Part 1
Although, I encountered a few challenges the overall experience was great. The main challenge for me was safety. When the class was crossing the street to ride on Atlanta’s first cycle track, it did not feel safe. I think the road had a faint cross walk, but did not have any indications for cyclists to cross. When riding on Atlanta’s first cycle track, it felt safe because it was protected by bollards. As soon as the track was not protected, a car swerved into my lane and I immediately felt unsafe. Another challenge was riding in the bike lane, and a car was parked in the way. This was a big issue, because it caused us to bike around the car, into ongoing traffic or bike on the sidewalk with pedestrians.
Over all biking in Atlanta for my first time was great. I enjoyed going on the Beltline for the first time, and seeing how it catered to cyclists. The bike share stations were very convenient. I like how stations are all over Atlanta, and anyone can rent them to ride. The protected bike lane, that is connected from downtown to Georgia’s Tech campus was very safe and designed well. The green pavement to indicate a bike lane on that route was noticeable and not distracting.
Part 2
In the Netherlands, they have one-way cycle tracks on each side of the street. This differs from the US, because on one cycle track there are two directions going at the same time. Throughout the videos, you can tell, the idea of cyclist and cycle tracks in the Netherlands has been evolving. Whereas in Atlanta it is new. The Netherlands cycle track is very safe. From the video, you would never see a car parked in a bike lane. During rush hour, the Netherlands reminded me of downtown Atlanta cars. I have never seen so many people on bikes, and in Atlanta during rush hour I see the same number of people in cars.
Cycling in the Netherlands is a norm. From the videos, it seems like more people have a license to ride a bike than drive a car. The people did not look uncomfortable or seem to feel unsafe when cycling. In the Netherlands, cycling caterers to all ages, and have great facilities such as parking and share stations. The cyclist is so uniformed, that I noticed everyone has the same type of bike just different colors. The Netherlands is an iconic model for cycling.
