Bikes can be gezellig

cnthe joy of biking
16 years ago ago by Reza Vaziri.

Photo: rezavaziri

Bespoke (the blog for the bike importer On the Fourth Distribution) makes a cogent argument that North American bike makers have had a difficult time dealing with urban dwellers but have instead latched onto the idea of escaping the city. Thus a recurring theme is that of driving out to the countryside in the SUV loaded with the full suspension mountain bikes or carbon fibre road bikes.

The Dutch and Danish enjoy their bikes as part of the urban experience - practical, utilitarian yet elegant and enjoyable because of that practicality. This idea of enjoyment can't be directly translated: "gezellig" in Holland or "hygge" in Denmark. It involves the idea of the "good life"; something more than just the accumulation of objects but of enjoying friends, good food, family. The bicycle is enabler of that good life but also part of it with stress-free cycling to work, school, errands. The contrast with North American cities is quite evident:

The North American bicycle and automotive companies have always had a difficult relationship with urban city dwellers. Like the rings of suburbs surrounding city cores, the city is what a car is supposed to escape. And it does escape the city, but only in rush hour traffic heading home. Over 80% of Americans are urban, according to statistics, but of this 80% the great majority is suburban. It’s no surprise that North American products are generally geared towards the suburban consumer, and this is certainly true of bicycles and automobiles. In the universal catalog of North American bicycles, the word ‘city bike’ has only been added recently. Until recently, every bike produced in North America rode best outside the city. Consider the names: mountain bike, racing bike, path bike…the list goes on. Whereas England once had a proud history of making real city bikes for the majority of its citizens, this was not the case in America. The iconic bike of America is not the Raleigh ‘lightweight’ bikes of the 30’s but instead the beach cruisers that have all the styling and impracticality of a chromed and finned Cadillac. Slow, inelegant, disposable, and arguably infantile, the beach cruiser was part of that era that saw California as America’s bright light, with its infinite sprawl and nuclear family homes. The American bike is a profoundly suburban artifact. Produced in China with the same disposability as a toaster, the American bike industry is just more pom-poms in red, white and blue.

This argument is a bit stretched, but key is the idea of joy in everyday life rather than saving it up for the weekend country ride:

While North Americans are riding bikes to save the earth or be more practical, a new study reveals that the Dutch ride bikes for no other reason than because they enjoy it (see graph: left). Not only do they enjoy it, but they enjoy it far more than driving an automobile. Moreover, they feel the least fear, anger and sadness when riding a bicycle than any other mode. And, as a culture of individuals, they prefer bicycle and automotive over more collectivist transportation. Even in a perfect word, public transit is rarely gezellig. If you have ever done your shopping, visited a friend, or gone to work on a Dutch bike, you most certainly know the meaning of the word gezellig. It’s manufactured according to the principles of gezellig. At once civilized and elegant, it is also comfortable, pleasant to ride, and can multi-task many different vocations while the scenery gently rolls by. It’s soothing. Therapeutic.

The photo is titled "the joy of biking" and features a woman on a deserted road in North York, Toronto. It's not particularly a typical urban scene in Toronto, but captures a bit of joy - sunny day, no cars - a bit of gezellig mixed in with the North American love of the open road and frontiers (but I digress).