When I visited Wouter some years ago, I was amazed by the amount of bicycles over there. Everyone rides. So of course they have bike lanes on most roads, and bike lockers at the train stations, and you can take your bike on the train if you like.

America is just not set up for bikes, period. Sure, there are few towns here and there where they have a few bike lanes, but most places, forget it. You are taking your life in your hands (or more likely, putting you life into the hands of some of the worst drivers in the world) any time you go out to ride a bike on the road.

I cannot even count the number of times I've had stuff (bottles, cans) thrown at me, or been yelled at ("Get OFF the ROAD!") when I've been riding my bike on the roadways, vs. sidewalks. The average US auto driver doesn't own a bike and hates bikes riding out on the road, right in HIS way.

Our lower gas prices (or less taxed gasoline) over here for the past...50? years, has led to a mindset that the car (or Truck, or SUV) is the King of the Road, and all others (pedestrians, bikes, mom's pushing strollers) will get the HELL out of the way, or die.

As you can see right here Wouter, I wasn't kidding when I told you about cars vs. bikes over here. A couple years ago, the morning after winning the 12 Hours of Sebring American LeMans race down here, the winning European driver (sorry, I've forgotten his name and country) went for a bike ride, was hit and killed by some old geezer driving a Caddy. Did the geezer do jail time? No. Why not? Because the bike was on the road...

Years of racing cars but he was killed by another lousy American driver who couldn't figure out how to -go around- a bike on the road. That's why I ride on the sidewalk.

Oh, I forgot to mention my wife and I were nearly killed by a drunk driver who T-boned us while we were on my BMW motorcycle about 20 years ago. I haven't felt safe riding a mortorcycle on the road since. Helmets saved our lives. I wear a helmet when I ride my bicycle too.