The reason fewer US women cycle than the Dutch is not what you think it is.

[baiskeli]

@Steve O 97155 wrote:

I sweat like crazy, too. However, if you shower before you go, sweat does not stink. I have been literally dripping with sweat on August trips to business meetings (with my suit in my pannier). I give myself 10 minutes to cool down, then essentially towel myself off in the men’s room, put on my suit, and no one can tell I was not driven there by my chauffeur. No smell.

Agree. I almost never shower after a commute these days. I think it’s sweaty clothes that stink, not skin, and it’s stale sweat, not fresh. So if you take off your bike clothes and towel off, it usually works out.

Since I never drive to work, on hot days the walk from the Metro station would make me sweatier, and I wouldn’t get to change clothes.

[chris_s]

@Steve O 97155 wrote:

I sweat like crazy, too. However, if you shower before you go, sweat does not stink. I have been literally dripping with sweat on August trips to business meetings (with my suit in my pannier). I give myself 10 minutes to cool down, then essentially towel myself off in the men’s room, put on my suit, and no one can tell I was not driven there by my chauffeur. No smell.

I can vouch for this as well.

[dasgeh]

Speaking of these:

@Steve O 97154 wrote:

When I lived in Center City Philadelphia, there were many households without cars. These “city carts” were common for carting groceries and other stuff. Given it’s only 1/2 mile, that’s within easy walking distance. And, unlike your bike, you can dispatch your spouse to the grocery with it, too!
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They also make these:

http://www.burley.com/page_12208/travoy-bike-commute-trailer

One culture issue that people haven’t mentioned is that in the US, it is more common to shop once a week and live further from the store. In Europe, it’s more common to shop every day and live very close to a store. The more often you shop, the less you buy at a time, and the easier that is to haul home.

[mstone]

@dasgeh 97170 wrote:

One culture issue that people haven’t mentioned is that in the US, it is more common to shop once a week and live further from the store. In Europe, it’s more common to shop every day and live very close to a store. The more often you shop, the less you buy at a time, and the easier that is to haul home.

And, if anything, the US is trying to double down on that with super wal-marts. The cultural differences tend to feed on one another.

[wheelswings]

Good point about the different urban planning in Europe. I had a work trip to Switzerland a few years ago and was stunned that even the 7-11 stores carried hot loaves of fresh-baked bread. The daily/local shopping routine is very different from the once-a-week trip to Walmart that’s the norm in much of the US.

Arlington is unusual by US standards in having so many grocery options close to our bike commuter thoroughfares… TJ’s, WF, Giant, MOMs, etc…. so for many of us it’s relatively easy to stock up on the way home.

[dplasters]

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A quarter of families in Copenhagen with two children or more own a cargo bike

Article (although not related to the topic at hand)

[cyclingfool]

@dplasters 98113 wrote:

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I want THEM on my FS team!!!

[Orestes Munn]

@chris_s 97168 wrote:

I can vouch for this as well.

I have been relying on this for three decades, during a couple of which I commuted 11 mi each way and practiced clinical medicine half time. I got no complaints, but plenty of looks askance when people asked where I showered. I do, absolutely, have to wash my face, though.

[Author]

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