Still rolling along

It took me a while to piece it together. We had spent a couple of days in Zurich, exploring the city, lake and surrounds by bike and public transport. Crossing the main thoroughfare, Seefeldstrasse, just metres from our apartment required a careful check of the road before stepping out (“look LEFT, then right!”) to avoid being hit by trams and bikes. The consequences of the former didn't bear thinking about.

Meet Maxi and Juli who just lurve going for a ride

But where were the cars? Why was I not thinking of looking out for them as well? The answer seems to be very simple. People in Zurich tend not to use their cars. This street was not a car-free zone. I'm not even sure if such things exist in the city. But trams and bikes owned the street, as they own much of central Zurich.

As touring cyclists (hehe, loved writing that!) we're always admiring other bikers on the road, especially if they're  loaded up with pannier bags like us. But after that day in Zurich, I began to pay more attention to how Europeans incorporate bikes into their daily living. Here's my take on it.

We in New Zealand are in the early stages of a hopefully long-term relationship with cycling. With all of the passion of a new-found love, many of us are giddy with cycling fervour. Belles on Bikes, anyone? Frocks on Bikes? Blokes on bikes? Mamils? You might need to google that last one, but it IS a thing.

And, as in any romance, there are ups and downs. Not all motorists see cyclists as human beings. Not all cyclists show consideration to other road users. For some, it's a clear ‘them and us’ divide. There is still work to be done on the relationship. Maybe even counselling is called for.

With the benefit of many hundreds of years of urban living, European cities have evolved. The relationship between citizen and bike has long since moved beyond passion and its attendant conflicts. A happily married couple, if you like. People and bikes seem to plod along together in their comfy slippers. It is what it is: A successful long-term relationship, one that benefits all. We saw so many instances of people using bikes as we would cars: picking up children from school, grocery shopping, commuting with coffee in one hand, taking the family for a picnic, even embarking on a family camping holiday.

Tricky work taking this pic while riding

There is also infrastructure in place to smooth any speedbumps in the relationship: cycle ‘no go’ zones, clear road marking for bike lanes, separated pathways, and bike stands galore. Cars often give way to cyclists, whether required to or not.





Zurich has a public bike sharing scheme, as many cities do nowadays. (And it is good to read that Auckland is looking at introducing such a scheme) .

What is different to others we have come across is the high level of trust implicit in its operation. The distinctly yellow bikes are scattered around the city, not tethered to any kind of electronic locking system as in Paris, for instance. Users scan the QR code on the bike’s rear mudguard which unlocks the rear wheel and charges a small amount of francs to their account. Then off they pedal. The bike can be returned to any of the velo parking spots around the city. So simple.

Meanwhile, le Tour de Richards continues. From the peloton, my daily view is that of the Tour Leader's rear end as we roll around Lake Konstanz. We're in Meersburg right now, a gorgeous German medieval town. Next, we head to Bregenz (crossing briefly into Austria) then St Gallen, back in Switzerland. As the Tour Leader is wont to remark, cycling is the ideal way to explore; too slow on foot, too fast in a car.

To stretch the metaphor just a wee bit further, we're also rolling towards a significant anniversary. By the time we reach Appenzell, we will be marking 40 years of wedded bliss. Talk about comfy slippers!