This post is part of the USA versus SWE everyday Life Contest.
I love enjoying the countryside outside the big cities. By bike, by foot or by car. So where to find the most amazing sceneries?
Easy one. It has to US by far. There is also such a big variety in the landscape, and that is said from me who has only been to a fraction of the unique environments within US borders.
Ok, this this is not a fair one, USA has way bigger territory than Sweden (which is roughly the size of California), so the mere mathematical chance for having stunning natural sceneries is larger... But that really was not the question here :)
Sweden also has a fantastic country side. With its big pine forests, gently rolling hills and open or semi-open farmland and beautiful archipelagos. The beautiful lush spring and light summer nights summer stand in stark contrast to the colorful autumn and white but short winter days. While there are parts of US that have big seasonal changes, there is something special with the light during Swedish summers!
5 USA : SWE 2
söndag 26 april 2009
Everyday Life Contest: Bike Roads
This post is part of the USA versus SWE everyday Life Contest.
It has been far too long since the last post. And it's all because I have just been too lazy to edit my drafts into something actually readable. But fear not, fellow explorers - I there is more to come! Anyway, here is today's reflection:
I am an enthusiastic bicyclist. My passion for bicycling probably has its roots from when I was a kid and me and my friends started biking to each other's places. For me it was, and still is, freedom on two wheels.
Actually, school did not allow us to bike to school before 3rd grade, at which point all children get practical safe bike riding education. (Major event that year). No one ever said anything about our spare time though... :)
The route for getting to school was only 1.2 km (0.75 miles), but I thought it was more than long enough. The biggest challenge was climbing a 200 m stretch up a hill. The joy I felt the day I could climb it without stepping off the bike!
I continued to bike and in 7th and 9th grade I did 20-50 km bike rides with a good friend every now and then, exploring the roads and forests around our town.
During my days at university, bicycling mainly became a means of getting to and from campus. My dormant interest finally got revived thanks to a couple of biking devoted collegues, now friends, who I met at work.
The bottom line is, I as many other Swedes, bike and have biked a lot. But we are fortunate, and maybe spoiled. Sweden has one of the best bicycle road networks in the world. We are only surpassed by the Netherlands and possibly Switzerland. When I say "bike road network" I mean just that. Bike roads are for the most part separated from the streets by grass or a raised curb. They are not sharing asphalt with the roads for cars. Great effort is put into making crowded bike and car road intersections separate by using over- and underpasses. If following a major bike route, you can get from point A to point B without ever needing to cross a car road. In other cases, bike roads don't follow the car roads at all. For example they can connect neighborhoods by taking convenient shortcuts that are not possible for car roads simply because of space requirements. This is the result of decades of city planning where the needs of bicyclists have been an integral part. It is simply put darn close to bicycling Nirvana.
In the US the situation is unfortunately a little bit different. Dedicated bike roads are scarce, although I have seen fine exceptions in Boston and San Francisco. I am sure there are many other cities which have put extra effort in designing safe bike roads (I hear the state of Oregon is progressive also in this area). For the most part though, bike paths are just an extra lane on the side of the road, only separated from the cars (travelling at 2 or 3 times bike speed) by a white painted line. At intersections, cars are allowed to enter the bike lane to do a right turn. No wonder I see so few bicyclists around. If you are a beginner or casual biker, there is a big chance traffic will scare you off.
To the defense of today's America you must say that it suffers from decisions made 50 years ago. I think the situation today greatly has to do with the big real estate boom in the 50's and 60's. Everyone should have the opportunity to live the American Dream, and have their own house with a yard. Oil was cheap and the result was far stretching neighborhoods which required a car to navigate, not to mention getting to and from work.
On the good side, I find that a great majority of American car drivers act with extra caution around bicyclists. In Sweden I sometimes find the opposite, maybe just because Swedish drivers are not as used to seeing bicyclist on the street - Normally they are on the bike road!
An even better thing with America is that you will find wide bike paths (lanes) even in the back country. Here, lanes work really well because of the lower traffic. Makes for great weekend tours through beautiful landscape!
So, how to distribute the scores this round? It is tougher than I first imagined. The last weeks I have felt increasingly positive about bike roads in America. Maybe just because of the sheer amount of miles, but that is just me loving long rides :). Bike lanes in the back country are really great, but I think most people would benefit from and enjoy safe bike roads inside towns and cities. The winner thus, is Sweden. But keep it up America!
1 USA : SWE 3
It has been far too long since the last post. And it's all because I have just been too lazy to edit my drafts into something actually readable. But fear not, fellow explorers - I there is more to come! Anyway, here is today's reflection:
I am an enthusiastic bicyclist. My passion for bicycling probably has its roots from when I was a kid and me and my friends started biking to each other's places. For me it was, and still is, freedom on two wheels.
Actually, school did not allow us to bike to school before 3rd grade, at which point all children get practical safe bike riding education. (Major event that year). No one ever said anything about our spare time though... :)
The route for getting to school was only 1.2 km (0.75 miles), but I thought it was more than long enough. The biggest challenge was climbing a 200 m stretch up a hill. The joy I felt the day I could climb it without stepping off the bike!
I continued to bike and in 7th and 9th grade I did 20-50 km bike rides with a good friend every now and then, exploring the roads and forests around our town.
During my days at university, bicycling mainly became a means of getting to and from campus. My dormant interest finally got revived thanks to a couple of biking devoted collegues, now friends, who I met at work.
The bottom line is, I as many other Swedes, bike and have biked a lot. But we are fortunate, and maybe spoiled. Sweden has one of the best bicycle road networks in the world. We are only surpassed by the Netherlands and possibly Switzerland. When I say "bike road network" I mean just that. Bike roads are for the most part separated from the streets by grass or a raised curb. They are not sharing asphalt with the roads for cars. Great effort is put into making crowded bike and car road intersections separate by using over- and underpasses. If following a major bike route, you can get from point A to point B without ever needing to cross a car road. In other cases, bike roads don't follow the car roads at all. For example they can connect neighborhoods by taking convenient shortcuts that are not possible for car roads simply because of space requirements. This is the result of decades of city planning where the needs of bicyclists have been an integral part. It is simply put darn close to bicycling Nirvana.
In the US the situation is unfortunately a little bit different. Dedicated bike roads are scarce, although I have seen fine exceptions in Boston and San Francisco. I am sure there are many other cities which have put extra effort in designing safe bike roads (I hear the state of Oregon is progressive also in this area). For the most part though, bike paths are just an extra lane on the side of the road, only separated from the cars (travelling at 2 or 3 times bike speed) by a white painted line. At intersections, cars are allowed to enter the bike lane to do a right turn. No wonder I see so few bicyclists around. If you are a beginner or casual biker, there is a big chance traffic will scare you off.
To the defense of today's America you must say that it suffers from decisions made 50 years ago. I think the situation today greatly has to do with the big real estate boom in the 50's and 60's. Everyone should have the opportunity to live the American Dream, and have their own house with a yard. Oil was cheap and the result was far stretching neighborhoods which required a car to navigate, not to mention getting to and from work.
On the good side, I find that a great majority of American car drivers act with extra caution around bicyclists. In Sweden I sometimes find the opposite, maybe just because Swedish drivers are not as used to seeing bicyclist on the street - Normally they are on the bike road!
An even better thing with America is that you will find wide bike paths (lanes) even in the back country. Here, lanes work really well because of the lower traffic. Makes for great weekend tours through beautiful landscape!
So, how to distribute the scores this round? It is tougher than I first imagined. The last weeks I have felt increasingly positive about bike roads in America. Maybe just because of the sheer amount of miles, but that is just me loving long rides :). Bike lanes in the back country are really great, but I think most people would benefit from and enjoy safe bike roads inside towns and cities. The winner thus, is Sweden. But keep it up America!
1 USA : SWE 3
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