I've been seeing lots of #bike toots & discussions in my feed lately and thought I'd describe my experience as a #disabled bicyclist who lived in one of the most bike-friendly regions (the Netherlands) but moved to a very different bike culture (Belgium). This is a long one! 🚲
Growing up in The Netherlands, I started cycling as a small child and always owned a city bike. I biked to school, to hospitals, to anywhere. Everyone I knew owned at least one bike. Even if you own a car, if the distance is small, most people would use a bike.
Everywhere is flat so cycling isn't intense physical exercise, unless it rains or is very windy. Many cyclist lanes are separate from roads used by cars or pedestrians, so there isn't a lot of fighting over space, except in very busy city centres.
Even though I have muscle/joint problems and limited stamina, I did everything with my bike. I could manage getting anywhere within 5 km at least 2 - 3 times a week.
This all changed when I moved to Belgium. 🇧🇪
The problems I've encountered the most here (and I expect these will be the same for many people living anywhere but NL) :
Everything is hills, nothing is flat. I can't get anywhere beyond 2 km. Combining this with bad road quality makes cycling incredibly intense. I switched from a regular city bike to an #ebike to at least have a chance at arriving anywhere without physically crashing.
Most areas don't have separate cycling lanes. I have to share the road with cars and many HATE cyclists, because they're slower and in the way. Cars will rush past you dangerously close. It's stressful and accidents happen. Sometimes you have to share the road with pedestrians, and suddenly you are the aggressor trying to pass them dangerously close because they are slow and in the way. It's drama all around.
One thing worse than sharing with cars and pedestrians is sharing the space with other cyclists. To survive as a cyclist you turn into an apex predator and it shows. There is a permanent war between these parties, ordered by speed: speed pedelec bikes (>30 km/h), professional speed cyclists (>25km/h), ebikes (>20 km/h), cargo bikes (15-20 km/h), school children on city bikes (15 km/h), parents cycling with children next to them on tiny bikes (anywhere between 1 and 10 km/h).
There is not enough space for all of us and someone's always trying to pass you by in a ridiculous way. People will yell and bully. It was getting normal for me to be screamed at often. Somehow using your bicycle bell is the biggest faux-pas and people will stop and try to fight you if you use it. You will learn the hard way.
The country's infrastructure is just not made with bikes in mind. Roads suddenly stop, the absence of cycle lanes, traffic intersections where cars and bikes cross at the same time... There are even officially named 'dangerous intersections' because an above average amount of cyclists keep dying there. Yes, the government is very concerned, they will change the layout by... 2030? 2035? 2100?
Suddenly biking was a political thing. In the NL a bike is just a thing that gets you from place A to place B, no matter who you are. Here, bikes are Progressive. People think you either use a car or a bike and you better be in the right team. I've seen quite a few bikes with a little sign on the back of their saddle that says "This is one less car on the road!". In regions where tensions are high, car owners will destroy traffic signs meant for cyclists and 'reclaim' the road. It's NUTS.
I don't know if this specifically concerns cyclists with a #disability, but there is barely any parking for bikes. If I get anywhere with my bike, I still have to go kms beyond for a parking area and walk back. I have to bend my back in difficult ways to get to low parking spots. Some spots even expect me to lift the front half of my bike up in the air to park it!!! Some parkings are underground without an elevator, I have to push my bike up and down besides stairs! I can't manage it!
So, tldr, I took driving lessons and now I use a car 90% of the time and a bike 10% of the time. Public transport is too risky because of #covid in this ongoing #pandemic.
It sucks and I have a lot more understanding now, both for people struggling to bike and for people just not able to do so and using a car.
