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RE: Using Strava Heatmaps to find cycling routes
Speaking of Europe, I think that the populations within each country is also a bit more densely packed compared to the US. (Except for the major cities like San Francisco or NYC)
It appears that there is more of a cycling heritage in Europe as well. Teenagers are able to drive in the US at age 16 and being 'lazy', they would rather take a car with their friends to places rather than cycle. The distances are longer for sure and time is also a factor.
If you do look at San Francisco, there is a huge cycling community and it is similar to what you have mentioned above. The stores are down the street so you just have to go a mile or two.
Correct. It's all a combination of factors, and if you would want things to change, there are no silver bullets; (this is the same for most things in life, though). You have to create a culture of cycling, infrastructure, laws, etc etc. The Dutch Government at some point decided to put a lot of money in cycling infrastructure, making sure that it would be difficult to reach the city centers by car, and made sure that in case of an accident, a cyclist has a very strong position compared to a car driver. The very fast E-bikes currently on the road are a new phenomenon, and the Government struggles to come up with new regulations for these bikes.