Right then. After a couple of inaugural blog posts here on Denmark.dk I figured I’d just get some facts out of the way. Facts are fun and interesting but they are often best served when slapped up in concerto.
1. In Denmark, at last count, 18% of the population cycle daily.
2. In Copenhagen, 36% of the population of the Greater Metropolitan area cycle daily to work or places of learning. That is 500,000 daily cyclists.
3. If you exclude the Greater Metro Area and just count Copenhagen proper, 55% cycle daily. On a hot summer’s day that number can reach 65%.
4. 80% of the above cyclists continue to ride throughout the winter.
5. In urban areas in Denmark there are separated bike lanes along most streets. In the country, most roads have separated bike lanes off to the side.
6. Denmark has the world’s safest bicycle culture. Our safety statistics are exceptional.
7. The busiest bike stretch in the nation is Nørrebrogade in Copenhagen. 35,000 cyclists use the street each day.
8. The average speed of cyclists in Copenhagen is 15,3 km/h.
9. Danes cycle just over 1000 km a year per capita. The Dutch occupy second place, just under 1000 km.
10. There are 1.7 million people in Copenhagen and 1.7 million bicycles.
11. Only 40% of Copenhageners own a car.
12. 36% of Copenhageners ride a bicycle, 35% take public transport and the rest drive or walk.
There. A good point of departure for this blog.
5 Comments
Add to that a horrible climate and you have a truly unique – and strange – phenomenon: http://www.bbc.co.uk/weather/world/city_guides/results.shtml?tt=TT003490
Oh my god!! Those people in the picture aren’t wearing helmets!! That’s so dangerous! They would be much safer in an SUV!!!!
Ban bicycles!!! SUVs are the only safe way to travel!
And…they do it all without fruity spandex pants, weird shoes or shirts plastered with the logos of a dozen “sponsors”.
Mikael, I look forward to reading more of your posts, especially from an anthropological perspective. A former exchange student in Denmark from the U.S., I once went on a 7-hour bike tour with my professor and colleagues at DIS throughout the city. Biking alongside buses (I remember a close-call near Børsen) was quite exhilarating, yet quite scary as well! I have much respect for Danes who ride bikes alongside cars daily.
If we did that in the U.S., we’d all be hit by the cars. The bicycle culture you have in DK is quite the phenomenon, and I often miss it. Actually, I miss Denmark immensely, in general. Looking forward to reading more of this blog.
Tak!
thanks for the comments.
@joe:
@silas… indeed. it’s wonderful that people use their regular clothes like people have on bicycles since it was invented.
@thanks nicole. although our separated bike infrastructure keeps us safe. were you in the wrong lane?
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[...] The other bloggers will blog about film, architecture, foreigners interacting with Danes, nightlife and very interesting one guy will blog about the Danish bicycle culture – a truly Danish phenomenon. On this last note some facts from his blog: [...]
[...] Denmark (yes you read that right, the country has an official blog!) they have a nice post on the facts of the bike culture in Denmark. 7. The busiest bike stretch in the nation is Nørrebrogade in Copenhagen. 35,000 cyclists use the [...]