Two Interesting Articles That Came Across My Desk:

[GB]

@KLizotte 69774 wrote:

Anybody know a reliable source to see what the average commute/trip is for a Copenhagen cyclist?

Under the Super bikeways section Wiki says:

“Since traffic planners believe it will be very difficult to raise the modal share substantially beyond the current 50% for its own residents,[22] the city has begun targeting commuters entering the city from surrounding municipalities on trips in the 5-15 kilometre (3-9 mile) range, aiming to increase the number of bicycle commuters by 30% throughout the capital region.”

Which leads me to believe that the 36% commuters that they have at the moment are commuting less than 3 miles.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cycling_in_Copenhagen

[vvill]

Try these searches. Double quotes are your friend!

http://www.google.com/#q=copenhagen+commuting+%22average+distance%22&safe=off
http://www.google.com/#q=denmark+bike+commuting+%22average+distance%22&safe=off

From various unverified sources
Copenhagen – “average distance cycled per day is 0.8 miles”
Denmark – “The average distance cycled per person is 1.6 km”

[dasgeh]

@KLizotte 69774 wrote:

And yes, everyone was still biking in street clothes but relatively slowly.

Moving more slowly than you are able to (using whatever mode you currently choose) is completely unAmerican.

[KLizotte]

From http://denmark.dk/en/green-living/bicycle-culture/cycle-super-highway/

“People living in Greater Copenhagen will now have an easier time cycling to work or study, thanks to the region’s new network of cycle lanes. The country’s first Cycle Super Highway – which gives cyclists a safe, smooth ride and eliminates as many stops as possible, is now open, connecting central Copenhagen with the suburban town of Albertslund, 22 km (13 miles) outside the city.

In addition to the orange stripe painted on the asphalt that indicates the route, cyclists will also enjoy amenities such as air pumps, safer intersections and traffic lights timed to average cycling speed, reducing the number of stops. The initiatives are intended as a way to encourage more commuters to travel by bicycle, even if their commutes are longer than 10 km (6 miles).”

The references above all seem to indicate really short trips by Copenhagers. The superhighways initiative might also indicate that Denmark still has a way to go in terms of encouraging “long distance” bike commuters (relatively speaking).

[eminva]

Totally anecdotal: my brother lives in The Netherlands. When he tells people how far his sister commutes by bike in the US (29 miles RT), he reports that they stare at him blankly and ask, “Why doesn’t she drive?” He’s never gotten a different response. This is in The Netherlands.

So yeah, their commutes and errands are probably much shorter, on average, than what many of us do.

Liz

[dasgeh]

@KLizotte 69788 wrote:

“People living in Greater Copenhagen will now have an easier time cycling to work or study, thanks to the region’s new network of cycle lanes. The country’s first Cycle Super Highway – which gives cyclists a safe, smooth ride and eliminates as many stops as possible, is now open, connecting central Copenhagen with the suburban town of Albertslund, 22 km (13 miles) outside the city.

Interestingly, 13 miles from downtown DC will get you to the Beltway in most directions…

[lordofthemark]

Fairfax County is investing a significant amount in bike parking, and bike access options, at the Wiehle -Reston East metro station.

You know, the one thats practically right next to W&OD – a facility by which one could commute by bike all the way (connecting to the Custis) to North Arlington employment centers and to DC (and to Tysons somewhat more problematically).

Evidently FFX thinks there are people who will ride 1 or 2 miles who won’t commute 12 miles. I think they are entirely correct.

While I fully realize that Copenhagen and to an even greater extent, IIUC, Amsterdam, are better laid out in terms of urban design for short bike commutes – I don’t think their preponderance of short bike commutes is entirely a result of that.

If you want a short, easy bike commute, the MUPs are generally less useful if they are not exactly on your way. A half mile detour is a bigger deal when you want to ride 2 miles than when you want to ride 12 miles. And when you aren’t the sort who wants to LENGTHEN your commute for a better workout And the various obstacles to non bold and fearless riders on all the non-MUP routes are probably a bigger deterent to 2 mile riders than to 12 mile riders.

I wonder whats been happening to the average bike commute and bike trip length in greater DC in the last few years, as biking conditions have imprpoved and bike commute share has increased. I would bet its gone down.

[lordofthemark]

@eminva 69790 wrote:

Totally anecdotal: my brother lives in The Netherlands. When he tells people how far his sister commutes by bike in the US (29 miles RT), he reports that they stare at him blankly and ask, “Why doesn’t she drive?” He’s never gotten a different response. This is in The Netherlands.

Liz

The number of bikes I see at metro station bike parking (I havent checked out any VRE stations, but I know the county has high hopes for new bike parking there – plus there is talk of being able to get conventional bikes on the next generation of VRE cars) suggests to me that many Americans who DO bike and who do NOT drive to work, share the disinclination to bike that far every day. Plus what I hear about folks using CaBi for the last mile from transit.

What I’m getting it, is IF we really want to increase bike share (which is, after all, Copenhagenize’s main concern) we probably won’t get it focusing on long commutes. We may have not have plateaued on them, but we aren’t going to get huge increases in transportation cycling from them.

[KLizotte]

@lordofthemark 69794 wrote:

What I’m getting it, is IF we really want to increase bike share (which is, after all, Copenhagenize’s main concern) we probably won’t get it focusing on long commutes. We may have not have plateaued on them, but we aren’t going to get huge increases in transportation cycling from them.

True, long commutes will probably always be out of the norm but it’s the cycling network that is key here. Most people do not ride the Amtrak service from FL to Boston but lots of people ride segments of the route (e.g., DC-NY). So if you build a really good network for short trips, and make sure to connect the jurisdictions, then those who want to commute long distances will find it easy to do so.

[Tim Kelley]

@Jason B 69732 wrote:

Great article.
This weekend I went on my neighborhood’s weekly local dad’s morning ride. It was a casual 25 miler to Bethesda for coffee and back. I haven’t done it in a while, but they are great bunch of guys. On the ride, one of the dads was asking me about commuting to work in this colder weather, because he was thinking of doing it. Typical, I started with the laundry list of various winter specific cycling clothes that make the ride more palatable. Between the booties, lobsters and windblock, I must have mentioned about $400 worth of stuff all total.
After reading that article, I have now realized I probably did more damage to getting him to commute to work than a broken frame. I should have simply just said layer up with what you have got and wear something yellow, and give him my BA wrap lights. I feel like a tool. This bunch of dads has never missed a weekend ride in 3 years, and we have had some seriously cold winters over the years. I roll up in my carbon whatever, covered with $300 dollars of crap. They are in ski jackets, sweats over sweats, and double socks pulled high. But, you know what, they are there every weekend, laughing away, having a great time. Every time I go with them I am quickly reminded that cycling is simple, fun and does not have to be grueling sufferfest.
Nobody told me what to wear when I first started riding, I simply wore a t-shirt, sneaks and gym shorts, but I loved it. Rode that Raleigh everywhere, school, trails, groceries. Eventually my butt told me to get different shorts, but that was long after my love for riding was instilled. This article reminds me let new riders find their own path and let them keep it simple and fun,,,,,and yellow.
Thanks Tim, I have sent it to all the neighborhood dads.

Yes, that’s BikeArlington’s point: start with what you have in your closet already. You probably don’t *need* much else. Sure, some of the cycling specific stuff is great, especially if you’ve got a long commute. But if you start off telling people how easy it is and they try it, then they’re hooked. Once they’ve been riding for a while then they can figure out what cycling specific stuff is needed.

[lordofthemark]

@KLizotte 69797 wrote:

True, long commutes will probably always be out of the norm but it’s the cycling network that is key here. Most people do not ride the Amtrak service from FL to Boston but lots of people ride segments of the route (e.g., DC-NY). So if you build a really good network for short trips, and make sure to connect the jurisdictions, then those who want to commute long distances will find it easy to do so.

To some extent, yes. I was not so much trying to suggest we not improve conditions for long commuters, as to defend the notion that the euro cities with mostly short trips are good models, despite the fact that currently our typical trip length (among other things) are very different.

But to some extent there is competition for resources between shorter and longer trips. Bike parking at metro and commuter rail really doesn’t do anything for long distance bike commuters. Improvements on streets connecting to metro stations does less for them, than improvements to arterials radiating out from employment centers. And improved access to employment centers (I’m thinking of the short trail connections like the Vespers Trail proposed for Tysons) really will be disproportionately of use to folks biking 4 miles or less into Tysons (and maybe a few people biking longer distances into Tysons) not folks biking THROUGH Tysons (are many people ever going to do that?) And those will compete with projects that mostly support longer distance riders (I suppose any improvement will find at least a few short distance rider using it – most folks on the Hummer end of a Hummer – Gallows bike lane will be heading to Tysons, but some (including myself) would use it to get to Mosaic, or to Inova hospital) I guess almost everyone using a bike facility on the rebuilt Long Bridge would be going at least 1.5 miles, due to the geography of the river.

[Tim Kelley]

@Tim Kelley 69800 wrote:

Yes, that’s BikeArlington’s point: start with what you have in your closet already. You probably don’t *need* much else. Sure, some of the cycling specific stuff is great, especially if you’ve got a long commute. But if you start off telling people how easy it is and they try it, then they’re hooked. Once they’ve been riding for a while then they can figure out what cycling specific stuff is needed.

Oh and I guess the other thing is that actually getting someone to ride to work is probably the Holy Grail of bike riding. There are a lot of logistics, planning, and stuff to carry. When talking to people about riding, we recommend starting out small. Use the bike for social rides to go to the coffee shop or to run errands like going to deposit a check at the bank. No special gear or planning required!

[dbb]

@lordofthemark 69793 wrote:

Evidently FFX thinks there are people who will ride 1 or 2 miles who won’t commute 12 miles. I think they are entirely correct.

If you want a short, easy bike commute, the MUPs are generally less useful if they are not exactly on your way. A half mile detour is a bigger deal when you want to ride 2 miles than when you want to ride 12 miles. And when you aren’t the sort who wants to LENGTHEN your commute for a better workout

It got me thinking that there is a surface street – interstate analogy here. If I need to drive to Frederick or Fredericksburg, I can do that on a host of surface streets that may include some pre-interstate system “highways”. Those routes remain options and I will choose them upon occasion. I typically select the vehicular equivalent of the MVT or W&OD and drive on I95 or I270, which take a bit longer to get to but provide a more direct path to my destination.

I’d expect cyclists do that calculus as well, balancing the path to the MUT with the benefits of riding there. That is where the street level paths and cycling enhancements are so critical. They serve to reduce the barrier to entry for a new transport cyclist.

[ShawnoftheDread]

@KLizotte 69788 wrote:

From http://denmark.dk/en/green-living/bicycle-culture/cycle-super-highway/

“People living in Greater Copenhagen will now have an easier time cycling to work or study, thanks to the region’s new network of cycle lanes. The country’s first Cycle Super Highway – which gives cyclists a safe, smooth ride and eliminates as many stops as possible, is now open, connecting central Copenhagen with the suburban town of Albertslund, 22 km (13 miles) outside the city.

In addition to the orange stripe painted on the asphalt that indicates the route, cyclists will also enjoy amenities such as air pumps, safer intersections and traffic lights timed to average cycling speed, reducing the number of stops. The initiatives are intended as a way to encourage more commuters to travel by bicycle, even if their commutes are longer than 10 km (6 miles).”

The references above all seem to indicate really short trips by Copenhagers. The superhighways initiative might also indicate that Denmark still has a way to go in terms of encouraging “long distance” bike commuters (relatively speaking).

In short, there is some portion of us who would be complaining about poor bike infrastructure even if we lived in Denmark.

[cyclingfool]

@ShawnoftheDread 69808 wrote:

In short, there is some portion of us who would be complaining about poor bike infrastructure even if we lived in Denmark.

No doubt. Many of us would be up in arms that the the 2.5 km green wave for cyclists on the arterial street Nørrebrogade is designed to facilitate travel at a 12 mph speed, when we (ELITE cyslists?) ride faster and thus have to stop at lights along the way or slow down.

[Author]

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