A friend of mine alerted me to this video which I think has so many relevant and relatable things to say. You see what happens to a culture (specifically in Brussels, Belgium), not only on a transportation level, but as a whole in its mentality when cars are prioritized. The “Bicycle” Mayor of Copenhagen (2006-2010 ) Klaus Bondam is in this film and I found what he said spot on: “Of course you have to love your cyclists, of course you have to love your pedestrians, of course you have to love the people who use public transport because they are contributing to the well being on tons of levels in the city…We really appreciate that you come here.”
It is a crime in my viewpoint that a country that hosts one of the greatest cycling events in the world, suffers from such problems. I love my lycra, but I also like riding in normal clothes to do normal things on my bicycle. Bicycling is about more than putting on your bike shorts once a week, it is about doing something that makes sense. Bicycling takes care of you (mentally and physically), and when you are taking care of you, you are taking care of your society.
Mr. Bondam references Stockholm and how a city can change (ca. minute 15), I can say from seeing it firsthand – it’s a wonderful place to ride a bicycle.
Take a few minutes out of your day and watch this. What do you think? How can you relate?
PS ~ Want to know what it is like to experience the opposite of this? Come spend the day with us on June 10th at Open Streets, an Initiative of the Minneapolis Bicycle Coalition.
