Fietsen - Casual Rides - Ep. 3

[@een_schildpad]

Something that was said by Dan Savage when he was a guest on the "War on Cars" podcast has really stuck with me. He was pointing out that it can be stressful to push for change, and It's important to remember that you're making a difference just by "taking up space" and showing up in the world. It sounds cheesy, but I'd really been stressing because I felt like if I wasn't constantly writing a representative or talking in a council meeting I was falling short of what was needed to make a change. After hearing that advice I've been able to remind myself that just going to get coffee, run an errand or sitting at a city council meeting, I'm taking up space in the world on my bike and that's a part of making the change I want to see. People will see me, I'll interact with people, and who know who might be inspired or at least notice. I've been putting less pressure on myself and enjoying "taking up space" more after hearing that :⁠-⁠) I didn't want the stress from pushing for change or the anger toward the state of our streets to rob me of the joy I cherish from using my bicycle as transportation (which it had started to do). That's something that's been on my mind lately and your comments brought it to mind. I'm going to try and kick fewer cars that crowd me at stop signs this year lol. Hope you have a great start to 2023!

[@AmericanFietser]

That's very insightful. Thank you for taking the time to write that reply. I'll be keeping this in mind.

[@frankcander]

Thank you for leading the way and helping spread the word on urban planning all these years! People like you are the ones who made this possible.

[@cloudyskies5497]

Late 2017 was when I moved to Europe, not the Netherlands, but a city with excellent tram infrastructure and wide sidewalks for pedestrians. I gave up driving and have never looked back. I think I found you through a recommendation by Not Just Bikes, I don't recall tbh, but thanks for your work and good luck in the future.

[@jamsden]

I’m pretty bummed out that you are scaling back but you gotta do what’s right for you. Your video on riding in the snow gave me the confidence that I could commute year round. I’m so tempted to make ride videos in your style where I am to show people all the great infrastructure we have and where it needs improvement. Just know that you’ve made a difference.

[@AmericanFietser]

What a wonderful message to hear! Yes, I'd encourage you to give it a go. I'm certainly no expert when it comes to making videos and they seem to resonate with quite a few people. You can do this as well. 🙂

[@pbilk]

Do it! NJB encourages it too! I started doing the same but on another channel. I also started biking for the first time in the winter. 🙂

[@lbergen001]

Nice video and what a beautiful bike infrastructure, WOW👍👍 I do noticed gray bike trails and red streets for cars. That's opposit to the colors in NL🇳🇱

[@roykliffen9674]

Lemme guess; You either bought that scarf in 's-Hertogenbosch in the Netherlands, or it was send to you from the Netherlands. It shows the colours of the 's-Hertogenbosch city-flag and the scarf is ubiquitous in the area around carnival season.

[@JacobBax]

Again a nice simple video, would love to see the ride back also. For the future..............no one here is your boss, so do what ever you like. P.S It's probably only 3 inches at his max, why else would you need a car like that.

[@Rachel-xf3op]

I'm glad I found your channel, I'm new to Carmel and want to try commuting by bike, but I'm pretty nervous since I've hardly biked anywhere outside of suburban sidewalks when I was a kid. Just seeing you bike around places I recognize makes me feel more confident.

[@AmericanFietser]

We've only been here since 2021 and despite all of my (valid) infrastructure criticisms, it's still a very enabling city. Of course, where you live and where you want to go matters, but a very decent network exists for bikes as transportation. If you ever see me or Mrs. American Fietser out and about feel free to say hi. I'm happy to answer any questions you might have in the future with my limited Carmel knowledge.

[@slackalackin]

Love the scarf. And it sounds like a well-needed and well-deserved scale-down. Thank you for all your work!

[@baddriversofcolga]

Other than the roundabout that's a pretty awesome route to be able to take to get to a Lowe's in an American city. The only bike infrastructure in my city is a single rails-to-trails trail that has almost no offshoots coming off of it. They are going to expand it to cover more of the city, but I don't believe there are any plans for the last mile routes currently, though hopefully the expansion of the multi-use trails will drive that.

[@mccorn75]

Thank you for all of your hard work! I have learned a lot from and are inspired by your advocacy. Best wishes to you and yours.

[@Propelbikes]

Whatever you do I’m sure you will continue to inspire others and make a meaningful impact as you have with me. Just living life and trying to be a good human is a great way to contribute. Keep it up! Glad to consider you a friend 😊

[@AmericanFietser]

Thanks, Chris! You all are a big part of my continued inspiration and a big reason why I'm still going to stay active, even if in a slightly less frequent nature. I appreciate your message, buddy. 🙂

[@Simonvbaal]

Thank you for all you’ve done for the community!

[@TylerProvick]

I am sad to get less videos from you, but I think it's important to make it work for you first. If you push to make videos regardless it'll likely just burn you out so we get nothing. Also, as the owner of an abandoned youtube channel I absolutely should not judge anyone else. Still, I'll be happy with what I get and look forward to the next video. The nice thing about subscribing to a youtube channel is even if your next video isn't for 3 months it'll still pop up in my feed.

[@AmericanFietser]

Thanks for your message. I notice that of I make content that requires very little work for editing, I'm more likely to grab the camera and record something. These casual ride videos are easy, but probably not appealing to a lot of people. Oh well, if it entertains a few, then I reckon it's worth it.

[@dutchman7623]

Like your Oeteldonk shawl!

[@roykliffen9674]

Glad I wasn't the only one noticing it. I referred to it as being from 's-Hertogenbosch as I can't be sure a non-Brabo would understand the name Oeteldonk.

[@AmericanFietser]

It's my Oeteldonk scarf that I wear all winter.

[@maartendenduijn7716]

Hello American fietser. Its a pitty you have to scale down. But you have to think about your self and your family first. Maarten

[@hyppyp]

Sorry to hear that you are scaling down. Like your videos! Guess it's hard to change to a non-priortized car environment , but it looks to get better for sure. Hope to see you enjoying the Dutch infrastructure on the spot, but beware, The Netherlands isn't Utopia... Thanks for your bikerides and insights, take care , be happy and love to see your new videos soon. From Utrecht with love!

[@AmericanFietser]

I'll make more from time to time. I hope you catch them when I do. 🙂

[@steemlenn8797]

Doesn't need to be often, but I hope to see you ranting about Carmel in the future too!

[@philipbyrne3037]

Would love you to change your mind. Will be back whenever you change. Keep riding the good fight.🙏🏼

[@PekkaTahkola]

Thanks for the video. Looking at some of the even pretty good and some of the less-pretty-good-but-somewhat-decent infra Carmel has, it gives me a tiny bit of hope that even the US can actually improve. But anyway. Your health and mental health are the most important things. Take your time, and take care 🤗

[@tassiedi]

Hi from Tasmania. I've just discovered you, through Mastodon, and you're stopping. Bummer. Thankyou for what you've contributed, I look forward to scrolling through your videos. Can you share your video and audio setup? It works very well.

[@AmericanFietser]

Hi, I'm just scaling back my engagement, but not 100%, so I'll still be around in a more limited fashion. If you look for episode 3 of "Fietsen", you will find it features a walkthrough of my audio and video setup.

[@jcarter8765]

Your quality video really highlights how good infrastructure can safely get you places. It also highlights the weak points, where seemingly little effort has been made to accommodate runners/walkers/cyclists to cross busy streets safely. Crossing that roundabout to Lowes is not for the faint of heart. I'm not sure how we can probe local government to muster up the political courage to address this 'next level' problem.

[@RealConstructor]

I don’t think I ever saw a stop sign on a fietspad before and in this video I saw a few of them. Why??? About the town and new development, it is real nice for the USA. And they should have made the roundabout a turbo roundabout, they were halfway there with the presorting lanes. It would have let the traffic flow better (for cars, sorry). For bicycles it looks like a dangerous (roundabout) crossing.

[@AmericanFietser]

You've made completely valid observations that I share as well. In the US, they love applying car logic to bikes, hence the stop signs. The engineers who design these things never get out of a car.

[@lkruijsw]

Amazing that the Monon square is just bulldozered. It is still on Google maps.

[@AmericanFietser]

They only finished demolition last week.

[@andrewtran949]

Omg how do you get such clear mic quality without the wind while on a bike?!

[@AmericanFietser]

Rode Wireless Go mic

[@ziggyziggyziggy]

Nice video! What's with the tunnel like fences? Does it have a function or are they just for shows?

[@AmericanFietser]

I'm not sure which fences you're talking about.

[@ziggyziggyziggy]

@@AmericanFietser I mean the one you pass through at 5:51

[@AmericanFietser]

Ahhh, ok. Those are for holiday lights. Since I can't post photos in response here, I posted 2 photos of them on the KZbin community feed just now if you want to check there.

[@DougGrinbergs]

14:35 "right-of-way" vs dead-of-way ☹️😡

[@steemlenn8797]

In Germany we have a saying: Having a right and getting a right are two different things.

[@RealConstructor]

@@steemlenn8797We have the same proverb in Dutch.

[@georgelaxton]

What was that police man statue when crossing the road?

[@AmericanFietser]

Exactly that. Carmel had quite a few statue art pieces downtown.