School kids rarely ride bicycle anymore, why?

On Wed, 19 Feb 2020 16:37:40 -0500, Frank Krygowski
wrote:

On 2/19/2020 1:30 PM, Joerg wrote:
On 2020-02-17 12:42, wrote:
On Sunday, February 16, 2020 at 4:57:07 PM UTC-6, Joerg wrote:

When I grew up at least half the high school students living more
than walking distance away commuted by bicycle. So did I and my
siblings. -- Regards, Joerg


You and I must have grown up in different times and places.
Approximately 30-40 years ago when I was in elementary school (K-6),
junior high (7-8-9), and high school (10-11-12), I was the ONLY kid
who rode a bicycle to school.* My elementary had 150 kids, junior
high 400, high school 1200.* We had two large parking lots for cars
at my high school.* Both completely filled.* Elementary and junior
had bike racks outside.* High school did not.* Elementary and junior
were not exactly in residential areas.* But the high school was
surrounded by houses where kids lived.


For me it was the 70's and in Germany. You had to be 18 to obtain a
driver's license. Cars were financially out of reach for most and the
small school parking lot was teachers-only.


This was 30-35-40 years ago.* So well before Frank's "danger, danger,
danger" mantra began to frighten bicyclists.* So I don't know why I
was the ONLY kid who rode a bicycle to school.* I did know of one
other kid who rode bicycles recreationally like me.


Weird thing is, all the bike paths I used back then are still there and
they even built a few additional ones. The slog along a dangerous route
is eliminated, a section where as a kid I witnessed a cyclist being hit
by a truck. Yet ... way less kids ride. I don't understand it.

As I've said before, fashion is weird and powerful. I think it's very
likely that few kids ride just because few other kids ride.

And it could be that if enough "cool kids" started riding, hundreds more
would follow. But fashion is hard to influence or control.

I wonder. Granted that memory is fallible and it was a long time ago
but I remember my 16th birthday as a major milestone in life... I was
old enough to get a driver's license :-) Or to put it another way, did
anyone ever take their girlfriend to the Junior Prom... on a bicycle?
--
cheers,

John B.

On 2020-02-19 14:40, Tom Kunich wrote:
On Wednesday, February 19, 2020 at 10:30:04 AM UTC-8, Joerg wrote:
On 2020-02-17 12:42, wrote:

[...]

This was 30-35-40 years ago. So well before Frank's "danger,
danger, danger" mantra began to frighten bicyclists. So I don't
know why I was the ONLY kid who rode a bicycle to school. I did
know of one other kid who rode bicycles recreationally like me.


Weird thing is, all the bike paths I used back then are still there
and they even built a few additional ones. The slog along a
dangerous route is eliminated, a section where as a kid I witnessed
a cyclist being hit by a truck. Yet ... way less kids ride. I don't
understand it.

-- Regards, Joerg

http://www.analogconsultants.com/

We have a bunch of bicycle activists in the bay area and thanks to
them we are getting bicycle paths all over the place. The nice things
about those is that it keeps the rookies off of the road.


Out here they usually build good bike paths and almost everyone uses them:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ylo-h5Sklzo

Though I prefer the simpler paths such as the route from Folsom to Lotus:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jvI1W7kmc4o

--
Regards, Joerg

http://www.analogconsultants.com/

Am 19.02.2020 um 22:37 schrieb Frank Krygowski:
As I've said before, fashion is weird and powerful. I think it's very
likely that few kids ride just because few other kids ride.

And it could be that if enough "cool kids" started riding, hundreds more
would follow. But fashion is hard to influence or control.

In my daughter's school, half the kid come by bicycle (at least when the
weather is nice), most others take the tram or walk (it is decidedly
uncool to be dropped off by the parents when everybody else arrives at
school on their own).

Timings for 3 miles:
Bicycle 15 min
Tram 15 min plus 3 min walk to/from the stop
Car 10-15 min plus find some parking

With the City Center location, even the few kids old enough to drive
would not be willing to pay more than €10.- per school day
https://www.park-one.com/standorte/heidelberg/ for parking ;-)

Am 19.02.2020 um 23:46 schrieb John B.:
Or to put it another way, did
anyone ever take their girlfriend to the Junior Prom... on a bicycle?

My answer at that age would be

1) what is a girl-friend?
2) What is a junior-prom?

On Thu, 20 Feb 2020 13:52:32 +0100, Rolf Mantel
wrote:

Am 19.02.2020 um 23:46 schrieb John B.:
Or to put it another way, did
anyone ever take their girlfriend to the Junior Prom... on a bicycle?

My answer at that age would be

1) what is a girl-friend?
2) What is a junior-prom?

You rather prove my point... that only children ride bicycles and as
soon as possible they graduate to an internal combustion powered
device :-)
--
cheers,

John B.

On Tuesday, February 18, 2020 at 1:16:39 AM UTC+1, Frank Krygowski wrote:
On Monday, February 17, 2020 at 3:42:34 PM UTC-5, wrote:
On Sunday, February 16, 2020 at 4:57:07 PM UTC-6, Joerg wrote:

When I grew up at least half the high school students living more than
walking distance away commuted by bicycle. So did I and my siblings.
--
Regards, Joerg


You and I must have grown up in different times and places. Approximately 30-40 years ago when I was in elementary school (K-6), junior high (7-8-9), and high school (10-11-12), I was the ONLY kid who rode a bicycle to school. My elementary had 150 kids, junior high 400, high school 1200. We had two large parking lots for cars at my high school. Both completely filled. Elementary and junior had bike racks outside. High school did not. Elementary and junior were not exactly in residential areas. But the high school was surrounded by houses where kids lived.

This was 30-35-40 years ago. So well before Frank's "danger, danger, danger" mantra began to frighten bicyclists. So I don't know why I was the ONLY kid who rode a bicycle to school. I did know of one other kid who rode bicycles recreationally like me.

My school days were a generation earlier. When we lived within a mile
of the school, we walked there and back, and friend from school would
walk to visit us. We rode bikes around the neighborhood, but we seldom
used them for transportation, except to a store within a couple
blocks.

Later, we moved four or five miles out into a new suburban development.
There, my friends and I rode absolutely every day it was warm enough.
And that included to nearby stores, the library, etc. And I rode even in dead of winter to deliver a large newspaper route. But again,
never to school. That could have been out of concerns for traffic,
but it could also have been fashion, in the broadest sense. Nobody
did it because, well, nobody did it!

All this was in the era of heavy coaster brake bikes. Bikes were for
kids.

- Frank Krygowski

I got my drivers licence when I was in the army at 23-24 year old and I could pay for it myself. My parents could not afford to pay for driving lessons for me and my brothers. So up to 24 years old I did everything by bike and I was not an exception in my neighborhood. After I could afford a car I only cycle for fun.

Lou

On 2/21/2020 8:10 AM, wrote:
On Tuesday, February 18, 2020 at 1:16:39 AM UTC+1, Frank Krygowski wrote:

My school days were a generation earlier. When we lived within a mile
of the school, we walked there and back, and friend from school would
walk to visit us. We rode bikes around the neighborhood, but we seldom
used them for transportation, except to a store within a couple
blocks.

Later, we moved four or five miles out into a new suburban development.
There, my friends and I rode absolutely every day it was warm enough.
And that included to nearby stores, the library, etc. And I rode even in dead of winter to deliver a large newspaper route. But again,
never to school. That could have been out of concerns for traffic,
but it could also have been fashion, in the broadest sense. Nobody
did it because, well, nobody did it!

All this was in the era of heavy coaster brake bikes. Bikes were for
kids.

- Frank Krygowski

I got my drivers licence when I was in the army at 23-24 year old and I could pay for it myself. My parents could not afford to pay for driving lessons for me and my brothers. So up to 24 years old I did everything by bike and I was not an exception in my neighborhood. After I could afford a car I only cycle for fun.

To illustrate differences between Europe and the U.S.: When I was 15 I
got a license for a motorbike. That summer I also signed up for a Driver
Training course through the school system and used the motorbike to get
to driving classes, with a friend riding on the back of the motorbike. I
think the driving class cost just a few dollars, perhaps $20.

I got my driver's license when I turned 16, as did my friends. I still
rode bikes for recreation and for my newspaper route, but it became rare
to use a bike for transportation once I could use a car.

In my early 20s I began using bikes for some transportation, but that
was considered very, very unusual. Aside from my wife, I knew only one
friend who did likewise.


--
- Frank Krygowski

On Friday, February 21, 2020 at 5:10:56 AM UTC-8, wrote:
On Tuesday, February 18, 2020 at 1:16:39 AM UTC+1, Frank Krygowski wrote:
On Monday, February 17, 2020 at 3:42:34 PM UTC-5, wrote:
On Sunday, February 16, 2020 at 4:57:07 PM UTC-6, Joerg wrote:

When I grew up at least half the high school students living more than
walking distance away commuted by bicycle. So did I and my siblings..
--
Regards, Joerg


You and I must have grown up in different times and places. Approximately 30-40 years ago when I was in elementary school (K-6), junior high (7-8-9), and high school (10-11-12), I was the ONLY kid who rode a bicycle to school. My elementary had 150 kids, junior high 400, high school 1200. We had two large parking lots for cars at my high school. Both completely filled. Elementary and junior had bike racks outside. High school did not. Elementary and junior were not exactly in residential areas. But the high school was surrounded by houses where kids lived.

This was 30-35-40 years ago. So well before Frank's "danger, danger, danger" mantra began to frighten bicyclists. So I don't know why I was the ONLY kid who rode a bicycle to school. I did know of one other kid who rode bicycles recreationally like me.

My school days were a generation earlier. When we lived within a mile
of the school, we walked there and back, and friend from school would
walk to visit us. We rode bikes around the neighborhood, but we seldom
used them for transportation, except to a store within a couple
blocks.

Later, we moved four or five miles out into a new suburban development.
There, my friends and I rode absolutely every day it was warm enough.
And that included to nearby stores, the library, etc. And I rode even in dead of winter to deliver a large newspaper route. But again,
never to school. That could have been out of concerns for traffic,
but it could also have been fashion, in the broadest sense. Nobody
did it because, well, nobody did it!

All this was in the era of heavy coaster brake bikes. Bikes were for
kids.

- Frank Krygowski

I got my drivers licence when I was in the army at 23-24 year old and I could pay for it myself. My parents could not afford to pay for driving lessons for me and my brothers. So up to 24 years old I did everything by bike and I was not an exception in my neighborhood. After I could afford a car I only cycle for fun.

Lou

I worked on a car lot repairing cars from the time I was 14. When I got 15 1/2 years old and could get a learners permit the Car Lot owner gave me a 1951 Pontiac that he couldn't sell. That was the first payment I got from him. I drove that thing until I got out of the Air Force and my father gave me a 1954 Oldsmobile.

On Fri, 21 Feb 2020 05:10:54 -0800 (PST), wrote:

On Tuesday, February 18, 2020 at 1:16:39 AM UTC+1, Frank Krygowski wrote:
On Monday, February 17, 2020 at 3:42:34 PM UTC-5, wrote:
On Sunday, February 16, 2020 at 4:57:07 PM UTC-6, Joerg wrote:

When I grew up at least half the high school students living more than
walking distance away commuted by bicycle. So did I and my siblings.
--
Regards, Joerg


You and I must have grown up in different times and places. Approximately 30-40 years ago when I was in elementary school (K-6), junior high (7-8-9), and high school (10-11-12), I was the ONLY kid who rode a bicycle to school. My elementary had 150 kids, junior high 400, high school 1200. We had two large parking lots for cars at my high school. Both completely filled. Elementary and junior had bike racks outside. High school did not. Elementary and junior were not exactly in residential areas. But the high school was surrounded by houses where kids lived.

This was 30-35-40 years ago. So well before Frank's "danger, danger, danger" mantra began to frighten bicyclists. So I don't know why I was the ONLY kid who rode a bicycle to school. I did know of one other kid who rode bicycles recreationally like me.

My school days were a generation earlier. When we lived within a mile
of the school, we walked there and back, and friend from school would
walk to visit us. We rode bikes around the neighborhood, but we seldom
used them for transportation, except to a store within a couple
blocks.

Later, we moved four or five miles out into a new suburban development.
There, my friends and I rode absolutely every day it was warm enough.
And that included to nearby stores, the library, etc. And I rode even in dead of winter to deliver a large newspaper route. But again,
never to school. That could have been out of concerns for traffic,
but it could also have been fashion, in the broadest sense. Nobody
did it because, well, nobody did it!

All this was in the era of heavy coaster brake bikes. Bikes were for
kids.

- Frank Krygowski

I got my drivers licence when I was in the army at 23-24 year old and I could pay for it myself. My parents could not afford to pay for driving lessons for me and my brothers. So up to 24 years old I did everything by bike and I was not an exception in my neighborhood. After I could afford a car I only cycle for fun.

Lou

Driver's school? I grew up in a rural area and learned to "drive"
driving a tractor. I still remember how frightening it was to drive on
the road with traffic coming the other way on a two lane road :-)
--
cheers,

John B.

On 2020-02-20 14:51, John B. wrote:
On Thu, 20 Feb 2020 13:52:32 +0100, Rolf Mantel
wrote:

Am 19.02.2020 um 23:46 schrieb John B.:
Or to put it another way, did
anyone ever take their girlfriend to the Junior Prom... on a bicycle?

My answer at that age would be

1) what is a girl-friend?
2) What is a junior-prom?

You rather prove my point... that only children ride bicycles and as
soon as possible they graduate to an internal combustion powered
device :-)


Then when they are mid-life and the scales show a profound trend towards
morbid obesity, the bicycle comes back out from the garage rafters.

--
Regards, Joerg

http://www.analogconsultants.com/