20151021

Bike Lane Is Not The Key Point Of Bicycle Friendly

I always ride my bicycle to everywhere I like to go. For sport? adventure? commuting? Yes, yes. yes! Even in business. I took every chance to explore the world, from A to B, noway anyway, by bicycle. It works everywhere with or without bike lanes. I don't mean bike lane is not necessary. It's just not the key point. I hate bike lanes sometimes.

I'll share with my latest cycling trip of Europe for example. I been to London, Paris, and all the way from Amsterdam, Köln, Frankfurt, Stuttgart, Ulm… to Friedrichshafen by bicycle and a trailer. And took the flight from Zurich back to Taiwan. In this 1000+ km and one month's trip, I can see and feel the cycling environment of these cities or countries, some amazing and some surprisingly not so good. But before this, I like to share my point of view of Taiwan's circumstance of bicycle friendly.

Taiwan
Taiwan did construct a lot of bike lanes for years. In my opinion, most of them are failed. It has different purposes, types, surfaces, widths... even in the same city. The worst is they hardly connect to each others. Some popular bike lanes are in the remote area. People may use it as recreation. But it's not easy to ride to there from home. Some might use car to carry their bicycles, some might just rent it there. Expensive to build, hard to maintain, not always good to be ride on it... Most of all, it didn’t encourage people to use bicycle more, instead of car driving which is not good for environment, for health, for your pocket and local economic also.

The good thing is, it slowly changes to the right way. More bike lanes are focus on commuting. Taipei have high quality public bike system now, the U-bike. And city government like to promote bicycle friendly as their important policy. Now, I like to back to my cycling journey in Europe.

London
I been to London twice before. I rode my bike for two days holiday this time. London is famous for it's congestion. People think it's not easy to cycling around. But I don't feel that way. It might be narrow and crowded. But you're not alone. There is more and more people ride their bikes to everywhere in London. They have Cycle Superhighways and successful public bikes too.

I think it's very expensive to take subway which they called Tube as main commuting way. And we confronted tube strike when in London this time. It simply push more people to change to anther way. Most of them will ride their bicycles or rent the public bikes instead. I think London might not among the most bicycle friendly cites right now. It's still easy to move your self by bikes where ever you like to go. But beware to lock your bikes carefully.

Paris
Paris changed a lot when they launched Velib public bikes system in 2007. We might put it this way, the Velib dragged Paris becoming cycle friendly successfully. Because it encourage big quantity Velib users along the streets promptly. Every Paris residents or tourists just set aside space for bikes and enjoy taking a part in.

It's more easy to cycle around in Paris than in London. I can ride my bike through the bottom of La Tour Eiffel, to the Musée du Louvre. Or chill out in the round seat of Pout-Neuf with my bike. Maybe it's the other side of romance, Paris don't smell good most of the time. If you can take it, sure you'll all fine while cycling in Paris.

Amsterdam
When I asked my partner this trip, "which city you like most ?" He said, "Amsterdam, because girls are pretty". I bet it is. Especially the "Cycle Chic" all along the streets of Amsterdam. They dress in style no matter on bicycle or not. They won the most bicycle friendly city in the world. But lost their title in 2015 by some evaluation. It's sure privileged to cycle around in Amsterdam. It always has priority to cars/motors with or without bicycle lanes. And people get used to it.

But there's one thing I like to note. Which is some bike lanes allow motorbikes in. They do have speed-limit of 25 km. But it seems no one care about that. What I saw there is most of the motorbikes were all over speed, they pass cyclist casually, noisy and smell bad. We felt uncomfortable when they passed by or squeezed in. My friend’s wife even been hit and injury by motorbike in the bike lane. Maybe it's the reason why they lost the title of best bicycle friendly city.

Germany
We spent most of our time in cycling through Germany. From north to south, city to city, river to river. We took streets in the city, cycle path/road in between. I must say, it's not always smooth and pleasant. For a major city like Köln, Frankfurt, it's no problem to get around by bicycle. Even the tourist city like Ulm, Lindau, Friedrichshafen are OK too.

But it's not very easy to cycling intercity. If you take road system, sometimes it would become Super High Way and without bike lane in the sideway. Or you have to change to the other side frequently. If you take the cycle path, would lost your way somewhere definitely. It's hard to trace the twist and varies routes for the first time. Even though you had Cycle Map in hand.

I enjoyed some bicycle paths for it's beautiful scenery and quiet atmosphere. Still, I hate to run the up and down curb in the crossroads. I know it's for cyclist's safety, but it just waste more energy and time of cyclist. It looks like punishment, not the reward. So I like to cycling on road as possible. And I don't have problem among all the cities I been mostly.

I think the key point of bicycle friendly is, all the road users familiar with and respect each others. Sometimes bike lane or independent lane just tear us apart and make people ignore each others. It turns "ride with traffic" into "ride against traffic". Every lane is cycle lane, every street is bicycle friendly. That's what I hope.

20151013

2015騎歐雜記EuroTrip Part 3


跨國騎行
離開荷蘭前進德國的行程,Amsterdam To Arnhem,幸運由尚品綠能的當地友人Olaf帶隊。不走大馬路,但卻沒因而增添太多里程,路線多變化、有特色、愉悅的熟客路線。 里程約100K,重裝,黃昏時來到目的地—萊茵河畔營地,不熟絕對無法這麼順利。

歐盟沒有邊界,幾次的跨國火車之旅完全沒有感覺。那騎單車呢?當年騎中南半島,穿越國界是很有趣的經驗,靠右或靠左,宗教、經濟等的差異都反映在國界上,彷彿真的有一條實際的線劃過土地。歐洲雖然已經沒有國界的概念,有些時候還是會有感,例如EuroBike歐展時期,如果從瑞士或其他國家進入德國(高速公路或港口),會有機動的移民官員來檢查,大多是想看你有沒有夾帶展覽品,以便課稅。這次從荷蘭要跨越就邊界時,因為Larry帶隊,我完全不知身在何處,還是感受到了穿越國境的奇妙氛圍,雖然很難說個具體。道路開始不自然的轉彎、緩上坡、一大段直路、沒有房子...,再看到一兩間獨棟的屋舍時,你就知道那是舊海關了。我們走的是荷蘭N336接德國8號國道,到了德國這邊,紅色鋪面的自行車道變成黑色柏油,紅色指標變成綠色指標。

萊茵河
萊茵河逆流而上的貨輪速度好像比騎單車也快不了多少,都可以跟它比賽了。荷蘭境內的騎士大多不穿勁裝車衣褲,比較日常穿著;而德國這邊就比較會穿顏色鮮艷的車衣/褲,哪怕是銀髮族,哦!這邊的人多銀髮,應該說是樂齡或退休人士。德國境內的這段萊茵河沿岸,我的印象是重工業比美麗景緻更突出,在下游邊境設立重工業,是不是有以鄰為壑的概念啊?!

從Emmerich附近過河(應該是220國道),這個重要橋樑兩側都有自行車道,保證單車騎士不受交通瓶頸的困擾。台北或新北若真的要推單車友善,應該要普設跨淡水河、基隆河瓶頸橋梁的單車專用道,這才是刀口。經過Xanten這個古城,還有一座風車,你可以分辨荷蘭風車與德國的差別嗎?

科隆以東
由北沿萊茵河進入「科隆Köln」,可以騎一段愉悅的河濱藍綠帶,倒不一定是自行車道,是混合堤防、小巷弄、產業道路等,要注意指標就是了。科隆大教堂這個地標從很遠就可以目視,慢慢地被它吸引到教堂廣場。既靠河畔,教堂旁就是火車站,非常引力集中的點。吃個德國豬腳、喝個啤酒,然後再到上游的露營區,擁擠、有露天啤酒廣場氣氛的露營區。

隔天離開科隆,搭渡輪跨過萊茵河,往東進入德國中部丘陵地,不是路線規劃及帶隊者,就跟進入迷宮差不多。幾天的丘陵山地上下織繞,經過許多記不得名字的村鎮,有些連一間對外營業的店也沒有。天氣不大理想,雨中騎上林道高點,感覺和冬雨上武嶺差不多。由於帳篷等裝備濕透,有幾個晚上是找飯店住而不是露營,兩人一間的價格從55到65歐元,也不算太貴。

有些大一點的村鎮,至少會有麵包店,這些麵包店不但兼具咖啡廳,還是交誼中心。下雨的午後,我們在Seck找到一間麵包店,不斷有老顧客上門外帶麵包或蛋糕,小小的餐桌也幾乎坐滿喝下午茶的人。我們勉強擠了進去,和顧客與老闆娘一起度過一段溫暖的下午茶時光。這種愉快的旅程片段會想要複製,但也就僅此一次天時地利人和!

撿到法蘭克福
我們商討之後決定兵分二路,Larry和楊先生繼續往東推進,我們則往南朝向人口稠密區。因路程延誤,原本決定不進的「法蘭克福Frankfurt」,沒去過的我們就撿了回來。自己走必須重新做功課,也像在探險,感受是大大不相同。我用TopPeak鎖在龍頭的手機座,還算蠻方便的。一路導航查看地圖,電力在過午就會用盡,從PowerT2充電的行動電源就可以補充。當所有裝備都已理出一套使用邏輯,蝸牛要去天涯海角也可以。

法蘭克福新舊並列,羅馬人廣場的彩色巴發利亞建築,以及有國際口味的眾多餐廳、精品街;還有跨緬因河的人行步橋上,總是有人要掛愛情之鎖(第一次看見愛情之鎖是在首爾塔,還以為是韓國原創,我真是孤陋寡聞,到底哪裡才是正宗的?)。我們多了點時間可以小逛一下,剛好在專門書店買了涵蓋接下來行程的單車地圖,有了紙本地圖就一切OK了,嗎?

關於迷路
從法蘭克福往南,打算經「曼海姆Mannheim」、「布魯薩爾Bruchsal」到「司徒加特Stuttgart」,中間必須找地方過一夜。經法蘭克福機場出城算有趣,可以確定這個歐洲大機場可以直接騎車進出,自行車道是沿著機場旁延伸,只是有些路段可能在修路...。一開始只使用紙本地圖還OK,一進到大城市如曼海姆就迷路了,該紙本地圖比例太大,道路一密集就需要多點時間來辨識,自行車道也不知在何時消失無蹤...。

經過一些功夫,總算出城,又因我發音不準,一對老夫婦非常熱心地親自帶路,雖然直覺方向不對...。還好花了點時間拗回來,也不太離譜。臨暗到了備案的露營區,竟客滿不接了!只好到Reilingen小鎮找間餐廳,吃個飯、想一下要繼續騎還是找地方住。結果老闆給了答案,是一間當地鄉村俱樂部型態的飯店,看起來蠻高級,問一下一晚才80歐元,欣然接受。

有了這天迷路的經驗,當晚下載了涵蓋要去區域的Ulmon地圖在手機裡,隨時可以知道自己所在位置及行進方向。是不會迷途了,但就不會走錯路嗎?來說幾次印象深刻的誤判:其一,出法蘭克福時,沿著一條重要道路的自行車道往西,因為自行車道有時雙向都有,有時要切換到對向。我沒看清楚或是地圖沒載明,其中一向被快速道路匯入口阻隔,同時本道也都建構不能跨越的安全島,回頭要1公里多才可穿越,我們則是找車少時從路口違規分段穿越...。

其二,執著於自行車道系統或公路系統都有不同的意外。有時自行車道騎一騎就變不是自行車道了,德國自行車道系統經常得靠一個約15公分見方的綠色箭頭標示來指引方向,位置也不固定,若被樹枝擋住、被破壞,或是自己分心沒看到,就會錯失...。出司徒加特我為了走河邊自行車道花了一個鐘頭才找到入口;這些好意的自行車道組合,既迂迴也不是均質的,混合一般馬路、30公里速限區、土石便道、林蔭道、石板路、後巷、產業道路...,初來乍到的旅行者一定會迷失的。不趕時間就還好,隨遇而安,停下來研究一番也無妨。而公路走著走著變成高速公路(德國公路會有部分路段是像高速公路),一不注意變成汽車才通的隧道,前後矛盾的狀況也有。

我後來就比較隨意,以鄉道為主,你會發現自行車道穿來織去,高興或者漂亮就走一段。不理它,自行車道會自動出現。其實在台灣旅行,不都經常騎在公路上?人生地不熟(又是在歐洲文明區),會比較自我設限一點。

一些德國古城
雖然一直騎,不太有時間在一地停留,還是有一些印象比較深刻的古城。由北往南,「巴特瑙海姆Bad Nauheim」以鹹水溫泉著名,早有SPA療程,是個渡假勝地。難怪我們因雨一路落魄找不着旅社,一進到這個城鎮,旅社卻是一間接著一間。沿著公園藍帶還有個古蹟水車公園;「施韋青根Schwetzingen」是個以城堡和水上宮殿聞名的觀光城鎮,我們光路過就可感受到雍容華貴的渡假氛圍;布魯薩爾的巴洛克宮殿式建築也讓人過目難忘(寫這篇時查了點資料,這裡原本是法語區,難怪氣氛不大一樣)。

感受最深的是「烏姆Ulm」,位於德國南部多瑙河畔,有護城圍繞,之間的河畔自行車道很熱門。最出名的當然是有世界最高鐘樓(161.53公尺)的烏姆大教堂,我們在烏姆青年旅社的室友—一位小兒痲痹症騎著三輪斜躺車旅行的車友,他推薦我們一定要上去鐘樓。去之前完全沒有以上的資訊,當然很高、要爬好久的螺旋階梯,最厲害的是第二層以上鏤空的外牆,和爬樹差不多感覺,朝天突刺,越爬越腳軟。

終點—波登湖畔
離開烏姆古城,中間在某地露營一宿,比預定提前一天抵達波登湖(Bodensee)畔,一個月上千公里的騎行接近尾聲。隔天早上還有空到25公裡外的湖邊渡假勝地Lindau小逛,然後預訂集合地點等待Larry和楊先生,一起繼續露營。接下來參加在「誹德烈港Friedrichshafen」的歐洲車展EuroBike,世界最大的自行車展。

飛回來的前一天,搭船到對岸的Romanshorn火車站月台,把單車拆解、打包。散落一地的狀態,讓清潔人員關切了一下,說明之後就不理我們了。約一小時車程,先到蘇黎世機場寄放單車行李,再進蘇黎世住宿,讓東東多逛了一座城市,而我的感想是:瑞士的消費實在太貴了!

本次行程的亮點是,以接近長途旅行的規格,沿路騎車+露營,加了發電機的Power T2不錯用。我如果退休後真的有環球行程,就這麼搞...;至於低點,除了自行車道系統讓我不滿意比滿意多,市區路口的轉進/穿越讓人覺得挫折(順暢程度和汽車比起來,還是二等用路人)。還有人,在英國與德國遇過幾個粗魯的騎士,似乎騎得越快的越沒耐心,以口出惡言來清空前方路徑...。

.2015騎歐雜記 EuroTrip|Part 1Part 2ak臉書相簿