By Tim Schaefer
When you think of the word “cycling”, what comes to mind?
In Calgary, the average person will think of these two things:
1. Something kids do
2. A recreational activity for some adults
Yes, this may be over simplifying things, but for many people this is their perception.
There is another type of biking in Calgary not covered in these two buckets and if you look for it, you will see it on the streets and pathways of Hillhurst Sunnyside. This other type is on the cusp of breaking out and when it fully emerges, it will create an incredible amount of benefit for all Calgarians!
The other type is when people, of all ages and abilities, use a bicycle to simply get around as part of their daily lives.
No special clothes.
No sweating.
No shower required afterwards.
Just everyday people riding a bike to get around.
Whether it’s going to work, school, the store, appointments, you use your bike to get there. It also means using a bike when going out for dinner, for coffee or to visit a friend. It’s all done on a bike!
What do we call this other type of cycling? In English we don’t have a unique word that identifies this everyday type of bicycle use. When we don’t have a word that can easily identify something, it's more challenging to understand it exists.
This may explain why we have trouble seeing beyond the recreational sport activity side of the word “cycling”. It may be the reason we visualize spandex when we say the word “cyclist” (sorry for that visualization). As a result, adults in North America have been held back from recognizing the opportunity for using the bicycle for uses outside of recreation.
The Dutch on the other hand have a unique word to identify these sorts of everyday bicycle users; they call them “Fietsers”. This word technically translates to “bike rider” which seems like the same thing as “cycling” but it’s the naming of the sporting variety that creates the differentiation. Those riders are called a “Wielrenner” in Dutch, which literally translates to wheeled-runner. Very fitting for the athletic side of biking.
So the Fietser is that other type of bike rider, and as mentioned its about to break out in Calgary. The only thing holding things back is safe and secure infrastructure that allows people of all ages and abilities to ride their bicycles to simply get around. Calgary’s streets have been dominated by the car since the 1950s and the lack of safe space has prevented many people from becoming a Fietser, even for really short journeys in their own neighbourhood.
Photo Credit @notjustbikes from YouTube video “The Gym of Life”
The good news is Calgary cycle tracks and pathways are starting to support Fietsers, but more are needed to connect destinations we travel to in the course of our day. The City of Calgary’s plans for 2 Ave NW will be a great addition to help Fietsers in our community. It will connect everyday riders to destinations like Sunnyside School, cafes and restaurants like And Some, Vendome, and Holy Cow. From there, the 2 Ave NW bike lane will connect 9A St NW where you can go to grocery stores and other businesses in the Kensington area.
The benefits that we will realize are huge! From a fiscal perspective, building and maintaining transportation infrastructure for Fietsers is much less expensive than it is for vehicles weighing thousands of pounds. There is also less congestion with Fietsers which means less noise and pollution from vehicles in our city.
Then there are the health benefits of having a more active lifestyle in our general society. Finally, there is the added benefit of vibrancy in our community by having opportunity to socialize and interact amongst neighbours. Not much of that happening behind tinted windows of moving cars.
If you are someone who is dependent on your car to get around, no matter what the reason or how short the journey, having more Fietsers in Calgary is great for you too! It means fewer cars on the roads because all those other people who are now Fietsers are not creating congestion in their cars. It also means our current built out car infrastructure will continue to support our growing city because there is less use of cars.
Are you ready to be a Fietser?
Join in the conversation by following me on Twitter @TinyBeaches