Biking Culture In America Vs. Europe

I know this is giving in to a total lifestyle indulgence moment, but imagine being a mommy cruising around in your amazing pale blue Madsen Cycle (aka Mommy Mobile)? Oh it's lovely and very practical don't you think? My husband tells me that in Germany you can purchase bike insurance so you are protected against theft which for a Madsen I would absolutely do this. LOVE. THIS. BIKE. I also heard that in my city of Hannover that most aren't going to run off with your bike, theft is quite low so that's a bonus. In the states though, honestly, I don't see myself ever spending this much cash on a designer bike for basic transportation services. People steal bikes in the states left and right and they end up on eBay or Craigslist and there's no way to ever recover it.

I think America has a LONG way to go before they'll ever have the biking culture that exists in Europe but thanks to lifestyle pushers biking is becoming hip and cool vs. "poor man's transportation" or for sport or children only... And that's good. I have many American friends who want to bike everywhere and LOVE the concept but not all cities and towns here have the infrastructure for bicycles (no designated lanes, for one).

Marketing a bike as trendy and cool is how to sell a bike to the average car driver here. Make it into a lifestyle object, and you just may have started something. Hey, to me, whatever sells this is fine by me. I fully support it no matter how it is packaged. In my trendy New Hampshire town, the only ones who rely on bikes for transportation are the Jamaicans hired to live in town seasonally by the farms. Trust me, as a southerner who recalls watching the African Americans pick cotton and weave baskets growing up, I really dislike seeing them working the fields in my town. I want to see the Caucasian Abercrombie teenagers who work in the farm shop at the cash registers doing it, who say Like and Totally and have that annoying pitch at the end of their sentences as they text message their BFF while ringing in your $8. a pound organic lemons. But that's a whole 'nother blog post. The Jamaicans in my New Hampshire town are given beat up bikes to get around, live together in a huge barn (20+ of them) and in addition to their bikes they have trucks and tractors owned by the farm. They come up to work the fields, earn their living, and return to Jamaica to live with their families after the Fall Harvest returning again around May. All the "white" professional working class folks have their designer bikes in which they only ride if sporting this kind of Tour de France spandex logo plastered gear. I've never once spotted anyone here riding a bike just for the sake of running an errand. That would be a huge no no in my town as it's not considered hip or posh. Driving mini Coopers or the giant SUV is absolute necessity.

Simple City 8W by Fisher, another favorite of mine.

Again, we have a long way to go in America, especially outside of American cities. It's a big country, hugely dependent on the automotive industry. The rail system here is rubbish and Amtrak sucks unless you are lucky enough to live in Philly, DC or NYC and go to any of these 3 destinations regularly, then it's fine. The Boston - NYC connection is a joke. Rubbish. To quote chef/travel writer/show host Tony Bourdain (my idol), "Amtrak Sucks". Expensive too, hundreds of dollars round trip and very inconvenient travel times. But we can dream and hope that Madsen and other bicycle companies in the states designing for practical purposes and not merely sport are able to have their day in the sun. I want this so badly here, I depended on my bike growing up and plan to depend on it once again when I relocate because there I will have things called bike paths and the support of my community who not only ride their bicycles to run errands but who encourage others to do the same.

Personally, I want to invest in a Velorbis bike, made in Germany modeled after traditional Danish bike design. Love these bikes and the wonderful baskets but red is not for me so perhaps something less bold. I saw them in Hannover for the first time in a bike shop there for the first time and told Tee, "I want that one someday". He just smiled. He builds bikes as a hobby but told me I could buy whatever I want. He is still building his own. :) Do you bike? Where do you live? Is biking for normal transportation popular where you live? (image: madsen)