Must you risk your life to ride a bike to work?

I started this blog back in 2007 to share a few thoughts on a month long bike trip around Holland. Somehow, when it came to bicycle infrastructure the world's richest and most powerful nation had fallen far behind a country about the size of New Jersey with 16 million people——and 10,000 miles of dedicated bike paths.



In a few years, I hoped to see scenes like these in the USA. How could it NOT happen here?



Generally, the Dutch will keep a "work bike" for generations. All these people are commuting, shopping and cruising around on bikes that will get a tire patch every year or so and a new chain when the old one rusts off. In other words, nobody's spending a lot of money on this. And of course, there are other benefits. See any fatties?

The five mile bike path from Arcata to Eureka, along Arcata Bay, that seemed just around the corner back in 2007, still hasn't been started. We're in our 20th (some say 25h, or 30th!) year of studying the path. A couple of years ago Arcata hired a team of expensive consultants who put on a multi-media presentation showing what the path could look like. Cyclists who attended got to write suggestions on large white boards with magic markers. For several hours we were allowed to consult with the consultants.

Where does the path stand now, you ask?

Multi-Agency Team Considers Eureka-Arcata Trail Possibilities

"We expect to have a dedicated trails trust participant involved in the next phase of constraints and opportunities analysis."

A "Multi-Agency Team" is "excited" about "progress toward this long-desired trail!" We're "considering possibilities!" Meanwhile, every day of the year cyclists between Arcata and Eureka brave the gutter on Rte 101, a few feet from 70mph traffic for six nail biting miles.



The video above was made in Los Angeles. It's. not. that. bad. here. yet.

Sister cities in Holland would be serviced by two, three, maybe a half a dozen dedicated bike trails.

The Dutch get health care, bike paths and wind energy farms for their tax Euros. We get aircraft carriers and nuclear weapons.

A tip of the helmet to Steve Fox for the inspiring Dutch cycling videos