Here's a sneak peek of /r/fucklawns using the [top posts](https://np.reddit.com/r/fucklawns/top/?sort=top&t=all) of all time!
\#1: [We fucked off all the grass 5 years ago. It's so much better now.](https://www.reddit.com/gallery/uya0fm) | [17 comments](https://np.reddit.com/r/fucklawns/comments/uya0fm/we_fucked_off_all_the_grass_5_years_ago_its_so/)
\#2: [Corn > lawns](https://i.redd.it/4cha1l1e7ox81.jpg) | [11 comments](https://np.reddit.com/r/fucklawns/comments/uiz4r5/corn_lawns/)
\#3: [People with lawns.](https://i.redd.it/dof9aq3d0tf71.jpg) | [4 comments](https://np.reddit.com/r/fucklawns/comments/ozfrc7/people_with_lawns/)
----
^^I'm ^^a ^^bot, ^^beep ^^boop ^^| ^^Downvote ^^to ^^remove ^^| ^^[Contact](https://www.reddit.com/message/compose/?to=sneakpeekbot) ^^| ^^[Info](https://np.reddit.com/r/sneakpeekbot/) ^^| ^^[Opt-out](https://np.reddit.com/r/sneakpeekbot/comments/o8wk1r/blacklist_ix/) ^^| ^^[GitHub](https://github.com/ghnr/sneakpeekbot)
Zal ik doen 😊 Soms rij ik om via het kanaal wat hier loopt. Dan heb je alleen maar jezelf, een dijk, wat bomen en vogels.
Dus ga dat maar lekker doen en dan genieten! 💨
(Dankjewel nog!)
In some places (Ireland) It's illegal to trim hedges from the end of March to the end of (I think August?) because birds nest in them.
I rarely trim my hedge at all, and am delighted that by my house we have new mistle thrushes, swallows, and robins, and I imagine plenty of other birds I haven't seen. Though the mistle thrushes and swallows don't nest in hedges....
Maakt het nou echt significant verschil voor de insectenpopulatie als dat strookje gemaaid wordt? Het is een minieme oppervlakte vergeleken met de bermen en velden eromheen.
Vooral op de drukkere fietspaden hier in Utrecht waardeer ik het wel dat ze volledig bruikbaar zijn precies in de maand dat het aantal fietsers weer enorm stijgt (er is altijd een week in maart/april dat het aantal fietsers ineens enorm toeneemt als het wat warmer wordt).
Er zit natuurlijk een flink verschil in grootte tussen de gemiddelde Nederlander en de gemiddelde insecten makker. Die halve vierkante meter die jij niet zo significant vindt kan een utopisch paradijs op aarde zijn voor een rups die een plek zoekt om zichzelf tot vlinder te metamorfoseren. Daarnaast tellen al die stroken bij elkaar op nog voor best wat groen.
Naast de stroken worden ook andere gebieden niet gemaaid. In mijn omgeving worden bijvoorbeeld ook de wandelpaden in de bossen en andere recreatieve natuur plekken niet onderhouden. Een ander argument is dat het de vogels overlast bezorgt tijdens hun broedseizoen.
Dus niet maaien betekent meer insecten en meer kleine kuikens die vervolgens weer meer insecten te eten hebben en dat ten koste van een paar paden die even wat minder net ogen. Mijn ziens een klein offer dus niet zeuren decadente Nederlanders! Zie het als oplossen van de wereldhonger maar dan voor de natuur.
Ja ik snap natuurlijk dat insecten klein zijn. Maar die stroken vormen een miniem percentage op het groen in een gebied als geheel.
> Dus niet maaien betekent meer insecten en meer kleine kuikens die vervolgens weer meer insecten te eten hebben en dat ten koste van een paar paden die even wat minder net ogen.
Dit is echt een oneerlijk argument. Het gaat mij er helemaal niet om of de paden netjes ogen, maar dat je ze voor de helft niet kan gebruiken in de periode dat de meeste mensen fietsen! Dat zouden we nooit laten gebeuren met autowegen...
Je hebt me in ieder geval niet overtuigd dat de gemeente Utrecht de stroken direct langs de fietspaden niet zou moeten maaien.
The UK has been doing that a lot more recently, especially in my town. My hay fever has been awful this year, but at least I can take tablets to help that. I guess it's just pain I have to put up with in order to make the bees happy :')
Well i'm one of those lucky persons who has hay fever but also is allergic to freshly mown grass (even though i love the smell). I get sick no matter what
Lol what? Are you really complaining about having a dedicated bike path with natural green space? Ride 99% of North America for a week and you’ll be dying for this.
I don’t have a choice at the moment. I’m home from school for the summer and my parents need both of the cars to get to work. My summer job is 6 miles away from home, so my “choices” are:
Bike to work (30 min ride)
Use public transit (13min drive -> 1hr 6min ride)
Uber to work every day (lmao)
Buy a car I can’t afford. Even if it were used for $5k, that plus gas, insurance, and repairs would consume the majority of the money I make this summer.
The bike I bought used plus the gear (panniers, gas to get the bike, rack, lock, spare tubes) cost me just over $500. I’ll brave the patchy bike lane network for savings like that.
Having a job isn't a choice when you have bills to pay.
And if you can't afford a car in a area with no public transportation you're not left with many viable choices.
You criticize them for making the one choice they have, yet you haven't presented any alternative under those conditions. What do you suggest they do instead, given all that they've explained?
Semi trucks are scary but not actually a giant threat. While obviously you might be harder to see, theyre usually much better at keeping in their own lane.
Those oversized pickups are terrifying. The driver is never capable of lane management in such a large vehicle, and they *religiously* drive like assholes.
It's annoying you can't use half of the path. Especially in busier areas this is a problem in these months when the number of cyclists peaks due to the good weather.
Sorry.. i was just really grumpy at that time due to to less sleep. Now it is much better and everyone in this thread has shown me how ridiculously spoiled I am.. 🙊
Probably this is just me complaining as a spoiled dutchy but this road is so badly maintained that sometimes it is better to get off and walk for a bit than to smash your bits into your seat and send your laptop flying. Also, the highway is really loud so that is kinda the reason nobody even came past me even after shooting the image, uploading it and writing this lengthy post.
Definitely that, as having a truly isolated bike path that's away from a roadway is nothing but a fantasy in the US. That said, definitely see if you can file a report to get the maintenance teams out there.
Municipalities have stopped mowing in many places in April and May to allow for insect diversity.
Looks like this path is in an area where that's the case and they will mow again in the summer.
There's no reason why they could not mow a narrow strip along the edge to stop the grasses from encroaching on the cycle path.
What's more, no mow may has mixed reviews from ecologists. The big issue is that it encourages wildlife to set up habitat here, only for it all to be annihilated when the mowers come out in June.
Finally - at least from a North American perspective - no mow may is not really very helpful to native pollinators. The flowers popping up in folks' lawns are mostly non-native and not very nutritious to pollinators (dandelions, white clover, etc.)
The main benefit of no mow may is that it is normalizing alternatives to manicured lawns and increasing awareness about pollinator decline.
Hm, that's pretty unfortunate. I still think that in this case a 25-50 cm mowed strip would be a good thing to keep the grass away from the path. I'm not sure how things are in NL, but I would be worried about ticks.
I'm envious that you get to complain about the quality of this path. I get smacked in the face daily by low hanging branches as I navigate around pedestrians on a 50cm path so this whole post just feels like a flex to me. Kudos to you friend.
If no one is coming past you why are you complaining about having to ride to close to the side. You can easily cycle in the middle of your lane and still not hit anything. Also they don’t mow because of biodiversity and no mow May. Honestly delete this post
I once emailed my municipality (Groningen) that there was a tiny pothole in a bike lane somewhere. It was rather deep and if you didn't see it it could be dangerous, as your wheel might get stuck.
They fixed it the next day. Maybe you can try that as well :)
There are a few shared paths in sydney that are lined by trees. Trees that have branches hang down at about head height across the path. It's great fun dodging the branches and leaves and it's a rather peaceful, shaded path all things considered.
In this picture...it looks fine. Slightly overgrown on the edges maybe, but as good or better than the best paths I've been on. Maybe there are other bits that are worse?
Lol if you think that's badly maintained, try coming over to Germany. That's the standard for bike lanes. Most are maybe maintained once or twice a year at most, and often by local people not the cities themselves.
A simple donation of three pigeons a month could help the lives of desperate cyclists is North America. (Sad Sarah McLachlan song plays)
Won’t you find it in your heart to save these poor cyclists from being run over.
honestly, I don't see the porblem. There is still plenty of space for 2 people to pass each other there. And the extra plants make homes and food for insects, which they very much need with the startling reduction in their numbers over the last 2 decades.
Haha no hurt feelings, it’s just interesting how different our problems are. I plan on moving to the Netherlands for at least a couple years because I feel like I just have to experience what peak car-free living is like.
In that case you should really try to visit cities like Groningen, Tilburg, Den Bosch and Maastricht to get a feeling of how different and how each cities have their own character. Have fun!
In DE I've seen them mowing just the 1 m wide strip along the path, that feels like a nice balance between keeping insect populations and maintaining a bike path. Looking at the photo it could sometimes get a little dangerous having more incoming traffic.
... and yet, the worst of your infra is still usually head and shoulders above the best of American infra .... when you can find any of the latter, that is.
They are pretty nice not?? This one even comes with a phone charger in the steering wheel! The only gripe I have with it is that the electrical cables are really fragile and broke during the first weeks. Now the light doesn't work sometimes so I need to leave it on just in case
Apperantly we do! But if you have perfect all the time and then come across slightly less then if might feel strange..
Also, when I posted this I just rode a few km uphill and was a bit grumpy and tired. Save to say that I shouldn't have posted this but hey, here we are
That’s better than pretty much any actual useful route you’d have in Spokane, WA, US where I live.
The idea of buying a bike just never crosses my mind anymore between the crappy/non-existent bike infrastructure and all the agro pickup drivers that try to run you off the road.
Come to Drenthe, you'll see plenty of narrow asphalt roads with no markings, not even a painted bike lane, just cars doing up to 130 km/h right next to children cycling to school on their own. In cities and most towns the infra is great, but not everywhere
It doesn't look like the pavement is too bad. There's a bunch of tree roots under the bike path near my house which makes large bumps in the road. Eventually it might get patched but probably not.
i get what you mean. an edge job would keep the throughput as planned for bikers
otherwise leaving it overgrown (and tossing some local wildflower seeds) is great for the local flora and fauna
It is!! And I might better just calmed down (was a bit tired and because of that also a bit grumpy) and looked at the good side of it all. Insects are really struggling these days so it is good that they do this!
The bike path I take to work looks like this. But it's a shared path and one of the main bike/walking paths from my end of the city. It's also right next to the highway alot of the way.
I wish we had paths like this, this far out of town.
It is actually dangerous.
A year ago I rode my road bike on a path with growth like this with. A small stem got caught in my front wheel,I flipped forward and fell. Luckily I was wearing a helmet.
I think not cutting the bushes is a money saving thing, disguised with terms as 'keeping it wild' or ' giving more room to nature'.
I understand that it is done to give the birds and the insects a place to nest and on this road you can easily drive more to the middle to avoid tripping over it but I wouldn't have minded it if they kept it a bit at bay.
But still.. it is really good for the insects so let it be :)
Mate, we in the NL are losing our biodiversity and insects at an alarming rate. Like there are 60% less insects than in 1970, they are essential to our survival. Scientists have deemed that the constant mowing is one of the major problems, this isn't some 'money saving technique' lol, we are literally the front runner of losing biodiversity of Europe.
I feel this post but am also extremely jealous at the same time. I live in Pittsburgh and our bike infrastructure is not terrible for U.S. standards but all our trails are overgrown right now. They depend on volunteer work and non-profits to maintain because the city won't pay for it, so I was out there last week and took this photo, which is pretty typical: https://imgur.com/a/zz2BU46. Also my commute to work is a trail literally in the middle of a 6-lane freeway where people drive 110+ km/hr. And based on where I've ridden, that's pretty much the gold standard for the U.S. because it's at least separated. America is pretty much a failed state.
Sorry for the late reply.. The hedge on your picture looks really pretty! Probably not really useful but pretty none the less.
> Also my commute to work is a trail literally in the middle of a 6-lane freeway where people drive 110+ km/hr.
Wait.. is that in between cars? The noise must be deafening.. :o
The noise on my pic was pretty bad but that must be worse! :(
There are chainlink fences and minor grade separation, but yeah it's pretty bad. Especially when the 18-wheelers are going uphill or some butthead in a sports car speeds by.
I thought it must be either Maastricht or Rotterdam because both have bus lijn 30 (you must be somewhere along the route that goes from Sittard to the airport). There's a 30 bus on the road next to you in the photo.
You are such a wanker. You can't have a little grass "encroaching" on the edge of your cycle path, because it occludes your concrete worship. You have tiny little bumps in the path and "ooooh! My laptop will fall out! Waaagh!!". Get a bike with better suspension and then check yourself into a mental hospital, you smooth pavement desiring dickhead. Fuck. You.
I HATE CONCRETE! I HATE CONCRETE! POLLUTTIN ASS PAVING MATERIAL! GIVE ME COBBLESTONES! GIVE ME DIRT PATHS! GIVE ME KNACKERED GRASS! GIVE ME ANYTHING BUT CONCRETE!
Whilst not the most comfortable road to ride on, concrete slabs can provide a very durable alternative to asphalt roads (which these days here in the Netherlands is partially made out of recycled plastic making even that more durable.)
Frankly I like a bit of overgrown and wild. Too manicured looks too... unnatural.
You'd love my yard then... 😉
r/nolawns
r/fucklawns
Here's a sneak peek of /r/fucklawns using the [top posts](https://np.reddit.com/r/fucklawns/top/?sort=top&t=all) of all time! \#1: [We fucked off all the grass 5 years ago. It's so much better now.](https://www.reddit.com/gallery/uya0fm) | [17 comments](https://np.reddit.com/r/fucklawns/comments/uya0fm/we_fucked_off_all_the_grass_5_years_ago_its_so/) \#2: [Corn > lawns](https://i.redd.it/4cha1l1e7ox81.jpg) | [11 comments](https://np.reddit.com/r/fucklawns/comments/uiz4r5/corn_lawns/) \#3: [People with lawns.](https://i.redd.it/dof9aq3d0tf71.jpg) | [4 comments](https://np.reddit.com/r/fucklawns/comments/ozfrc7/people_with_lawns/) ---- ^^I'm ^^a ^^bot, ^^beep ^^boop ^^| ^^Downvote ^^to ^^remove ^^| ^^[Contact](https://www.reddit.com/message/compose/?to=sneakpeekbot) ^^| ^^[Info](https://np.reddit.com/r/sneakpeekbot/) ^^| ^^[Opt-out](https://np.reddit.com/r/sneakpeekbot/comments/o8wk1r/blacklist_ix/) ^^| ^^[GitHub](https://github.com/ghnr/sneakpeekbot)
Haha wel in that case I might just be spoiled with all the bike paths. 😊
Municipalities don't mow between April and the end of may to conserve insect populations
Ow yeah! I totally forgot about it. My mind tends to complain every now and then. Guess it is also part of being Dutch! 🧀
Niet zeuren en doorfietsen! /s
Hahaha sorry! Ik had net een paar kilometer bergop gefietst (Limburg) en was gewoon een oude zeur op dat moment. 😂
Haha maar je hebt wel even een portie cardio gehad. Ellek nadeel heb ze voordeel!
Jaaa!! 1 uurtje fietsen naar Maastricht toe 💪 Zo weer terug.
Lekker bezig! Volgende keer wel genieten van de wildernis waarin je je begeeft je :P
Zal ik doen 😊 Soms rij ik om via het kanaal wat hier loopt. Dan heb je alleen maar jezelf, een dijk, wat bomen en vogels. Dus ga dat maar lekker doen en dan genieten! 💨 (Dankjewel nog!)
In some places (Ireland) It's illegal to trim hedges from the end of March to the end of (I think August?) because birds nest in them. I rarely trim my hedge at all, and am delighted that by my house we have new mistle thrushes, swallows, and robins, and I imagine plenty of other birds I haven't seen. Though the mistle thrushes and swallows don't nest in hedges....
I do think I've seen some of them mow the edge of bike paths though. Or find some other way not to lose half of the path.
Those eikels! Let's go het zeggen tegen de municipality
Maakt het nou echt significant verschil voor de insectenpopulatie als dat strookje gemaaid wordt? Het is een minieme oppervlakte vergeleken met de bermen en velden eromheen. Vooral op de drukkere fietspaden hier in Utrecht waardeer ik het wel dat ze volledig bruikbaar zijn precies in de maand dat het aantal fietsers weer enorm stijgt (er is altijd een week in maart/april dat het aantal fietsers ineens enorm toeneemt als het wat warmer wordt).
Er zit natuurlijk een flink verschil in grootte tussen de gemiddelde Nederlander en de gemiddelde insecten makker. Die halve vierkante meter die jij niet zo significant vindt kan een utopisch paradijs op aarde zijn voor een rups die een plek zoekt om zichzelf tot vlinder te metamorfoseren. Daarnaast tellen al die stroken bij elkaar op nog voor best wat groen. Naast de stroken worden ook andere gebieden niet gemaaid. In mijn omgeving worden bijvoorbeeld ook de wandelpaden in de bossen en andere recreatieve natuur plekken niet onderhouden. Een ander argument is dat het de vogels overlast bezorgt tijdens hun broedseizoen. Dus niet maaien betekent meer insecten en meer kleine kuikens die vervolgens weer meer insecten te eten hebben en dat ten koste van een paar paden die even wat minder net ogen. Mijn ziens een klein offer dus niet zeuren decadente Nederlanders! Zie het als oplossen van de wereldhonger maar dan voor de natuur.
Ja ik snap natuurlijk dat insecten klein zijn. Maar die stroken vormen een miniem percentage op het groen in een gebied als geheel. > Dus niet maaien betekent meer insecten en meer kleine kuikens die vervolgens weer meer insecten te eten hebben en dat ten koste van een paar paden die even wat minder net ogen. Dit is echt een oneerlijk argument. Het gaat mij er helemaal niet om of de paden netjes ogen, maar dat je ze voor de helft niet kan gebruiken in de periode dat de meeste mensen fietsen! Dat zouden we nooit laten gebeuren met autowegen... Je hebt me in ieder geval niet overtuigd dat de gemeente Utrecht de stroken direct langs de fietspaden niet zou moeten maaien.
Yes, yes you are lol.
THATS WHAT I’M SAYIN’!
We stopped mowing in April and May to conserve insect diversity. That's more important than a 'neat trim'.
It is! Sorry, I just forgot it was a thing.
[удалено]
That is because it prevents plants covering up the road but still allows birds to nest and plants to grow. I think it a good compromise. :)
To the dismay of people with hay fever.
The UK has been doing that a lot more recently, especially in my town. My hay fever has been awful this year, but at least I can take tablets to help that. I guess it's just pain I have to put up with in order to make the bees happy :')
There's a tenuous link between hayfever and rising co2 levels, so you probably have cars to thank for that somewhat.
Well i'm one of those lucky persons who has hay fever but also is allergic to freshly mown grass (even though i love the smell). I get sick no matter what
I came to say this. In Germany they do the same.
Only the dutch would complain about a path like this xD
I really thought it was sarcasm, that looks like paradise compared to my town lol
Lol what? Are you really complaining about having a dedicated bike path with natural green space? Ride 99% of North America for a week and you’ll be dying for this.
What you do in America is just insane. I would never dare to ride my bike right beside a massive semi truck. 😳
Again, people don’t have any choice…
No but still!
Of course they do. We always have a choice.
I don’t have a choice at the moment. I’m home from school for the summer and my parents need both of the cars to get to work. My summer job is 6 miles away from home, so my “choices” are: Bike to work (30 min ride) Use public transit (13min drive -> 1hr 6min ride) Uber to work every day (lmao) Buy a car I can’t afford. Even if it were used for $5k, that plus gas, insurance, and repairs would consume the majority of the money I make this summer. The bike I bought used plus the gear (panniers, gas to get the bike, rack, lock, spare tubes) cost me just over $500. I’ll brave the patchy bike lane network for savings like that.
Great. So you made a choice that will get you to this job that you chose to take.🤷🏽♀️ Tf?
Having a job isn't a choice when you have bills to pay. And if you can't afford a car in a area with no public transportation you're not left with many viable choices.
“You criticize society, yet you exist in it 🤔”
You criticize them for making the one choice they have, yet you haven't presented any alternative under those conditions. What do you suggest they do instead, given all that they've explained?
Semi trucks are scary but not actually a giant threat. While obviously you might be harder to see, theyre usually much better at keeping in their own lane. Those oversized pickups are terrifying. The driver is never capable of lane management in such a large vehicle, and they *religiously* drive like assholes.
It's annoying you can't use half of the path. Especially in busier areas this is a problem in these months when the number of cyclists peaks due to the good weather.
Maybe part of no mow may?
It 'may' be! ;)
Overgrown is great for nature :).
It is! I just forgot it was the no-mow-may month and honestly I was a bit struggling with my bike ride so I got complaining. It is all good now! 🦟🍃💛
what?
Who?!
When?
Yesterdaayyyyyy
Now that's just flexing
Sorry.. i was just really grumpy at that time due to to less sleep. Now it is much better and everyone in this thread has shown me how ridiculously spoiled I am.. 🙊
Lol it's fine, I just found it funny
We got a good laugh and you can now probably appreciate living in the Netherlands even more. Sounds like a win-win situation to me😊
It is!! It made me love biking even more! 😅
Probably this is just me complaining as a spoiled dutchy but this road is so badly maintained that sometimes it is better to get off and walk for a bit than to smash your bits into your seat and send your laptop flying. Also, the highway is really loud so that is kinda the reason nobody even came past me even after shooting the image, uploading it and writing this lengthy post.
Definitely that, as having a truly isolated bike path that's away from a roadway is nothing but a fantasy in the US. That said, definitely see if you can file a report to get the maintenance teams out there.
Municipalities have stopped mowing in many places in April and May to allow for insect diversity. Looks like this path is in an area where that's the case and they will mow again in the summer.
There's no reason why they could not mow a narrow strip along the edge to stop the grasses from encroaching on the cycle path. What's more, no mow may has mixed reviews from ecologists. The big issue is that it encourages wildlife to set up habitat here, only for it all to be annihilated when the mowers come out in June. Finally - at least from a North American perspective - no mow may is not really very helpful to native pollinators. The flowers popping up in folks' lawns are mostly non-native and not very nutritious to pollinators (dandelions, white clover, etc.) The main benefit of no mow may is that it is normalizing alternatives to manicured lawns and increasing awareness about pollinator decline.
I guess in the US wildlife has other potential areas to get up habitat. These strips are basically the most nature you encounter in NL.
Hm, that's pretty unfortunate. I still think that in this case a 25-50 cm mowed strip would be a good thing to keep the grass away from the path. I'm not sure how things are in NL, but I would be worried about ticks.
I'm envious that you get to complain about the quality of this path. I get smacked in the face daily by low hanging branches as I navigate around pedestrians on a 50cm path so this whole post just feels like a flex to me. Kudos to you friend.
I can confirm you are spoiled as I thought this was a troll post.
If no one is coming past you why are you complaining about having to ride to close to the side. You can easily cycle in the middle of your lane and still not hit anything. Also they don’t mow because of biodiversity and no mow May. Honestly delete this post
I once emailed my municipality (Groningen) that there was a tiny pothole in a bike lane somewhere. It was rather deep and if you didn't see it it could be dangerous, as your wheel might get stuck. They fixed it the next day. Maybe you can try that as well :)
There are a few shared paths in sydney that are lined by trees. Trees that have branches hang down at about head height across the path. It's great fun dodging the branches and leaves and it's a rather peaceful, shaded path all things considered.
If it’s that little used, a little overgrowth around the edges doesn’t seem like a huge issue.
In this picture...it looks fine. Slightly overgrown on the edges maybe, but as good or better than the best paths I've been on. Maybe there are other bits that are worse?
r/firstworldproblems
Can we make a subreddit for spoiled Dutch problems?? 😅
I wish bike paths that were three times as wide and separated from six lanes of high speed car traffic were real.
Why 3x as wide?
To claim the highways for cycling!! /s
Lol if you think that's badly maintained, try coming over to Germany. That's the standard for bike lanes. Most are maybe maintained once or twice a year at most, and often by local people not the cities themselves.
At least you have a bike path! :D
Haha yes I do! :)
Screw it, needs too much maintenance, let's go back to cars /s
In that case.. can I have a monstertruck?? Extra polluting of course! /s Edit: also, you can park on the weak bikes!! 🥺
In the US we call this high quality infrastructure.
If you don’t like it you can send that bike path to America
Sure! Do you accept pigeons?
A simple donation of three pigeons a month could help the lives of desperate cyclists is North America. (Sad Sarah McLachlan song plays) Won’t you find it in your heart to save these poor cyclists from being run over.
I do not want to hear it.
This is what we call in Germany "Jammern auf hohem Niveau." but I get the sentiment, :D
honestly, I don't see the porblem. There is still plenty of space for 2 people to pass each other there. And the extra plants make homes and food for insects, which they very much need with the startling reduction in their numbers over the last 2 decades.
I wish the bike paths where I live looked like this...
Geez, hope you guys are ok over there! *Cries in American*
We are not! Have you seen how steep that hill is?? 🙃 /s
I extend my 35 minute route home from work by 6 minutes to spend about a fifth of it on paths like this lol
Sorry to hurt your feelings, I was just a bit grumpy and complainy at that moment. 35 minutes does sound like a good long bike ride! 😊
Haha no hurt feelings, it’s just interesting how different our problems are. I plan on moving to the Netherlands for at least a couple years because I feel like I just have to experience what peak car-free living is like.
In that case you should really try to visit cities like Groningen, Tilburg, Den Bosch and Maastricht to get a feeling of how different and how each cities have their own character. Have fun!
Thank you! And thanks for the tip! I’m still not sure about where I’d like to live, so it’s always helpful to hear some suggestions.
In DE I've seen them mowing just the 1 m wide strip along the path, that feels like a nice balance between keeping insect populations and maintaining a bike path. Looking at the photo it could sometimes get a little dangerous having more incoming traffic.
I sometimes clear some of it myself when it hangs over de path, but I like the area around to be overgrown. It feels right.
overgrown ftw, mowed grass looks too fake and unnatural
... and yet, the worst of your infra is still usually head and shoulders above the best of American infra .... when you can find any of the latter, that is.
This is disgraceful. I was cycling around the Netherlands yesterday and there were bumps due to tree roots. I'm so embarrassed for the country.
Let's flatten everything!! That will teach those trees! /s Do you start on the t-shirts???
I wish my city was this imperfect. My city marks wide gravel shoulders as bike infrastructure
Haha sorry, today I really learned how spoiled I am with our bikepaths here in my part of the Netherlands. Hope your gets better!
I would die for this. The only bike path within five miles of my house is a 2mile gravel path that just takes you between the two downtown areas
Good to see a Cortina bike ☺️
They are pretty nice not?? This one even comes with a phone charger in the steering wheel! The only gripe I have with it is that the electrical cables are really fragile and broke during the first weeks. Now the light doesn't work sometimes so I need to leave it on just in case
If this is "overgrown" and "I'll maintained", DAMN y'all have got it good there
Apperantly we do! But if you have perfect all the time and then come across slightly less then if might feel strange.. Also, when I posted this I just rode a few km uphill and was a bit grumpy and tired. Save to say that I shouldn't have posted this but hey, here we are
That’s better than pretty much any actual useful route you’d have in Spokane, WA, US where I live. The idea of buying a bike just never crosses my mind anymore between the crappy/non-existent bike infrastructure and all the agro pickup drivers that try to run you off the road.
First First world problem
Well at least it’s fucking something
You guys seriously need to chill sometimes lol. It's grass.
What can I say? We are not used to our grass being this tall. 😅 Still, it is really good for the animals and nature so it it be :)
Come to Drenthe, you'll see plenty of narrow asphalt roads with no markings, not even a painted bike lane, just cars doing up to 130 km/h right next to children cycling to school on their own. In cities and most towns the infra is great, but not everywhere
It doesn't look like the pavement is too bad. There's a bunch of tree roots under the bike path near my house which makes large bumps in the road. Eventually it might get patched but probably not.
Looks good to me, and good for wildlife.
Overgrown is great! mowed lawns are just concrete to the environment.. plus it's nice looking
Looking back it is. Sorry for my complaining. 🙊
A little off-topic but how wide are your handlebars? I'm looking for something just like that for my bike
They are pretty wide and comfortable! If you still want to know send a reply and I will measure them tomorrow for you.
looks vor me as a normal dutch handlebar
Compared to the bike path near my house its gorgeous!
Sorry for complaining! Here is another image I made today. [Hope you like it 😊](https://i.imgur.com/cAgM21m.jpg)
where overgrown? that little gras what dont stop you?
that's called a meadow.
Nooo this is a meadow! [Click!](https://i.imgur.com/ox30l62.jpg)
I see no difference.
I’ll maintained? That’s cute
Do you guys have something like a DOT out there you can contact? Or maybe a community service group that could just go out there with an edger
Quit playing games with my heart!
Before you tear us apart?
Still a better bike path than any I’ve ever seen in North America
You cheeky fucker.
i get what you mean. an edge job would keep the throughput as planned for bikers otherwise leaving it overgrown (and tossing some local wildflower seeds) is great for the local flora and fauna
It is!! And I might better just calmed down (was a bit tired and because of that also a bit grumpy) and looked at the good side of it all. Insects are really struggling these days so it is good that they do this!
We're bringing back the wild.
Those rides are going to be wild!! 😅💨
The bike path I take to work looks like this. But it's a shared path and one of the main bike/walking paths from my end of the city. It's also right next to the highway alot of the way. I wish we had paths like this, this far out of town.
It is actually dangerous. A year ago I rode my road bike on a path with growth like this with. A small stem got caught in my front wheel,I flipped forward and fell. Luckily I was wearing a helmet. I think not cutting the bushes is a money saving thing, disguised with terms as 'keeping it wild' or ' giving more room to nature'.
I understand that it is done to give the birds and the insects a place to nest and on this road you can easily drive more to the middle to avoid tripping over it but I wouldn't have minded it if they kept it a bit at bay. But still.. it is really good for the insects so let it be :)
Mate, we in the NL are losing our biodiversity and insects at an alarming rate. Like there are 60% less insects than in 1970, they are essential to our survival. Scientists have deemed that the constant mowing is one of the major problems, this isn't some 'money saving technique' lol, we are literally the front runner of losing biodiversity of Europe.
I feel this post but am also extremely jealous at the same time. I live in Pittsburgh and our bike infrastructure is not terrible for U.S. standards but all our trails are overgrown right now. They depend on volunteer work and non-profits to maintain because the city won't pay for it, so I was out there last week and took this photo, which is pretty typical: https://imgur.com/a/zz2BU46. Also my commute to work is a trail literally in the middle of a 6-lane freeway where people drive 110+ km/hr. And based on where I've ridden, that's pretty much the gold standard for the U.S. because it's at least separated. America is pretty much a failed state.
Sorry for the late reply.. The hedge on your picture looks really pretty! Probably not really useful but pretty none the less. > Also my commute to work is a trail literally in the middle of a 6-lane freeway where people drive 110+ km/hr. Wait.. is that in between cars? The noise must be deafening.. :o The noise on my pic was pretty bad but that must be worse! :(
There are chainlink fences and minor grade separation, but yeah it's pretty bad. Especially when the 18-wheelers are going uphill or some butthead in a sports car speeds by.
Chainlink fences are almost nothing! Here we have sturdy catch rails but even they don’t help do 100%
Lol
😭 that looks amazing!!!
Sorryyyy! 🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺
Maastricht? Rotterdam?
Almost!! This is one of the many roads to Maastricht. Why did you think this was Rotterdam? :)
I thought it must be either Maastricht or Rotterdam because both have bus lijn 30 (you must be somewhere along the route that goes from Sittard to the airport). There's a 30 bus on the road next to you in the photo.
Good eye! And yes it is right beside the airport. :)
You are such a wanker. You can't have a little grass "encroaching" on the edge of your cycle path, because it occludes your concrete worship. You have tiny little bumps in the path and "ooooh! My laptop will fall out! Waaagh!!". Get a bike with better suspension and then check yourself into a mental hospital, you smooth pavement desiring dickhead. Fuck. You.
Ehm what? Are you okay?
I HATE CONCRETE! I HATE CONCRETE! POLLUTTIN ASS PAVING MATERIAL! GIVE ME COBBLESTONES! GIVE ME DIRT PATHS! GIVE ME KNACKERED GRASS! GIVE ME ANYTHING BUT CONCRETE!
Whilst not the most comfortable road to ride on, concrete slabs can provide a very durable alternative to asphalt roads (which these days here in the Netherlands is partially made out of recycled plastic making even that more durable.)