Shek's Footprint

This video has been on my ‘to watch’ list for a while. It showes a bicycle path on the street of Amsterdamsestraatweg in Utrecht, Netherlands. It was posted on David Hembrow’s blog here: link

Things to notice are the traffic lights, car parking, car traffic and intersections on this road.

A majority of complaints made against this segregated type of infrastructure is the dynamics of intersections  between bicycle path and motorised traffic. Remember that due to this infrastructure, a majority of people are on bicycles, not in cars, thereby reducing the volume of cars on the roads that lead to the supposedly friction at intersections. Moreover, there are laws in place to reduce this friction leading to one of the lower bicycle accident rates in the world.

Another complaint made by some Vehicular Cyclists is that this system gives cars and wealthy car owners more superiority. I dont know if car owners feel superior in this video but a substantially large and growing number bicyclists seemed to be enjoying a high quality commute involving zero emissions, absymally low financial burdens and a healthy body.

Note a woman with a small child on her bicycle pedaling down the street with no worries. This sight is almost never visible in USA where Vehicular Cyclists demand we rightfully take our position on existing roads with traffic. I have asked this question before (link) and continue to wonder why a mother would not ride her bicycle on car-traffic-laden-infrastructure-less streets with her new born!

I remember growing up during the beginning of consumerism in India. My father owned a car that I used for errands and to transport myself to the commuter rail station. He used the company car to commute to work. Before I have been driving, I watched my friends get motorcycles and scooters. I have been drooling over motorcycles for as long as I can remember.

Mom and Dad, fearing traffic conditions of Bombay, never bought me one. After laboriously evaluating every production motorcycle in India through magazines and internet, I had zeroed in on the Enfield Bullet 350 as the object of my affection. I got to ride a 1971 Royal Enfield Bullet 350 on the closed streets of Godrej & Boyce manufacturing campus. Even though I ended up pushing the heavy kick-start bike back to its owner for a quarter mile, consumerism was taking over. I wanted to acquire motorcycles from everything like the Enfield 350 to the over powered liquid cooled V4 engined Yamaha V-Max. Frugal options like 100 cc to 150 cc commuter motorcycles legendary for their reliability, affordability and fuel efficiency were not on my radar.

Others: Get what you really want. You will grow tired of this in three months.

Me: But I don’t have $9000 for the Triumph America. I want to keep my operating costs low.

Others: Put it on your credit card. Ask for an extension on your limit. Get financing. (in other words, get deeper into debt like the rest of us)

Me: I get 90+ miles per gallon. Insurance costs only $181 annually for Liability and Comprehensive.

Others: You will grow out of it soon. Get what you really want.

Me: I just want to commute. Not really worried about speed.

Others: You’ll think your bike is too slow in 3 months.

I am in a position where only time can tell if I grow tired of this bike quickly. Till now, my top speed has been a modest 30 mph on slippery rainy conditions with slippery new tires. I plan to own this bike for two to three years till I can afford to own and maintain a bigger motorcycle without going into debt. I am not, however, excited about being pulled into the rat race of traffic and commute. Owning a motor vehicle is one step closer to being another brick in the wall.