tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7664661573678938905.post5699410666502659246..comments2024-03-01T12:31:07.967+00:00Comments on Cottenham Cyclist: Warning: cycling is addictiveCottenham Cyclisthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04341822746581357047noreply@blogger.comBlogger1125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7664661573678938905.post-60382146239794776522011-03-12T13:09:08.880+00:002011-03-12T13:09:08.880+00:00It's interesting that you refer to such a dist...It's interesting that you refer to such a distance being considered to be "an impossibility". We found this too in Britain. I used to ride from Melbourn to the Cambridge Science Park and back for work, and people would see this as very strange indeed. Even when my commute was just Melbourn to Barrington, not much more than four miles, this seemed odd enough.<br /><br />However, it's not the same here. There is an odd perception in the UK that Dutch people cycle more because everything is close together. However, in fact, Dutch people simply cycle further without anything being made of it.<br /><br />I get less hassle now on a 19 mile each way cycle to work than I got in Britain on a 4 mile each way cycle. I also average much higher speeds.<br /><br />It's not at all unusual for school children who live in villages to make 20 mile round trips each day by bike, including in the winter when the days are short, they'll be riding in the dark, and it gets very cold compared with most of Britain (we've had weeks of -10 C and lower temperatures every winter here so far). In fact, the cycle paths from villages to the city are <a href="http://hembrow.blogspot.com/2010/01/rural-bike-paths-in-winter.html" rel="nofollow">kept clear of snow</a> in large part to enable this to happen. The school cycle parking is <a href="http://hembrow.blogspot.com/2010/03/school-cycling-in-winter.html" rel="nofollow">just as full in winter as in summer</a>.<br /><br />The villages around Cambridge, and Cambridge itself, could be just the same. But they're not. I think it's quite obvious why. Cyclists are treated as exceptional human beings in Britain, even in Cambridge, but here it's just normal. It's expected that people will continue to ride whatever the conditions simply because that is the normal thing to do - not just in cities, but between them, and right out in the countryside.David Hembrowhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14543024940730663645noreply@blogger.com