalborg
mobilities course 8th-11th, then no plans until my flight from Copenhagen on
the evening of the 14th.
Is there anyone on the list that lives in Denmark and wants to meet up for a
coffee, or can suggest interesting cycling things that I might want to
see/video/photograph? I'm researching how cycling fits into urban lives in
Inner London, so that'd be anything interesting really, from notable pieces
of infrastructure, interesting examples of Danish cycling culture or just
any notable bloggers/activists/campaigners that might want to meet up for an
informal chat.
(Interesting non-cycling recommendations also welcome)
Pete
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