{"id":261767,"date":"2026-09-09T15:40:51","date_gmt":"2026-09-09T15:40:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/2026\/09\/09\/the-gloves-are-off\/"},"modified":"2026-09-09T15:40:51","modified_gmt":"2026-09-09T15:40:51","slug":"the-gloves-are-off","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/2026\/09\/09\/the-gloves-are-off\/","title":{"rendered":"The Gloves Are Off"},"content":{"rendered":"

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In recent years we\u2019ve all had to adjust to the fact that Portland\u2019s (the one in Oregon) heyday as a cycling superpower is far behind it<\/a>, but is Copenhagen meeting the same fate<\/a>?<\/p>\n

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If so, you can blame young people, who as we all know are ruining everything:<\/p>\n

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This decline may seem modest, but at a population level it represents tens of thousands of fewer regular cycle commuters \u2013 in a country where conditions are relatively favourable. Think bike lanes across towns and cities, cycling infrastructure on trains and on buses, and political support for cycling as everyday transport rather than a niche recreation.<\/em><\/p>\n

For young people aged 15-19, the decline in cycling to their place of education (at least three days per week) is even more pronounced: from 39% in 2020, to 32.3% in 2025. If this decline continues, the future of Denmark as a cycling nation is looking bleak.<\/em><\/p>\n

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Though the writer says it\u2019s because cars aren\u2019t expensive enough:<\/p>\n

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And this is perhaps where Danish politicians have dropped the ball in the past decade, as policy changes have made car ownership cheaper.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

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And that cycling must be \u201cperceived as the easiest, cheapest, quickest and healthiest form of transport for short distances:\u201d<\/p>\n

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If cycling levels are to grow, policies must also tackle everyday realities: time constraints, safety perceptions, workplace facilities, social norms and ingrained car dependence.<\/em><\/p>\n

To succeed, cycling must be perceived as the easiest, cheapest, quickest and healthiest form of transport for short distances.<\/em><\/p>\n

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Hmmm. I don\u2019t know anything about Denmark, but this is the Internet, so that\u2019s not going to stop me from having an opinion. According to roughly half a second of popular search engine jockeying, Denmark is still among the most expensive places in the world to own a car, so I can\u2019t imagine that\u2019s the reason. And as for the thing about \u201cperception,\u201d that makes even less sense, since either the bicycle is the easiest, cheapest, quickest and healthiest form of transport for short distances, or it\u2019s not\u2013and obviously it is. So I\u2019ll just go ahead and lay this at the feet of these goddamn fickle young people. Also, while I\u2019m at it, I\u2019ll also allocate some of the blame to Mikael Colville-Andersen<\/a>, Denmark\u2019s preeminent urbanist and bicycle advocate:<\/p>\n

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Here in America, bicycle advocates tend to alienate people because they\u2019re huge dorks, though for decades now Colville-Andersen has proved you can alienate people just as effectively by going Full Douche:<\/p>\n

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I\u2019ve always had trouble reconciling the slogan above with his stated mission, which is considerably more benign:<\/p>\n

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Everything I do \u2014 every project, every photo, every line on paper \u2014 is driven by one simple mission: to do whatever I can to try and make cities better for the people who live in them.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

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This is like a grocery store dedicated to selling healthy good choosing to go with motto, \u201cEat Shit, Asshole.\u201d<\/p>\n

At this point it\u2019s time to come to terms with the fact that bicycle advocacy in any form is a complete waste of time. What other conclusion can one possibly draw? We\u2019ve tried flattery, guilt, and even harnessed the power of relatable everyman David Byrne:<\/p>\n

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Hey, if this guy can\u2019t get people out of their F-150s then nobody will.<\/p>\n

We\u2019ve even built thousands of miles of bike lanes, only for people to completely ditch their bikes in favor of small, high-speed battery-powered motor vehicles. So it\u2019s time to face facts and embrace the only two segments of the population who are going to sustain cycling going forward. Who are they, you ask?<\/p>\n