You know who else disliked cyclists?
December 2, 2014 10:06 AM Subscribe
Roads Were Not Built for Cars - an Atlantic Citylab interview with Carlton Reid, author of the ebook and blog titled Roads Were Not Built for Cars, on institutionalized classism and historical revisionism that drove the design of car-centric infrastructure.
..."the Nazi party in the early 1930s wrote to the two big encyclopedias, and they said, you have to take out the name of this Jewish engineer who created an automobile before Karl Benz, so they had to scrub him out because he was Jewish. And at the same time, they said, you’ve also got to take out all the cycling references. So at that point, quite literally, cycling was cut out of history."
..."the Nazi party in the early 1930s wrote to the two big encyclopedias, and they said, you have to take out the name of this Jewish engineer who created an automobile before Karl Benz, so they had to scrub him out because he was Jewish. And at the same time, they said, you’ve also got to take out all the cycling references. So at that point, quite literally, cycling was cut out of history."
This seems weirdly presentist in its approach. Of course early automobile people would have cycling backgrounds; bicycles predated cars and the kind of person who would be a bit of a gear-head and be into adopting the latest whizz-bang techology for people-moving is obviously going to find bikes appealing and then move on to cars as they become more available and more practicable. To read into this some kind of deliberately "erased" history ("OMG, car people used to love bikes and they repented of it!") strikes me as just a misreading of history that maps present-day cultural values ("bikes will save your souls! Cars are the devil!" etc.) back onto a past in which they just don't apply. It's like taking the discovery that early car bodies were built by carriage-makers into an argument that the horse should be an integral part of modern city transportation.
posted by yoink at 10:21 AM on December 2, 2014 [8 favorites]
posted by yoink at 10:21 AM on December 2, 2014 [8 favorites]
yoink the latter part of the article touches on the fact that in the late 19th-early 20th century, that wasn't at all a foregone conclusion actually - stuff like trains and streetcars was seen as the path forward especially for urban communities. You see this with the established rail infrastructures still in older cities in the eastern US / Western Europe.
the "rugged individualist tinkerer" mentality is what made early cyclists good automobile engineers, but as he points out, the ones who became well known automobile entrepreneurs deliberately obfuscated their origins in bicycling because by the 1930s cycling became looked down upon as a plebian / working class method of transport.
posted by lonefrontranger at 10:27 AM on December 2, 2014 [7 favorites]
the "rugged individualist tinkerer" mentality is what made early cyclists good automobile engineers, but as he points out, the ones who became well known automobile entrepreneurs deliberately obfuscated their origins in bicycling because by the 1930s cycling became looked down upon as a plebian / working class method of transport.
posted by lonefrontranger at 10:27 AM on December 2, 2014 [7 favorites]
I would agrwe with yoink were it not for the number of times I'd been told that roads were built for cars and I should not be on them. I can't imagine that being lessened any in the US.
posted by vbfg at 10:39 AM on December 2, 2014 [4 favorites]
posted by vbfg at 10:39 AM on December 2, 2014 [4 favorites]
Singletrack trails were not built for cars. That's why I'm a mountain biker.
posted by Repack Rider at 10:46 AM on December 2, 2014
posted by Repack Rider at 10:46 AM on December 2, 2014
Fuck Robert Moses.
posted by schmod at 10:47 AM on December 2, 2014 [11 favorites]
posted by schmod at 10:47 AM on December 2, 2014 [11 favorites]
Most roads are built for cars, any pavement laid down since the '20s was done so for automobiles, and the paving surfaces since then engineered for car tires. Originally, some roads were paved for cyclists, which is nothing to be proud of, as concrete, and now asphalt, is a larger pollutant/landfill issue than the gravel, bricks, cobbles or flagstones that roads were once paved with.
What I once thought needed to happen was dual roadway systems like those in Barcelona and Amsterdam - engineer room for cyclists into urban planning rather than shoe-horn them onto roads with inattentive and/or aggressive drivers. Now I'm looking forward to driverless cars, instead, which won't be aggressive or inattentive, but polite and considerate, as their knowledge of traffic law is baked into their programming and isn't some test taken as a bored teenager and then forgotten five minutes later, like human drivers.
posted by Slap*Happy at 10:49 AM on December 2, 2014 [4 favorites]
What I once thought needed to happen was dual roadway systems like those in Barcelona and Amsterdam - engineer room for cyclists into urban planning rather than shoe-horn them onto roads with inattentive and/or aggressive drivers. Now I'm looking forward to driverless cars, instead, which won't be aggressive or inattentive, but polite and considerate, as their knowledge of traffic law is baked into their programming and isn't some test taken as a bored teenager and then forgotten five minutes later, like human drivers.
posted by Slap*Happy at 10:49 AM on December 2, 2014 [4 favorites]
I'm not sure how to feel about learning that Hitler was once a bicycle messenger.
posted by asperity at 10:53 AM on December 2, 2014 [1 favorite]
posted by asperity at 10:53 AM on December 2, 2014 [1 favorite]
Thanks! It's interesting to see this from other countries. For a US-centric look, see The Invention of Jaywalking and the Rise of Car Culture (previously).
posted by filthy light thief at 10:59 AM on December 2, 2014 [1 favorite]
posted by filthy light thief at 10:59 AM on December 2, 2014 [1 favorite]
I'm not sure how to feel about learning that Hitler was once a bicycle messenger.
Like this.
posted by Sys Rq at 11:17 AM on December 2, 2014 [5 favorites]
Like this.
posted by Sys Rq at 11:17 AM on December 2, 2014 [5 favorites]
Singletrack trails were not built for cars. That's why I'm a mountain biker.
yes, and unless you live in some MTB nirvana like Steamboat Springs or Breckenridge or Moab, you're frequently still stuck loading your MTB onto your car and driving it to the singletrack to go anywhere meaningful, meanwhile MTB access continues to be a constrained and controversial topic in nearly every use case (e.g. mountain bikes are banned in designated wilderness areas in the US, which means massive detours / reroutes onto roads on popular through trails like the Continental Divide and Colorado Trails, etc.)
Besides which, most singletrack (in the US, anyhow) doesn't GO anywhere you need it to, unless the point of your journey is simply to commune with nature in the woods and/or huck mad trestles. Which is fine, I do quite a bit of it myself, but it generally won't help you bring home groceries or go to class without starting up the dino-juice burner.
posted by lonefrontranger at 11:30 AM on December 2, 2014 [1 favorite]
yes, and unless you live in some MTB nirvana like Steamboat Springs or Breckenridge or Moab, you're frequently still stuck loading your MTB onto your car and driving it to the singletrack to go anywhere meaningful, meanwhile MTB access continues to be a constrained and controversial topic in nearly every use case (e.g. mountain bikes are banned in designated wilderness areas in the US, which means massive detours / reroutes onto roads on popular through trails like the Continental Divide and Colorado Trails, etc.)
Besides which, most singletrack (in the US, anyhow) doesn't GO anywhere you need it to, unless the point of your journey is simply to commune with nature in the woods and/or huck mad trestles. Which is fine, I do quite a bit of it myself, but it generally won't help you bring home groceries or go to class without starting up the dino-juice burner.
posted by lonefrontranger at 11:30 AM on December 2, 2014 [1 favorite]
Roads were not built for cars - roads were built so the Roman Legions could travel and restore order to the Empire. We must return to using roads the way Mercury intended!
(really though, people often think of roads = cars, so this is a good starting point for getting folks to think...) Hail Caesar!
posted by boubelium at 11:53 AM on December 2, 2014 [12 favorites]
(really though, people often think of roads = cars, so this is a good starting point for getting folks to think...) Hail Caesar!
posted by boubelium at 11:53 AM on December 2, 2014 [12 favorites]
unless you live in some MTB nirvana like Steamboat Springs or Breckenridge or Moab, you're frequently still stuck loading your MTB onto your car and driving it to the singletrack to go anywhere meaningful,
I do live in a MTB nirvana, which of course contributes to my selection. Surfers live near the beach and mountain bikers live near trails. I have a fancy carbon fiber road bike that I haven't been on in four or five years.
My bike collection, which includes four full-suspension mountain bikes, just added a one-speed, balloon-tire coaster brake basic bike that is now the town bike. Good for any errands within four or five miles, nothing to rattle or get stolen. No one will cut the lock for this one. (This bike sells new for $450, which is what my Italian racing bike cost in 1971.)
Irony: kids who themselves own FS MTBs, see the one-speed and say, "Cool bike." It looks like every bike I ever saw when I was a kid.
posted by Repack Rider at 11:59 AM on December 2, 2014
I do live in a MTB nirvana, which of course contributes to my selection. Surfers live near the beach and mountain bikers live near trails. I have a fancy carbon fiber road bike that I haven't been on in four or five years.
My bike collection, which includes four full-suspension mountain bikes, just added a one-speed, balloon-tire coaster brake basic bike that is now the town bike. Good for any errands within four or five miles, nothing to rattle or get stolen. No one will cut the lock for this one. (This bike sells new for $450, which is what my Italian racing bike cost in 1971.)
Irony: kids who themselves own FS MTBs, see the one-speed and say, "Cool bike." It looks like every bike I ever saw when I was a kid.
posted by Repack Rider at 11:59 AM on December 2, 2014
Singletrack trails were not built for cars. That's why I'm a mountain biker.
Unfortunately neither were hiking trails, which caused much tension in BC in the 90s. It's much better now, but back then, there was a lot of unnecessary trail damage done by both sides, hikers and bikers.
posted by bonehead at 11:59 AM on December 2, 2014
Unfortunately neither were hiking trails, which caused much tension in BC in the 90s. It's much better now, but back then, there was a lot of unnecessary trail damage done by both sides, hikers and bikers.
posted by bonehead at 11:59 AM on December 2, 2014
This seems weirdly presentist in its approach.
That is an excellent way of putting it. It seems to me that the relationship between class and bicycles has oscilated quite a bit over time. The present day infatuation has always struck me as right out of "The Theory of the Leisure Class," while bicycle hoards in 70's China seem like valorization of communist work ethic. I wonder what all of the roadbuilding advocacy pre-car really "meant."
posted by Pembquist at 12:28 PM on December 2, 2014
That is an excellent way of putting it. It seems to me that the relationship between class and bicycles has oscilated quite a bit over time. The present day infatuation has always struck me as right out of "The Theory of the Leisure Class," while bicycle hoards in 70's China seem like valorization of communist work ethic. I wonder what all of the roadbuilding advocacy pre-car really "meant."
posted by Pembquist at 12:28 PM on December 2, 2014
I see this mindset where I live. We have auto traffic lights everywhere. Yet where our only bike path crosses a major road there is no light because it would cost too much. Instead cyclists need to make an impossibly weird loop to a light controlled intersection, or just ride across where there are no markings at all and there SHOULD be a light.
I could go on and on.
posted by cccorlew at 12:43 PM on December 2, 2014
I could go on and on.
posted by cccorlew at 12:43 PM on December 2, 2014
Most roads are built for cars, any pavement laid down since the '20s was done so for automobiles
This is true enough, but roads are the realization of laws and the laws in most jurisdictions explicitly state that cyclists and drivers have the same rights and responsibilities w/r/t the use of them, except where specifically forbidden (e.g. freeways).
posted by klanawa at 12:47 PM on December 2, 2014
This is true enough, but roads are the realization of laws and the laws in most jurisdictions explicitly state that cyclists and drivers have the same rights and responsibilities w/r/t the use of them, except where specifically forbidden (e.g. freeways).
posted by klanawa at 12:47 PM on December 2, 2014
Unfortunately neither were hiking trails, which caused much tension in BC in the 90s. It's much better now, but back then, there was a lot of unnecessary trail damage done by both sides, hikers and bikers.
Let's talk about motards, then. Focus on what we hikers and mountain bikers have in common ;)
posted by klanawa at 12:48 PM on December 2, 2014
Let's talk about motards, then. Focus on what we hikers and mountain bikers have in common ;)
posted by klanawa at 12:48 PM on December 2, 2014
> ... concrete, and now asphalt, is a larger pollutant/landfill issue ...
are you sure about that Slap*Happy? according to this, asphalt is our #1 recycled product, and 99% of asphalt is recycled and reused.
posted by Mach5 at 12:54 PM on December 2, 2014
are you sure about that Slap*Happy? according to this, asphalt is our #1 recycled product, and 99% of asphalt is recycled and reused.
posted by Mach5 at 12:54 PM on December 2, 2014
I'm not sure how to feel about learning that Hitler was once a bicycle messenger.
Maybe the same way you feel about the fact that he wore pants, drank water and used his index finger to point at things?
posted by grumpybear69 at 1:02 PM on December 2, 2014 [4 favorites]
Maybe the same way you feel about the fact that he wore pants, drank water and used his index finger to point at things?
posted by grumpybear69 at 1:02 PM on December 2, 2014 [4 favorites]
I'm not sure how to feel about learning that Hitler was once a bicycle messenger.
Well, now when you call someone "worse than Hitler," you can say "I once saw Hitler pull 25 tickets in a single morning, all while hung over and drinking a 40 of OE 800 in the saddle. You've barely pulled 10 today."
posted by TheWhiteSkull at 1:06 PM on December 2, 2014 [4 favorites]
Well, now when you call someone "worse than Hitler," you can say "I once saw Hitler pull 25 tickets in a single morning, all while hung over and drinking a 40 of OE 800 in the saddle. You've barely pulled 10 today."
posted by TheWhiteSkull at 1:06 PM on December 2, 2014 [4 favorites]
Asphalt recycling and disposal is an issue for a bunch of reasons, but pollution isn't really one of them. At ambient temperatures, it's not a significant source of chemical leachates. Application/remelt is a bit more of a concern, but pretty short term.
posted by bonehead at 1:10 PM on December 2, 2014
posted by bonehead at 1:10 PM on December 2, 2014
It doesn't seem so presentist in its approach when you consider that mass car ownership in Britain didn't take place until the 1950s, which leaves 20-30 years before that time where the roads should have been much more in the service of bikes than in the service of cars. They weren't, of course, because Britain of the time was run for the benefit of the wealthy just as much as today's Britain is, though in slightly different ways.
Of course, the fact that Britain hasn't followed the example of the Netherlands and de-motorised its cities means, ironically, that the rich don't get to drive around unencumbered by congestion as they do in the Netherlands (because a sizable amount of traffic has been removed from the roads and onto bike paths). I think that that's the next step in developing transport routes for people.
posted by ambrosen at 1:19 PM on December 2, 2014
Of course, the fact that Britain hasn't followed the example of the Netherlands and de-motorised its cities means, ironically, that the rich don't get to drive around unencumbered by congestion as they do in the Netherlands (because a sizable amount of traffic has been removed from the roads and onto bike paths). I think that that's the next step in developing transport routes for people.
posted by ambrosen at 1:19 PM on December 2, 2014
I have a fancy carbon fiber road bike that I haven't been on in four or five years.
Dude, if you're not using that... mind if I... borrow it for an indeterminate amount of time?
posted by Panjandrum at 1:47 PM on December 2, 2014 [7 favorites]
Dude, if you're not using that... mind if I... borrow it for an indeterminate amount of time?
posted by Panjandrum at 1:47 PM on December 2, 2014 [7 favorites]
My city just ripped out the last brick street I routinely drove on. There are still some in residential neighborhoods I sometimes visit, but this was the last one in a commercial area.
It needed to be done because it cost an asston of tax dollars to repair and maintain and I was always terrified it was going to rip out the bottom of my car because it was more like a boulder-strewn streambed than a "road" (120-year-old brick pavers heave like WHOA in the freeze-thaw cycle). But I was sad nonetheless. And I doubt the current pavement will make it 120 years.
posted by Eyebrows McGee at 2:41 PM on December 2, 2014 [1 favorite]
It needed to be done because it cost an asston of tax dollars to repair and maintain and I was always terrified it was going to rip out the bottom of my car because it was more like a boulder-strewn streambed than a "road" (120-year-old brick pavers heave like WHOA in the freeze-thaw cycle). But I was sad nonetheless. And I doubt the current pavement will make it 120 years.
posted by Eyebrows McGee at 2:41 PM on December 2, 2014 [1 favorite]
"it was more like a boulder-strewn streambed than a "road"
if you think bricks are bad, try cobblestones laid in the time of Napoleon!
if you haven't already, you might be interested in the backstory of the historical road preservation societies behind European professional cycling "monuments" like Paris-Roubaix and the Tour of Flanders, both of which have storied sections of cobblestone roads that feature prominently in the tactical progression of the race. There has been a significant effort over the past four decades to preserve the state of the ancient cobbled farm tracks these races take place on so that the races don't lose their character or difficulty, especially as throughout the 1960s and 1970s local town administrations basically took it as an insult that the races wished to use their "primitive" roads and would embark on a mad paving spree anytime race directors chose their towns as route options.
I have ridden the Trouee d' Arenberg sector; I did it on a mountain bike with wide tires and a suspension fork, and it still terrified me. You couldn't pay me to ride it on a road bike, much less at race pace during a downpour in a pack of fifty other madmen; there is literally not enough NOPE in the world for me to express my horror at the thought
posted by lonefrontranger at 4:16 PM on December 2, 2014 [3 favorites]
if you think bricks are bad, try cobblestones laid in the time of Napoleon!
if you haven't already, you might be interested in the backstory of the historical road preservation societies behind European professional cycling "monuments" like Paris-Roubaix and the Tour of Flanders, both of which have storied sections of cobblestone roads that feature prominently in the tactical progression of the race. There has been a significant effort over the past four decades to preserve the state of the ancient cobbled farm tracks these races take place on so that the races don't lose their character or difficulty, especially as throughout the 1960s and 1970s local town administrations basically took it as an insult that the races wished to use their "primitive" roads and would embark on a mad paving spree anytime race directors chose their towns as route options.
I have ridden the Trouee d' Arenberg sector; I did it on a mountain bike with wide tires and a suspension fork, and it still terrified me. You couldn't pay me to ride it on a road bike, much less at race pace during a downpour in a pack of fifty other madmen; there is literally not enough NOPE in the world for me to express my horror at the thought
posted by lonefrontranger at 4:16 PM on December 2, 2014 [3 favorites]
FWIW the Germans still used bikes tactically (Truppenfahrrad) during WWII.
posted by RobotVoodooPower at 7:07 PM on December 2, 2014
posted by RobotVoodooPower at 7:07 PM on December 2, 2014
I prefer the Dutch approach to military cycling.
posted by Hello, I'm David McGahan at 8:10 PM on December 2, 2014 [1 favorite]
posted by Hello, I'm David McGahan at 8:10 PM on December 2, 2014 [1 favorite]
A friend and former teammate was in the Swiss Army's bicycle unit, and he had mad handling skillz.
posted by computech_apolloniajames at 9:53 PM on December 2, 2014
posted by computech_apolloniajames at 9:53 PM on December 2, 2014
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