Why is cycling so popular in the Netherlands

[Tarrel]

Check out "How To Live Off-Grid" by Nick Rosen. He bought, equipped and experimented with living in a van as he roved the country in search of folks living off grid for the above book.

[RenewableCandy]

Many years ago in the early days of teleworking from home, providing accounting services for small businesses, I thought up the idea of becoming an itinerant accountant, wandering round the country in a motorhome.

<sings> It's funnn, to charter an account-ant...

[JohnB]

Check out "How To Live Off-Grid" by Nick Rosen. He bought, equipped and experimented with living in a van as he roved the country in search of folks living off grid for the above book.

I read it when I was travelling, but wasn't very impressed. Can't remember why though.

[JohnB]

Many years ago in the early days of teleworking from home, providing accounting services for small businesses, I thought up the idea of becoming an itinerant accountant, wandering round the country in a motorhome.

<sings> It's funnn, to charter an account-ant...

I could have renamed my business Crimson Accounting Services. I only wore a suit to fool potential new clients into signing up. After that it was jeans and T-shirt, but my USP could have been dressing as a pirate, although living and travelling in a small space with a parrot and the German Shepherd I had at the time would have been "interesting" .

[JohnB]

Incidentally, my travelling life isn't entirely off topic, as I did carry a bike around with me

[Snail]

An interesting aside, Billy Marshal (Gypsy King of Galloway) was 120 years old when he died. You can visit his grave in Kirkcudbright in SW Scotland.

Er, I'm sure he'd have carried a bicycle too if they existed at the time.

[cubes]

Let's start with compulsory training shall we?

Ok! Enjoy waiting behind cyclists riding 1m out into the road as they're trained to do.

[Little John]

Let's start with compulsory training shall we?

Ok! Enjoy waiting behind cyclists riding 1m out into the road as they're trained to do.

Funnily enough, 1 metre out from the kerb is just about exactly where I do ride for all the reasons i gave earlier...

[JavaScriptDonkey]

And there is nothing wrong or obstructive about riding 1m out from the kerb. That is where cyclists are supposed to be.

I wasn't railing against cyclists cycling - I was complaining about cyclists racing.

In packs.

Without a thought for any other road users.

The difference is vast.

[JavaScriptDonkey]

As it is, a wide range of speeds in a chaotic system is the main variable behind bottlenecks rather than lack of speed per-se. I am vague on the maths of it, but it would surprise me little to hear that congestion would be little effected, or even improved slightly if the speed limit was reduced to fifty and was rigidly enforced, by say, a mechanical limiter in every vehicle.

You'd be right if you could stop people slowing down from whatever fixed speed you pick. From experience two indicators of likely slow areas on motorways are slight but sudden inclines and short on/off ramps.

As people in front slow briefly so the following driver slows a little but later but more so. 20 cars back we are stationary.

Good spacing and a steady speed maintained with predictive driving techniques can help if only we could get everyone to drive that way.

[Little John]

As it is, a wide range of speeds in a chaotic system is the main variable behind bottlenecks rather than lack of speed per-se. I am vague on the maths of it, but it would surprise me little to hear that congestion would be little effected, or even improved slightly if the speed limit was reduced to fifty and was rigidly enforced, by say, a mechanical limiter in every vehicle.

You'd be right if you could stop people slowing down from whatever fixed speed you pick. From experience two indicators of likely slow areas on motorways are slight but sudden inclines and short on/off ramps.

As people in front slow briefly so the following driver slows a little but later but more so. 20 cars back we are stationary.

Good spacing and a steady speed maintained with predictive driving techniques can help if only we could get everyone to drive that way.

I think the only way you would get that is if speed was automatically controlled by on-board vehicle computers that were linked in some way to a peer-to-peer, "hive mind" control-system that operated across all vehicles within a given radius.

The kind of traffic flow we actually observe is exactly as we might expect to observe since it follows patterns of flow and congestion that can be seen across all of nature. To expect drivers to not be a part of that kind of pattern is to expect them to act unnaturally. I'm not talking about common courtesy on the road or obeying basic rules here. Those things can be taught and enforced. But, the kind of micro-behavioural adjustments that would be required constantly in order for traffic flow to be smooth at high speeds is just too much to ask I think. As it is, simply slowing the upper speed-limit down a bit does seem to have a crude, beneficial effect on average speed.

[emordnilap]

The best solution would be a completely segregated road network for cyclists - at least in the cities.

Yes. As someone said (ish), "Till a cycle lane is safe for an eight-year-old, it's not safe."

[the_lyniezian]

The best solution would be a completely segregated road network for cyclists - at least in the cities.

Trouble is, where are you going to build it, Steve? There are only so many places where you can build separate cycle paths and these are at some point going to have to interact with often very busy roads. You could create segregated cycle lanes from already existing very wide roads, but that's about it.

People will most likely start at, and end up at, places located on busy or not so busy streets with roads used by cars.

Here in Stockton we've had a cycle route for years running along the route of a 'Beechingized' former railway line, which has been extended over time, and also cycle paths cutting through green spaces and along existing pavements. The trouble with a lot of these is you seem to have one lane for cyclists and another for pedestrians- which doesn't really make sense as they are to narrow to accommodate multiple bikes or pedestrians coming in opposite directions. There are a few other cycle paths around the place but probably not nearly enough as we would need to avoid busy roads for the most part.

[cubes]

Then close one lane of some roads, make them one-way with the other lane a bi-directional cycle lane. Give people financial encouragement to cycle to work rather than (pretty poor0 disincentives to drive.

[ujoni08]

Like it, Cubes!