The Gym of Life

[@HangoDang]

Never thought I'd be radicalized on urban planning but here I am

[@MoustafaHabra18]

You start already predisposed to like walkable cities but just don’t know why, then you watch one video, which leads to the whole channel, and suddenly you’re extremely anti-car and know why your life is so much better when you’re in walkable cities

[@JamieM470]

@@MoustafaHabra18 Exactly!

[@OnnoS]

My (Dutch) grandpa is 101 years old, and he still bikes 60km per week. He had to start using a tricycle, as his lowered reflexes made it difficult to balance on a normal bike, but he's still going strong and enjoying life!

[@nahuelma97]

Holy shit, that's amazing 😍😍

[@Eishallengirl]

Life goals, right there. So happy to hear, that your grandpa is still so active. One pair of my grandparents were pretty much sedentary from the time they retired and as a direct result of that were almost unable to walk by the end of their 70s. It was always sad to see them take the car for the 600m "trip" to the bakery even back when they would have totally been capable of walking (in Germany, so walking would have definitely been an option). Not a very good example for their children and grandchildren.

[@34psychotic]

My late grandfather was well known in his small town because he went everywhere with his trike. Unfortunately once his dementia got really bad the family would have to lock it up when he didn't have someone to go out with him because he would easily get lost and disoriented. It's nice to have a history of cycling on both sides of my family though and good memories of it.

[@davidty2006]

101 and still able to bike? Ok that sounds unheard of..... Last i checked in britain people same age need assistance with walking. But jeez sounds like he's on track to 120.

[@as1ckmatt]

a very nice story, hope your Grandpa gets as much fun time on his bike as possible!

[@shatterquartz]

Good on you for popularizing the term "car-dependent". It helps dispel the twisted view that needing a car to go anywhere is somehow a form of freedom rather than a form of dependence.

[@Jayanky]

The reason it gets twisted like that is because people are so used to getting the short end of car-dependency as a kid that finally getting a car feels like freedom

[@50733Blabla1337]

@@Jayanky Thats actually a very good explanation. And the first generation, that idolized cars, had the car as a symbol for economic freedom.

[@blakksheep736]

@@Jayanky Yeah. Its kinda like how you so looked forward to not having a bedtime, and then you ruin your sleep schedule.

[@Nova-ni5bi]

I also like it more than “car-centric” because that would imply that street and roads were properly designed and way less traffic everywhere.

[@inflorire]

The first time I traveled outside the US I went to china and I was shocked that at night and in the morning all the elderly people came outside to dance, do taichi, walk, and play in the park. Most elderly people in my part of the US had homes, stayed inside, and watched the news. Parks were only for kids and usually empty at night aside from maybe some teenagers messing around, but in China the public parks would be full of people of all ages, but especially the elderly, well into the night. That completely shocked me.

[@zomfgeclipse]

Where I live in Canada there is an increasing trend that parks are off limits at evening /night. If you try to exercise at night people call the police to kick you out -.-

[@omensoffate]

@@zomfgeclipse yea Canada sucks lol

[@JiminyClarkson]

Aaah yes, 广场舞 (city square dancing) is common in China, really livens up the city and a lot of old people take part, and I really miss it living in the west.

[@bellairefondren7389]

If you go to parks in New York, you'll see quite a few elderly people out and about.

[@jaxabe3925]

@@bellairefondren7389 NYC/Chicago/SF/DC, or other metro areas, are relatively smaller areas compared with the majority of the US. On the other hand, most public parks nationwide in China are full of people.

[@Awkward_Rogue]

I tried to explain to my parents a few years ago that I liked biking to work partly because it was good exercise. They weren't really a fan of me biking. They thought it was too dangerous and that it took too long so I would be constantly late to work. So they tried to convince me to get a gym membership. Even at the time I knew that was a bad option. I already had my bike, I didn't have to pay a monthly membership to take it to work in the morning. I also knew how my brain worked. If my daily exercise has to be a separate event from the rest of my day, I'm never going to do it. Ever. Eventually having the argument every day was too exhausting so I ended up driving almost every day over the summer months. They asked why I even had a bike if I wasn't going to take it out. 😒

[@blakksheep736]

🤦🏿‍♀️

[@o.s.h.4613]

I strongly sympathize with the point on the elderly. Often, Americans come to me and say “Well, my grandma can’t bike, she’s too frail!” Here in Europe, my grandmother bikes 3 hours a day, and she’s 74 years old. People wouldn’t be so frail if they had just biked their entire life, it’s a preventative measure.

[@Roanmonster]

My parents are 69 and my father had a heart attack two years ago. They were already avid cyclists but now that they've both retired they will take their bike and go cycling to another city for example. I love that they take their health so seriously! They'll easily do a chill 30-40km on a Saturday for fun. The city I live in is 20km by bike and they'll sooner do that than take the car or train, even though it would be faster.

[@sharpless]

Even here in Europe, there are a lot of "but person x can't bike, so there is no way we can ever try to ban cars".

[@Yogkog]

@@sharpless not to sound ageist, but if someone is too frail to bike, I certainly wouldn’t trust them behind the wheel

[@fedor4655]

@@sharpless Yeah and these people completely ignore that single-person "cars" (that run on motorbike-sized motors) exist. Way better than SUVs

[@MnMPeace]

Yep! My mom who is now a bit older is suffering from depression because there’s nothing to do nearby (we live in South Central Los Angeles btw). She spends most of her time alone indoors. Makes me sad. LA is definitely less walkable compared to Mexico City which is where she is from

[@realityDUBSTEP]

My last job was in a newly built walkable mixed use area. I would spend my 1 hour lunch break walking around instead of eating lunch most of the time because it was enjoyable. I can definitely see those obesity stats being spot on.

[@NotJustBikes]

It definitely helps if that walk is also _interesting,_ not just safe and convenient.

[@alexandriadavis3730]

@@NotJustBikes or immediately rewarded! It's easier to walk to a yummy lunch than to walk in one place for the same amount of time.

[@ETBrooD]

According to the statistics, the same % of people in the US overall and in Amsterdam are overweight, but a larger % is obese in Amsterdam.

[@jmolenaar]

In the Netherlands you see a lot of people walking in their lunch break, especially office people, i join 1 or 2 times per week and it really just resets your mind too and when you get back you get a fresh perspective on what you're working on

[@TommyTom21]

1 hour lunch break? 😮

[@DavidS-ji6qv]

I’ve been craving that dopamine hit of good urban planning and walkability, thanks NJB.

[@NotJustBikes]

Glad to be of service. Sorry about the delay, but even KZbinrs go on vacation. 😉

[@TheLaptopLagger]

@@NotJustBikes hope your vacation was nice!

[@Soken50]

@@NotJustBikes Don't you dare apologize for taking some time off, especially on KZbin where it should really be encouraged and accepted so KZbinrs don't feel as guilty for getting off the content treadmill for a bit. Hope you enjoyed your vacation

[@reyluna0]

Same here tbh

[@rainbowkrampus]

Makes me kinda miserable tbh. Everything I'd want to bike to around me has multiple dangerous intersections in between alongside forcing you to suck fumes the whole way. There's currently a whole bunch of construction going on to repave winter damaged roads. So long stretches of sidewalk are completely closed off. These videos just remind me how bad everything is here.

[@Earth098]

Your speaking tone and the pace is so clear, sharp, and easy to follow. And the fact that you don't use any background music makes it even better. Please don't change this

[@TheSkystrider]

Definitely agree

[@troubleman4125]

The accent is tough to listen to though

[@richpoinvil9618]

Necessary for Americans (US). Yes, I am American.

[@nikolaib5764]

@@troubleman4125 what accent?

[@troubleman4125]

@@nikolaib5764 American/Canadian accent

[@maaikees]

My grandma cycled until she was 82. She took a fall into her home that broke her hip and didn’t dare to cycle anymore after. This was the beginning of her decline, both physically and mentally. RIP grandma, but I’m glad she was able to stay healthy that long in NL. The bike sure played a role in it.

[@placidmink2537]

@@LukeIngels of what? falling?

[@joshschipper1396]

This is happening to my great grandmother who is in her nineties. She actually got hit mildly by a small bus but was able to recover and keep walking afterwards until this past year she fell and could no longer recover. She now can barely remember any of the names of my generation of the family despite being able to fine before. It was a very dramatic difference.

[@gordon1545]

@@placidmink2537 I'm surprised by your question because I thought everyone knew this. Surely you've had an elderly relative who started going downhill after one health incident and died within a few years? When you're old and one thing gives out, it very often leads to a cascading for problem. You don't recover. Lack of exercise causes the body to get weaker in general, making everything harder. To use a car metaphor, it's like trying to pull a load with a 1.1 litre engine instead of a 2 litre engine. In an old body this makes other things more likely to break. It also reduces appetite, leading to less nutrition - though it also leads to a worsening diet and all that accompanies this. It's very, very telling that there's a direct correlation between car dependency and life expectancy, when you take out factors like national wealth. The USA has a lower life expectancy than Lebanon and Lithuania.

[@petesmitt]

Cycling is quite dangerous for the elderly; firstly, cycling is not weight bearing and thus promotes bone loss; secondly, even a low speed accident just falling over can cause serious debilitating injuries.

[@YounesLayachi]

Another commenter said their grandad went from a bicycle to a tricycle (to prevent injury from falling over), sounds like a good idea although I have never seen a tricycle for grown ups (let alone a senior actually riding one)... We need some serious cultural changes

[@kofinater]

I've always been puzzled we never talk about obesity as a systemic problem like this. Study after study says that telling people to workout doesn't work but we don't talk about the built environment.

[@NotJustBikes]

Humans are very good at ignoring and denying systemic issues. 🤷‍♂️

[@kathapaul5438]

Yes exactly! So often we hear that fat people are just too lazy to work hard....instead of making any exercise way easier and not judging people. Apart from weight specifics too- People tend to be much healthier and fitter when they get more movement of whatever kind, why not make it easier and more accessible?

[@BicyclesMayUseFullLane]

"PeRsONal ReSpOnSiBILiTy" It's such a thought-terminating cliché.

[@alex_blue5802]

Easier to shift the blame onto an individual so you don't have to do anything, even if science doesn't back it up.

[@sabirzain5053]

Probably because most of weight lost isn't determined by exercise. It's calories in over calories out. It's easier to avoid the 250 calorie snack than it is to spend some hours working out.

[@timpauwels3734]

I went to a British school in the Netherlands- when learning about the heart and lungs in a Biology lesson (we were 16 or 17), we took a cardio test that involved doing jumping jacks and measuring heart rate before and after. This test was described in the course material and data for the UK population from a study was included. All of those who cycled to school (so, most students), “sporty” or not, scored above average for our age group in the study. When I was a kid, I always preferred cycling to school because it made me happy.

[@disposabull]

I also went to a British school in the Netherlands and remember doing the exact same class. Which school did you go to and how old are you?

[@LMvdB02]

@@disposabull I think this experiment is done in all biology classes in Dutch secondary school because I did it too hahaha

[@TalesOfWar]

@@disposabull I don't recall ever doing such a thing in biology at school in the UK, so maybe it is actually a Dutch thing as the other commenter notes. We did something similar in PE though.

[@dudebrodude4388]

When I was a kid I preferred anything to school

[@GTMarmot]

@@disposabull This type of cnut will never answer you. People who went to those schools (British school Netherlands, Paris, Luxe, etc.) are mostly d/heads. You'll see.

[@vowgallant4049]

The older people thing is critical actually in that it doesn't just give them exercise, but freedom and socialization! My grandma never goes anywhere because she can't drive anymore. She is just trapped, alone, at her house, completely dependent on her daughter coming by occasionally to bring her groceries.

[@millicentduke6652]

I’m really glad you fixed the video for Australia and New Zealand so they’d be able to see it right way up. This is the kind of thoughtful accessibility practice you don’t get on just any old channel. 👌

[@daniel-alexandrunistor5489]

what’s the deal with Australia’s and New Zealand’s videos though?

[@syasyaishavingfun]

@@daniel-alexandrunistor5489 they are upside down

[@TallboyDave]

Har-dee-har-harr; aren't you oh-so original? (Is a New Zealander, for the record).

[@M33cha]

This is the very reason why I moved from my hometown Houston TX to Oregon to obtain a master's in Urban Planning, I wanted to learn the in and outs of how to create a healthier city and I knew that getting rid of car dependency IS the core of the solution. Thanks for this video, you reinspired me before my final days of graduation.

[@KarlTheCool]

It cannot be understated how much this works. I've been tweaking by diet for over a year, and only started losing weight recently once I started biking to the grocery store and back. The improvements to your cardio really sneak up on you too. I was shocked when I ran to catch the bus, sat down, and realized I didn't need to catch my breath.

[@bencaspar]

Good for you!

[@lik7953]

Same. I moved from the US to London. In the US, I kept gaining weight, despite taking time out of my day to exercise. Now I just walk to university every day, without even changing my diet, and I have lost so much weight. Taking a walk in the morning is also so relaxing and really wakes you up and gets you hyped for the day!!

[@NotJustBikes]

It's crazy how much of a difference it makes, because it seems like so little exercise.

[@SimonCapewell]

The only period of my life where I put on a significant amount of weight was when I was driving to work for 18 months. 5 steps to the car from the front door, 20 steps to the office, sit in a chair all day. As soon as I switched back to a bikable job, only 10 minutes ride away, the gained weight melted away again.

[@inelouw]

Even in the Netherlands, people underestimate how much exercise they get from taking public transport. When I had to take the train to work, I walked about 10 minutes to the station, then four flights of stairs, then taking the train, another 15 minute walk to my office, and the same thing in reverse at the end of the day. All in all it was about an hour of moderate exercise 5 days a week JUST taking public transport, not counting things like grocery shopping by bike, or visiting friends by bike, or going to a cafe or restaurant by bike. When I became unemployed, I immediately gained weight.

[@00_UU]

I grew up in Europe and I never ever exercised until I moved to the US because I started to gain weight immediately. I was shocked with how people in the US are unable to walk even if they want to because there is nowhere to walk and most American stroads lead nowhere for pedestrians. Public transportation in American suburbs exists only for the show, in reality personal car or Uber are the only ways to get around. I was lucky to live in Europe for work right before COVID and I lost 10 pounds in one year because I walked everywhere and European food was much less processed.

[@monkeyrun]

yeah you have to wait for over an hour for the next bus if you missed the last one. It's ridiculous. If you are lucky there might be some sort of metro rail system, that connect you from nowhere to nowhere.

[@MrOpenGL]

I honestly thought American people were exaggerating when it came down to bus frequency, but it turns out that even in huge cities, there are routes that are served less than once every hour. Meanwhile, in Italy, I have a bus each hour that goes to a hamlet with less than 200 people living there. And people still complain about buses not being frequent enough!

[@cakeisyummy5755]

Ok, but why did you move to the USA?

[@nomadben]

@@cakeisyummy5755 because

[@00_UU]

@@cakeisyummy5755 because I was looking for a better life, just like most people that moved here. My personal life story is really unrelated to the topic of the video.

[@jaxi-fye]

One of my USA colleagues was considering moving to the Netherlands. She was very keen to cycle but was concerned; "Won't people think it's silly if an obese person like me tries to cycle?" and that just made me super sad D: Since cycling is not a sport, and the bicycles themselves are conferable, no one's gonna give a damn that you're trying to cycle as an obese person (we will judge you for wearing a helmet instead :'D )

[@MidnightSt]

i hope your response was "what? why would they think it's silly that you're using the main and most normal mode of transport to get around?"

[@Kromaatikse]

If she starts cycling regularly, she won't *be* obese for all that long. But maybe word such a statement more diplomatically, if at all.

[@autohmae]

We probably shouldn't judge people for wearing a helmet, especially ebike users.

[@bellingtoned]

@@autohmae yea we shouldnt judge the old people

[@steemlenn8797]

I didn't judge the 80+ year old lady for overtaking me, so why should I judge people that I can overtake?

[@EggTamago7]

I'm taking a risk commenting without even watching, but I'm so confident I know exactly where this is going that just gonna go for it: My last several years of school involved a combination of walking and transit for my daily commute. Throw in a stop in at the grocery store on the way home, and I'd get between 45 minutes to 1.5 hours of walking in every day. Literally as soon as I started an internship that required me to drive to work and back, I gained about 25 pounds within a few months. No diet change or anything else - just the free exercise that was built into my day was removed. The idea of having to pay money to flail about either at home on expensive equipment or go to a gym, all so I can not be fat but still drive everywhere... no.

[@dbclass4075]

Even if not spending any money at all, any form of exercise in car-dependent cities requires active decisions rather than doing it passively. Deliberately taking longer walking routes, avoid elevators, etc.

[@camelopardalis84]

It's weird. Reducing calorie intake is supposed to get you that much further than exercising. And if you take a look at how you can forego consuming 500 calories vs. how you can burn them by exercising, it makes sense. But I still hardly needed to do anything about my calorie intake when I had to not just work on my feet all day, but walk around all day at work from one place to perform some moderate manual labour to the next. Also, the walking/strolling for easily four hours about three, four times a week also did wonders.

[@GwendolynnBY]

I went through a similar thing, recently. last year, I got a job that was an hour driving commute each way. not only was I spending that much time sitting in a car, but the commute made me so miserable that I didn't want to do anything when I got home. I definitely gained weight from that, and though I've moved closer and cut down my commute time, I still don't live in a particularly walkable area, and am continuing to work on the effects of just those few months.

[@camelopardalis84]

@@GwendolynnBY I had to move four or five times (depending on how you want to count), and while most of these moves didn't require all that much work, I still took about half a year to a year to recover. The constant moving in and realising after maybe six weeks that I wouldn't be able to stomach to stay where I'd just moved to, followed by two months of looking for a new place and such ... It was so stressful.

[@runswithraptors]

Amen, I'm not paying money to exercise, rather make it a practical part of my daily life, two birds one stone am I right?

[@camlin4147]

"The pit of laziness." This is a spot-on metaphor. Please don't mind me as I assimilate this into my self-awareness and my understanding of the world at large. And thank you so much for your videos!!!

[@Hosev]

The best shape I was ever in was when I rode my bike for hours every day in high school. I lived in a not very bikeable suburb, but the local park was in cycling distance and that's where I did most of it. And the notion of "doesn't feel like exercise" hits it right on the head. I wasn't exercising, I was just riding my bike for fun.

[@inelouw]

And that's STILL different from how Dutch people use their bikes. For us, it's just a very efficient way to get from A to B, or to transport our kids to school, or get groceries. I don't even have a driving license, and I'm 45. I think my nearest supermarket only has about two or three parking spaces for cars in a side street, not even a dedicated parking lot. It's not "fun" or "exercise", it's just one of the best modes of transport for short to medium distances (up to about 10-15 miles).

[@adela3153]

I’ve been saying this forever…. You can’t cry that Americans (especially the children) are overweight and lazy without looking at the underlying cause. If you make the area hard to get around without a car and make the infrastructure ugly or nonexistent, getting anyone outside and moving is a lost cause.

[@radiationshepherd]

Exactly

[@stevenwier1783]

At the end of the day the people decide what their cities look like. If enough people ask and enough people really care the city will change even if it might take some time. The problem is americans simply dont know their cities are wrong.

[@rbxless]

This reminds me of a meme: "KIDS DON'T GO OUTSIDE ANYMORE" (shows stroad horror show) MY BROTHER IN CHRIST YOU MADE THE OUTSIDE

[@MegaUMU]

A structural problem requires structural solutions. Its ez ro dismiss people for being lazy, but if this is a recuring trend (like it is in the US) might wanna look for different reasons.

[@Trickyboy1337]

@@stevenwier1783 sure, americans made their cities the way they are. A handful of americans, compared to the entire civilian populace. Then they subjected us to those city designs. The majority of american citizens are not civil engineers, city planners, city council members, etc. This is the fault of the few, not the many.

[@LexYeen]

To anyone who has concerns about cycling with physical disabilities: Recumbent bikes and trikes are a thing and they can be adapted to suit specific needs, and electric assist upgrade kits are also a thing.

[@crisiscat]

Specifically Dutch bike brands and shops have many types of special needs bikes. And some of them are made to aid the user in getting exercise without electric assistance, too, which I think is nice that such specific option is available instead of only having electric bikes

[@alexandriadavis3730]

Additionally, wheelchairs and motorized electric scooters are also capable of using shared infrastructure. If it's in walking distance, elderly mobility aids can probably reach it as well.

[@salemthekit6143]

Hi there, person with a physical disability here. *People need to get through their heads that walkable cities are better for the disabled. I cannot think of a single legitimate reason people have for thinking that car-centricity is somehow BETTER for us when it makes everything else harder.* People have this weird belief that the only way for the disabled to get around is to have some selfless saint of a person drive them around everywhere but the ONLY reason we'd need someone like that is if there isn't a store or a clinic close enough to walk to for our needs. Back when my disability was so bad I was in a wheelchair, living in a car-focused suburb was hellish because there was ZERO consideration for my life or transport needs. It's impossible to wheel over to the store when the store is multiple miles away and the sidewalks only last 20% of the way there. It's impossible to get to a clinic or a doctor's office without either chartering a vehicle of some kind or relying on understanding friends who have the ability to take time out of their workday to help you. It's impossible to even do the very basic thing of _visiting friends_ because you're the one guy who can't drive and would have to deal with either getting the wheelchair stuff figured out or risk going out without one and deal with the fainting and dizzy spells associated with that (ask me how I know) I'm not in a wheelchair anymore but still have very large issues moving around in general. I now live in a mixed-use developed apartment block and my life has changed dramatically for the better. Now instead of planning for days to make a grocery trip, and the subsequent panic of forgetting a medication or whatever when I do shop, I can just...walk to the grocery store. Now instead of worrying about what I'm gonna do if I need to go to the doctor I can just...walk to the clinic nearby. Now instead of needing to plan ahead with some very forgiving/selfless friends if I ever wanted to go do something fun with them, I can just...walk to the movie theater literally on my same block. _Even if I needed physical assistance like during the worst days of my illness, this would ALL be easier because my assistant would be able to help me get to where I needed to go without figuring out the whole car thing to begin with._ And one last thing to consider for people who drive around the disabled and still think car-centricity is better: When you live in a walkable city, car traffic is _non-existent._ Trips that you take with your disabled friends/family are so, so fast compared to dealing with the horrible traffic that comes with car-centric design. Even if I was fully regulated to my wheelchair and not able to move without help, living in a walkable city would be so much better because there are so few other cars to get in my/my driver's way. There's no gigantic parking lots you have to wheel through, there's no stress of being in a costco parking lot where you're probably gonna get hit by a busy mom rushing to get back home to feed her kids because she's trapped in this same hellscape as you (again, ask me how I know), there's no worry that if you need a medication and it's the middle of rush hour that taking a trip to the store will delay your relief even more no matter how much it hurts, and most importantly, there's no barriers to your caretaker just walking BY THEMSELVES to get you what you need. I wasn't always disabled. I used to be able-bodied and make the same exact arguments as car-centric, non-disabled people thinking I knew what disabled people needed more than they themselves did. *I was wrong, and if you're reading this you won't have to make the mistakes I did.* It took becoming disabled to realize this, and I'm openly ashamed of myself for that, but I hope to spread the word so anyone reading this doesn't have to deal with the same guilt and confusion like I did when I realized I wasn't being the good citizen to the disabled like I thought I was.

[@viviendwyer3327]

I had to sell my trike because the infrastructure was so bad here that I couldn't really use it. I broke a rib trying....Now all I get to do is watch hubby stay fit on his bike :(

[@xecoq]

Are those the ones where people pedal with the handlebar?

[@DeLorean4]

I wish more people in North America could understand this. I worked a summer in China in an extremely bike friendly city, and was in good physical shape FOR THE FIRST TIME IN MY LIFE. For the only time in my life, I was actually comfortable in my own skin, and it was the best feeling ever... that voice in the back of my head whenever I was in public thinking of how bad I looked was GONE. I naturally made more eye contact as well, it was such an incredible improvement in mental health. I worked hard to keep the weight off when I returned to Canada. I was only able to keep half of it off in my final university years, and got to my fattest ever working my current office job that's impossible to get to by bicycle (country border doesn't allow bikes). I feel so dumb living in a city in Canada where exercise isn't embedded in daily activities, but instead has to be tacked on as a separate task that needs to be driven to and paid for on a monthly basis. It's such a waste of time and money and it doesn't even work. The rare bicycle infrastructure in my neck of the woods is the kind of cute bicycle trail that needs to be driven to and doesn't lead anywhere useful. There are only 24 hours in a day, of which people are typically awake for 16, and working for 8, and we don't have time to drive to and accomplish everything separately.

[@khalidalali186]

I lived in Leiden from January 2018 to January 2020, before going back home to Abu Dhabi. I lost 30.5kg during my time in the Netherlands, and I’ve never set foot in a Gym over there. As soon as I came back to Abu Dhabi, I started gaining all that weight back. Why? Because it’s a car-dependent city. I drive here everyday. Be it to work, be it back home, or anywhere else for that matter. Whereas in Holland. I was only in a car twice. A taxi cab when I landed In Schiphol, and another one when I flew back home from Schiphol. In two whole years, I never drove a car, and was only in one twice. Oh, and I still have my health history on my i-phone from back then, and the daily average was 25,000 steps. With it going up to 32-35,000 steps during weekends. Now I workout, go to the gym, try to walk as much as I can, and I can barely make 3,500 steps during the week, and 7,000 steps on average during the weekend.

[@rene78]

But at least downtown Abu Dhabi is quite cyclable in my opinion. The summer months are a no-go of course.

[@khalidalali186]

Yeah, I would agree to some extent. But what is there to see? You just can’t compare it to Amsterdam, Leiden, or even Paris or Copenhagen for that matter. Yup, the current weather is horrible. It’s only nice from November-March. Was surprised with all the rain and clouds last week though. Stay safe!

[@khalidalali186]

I hear you lol 😂 but it’s 42 degrees Celsius as we speak, and it feels like 47 according to the “Weather” tab on my iPhone. I’m pretty sure the sea water of the Persian Gulf is boiling too to some extent. Never been a swimmer though, I must confess. London yesterday, was hotter than Abu Dhabi by 2 degrees Celsius, I kid you not. I wish I can show you the screenshot lol. Abu Dhabi was 37 and London was 39. It’s crazy, and I just heard that only 5% of homes in Europe have air conditioning at home. Compared to America’s 90%, and most probably 100% of all homes across Arabia. Stay safe, it’s getting better starting from today, at least from what I’ve gathered from the weather forecast. It’s only 25, and will be raining for the next two days across Europe.

[@kas4223]

as an American, this is the kind of thing that sits in my head as I drive 2 miles to the gym to walk 4 i truly wish modifying our towns/cities to walkable places didn't feel like a cultural whiplash to most ppl

[@sd-ch2cq]

Car to the gym? Take your bike and get in some excersize already

[@DoubleOhSilver]

@@sd-ch2cq do you even watch this channel? That's likely not feasible

[@evanfunk7335]

@@sd-ch2cq if i took a bike to the gym i would probably get hit by a car, or it would also take about an 30 mins both ways because everything is so sprawling lol

[@Metqa]

In my city, people on bikes get hit by cars even when they are on the sidewalk. I dont even understand how that happens. But if you don't get hit by a car, then you'll get hit with a fine for riding your bike on the sidewalk instead of in the bikelane-less streets. ( drawing a yellow line one foot from the grassy shoulder is hardly a "bike lane")

[@NewBlueTrue]

@@sd-ch2cq In a place where I live, for about 6 months out of the year, it is too hot to walk outside. You will die if you tried walking to the gym. I remember I tried doing that. I had to have an umbrella, portable fan that sprays water, and ice packs just to get there safely so I don’t experience heat stroke.

[@Ahmed-N]

This is just spot on. I live in an incredibly car-dependent place right now (Dubai) and dread my commute each morning. Meanwhile, I still dream of my early morning bike commutes back when I lived in Barcelona. NOTHING beats biking to class along the Port of Barcelona early in the morning, with the fresh sea breeze lingering in the air and the sound of the leaves waving through the air. Felt almost heavenly, even on cold/wet days. Everyone deserves the right to be able to choose how to commute, rather than being confined into a steel cage. The vast majority of people are missing out and the fact that it's going so far as to impact our health is insane.

[@PURENT]

Walking in Dubai heat during the day does not sound like it would be fun.

[@rosicl2867]

Yes, it's crazy how many people are sleeping on the topic of infrastructure, and on how it affects our lives in many different ways.

[@vikvc]

I had to stop and "Dubai" to understand the first phrase on your comment. That city is a joke. I live in Thunder Bay and it also is a copy of the car centric model of NA. Fortunetaly, there have been more and more people commuting in bikes each year, and surprisingly more in winter. I hope this trend continues.

[@PURENT]

@Zaydan Naufal You're gonna blow AC outside? Lmfao please don't be stupid.

[@floppyearfriend]

@Zaydan Naufal Dubai is one of the most hellish places on Earth. Look at all the stupid shit they have, artificial islands (that destroy the environment), fake steel architecture, etc. It's Disney World for nouveau riche tourists. It doesn't exist as a city, but as a set piece so they can say "hey, look how wealthy we are!". I remember reading a while ago that in Dubai, the hotels are *full* of things (restaurants, bars, shops, etc.) so that the tourists can simply stay in the hotel for most of the stay and don't have to leave.

[@terinjokes]

I always felt a little bit of an outcast when people asked me what I missed most about transitioning to work from home and I replied "my commute!". I definitely recall mornings where I just wasn't having it, regretting everything, but eventually making out the door on my bike. Then by the time I made it to the office I was having a great day. And hey "free" exercise, too!

[@ioanc2]

During winter time, I would frequently get out in the early mornings with my bike and do a tour. My motivation was that morning is the only daylight time available when I'm not working, so better to use it productively. I hope they don't abolish winter time, despite people loving the summer daylight saving offset so much...

[@dreimer2112]

Every time I'd hear someone in the media talking about how people love work from home because they hate commuting I'd say "They obviously aren't talking to people that bike to work!"

[@Casey093]

But you could just take an hour off in the morning or late morning and ride your bike for an hour, instead of being stuck in commuter traffic for an hour.

[@terinjokes]

@@Casey093 I could, but it's a lot heard to convince the mind to actually do so (especially in between all the zoom meetings and team chats that are happening)

[@CarFreeSegnitz]

…”free” exercise…? Why the quotes? Not just free but exercise that puts you ahead financially. I rid myself of my car 20 years ago so have been exclusively bus/bike/walking since. No gym membership fees. No car maintenance, insurance, gas, depreciation. Conservatively I’m not spending $5000 each and every year. That’s $100,000 in 20 years. It’s helped to get my wife and I mortgage-free while our peers are laying out over $1000 a month rent for far more cramped shelter.

[@lars1588]

My grandpa has run six miles every day since he was fourteen. He is now seventy-two and in better shape than I am. I am sixteen. Let that sink in. This is why I'm planning on starting to commute by bike everywhere within my city, which is where I go 90% of the time. I don't want to die young from preventable health issues like more and more Americans are.

[@beowulf.reborn]

Almost 10 minutes into the video (having watched a bunch more earlier), and _just_ noticed that virtually no one wears helmets whilst riding their bikes in the Netherlands. That alone shows how much safer the streets are there ... and how they remove one more barrier to riding (you'd be amazed how many times my kids changed their mind about riding their bikes, just because they didn't want to wear a helmet).

[@clomino3]

This is one of the things that gets me the most. Have have to make exercise a whole nother part of my day and its infuriating. Love the focus on studies in this video!

[@alex_blue5802]

I actually love exercise but I struggled to fit it into my day when so much time was already spent on a commute.

[@clomino3]

Same!

[@celeron55]

@@ligametis Because you don't have time for that?

[@alex_blue5802]

@@ligametis Forests should of course be accessible, whether by bus or car. But people who don't have the time or inclination to visit forests should also be able to get some exercise as part of their daily routine.

[@slash196]

The mere existence of the treadmill should have been a sign something was seriously wrong. American cities became so dominated by the interests of automakers that you needed to buy an expensive piece of specialized equipment to be able to fucking WALK. And yes, when I moved to Europe I dropped ten pounds in the first few months without even trying.

[@karlrovey]

The treadmill is at least beneficial if you have joint problems (sometimes caused by walking or running on hard surfaces).

[@hithere5553]

@@karlrovey a majority of joint injuries from walking and running usually stem from unnatural heel-first stride caused by raised heels.

[@flyingdart9819]

@@hithere5553 now wait for "not just bikes" to make a video on how sidewalks should be walkable while being barefoot.

[@steemlenn8797]

@@karlrovey in that case the biking movement is better because it's more round. At least for me.

[@KyrieFortune]

The treadmill was actually invented in the UK as a way to get free labor from prisoners

[@undercoverduck]

My fitness tracker keeps trying to convince me that I've reached the WHO's minimum recommended hours of activity for the entire week ON TUESDAY. The first few times around this happened (a couple of years ago) I assumed it was an error. It was only after I started watching videos on this channel that I realized that I'm simply immensely privileged with being able to cycle almost anywhere I need to go.

[@kutter_ttl6786]

"Congratulations, you've reached 150 Heart Points!"

[@hsv99finn]

My watch always asks me if I want my exercise recorded whenever I take a walk long than 5 minutes. I never understood who would count that as an exercise

[@undercoverduck]

@@kutter_ttl6786 Hahaha exactly!

[@panospapadopoulos]

YES omg same!!! Hahaha. Netherlands resident here

[@LiveType]

Lol, I hit that on a single 10k run before turning it off. I was like damn, those are some low standards.

[@pbtrxt1988]

Great video. It's not just physical health, it's mental and social health too. America has gotten angry and mean. Sitting in cars isolates us from and creates conflict with others. It robs us of time we could be spending with family and friends. When you interact with others less, it's easier to dehumanize them. When you have to get in a car and travel to see friends it makes it less likely to happen. It's no wonder more people report being lonely than ever before.

[@krob9145]

I had an uncle that lived in the USA he came to London to visit. He was amazed that we were all rushing around on foot including my mother who has arthritis. I've heard others complain that we even move on escalators which are already people movers. I've never lived somewhere that's completely hostile to walking. I find it hard to get my head around such places existing. Personally I've found that I don't thrive cooped up in a gym indoors but a nice walk, swim or ride suits me best. My cycle routes aren't the best in my city and it could do with a lot of improvement. Hopefully joining the others campaigning for it will help. Meanwhile I will walk and ride up and down hills going places in this city.

[@swamphead6578]

07:39 - I relate so much to this. My morning mood usually goes from _"my life is PAIN"_ to _"ayyy look at that tree, what a beautiful day"_ in the span of a short walk during commute.

[@SpaceDragon00]

I think some of the best moments in these videos are when you actually include the audio in the gopro footage you're fillming. One of the most common 'counterarguments' to urban living is that the city is loud and incredibly unpleasant to live in, but what these moments demonstrates is just how much quieter cities are when they're filled with just humans, and not cars

[@Liisa3139]

@@moon-moth1 Trams in Amsterdam are LOUD.

[@NoName12344o]

When I walk, i try to avoid busy streets, you can't hear your thoughts. Especially when people go home after work.

[@dbclass4075]

​@@Liisa3139 At least it is occasional noise instead of continuous.

[@Liisa3139]

@@dbclass4075 Ha ha, occasional, when the trams run all day.

[@dbclass4075]

@@Liisa3139 I prefer that than sheer number of gridlocked vehicles. If unlucky enough, occupied by impatient drivers frequently honking.

[@ajxuereb]

Yesterday, a resident of the Town I work for said we should tax cyclists. This is why I have little faith that we will be able to build proper infrastructure in Canada.

[@tvs26]

"wow these people are using a way of getting around thats good for them and for nature we should tax them"

[@SandyCandy273]

did this person name any reasons? i mean they are good for you, don't destroy the roads and also good for the enviroment, so why would you want to tax them? xD

[@longbow857]

That is just hillarious.

[@nlabonte]

That's depressing... although the visual of a group of kids on bicycles fleeing from a civil servant running after them (and somehow collect taxes from them) makes me giggle.

[@PerfectAlibi1]

As long as they also increase taxes for cars by three times as much ^^

[@Cubic3ye]

I live in a country-sided part of germany where it's almost impossible to do anything without having a car. Since december last year I decided to ditch the car and go with public transport/walking for work . Usually with a car it takes me 20 minutes to get me from home to work and with public transport it mostly takes me an hour to get there but it's so worth it and it's amazing how much of a difference it makes. I feel much more motivated, happier and optimistic about everything and on top of that I have lost a good amount of weight (I'm obese) so it makes me feel much more healthier as well. This Video is amazing, thanks a lot!

[@octogon_five2332]

Am Dutch, can confirm. I used to take public transport, but nowadays I mostly commute by taking a 30 to 40-minute walk each way. Tried it once and I've done it every single time since - I just felt happier arriving at my destination! It even gives me time to break my walk in two for a little bit of shopping or a random cup of coffee if I want to. Then again, I can only do this because my hometown is very, very walkable...

[@ragnarok4554]

I have been considering moving to the Netherlands for a long time. I just needed that little push to make up my mind and this channel did it. It was the straw that broke the camel’s back for me. I am now in living in this country for little under a year and can attest that everything the channels proclaims about life in the NL is true. My quality of life here is much higher than that of Dublin, the city I escaped of. I live, work and make my life literally stress free of mundanes issues such as traffic, safety and unnecessary payments that I would otherwise do in other countries and everything is 15 minutes by bike or train, true! Needless, to say I owe my gratitude to this man and his channel. I will keep looking forward to more videos. :)

[@JFlint.02]

I would seriously love to do the same as soon as I can. Can I ask though, how did you approach moving to the Netherlands? Did you need to save a bunch of money, was it easy to assimilate, and what should someone know before moving there? Any insight you can provide to me would be so so appreciated!

[@abel2150]

@@JFlint.02 where do you live now?

[@HelduikerJon]

Just curious, which city you live in? I moved 4 years ago and I love it.

[@epicgug]

@@livingmaze3094 Why?

[@HoloScope]

@@livingmaze3094 can you elaborate more

[@kalle911]

I just went on vacation in Spain and there has hardly been a day where I've walked less than 12 km a day. It's just way more interesting to walk here than in my own country with stroads left and right. Save for a few areas. And the form is coming along.

[@NotJustBikes]

Yes! That part didn't make the final script, but for the best walkability, the city has to not just be safe and feasible to walk in, it also needs to be interesting.

[@kapoioBCS]

It is always more interesting to walk when you are traveling to new places

[@Blackadder75]

Me, Dutch, really like the Spanish cities.. Despite the disadvantageous terrain (lots of rocks and hills usually) they really try to make their cities bike / e-bike friendly. and their public transport is pretty good as well. (note: I am only familiar with tourist destinations in Spain)

[@JaccoSW]

@@Blackadder75 They certainly try. Their bicycle paths need some work in some places (did a bicycle tour through France and Spain last year) but at least they are there most of the time. Well except for that one time I had to ride a highway because it was literally the only road out of there.

[@carbrained]

That's the #1 thing I dislike about this place. Also, many (potentially) walkable areas here are half-abandoned and stigmatized. But I've actually lost weight since moving to Connecticut from Barcelona, because I never stopped bike commuting :D

[@neurotransmissions]

Oh man, seeing the Chicago traffic reminds me why I want to continue working from home. I really do wish my city were more bikable, particularly the area where I live. I used to love my walk commute to work in San Diego (which also doesn't have great walkable infrastructure) and I miss it. Work from home has its perks, but you're right that it sucks to lose the daily exercise that felt productive and energizing.

[@traviskitteh]

And the worst of it, Chicago once had world-class rail service. To that end, Chicago DOES have walkable districts, but the bike infrastructure outside of the loop is so poorly planned that connecting to some neighborhoods can be a dangerous excursion without a bus or train to connect you.

[@machtmann2881]

I've definitely gained weight working from home. It's nice not to commute by car but I end up being even more sedentary in the end. I miss being able to bike to work to my first job out of school, even though it was along a really ugly stroad

[@NewBlueTrue]

I got an indoor bike. I will mindlessly ride for 1-2 hours a day.

[@StarryDust718]

recently moved from san diego and my new coworkers gawk at the fact that i biked a total of 60 minutes to work at least once a week, and think it was insane. in actually, it was fun and i miss the fact i cant bike to work anymore, even though i brought my bike

[@ab935]

Chicago itself is working on being the most bike friendly city in the country. In the suburbs we have lots of trails that actually take you places. And then there are the trails in the Cook County Forest Preserves, one of which was presented in a bid for the olympics.

[@pbilk]

My take aways from this video are: Car dependant towns and cities are more likely to have less healthy people from a sedentary lifestyle. Such as driving the car everywhere, not having safe streets and paths for biking. Also, less walkable spaces aren't as profitable as the city of Guelph in Ontario knows. Less walkable places more likely have a more burdened healthcare system. Tell me again why we build such places? Oh yeah, rich oil executives who don't care about people. Which led to the promotion of gasoline running vehicles like cars and busses over trains (busses aren't bad, just an over reliance is). Profits for the few rather than profits for the community.

[@davidty2006]

Hmmmm Busses are better off for local driving. For longer distance theres only 1 true master. Trains.

[@applesyrupgaming]

its actually originally for segregating white and black

[@briantennant2503]

I remember watching a short report on obesity in the US, and it followed a man in the suburbs who got a dog. He was forced to walk it every day for about 30 minutes and ended up losing a ton (not literally guys) of weight. Just from walking 30 minutes a day. I remember this report because it made me realize that with a life in an American suburb, the average person does not even walk a cumulative 30 minutes a day and that's just sad. And it makes sense when have to drive everywhere and your job is sedentary, as more and more of our jobs are. It also made me realize how many problems cars and our lifestyles build around them cause. The gym of life is something I've been trying to argue to my friends and extended family for years. It's why I bought a house a 10 minute bike from my work and a 10 minute walk from a grocery store (I realize I'm very lucky to have been able to do that).

[@namenamename390]

Thank you for turning the footage of New Zealand upside down. This joke is only ever told with Australian imagery, but there are in fact, other countries in the southern hemisphere.

[@NotJustBikes]

I know, right? New Zealand gets left off of so many world maps, so I feel like it needs more representation.

[@crisdekker8223]

@@NotJustBikes On many maps New Zealand just is the land of legend. Best place to put it :P

[@jayBBvid95]

New Zealand is real??

[@Paul_C]

@@jayBBvid95 named after the province Zeeland in the Netherlands, the same guy 'discovered' Tasmania.

[@RectifyingTCovenant]

I'm Australian and I lost a fair amount of weight when I lived in Tokyo for this exact reason. Bike to Uni, and go on detours for groceries on the way home, walk and take transit when I wanted to go out. It's no wonder I lost weight.

[@adamlynch9153]

American here. My dad was in the military and lived much of his career overseas. He taught me I should always park at the absolute furthest parking spot at like Walmart or other grocery stores. Yes you look weird to others but it’s more about getting as much exercise as possible. It’s also great cause you don’t have to drive around looking for parking typically cause no one parks back there.

[@rolandaustria7926]

Same. I lost so much weight when I moved to Japan, despite having a desk job as a programmer. I’m now a civil servant at the local city hall and enjoy living where I work. I just walk a couple minutes from my doorstep to reach my desk. I love this place so much. I have a fun easy job, nice polite people around me, beautiful towns, and delish food.

[@dbclass4075]

@@adamlynch9153 Considering the car-centric development that limits option for walking, your father's suggestion is the next best available option. I have another suggestion for you when in multi-story buildings: elevators to go up, stairs to go down. Though if you want a bit challenge, it wouldn't hurt to use stairs for upward travel as well.

[@lizzyd]

It's the detours and the wandering that I miss the most! I stubbornly bike everywhere but my neighbourhood is designed for cars and it's just a bummer to be in. I can get from A to B but I have to ride super defensively and the scenery sucks. No one wants to wander into a strip mall to buy groceries. Sigh.

[@Goldfish_1313]

I have never been to Tokyo (but I plan to someday). Isn't it a somewhat car dependent city too?

[@lefeuamericain26]

Ive been waiting for a video that talks about how exercise in cities with good urban planning comes natural unlike car infested cities

[@NotJustBikes]

Yeah I had the idea for this video years ago, but it took me a while to get around to it. This is one of those topics that's super-important, but you don't think about it often.

[@00_UU]

@@NotJustBikes this is the topic I noticed immediately when I moved to the US. How come I cannot walk anywhere? I felt my body literally losing muscles because I had to sit down every day in the car, at work and waiting for any appointments. American lifestyle is to sit in traffic to go to work, sit in traffic to get processed fast food and then sit in traffic to get to the gym to lose weight because you were sitting in traffic all this time.

[@dandarr5035]

This is something that my dad has talked a lot about before. He's an immigrant from Kenya, born and raised in Nairobi. I also got a chance to visit Nairobi with him and my mom when I was younger, so I have some personal experience with the place too. Nairobi, for all its faults, is still a place where you can get around fairly well without a car. If anything, anyone smart will recommend that you try to avoid driving yourself around the city unless you're an experienced driver in some of the absolute worst city traffic that the world has to offer (like Bangkok or Mumbai), since Nairobi traffic is on another level of insanity. Lucky for people, a lot of the more popular shopping areas, with CBD being the most prominent one, are very easily walkable and lively. One of my favorite things has to be the hawkers who will go around either setting up an impromptu shop on the street with just a fold-up table and whatever thing they're selling (like watches for example), or the ones who go out onto the roads during particularly bad traffic jams and sell stuff to people in their cars (got some really nice Macademia nuts that way once). One of the most prominent methods of going longer distances in the city, Matatus, are so ubiquitous that there's basically no area of the city that you can't get to by finding the right Matatu. Living here in the US though, and raising me here, has allowed my dad to find out firsthand just how different it is to live here. The way of life in the US is far more sedentary than most of the world, and you end up having to go out of your way to keep up a decently healthy lifestyle. He's certainly not fond of it, and having grown up in it myself, I'm not either. Heck, I'm possibly looking to do the same thing Jason did and straight up leave the country. I know for certain that nobody will catch me dead raising kids in the US, not with this lifestyle. I'm not very happy here, and I don't want any children of mine going through what I did.

[@elonmusk9869]

My wife and I left the USA because of this reason. Long term traveling currently in Cuenca Ecuador. Very walkable and tons of separated bike lanes. Lots of parks and walking is a part of life. Spent a few months in Tirana Albania and it was the same.

[@SportPlusDad]

This video is like looking in a mirror. I’ve lost count of the number of times I’ve delivered almost this exact lecture to family and friends here in the US. I could probably say that about most of your videos but most relevant to this one is my experience from 2006-2011 biking to work in Washington DC and being 20 lbs lighter with no other “exercise”. And this was on an early pedal assist ebike wearing business casual. Sadly I’m currently living in the suburbs again and paying for a gym membership.

[@userSchlonsch]

I used to ride my bike to school almost every day. The only times I wouldn’t, were during snowfall or heavy rain and I remember being really tired during the first few lessons if my father had taken me to school by car that day. Getting my blood circulation running during the short bike ride made a big difference and I was able to concentrate much better in the morning. I’ve since moved to a smaller city and realized it was only a 30 minute walk to university. During a stressful day when walking to or from university between online and on site lectures these 30 minutes are a really nice brake. I am forced to stop working without feeling like I am waisting time. Instead I can listen to music and get some fresh air. What am I trying to say? If you have a commute that you can make even partly on foot or by bike, try it! It can be a simple change that really improves your life-quality.

[@trustnugget280]

I 100% agree with you. I used to sometimes wonder why (especially high school) students complain about being tired and not being able to concentrate in the morning whereas I was always pretty motivated. It's only now I really grasped that even 10 minutes of high energy cycling really made that big of a difference.

[@mccreeper03]

@@trustnugget280 I had the exact same revelation after I got my drivers license and started to drive instead of previously cycling almost every day of my teenage life.

[@trustnugget280]

@@mccreeper03 At first you think being able to get everywhere by car is the best thing ever only to realise that riding your bike is the favourable option in so many aspects.

[@camelopardalis84]

I used to have to take two busses to school for a couple of months. Hectic walk to bus, bus ride, hectic change from one bus to another at the train station, bus ride, hectic walk to school. When going to school, I couldn't really help it. But going home from school, I could. I quickly started walking to the train (edit to add: station) from school, which took me about 20 to 30 minutes, and only took the bus from there to get home. And it wasn't the hectic that was missing. When taking two busses home after school, I was never in a rush. No hectic there. But taking two busses still made me tired, while walking over three kilometres and then taking a bus didn't.

[@darrenmorales3885]

But how do you do that without swearing so much and not showing up to work drenched?

[@GreenPantsAllDay]

This is why I became an urban planner! I have to say, you’ve done so much to spread information about people focused designed, more than urban planners imo! I have seen regular people and KZbinrs who are not related to urban planning at all talk about these issues. The tide is turning, we just have to keep pushing!

[@NotJustBikes]

Nice! Well, hopefully I can orange-pill a few million more people, and maybe, with a bit of luck, we can start to have some community engagements meetings with a majority of people under 60 years old for a change!

[@odizzido]

I hope so much that you're working in calgary. We need people who know what it's like outside of north america to fix this garbage pile we have here.

[@Paul_C]

@@odizzido it is in the channels name, I suggest to watch the first video he made. Then watch the rest from start to finish, including the paint drying video, aka moving house. 😊

[@gingermany6223]

replacing a 30 min rush hour commute with a 1 hour cycling commute made a huge difference in my activity level. I basically got a free hour at the gym every day. Plus cycling was a more pleasant way to start the day than being in bumper to bumper traffic.

[@Roanmonster]

I can literally not understand why anyone would prefer standing still in traffic over biking. At least with your bike you're getting somewhere, even if there are road works here they will make a tiny passage for pedestrians and cyclists so you can still get through. There is no such thing as a cycling traffic jam.

[@NotJustBikes]

Yep. The focus only on absolute commute time is so myopic.

[@ChumMiser]

I live in Waterloo, Canada for my school, and when I came here the first thing I noticed was how well developed the public transport and alternative commute options are. The bike lanes and sidewalks are well defined, bus and tram systems are clean and efficient, and I was very impressed with the whole system. Great video as always

[@birdiewolf3497]

Yeah, I also lived in waterloo for university. I miss it now, especially the gym of life aspect. Lived close to campus and walk/bussed everywhere. I don't go anywhere anymore or do anything. It is terrible.

[@DonutsIceCreamAndCottenCandy]

I did not know Waterloo Canada was that walkable. I'm from Toronto!

[@birdiewolf3497]

@@DonutsIceCreamAndCottenCandy We have two universities on the same street.

[@talentedgimly]

Be the change you want to see in the world. You're the real life example of that. Thank for the channel and for promoting smart urban planning for better living.

[@kleckerklotz9620]

2:00 Love that visual side blow.

[@NotJustBikes]

😉

[@SaveMoneySavethePlanet]

I actually found this out for myself lately! I resisted taking the train to work for a long time because the station is 1 mile from my work. But I finally just bit the bullet and started doing it. The result is that I have no trouble hitting my 10K steps per day!

[@NotJustBikes]

Nice! Living up to your KZbin username.

[@magnuswobser8414]

that is great!

[@salemthekit6143]

Awesome to see you here SMSP

[@lolmaker777]

What really bothers me here is that apparently 1 mile is considered a long distance to walk. That is a 20 minute walk. Though If I had the option I would take the bike because I'm lazy.

[@NickLinnen]

what you said about feeling more energy and more positive when biking to work rings so true for me! I just started about a month ago and even made a video about my first week doing it. it made SUCH a difference vs driving to work! love the channel and content, keep it up!

[@NotJustBikes]

Thanks!

[@kenbob1071]

I purposefully don't pick up all my groceries when I bike to the store because it gives me an excuse to take the bike out again the next day.

[@daverobertson5633]

I moved from the UK to Amsterdam, I've been here for 3 years now and in that time I've lost 20kg. When I came here I was over weight but now at 33 I'm fitter then I ever was before living in England. This is down to cycling and walking everywhere (and eating better) but it really did make me a healthier person.

[@camelopardalis84]

I think what many people in badly walkable cities not realise is that it's not just young-ish and already rather fit people who bike or who can start biking. I live in Bern, Switzerland, and I see morbidly obese people in their sixties or seventies on bicyles quite regularly.

[@katiemckenzie4972]

Did you find Dutch food healthier? I'm confused bc I would think English and Dutch food would be pretty similar

[@KatherineNaumenko]

What's wrong with British bike lanes?

[@daverobertson5633]

@@KatherineNaumenko Not sure if this is sarcasm or you're actually asking, but they're not great, much more dangerous and where I lived in Birmingham there were hardly any. The Netherlands is the golden standard for bike lanes, UK doesn't come anywhere close to it.

[@KatherineNaumenko]

@@daverobertson5633 I'm actually asking. Thank you. Not everybody saw the UK bike lanes with their own eyes. Somebody has this pleasure to look forward to. Is there any hope the UK is moving towards the Dutch standard?

[@loveandpeace9956]

I’m happy you mentioned that seniors could benefit from walkable cities. It’s disgusting how anti-human American city design is.

[@samw5924]

My 81-year-old grandad still walks and cycles to nearby places - it's a big part of why he's still in such good shape for his age.

[@dnlgrmn7169]

@@samw5924 yeah. That’s great, but in most cities, towns and places, it’s not feasible, and dangerous, with lack of sidewalk and cicle ways

[@necromax13]

After seeing the prices of wheelchair equipped cars, I'd like to say, wow, fuck.

[@danielbum912]

@@dnlgrmn7169 That's the whole point.

[@samw5924]

When I visit my grandparents in Germany we always go on our bikes and do a nice 20 or 30km trip at least once or twice and shorter trips almost every day. My grandpa there still kept up with all of us until last year when he turned 80 and finally gave in and bought an e-bike (but he still doesn't let it do all or even most of the work). He cycled to work throughout his whole career and still goes anywhere nearby on his bike and is in great shape for a now 81 year old man. Be like him. Don't be like my other grandad who basically rotated between his bed and armchair for the last 10 years of his life.

[@andz1995]

I used to live in one of the most walkable and bike-able cities in Arizona (North Tempe) and it was great! When my car was totaled I ended up not replacing it and using the train/bus when it was over 100 degrees or just biked. I honestly felt happier and healthier and wish the area of Memphis I live in now had that available

[@jurriendevries]

It really is quite nice to commute in the Netherlands. I will complain about the weather whenever I get a chance, but the fact my 4km commute is 15-20 minutes of free exercise by bike (twice a day!) has probably saved me from severe obesity. It also gives a bit of a connection with the neighborhood, you wave to people you know, you might stop and have a chat. None of this is really possible in a car, if only because you don't really see people at all.

[@duanerackham9567]

you've made it my dream to visit the Netherlands. Living in the suburbs of NYC which has at least the bare minimum of public transit and is walk able, then moving to upstate NY where Sidewalks sometimes don't even exist. My job is 10 minutes by car along a strode. I couldn't walk there without being under constant threat of being hit by a car. The rite aid that was down the street (Extremely over priced) closed down and now there is no where to walk if you need quick things around the house. The supermarket I go to. 15 minute drive turns into a 1.5 hour commute by bus. People should not be hindered from using their two feet to walk 300 feet from the coffee shop to the restaurant across the street, by 6 lanes of strode.

[@Brevislux112]

I'm now 7 months pregnant and felt I had to stop cycling for fear of tipping over. I can feel it in my bones. Having less opportunity for exercise and having to use transit or worse, driving, makes me so much more cranky and it takes so much longer. Everyone keeps telling me it's so impressing how I cycle to work. Honestly I don't get how people can get around any other way.

[@34psychotic]

It's too bad that there aren't more bicycle rentals that include accessible models like trikes and recumbent bikes. It would benefit people like you who don't need one long term or those who can't afford them and can help when you need it.

[@m.j.t.4889]

Me and my gf stumbled upon your videos in the past year, and it honestly made us realize how terribly designed the US is. I never even considered how bad it was until she came over to see me during winter this year. I live in Belgium (Bruges to be specifict), she's from Houston. We both love your videos, keep up the awesome content!

[@NotJustBikes]

Thanks!

[@FGH9G]

Oh God Houston. Now THAT'S a hell of a difference, Bruges vs. Houston lol.

[@m.j.t.4889]

@@FGH9G I know! What I absolutely love about Bruges is the fact that it's so ridiculously small, that you are a 20min walk from pretty much anything you may ever want. The distance between my gf and the nearest Walmart, is the distance from me to the biggest shop in the area, which is waaaayyyy outside of town (about 8km). Also they're thinking of banning cars from the center of town which would be heavenly!

[@FGH9G]

@@m.j.t.4889 That'll be perfect for Bruges! Given how tiny Bruges is, that seems like a no-brainer. I'm surprised that hasn't happened sooner. But wow, that must've been a hell of a culture shock for your GF, living in Houston and then *POOF* you're in Bruges. I really hope that will lay the seeds of disgust on the awfulness of North American auto-oriented urban planning. 😂🤞

[@m.j.t.4889]

@@FGH9G with Bruges it also helps that the entire center of Bruges is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, so they can't really change it lol

[@konrad6804]

Before "covid times" I used that street gym every day in my home city - Krakow Poland. My city is somewhere in between Nederlands and U.S. There are here some really walkable districts near old town, but there are also some other neighbourhoods definetly designed for cars only. Unfortunatelly my route from home to office mostly consisted of the "car streets". Now I feel I was really brave to cycle this route for 5 years. Now I don't need to, I cycle wherever I want when I finish working in my home office :)

[@GTAVictor9128]

When I visited Będzin (near Wrocław where i was born), the public transport was a significant improvement over the conditions that I grew up with in Ireland. But the underground pedways were the worst - not only does this project a sense of car superiority by forcing us pedestrian plebs to go underground because cars on the surface are more important, but they feel like the perfect place to get mugged - dark and out of sight. Every time I was forced to walk through them, I was constantly anxiously looking around my shoulder, and wanted to get out of there as soon as possible.

[@johnmcgregor8284]

I lived in Warszawa for a little bit during COVID times, and I did enjoy the walkability of the area I was in. However, the entire city is not like the Śródmieście area, as there are a few areas that are still car centric in design. I think Poland is still in a prime position to rebuild and develop as a post-communist country and create even more cyclist and pedestrian friendly areas.

[@JanneBU]

This video just confirms my findings in my master theses about walkability and urban morphology. Great video and thanks for the studies

[@maximnossevitch8966]

I'm a car enthusiast and I LOVE driving. Since COVID hit my work shifted to WFH I was even able to buy a much nicer car because I used much less. That being said I bought the car exclusively because I'm an enthusiast and I want something nice to visit family and friends that live 500km away. It's not a practical purchase; it's fully a want, not a need. I WISH more Canadian cities were more walkable. I am getting more and more involved with groups that work to get cars off of city roads and also work to get cities to develop transit systems. I just bought a place right downtown almost entirely because it's more walkable (it's a 120 year old home in an old, gentrifying neighbourhood) and I fully expect and want to use my car even less than I do now. THANK YOU for all of the work that you do, and the cited sources and general info. I'm definitely sharing your channel whenever I can, especially to my local representatives and municipal councils

[@vixaviusadamantine1586]

There is growing extensive evidence that weight and resistance training is as important and beneficial especially for late life as much as cardio and light activities are, but it's good that the city can do half of it for you.

[@fool117]

Speaking just from personal experience, if I stop weight training at the gym I feel it instantly. I am lucky enough to live in a North American city (Montreal) that has decent/good bike infrastructure and cheap/accessible gyms so I can bike to work and go to the gym when I want.

[@peterdecroos1654]

thats why its nice to be able to bike to the gym, you can jump straight into the weights because you're already warmed up and that cardio after gets blood into the muscles for faster recovery

[@TheRealChiults]

In college I used to spend many daily hours studying on a desk (kind of still do it 😅) and I only realized the importance of my 35-minute walk to and from college when, for one semester, my family lent me a car and I started driving everyday. I didn't know that amount of exercise was so important to my disposition and wellbeing!! [Editted:] Today I'm really glad it's been years I've been mostly cycling everywhere, and last month I moved into an even more walkable and cycleable town! Wait until I make it to the Netherlands...

[@GTAVictor9128]

When I was in university, I would purposely give myself less time to make it to the bus stop to force myself to run instead of walking. So I typically gave myself 15 minutes to cover 1.7km, sometimes even 10 minutes, when I typically carried a 10-15kg backpack. The first time I did that, I was completely out of breath by the time I arrived. But over time, my cardio did significantly improve. To this day, I practice my cardio while taking my dog for a stroll - and I typically cover 5-7km during those strolls.

[@steffenberr6760]

I haven’t been to a gym in 3 years it’s such a huge time saver. Great to see you on Nebula!!!

[@NotJustBikes]

Nice! And yeah, I genuinely love Nebula. It's great to be on there!

[@nathalie9905]

09:47 This image reminded me of when my father broke his hipbone. When he was recovering he couldn't walk very far and it was hard for him to get into the car because it was a low car. However, he could cycle! So when we went to a restaurant I carried his crutch during the 5 minute cycle commute. In hindsind, it was a bit ironic that the best form of transportation was the bike, since he broke his hip while mountainbiking. Edit: this was in the Netherlands Anyways, great video!

[@toniderdon]

10:40 Let's gooo that's Frankfurt. Nice to see my city in a Not Just Bikes video. What you can see in this picture is the "Zeil" a huge shopping street without any cars on it, just two lanes for pedestrians. It also connects the two most important Subway stations the "Hauptwache" and the "Konstablerwache". So no matter which side of the shopping street you end up at, you can instantly take a subway or tram to wherever you have to go.

[@iamdead9951]

Love how Australian and New Zealand roads were shown upside down 😂

[@martinsieving5216]

This. I live in a suburb of Boston and I've been walking home from school just about every day for the past 3 years. Its a 1.3 mile walk (~2km) that takes around 25 minutes. Taking the bus I could get home around 15 minutes after school, which is SLOWER than if I'm running home (~10 minutes). Exercising as part of a commute saves so much time, and it's way more enjoyable to walk home than getting crammed onto a crowded school bus.

[@alanac9057]

I've been binge-watching your videos lately and was entertained to learn that you spent some portion of time living in Malton, where I was born and raised. The video brought me back to my long, miserable treks along Morning Star in the mornings to head to the Westwood Mall bus terminal. Coincidentally, I have also lived in Riverdale in my adult life! My nonna and nonno settled into Malton shortly after arriving in Canada from Italy in the 1950's. They could only afford one vehicle which was fine because my nonna was much too terrified to ever learn how to drive. During the years she worked in a medical supplies factory in the industrial park, she would happily bike to work each day. We in the family attribute her lack of driving (therefore having to walk or bike everywhere) to the reason she is still so healthy today, at over 85.

[@Tyranus1]

When I first visited Europe, I was surprised to see so many elderly people out and about. Some were moving around in amazing shape for their age. Others walked around in leg braces and hiking poles, but still moving on their feet nonetheless. I did not once see anyone using a super market mobility scooter, or someone overweight puttering around to their car like you see here in the U.S. at Walmart.

[@sacroyalty]

Hey! American here, watching from Amsterdam! First time in Europe, and Amsterdam. Can confirm, walking to and from the tram wearing a small backpack has been a great workout. We averaged over 20k steps the first 3 days! Now we're down to 10-15k. Loving the active lifestyle here! Mind blowing how much better transit and infrastructure is here over even our current hometown SF. Lastly, we're here over other cities we hadn't seen yet, IE Italians cities, London, etc. large in part to these Amsterdam video series you make! Moved it up our list. Cheers!

[@JasonLihani]

I live in downtown Denver, mostly because I LOVE walking the city, but nothing was like when I visited London. I've never been to a European city and it was unbelievable how nice it was to walk everywhere like Piccadilly and Camden. London is probably a horrible example, but compared to the US, it was AMAZING.

[@nathalie9905]

I've been to London once, but it's not a bad example (I think). There are sidewalks aplenty, parks to leisurely walk through and the public transport makes it relatively easy to cover distances you can't by walking

[@willekevanderham5326]

While the outer parts of London are not always walking friendly, the inner city is. Many small parks as well as the big ones and sidewalks/pavements everywhere. And while London is quite big, the parts the tourist go to are compact enough to do a lot walking. It is the small towns and villages in the countryside where the English need a car most, and even there you can mostly walk away from the roads. Commuting without a car is often hard, as the small roads between towns and villages are full of cars going too fast on narrow roads.

[@user-ed7et3pb4o]

London's a pretty good example! It's probably the best of the big UK cities for walking and cycling (I say this begrudgingly, as a non-Londoner with a lot of latent bitterness at the funding they get for things like public transport compared to the rest of us). Even better than London are small cities and towns like Cambridge and Oxford, or other ones which have retained some medievalish layout, although the vast majority of Brits don't live in places like that.

[@lordgemini2376]

London is definitely not a bad example for walking, maybe for cycling ( we're getting there 😅) but it's an amazing place to walk from point A to point B anywhere within zone 4 :)

[@JourneyLT]

Once again, you've managed to put this better into words than I ever could.

[@SamWickens]

I've recently started switching up my commute and cycling the 27km in one direction each day instead of taking the train, and the dopamine hit in conjunction with a coffee with woken-up circulation feels ridiculously good. It's Luxembourg so the hills can be a little grueling, and the infrastructure is still in its infancy by Dutch standards so it took some trial and error to find a minimal-car-interaction route, but I've genuinely never felt more productive or awake at the start of the day.

[@inesalag]

I love your videos! I relate to you on min 7:20. There are mornings where i don't want to bike. But then two things happen: 1. I remember how awful is to be stuck in traffic and 2. I start cycling and my bad mood goes away.

[@IBeforeAExceptAfterK]

I know this all too well. I'm fortunate enough to have grown up in a U.S. suburb with fairly decent cycling infrastructure. It was still designed as cul-de-sac hell, but thankfully I lived close enough to the edge of the residential zone that I could ride my bike to school. This worked well for a few years, until I got to high school and I had to start getting up at 6 in the morning to get to class on time. It was unpleasant, but tolerable...until January, anyway. At that point I started riding the bus, and by the time things had warmed up again the bad habit was formed. Thinking back on it, I can say with certainty that that was when I started my slow decline into obesity, and it also probably didn't do much to help my mental state, either. Stumbling onto this channel and others like it was like a eureka moment for me. Sadly I'm now at a point in my life where biking is no longer an option for my commute, but damn do I wish it was.

[@mUndertakerg]

Holy mother of Bike. I just realized that the center of my home town (which was build in pre-car era) has not a single gym... but the car-infested shopping mall outside of the city offers two gyms next to each other.

[@josephsands7938]

This is one of my favorite videos you’ve made. I especially like how you spotlighted older folks who are often resistant to challenging car-dependence and skeptical that they stand to benefit from walkability. Older folks hold a lot of power in local decision making and getting them on board would likely help much more than another 20-something.

[@yaroslavkrymov9955]

I want to go to the Netherlands from Canada. Can't wait.

[@Jamslerr]

I have been given the opportunity to move to Sweden, and your videos are making me realize that there are more reasons I should move there than reasons I should stay. Thank you for all the great information!

[@StoriesByDighe]

I never thought about this, but growing up in India I walked or biked everywhere. But, after moving to the US had to get into a car to do anything. I was never socially awkward growing up, but in US something really changed. I chalked it up to the change in countries, but more likely it was the lack of socialization due to the isolation yielded by lack of walkability of the suburbs.

[@fabianfeilcke7220]

Biking or walking regualry also changes greatly what you consider to be walk-able. When we had our american colleagues over they were shocked that we considered walking to a restaurant about 2km away from office. I bike to work whenever it does not rain about 40km each day, so biking distances around 100km don't seem out of reach to me. If you use your bike to go a 10 tour every fortnight or so, this wont be the case..

[@Ayattar55]

Good lord you're right. I was amazed americans didn't consider 1,5km walkable.

[@hngldr]

Lol at the Australia and New Zealand footage 🤣 Great stuff! I've said this to my coworkers for years - even when my bike ride takes a couple extra minutes, it takes WAY less time and effort than doing that drive, and THEN going to the gym for an hour or two

[@TylerPLUSmusic]

incredible stock footage of that old man dancing @10:15

[@ezra7891]

I love how I, as someone who lives in Amsterdam, recognise every location that's filmed in Amsterdam in these videos.

[@upper_class_owl1787]

As an Aussie I can definitely relate to this video. I feel like as a kid and teenager there are more opportunities to excerisice in sport classes or extra curricular activities. As an adult I feel like those opportunities go out the window. You have to seek them out or actively choose to go to the gym rather than it just being about of ur daily life.

[@Arjay404]

0:28 Jesus, that microcar is flying like it's on the Authobahn.

[@NotJustBikes]

Yeah, no kidding! They're limited to 45km/h, and that one must've been pedal to the metal.

[@rickb3078]

He’s late for bingo. They had good prices that day

[@foxorian]

I lived in Boston, MA for about 15 years and always paid attention to my steps once I got my first smart watch. Turns out I was doing about 9000-10,000 average daily whenever I went out, including work days using public transit to get to/from work. I've since moved to the Los Angeles area for career reasons and chose to live in Pasadena because, as far as a lot of areas in SoCal go, it's still a very walkable area that has just about anything I'd need within a 15-minute walk on pretty pleasant streets. Not *as* walkable as Boston, but I still average maybe 5500 steps on an errand outing here and never have to touch a car. (This is still obviously behind, say, the netherlands but I'll take what I can get in this country.) Something else I noticed as well, is that you find *way* more things to do while walking around on foot than if you were always in a car. I have a friend that lived here for 10 years already who always drove, meanwhile since I prefer to walk everywhere I was pointing out cool and useful places to him all over town within my first year here he never knew existed. When you drive, you already know where you're going (usually some brick & mortar anchor because they're built for easily arriving by car,) -- so seeing what's down that nice little shop arcade you pass by would be too much of a hassle to find street-side parking for your car and investigate, if you even notice it to begin with.

[@driftadvocate1839]

exactly! thats why i love biking and hiking around because everything just hits differently, in a good way. even cars have a refreshing speed to them it just nice to view stuff from another perspective. and you find all the nooks and crannys

[@chrissiec2123]

This is so true. I live in one of the 5 boroughs of NYC and I'm able to notice all the little spots, nooks, and crannies because I'm not driving most of the time. You truly do notice *a lot* more and get to take *so much more* in once you're walking and taking public transport rather than driving all the time.

[@EPMTUNES]

Thanks not just bikes. In 2 months, this channel has made me to learn to ride a bike and completely ‘radicalized’ me for this walkable form of city planning. Even my hometown, where I live 1 mile away from my school, takes over an hour and a half to walk to due to lack of crosswalks and pedestrian wait times. And mine is lucky enough to have a somewhat continuous bike path (though does not connect to any major exits and has frequent crossings against literal parkways). This is no way to live. It doesn’t matter if your an environmentalist, disabled, or can’t get a drivers license because of a bad interaction with a vengeful DMV employee. You have to drive. I could never place what I don’t like about these places, but you have taught me. I can now identify a stroad and annoy anyone who is around me when I drive on them. Thank you, not just bikes.

[@thonkingintensifies9510]

Im in Denmark and using racing bicycle to get from a to b as fast as I can is a testament to the walkable city, having freinds all over town makes the gym of life fun despite the weather

[@paulot1929]

I totally relate to this. The best period in my life in terms of health was back when I was cycling to work, for 1 hour+ each day. That enabled "free" physical activity and I was more motivated to train further, run, do resistance training... Since the lockdowns, and my bike was stolen (almost at the same time), I slowly started to stop exercising. Now that I am working from home, and that delivery services can provide my food, it's very easy to not leave the house. The only occasions for "easy" exercise (ie. that can fulfill another purpose than compensating my sitting behind a screen all-day) that I get are through social events, which have been less frequent in the last couple years... I miss having to cycle to work, this was not only enjoyable in itself, but made my whole life better overall. I would never miss having to go by car or public transport however.