N00bs off the road
It’s probably only Icelanders who will get this without an explanation.
In Denmark we have a large bicycle culture and is even in the top three over the most bicycle friendly countries in the world (Either number three or two depending on the list. Holland is always number one). I only know one person who doesn’t own a bike, and people will assume a person was neglected as a child if they can’t ride one (I don’t know a single person who can’t).
Therefore the safety of cyclists is a high priority when making roads, and you will find bicycle paths everywhere that has a lot of traffic. The bicycle paths are often on the same level as the sidewalk, and in some places there is nothing to tell you where the sidewalk ends and the bicycle path start. That is not a problem for Danes because we grew up with it and knows where the invisible line goes.
But Icelanders are not so lucky. Bicycles are fairly rare on the island, and bicycle paths almost non existent. So when they come to Denmark they think the bicycle paths are also for walking.
In Denmark however it’s considered extremely rude to walk on the bicycles path, and if you don’t move when we ring our bell, then you’re just looking for a fight!
Therefore a lot of Icelanders have stories of how they almost got ran over or yelled at by angry Danes on bikes. So it has become a bit of a joke that Danes on bikes target Icelanders when we see them.
Denmark is teaching Norway to ride a bike here because even though Norway is also a very bicycle friendly country, they don’t have the same large bike culture because of all the mountains. But I also just thought it would be cute for Denmark to try and teach Norway something for once.
A little video about the use of bikes in Denmark http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a_8dGodhGtI&playnext_from=TL&videos=RKsPejKpqTM
Norway Denmark Iceland
10th June 2010
7 years ago #9663671
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I'm staring to get the impression that daily life in Denmark is essentially Mad Max with bicycles instead of cars...
8 years ago #9503542
3
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"It's probably only Icelanders that will get this without an explanation"
As an Icelander, yes. My best friend and I have made countless of jokes about pissing off Danes with this. We were going to walk on the paths while in Denmark with our choir but our choir teacher banned us and we have to follow her rules or something bad will happen >:T
As an Icelander, yes. My best friend and I have made countless of jokes about pissing off Danes with this. We were going to walk on the paths while in Denmark with our choir but our choir teacher banned us and we have to follow her rules or something bad will happen >:T
7 years ago #9618332
2
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I almost never see bike lanes where I live because everyone who rides a bike just rides it on the road or the footpath (sidewalk depending where you're from), you really only see bike lanes in the city or in big towns where you need one because of how busy it is
6 years ago #9774295
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I do own a bike, but I can barely move around with it here in Lebanon, because the roads are so narrow and there are so many cars it's almost like suicide. And therefore, of course, there's practically zero bike paths.
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13
iceland: SHIT SHIT SHIT SHIT SHIT SHIIIIIIIT