bike - Bicycle culture
Photograph by holmanphotoon Flickr.
Examples of countries where this is the case are the USA, Canada, and Australia. Several countries have established bicycle cultures, including Denmark, the Netherlands, Germany, China, Bangladesh and Japan.
These techniques help address the common objections to bicycling: I don t feel safe , my tires are flat , what if my bike gets stolen? Bike Culture contributors use their efforts to access the emotions that are at the heart of decision-making. Group activities may involve competitive cycling, fun rides, or even civil disobedience, which is how motorists may characterize the activities of Critical Mass.
Bicycle culture is a phrase with two related, but different meanings. Bike subculture is a loose collection of magazines, fashion trends, websites, art, music, and community events offered by passionate bicyclists.
Some groups work to promote bicycle transportation (community bicycle program); others fix up bicycles to give to children or the homeless, or to poor people in other countries (Bikes Not Bombs). Bicycle magazines and organizations give yearly awards to cities for being bicycle friendly . Through music, art, and shared group experiences such as rides and events, bike culture aims to hit the emotions that can bring us the point of making changes in peoples daily habits and lives. Bike culture consists of: Many cities contain subcultures of bicycle enthusiasts, including racers, bicycle messengers, bicycle transportation activists, mutant bicycle fabricators, bicycle mechanics, and cyclists who share an interest in peace and justice activism or various counter-culture groups.
It can be used for countries with a culture that supports, encourages, and has high bicycle usage. In Europe, bicycle culture is generally regarded as meaning citizens using their bikes for commuting, running errands and dropping off children at school or kindergarten. A city with a strong bicycle culture usually has a well-developed infrastructure favouring bicycles, including segregated bike lanes and extensive facilities catering to a large amount of bicycles in the urban landscape, such as bike racks at railway stations. In some countries, where transportation infrastructure is focused on automobiles, people who ride bicycles may do so as an ethical and emotional choice, and an active cycling subculture has developed.
Riding in numbers exceeding 1000 cyclists, this ride s only political motive is to inspire more people to ride bicycles. Often these are attempts to inspire beginners, rally the faithful, and express their love of bicycling as a life choice. Those who have made bicycling a lifestyle choice, not a mere recreational habit, often see bicycling as a movement they want to help grow to stop pollution, and build local communities.
There are several paths people use to convince others to try biking: Practical improvements, Logic and Facts, and Bike Culture . Practical improvements include measures at the level of local government, such as bike lanes , improved parking facilities, and access to public transportation. In countries with relatively low bicycle usage, such as the USA, it refers to the cycling subculture, and related fashions and characteristics. This type of cycling culture is found in cities and countries that feature a high rate of bicycle usage, sometimes called utility cycling, as part of their cultural identity.
In Copenhagen and Amsterdam, in particular, 37% and 40% respectively of all citizens ride their bike on a daily basis. Similar midnight rides such as the Midnight Mystery rides of Portland and Victoria, the bi-monthly Midnight Mass of Vancouver BC, and similar rides across the US and Europe have been growing in popularity. .
Bike culture is regarded as a social movement, a subculture in many areas, celebrating cycling as a choice, and advocating an increase in bicycle usage in the population. It is particularly in the cities that bicycle culture is most widespread.
Improvements in products that improve the bicycling experience, such as flat-resistant tires and simple, effective safety products also help encourage people to cycle.
