Meet the Germans: Germany's love for cycling!
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- čas přidán 4. 06. 2024
- Is Germany only the land of cars? Shabnam says yes - and no. Even though
Germans make and drive a lot of cars, they have a deep relationship with bicycles that goes back a couple hundred years. And when it comes to bike-friendliness, Germany ranks quite high among other countries of the world.
Shabnam didn't know how to ride a bike when she moved to Germany from India in 2017. In this episode of Meet the Germans, Shabnam faces her fears and takes a ride down Germany's bike lanes.
What is it really like to bike in your country? Let us know in the comments!
CHAPTERS
00:00 Intro
00:12 How important is cycling to Germans?
01:10 Shabnam learns how to ride a bike
01:44 Germany’s historic connection to the bicycle
02:46 Why do Germans love bicycles so much?
03:17 Should the infrastructure be improved?
04:09 Why did Shabnam learn cycling?
04:45 Outro
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Watch more Meet the Germans videos here:
• Meet the Germans
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#MeettheGermans #Germany #cycling
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Very good report. I was born in Oldenburg, Niedersachsen, and rode my first bicycle there at age 6. At age 9 I left for the United States, and since then I have traveled with my bicycle, to many states and countries. At age 69 I returned to Oldenburg and rode my bicycle along the North Sea Coast, and throughout Niedersachsen again. Now at age 75, I am in Bangkok, on a bicycle tour of South East Asia. I am looking forward to hopefully returning to Germany fairly soon. With my bicycle of course.
Sounds fantastic, George!
Wow wow
Viel Spass!
Be careful on the road!😮
Such a great presenter! All the best for your cycling journey 😊
Thanks a lot!
HI
Props to you, Shabnam, for starting your personal biking story! :) I love cycling. It already was a big deal as a teen, to get around town without depending on my parents or the scarce public transport. And it still is my preferred way to be mobile! I hope you enjoy getting this new freedom you were observing around you! 😊
Thanks, Lea. I wish to be as confident as you soon!
Here is a bike tip I learned late in life… adjust your saddle so when your paddles are in the bottom position, your legs are supposed to be stretched all the way and not bent. This will make it easier to ride a bike for longer without strain on your knees.
but this setting will make it much harder to put your feet on the floor when sitting in the saddle.
Thanks Claus. I tried, but my scared self gets too vulnerable when my feet cannot touch the ground.
Danke Claus😮
while astride the saddle, toes graze the floor. Or try this: heels in socks barely touching the pedal. Ball of the toe touching same area should not force you into a full extension. @@ShabnamSuritaMTG
Wow that is really specific. Have to try that one out, thanks!@@ArmesArt
Nice to see you learn how to bike and there is a class for beginners!
YES!! And I was even happier to see that I was not alone in that class :)
Again, good job shabnam 👍😊
Thank you :)
Greeks watching: Cycling? What is that???
@@tonyata7006are you Greek?
@@leonhardausdeutschland
no ...
just I Imagined what you mean
and you comment was funny
I'm from Germany
ANYHING EL;SE
I love bikes, but the drivers in my city in Brazil are not bike-friendly. In a country so large and with such a favorable climate for cycling, this is simply very sad.
same with Toronto, Canada
Make no mistake: German drivers are far from bike-friendly. But I can imagine, Brasil being even worse. Although, in Europe, I haven't experienced any worse drivers. Haven't cycle in UK yet, that is probably quite an "experience"
Nice video. By the way, the seat on your bike need to be higher up a bit, so you can push down better. 😉
Thanks for the tip!🚴♀
Thanks, will try to keep in mind :)
bruh.... this is SOOOOOOOOO german... to point straight at the things someone did not necessarily wrong, but incorrectly... but to be honest I was about to coment the exact same thing...
honestly, I kind of like it when Germans politely correct me, but only for my German grammar!@@unkn0wngu4rd1an
I am from India and I migrated to Bonn, Germany back in 2011 not knowing how to bike. Then in 2012 I learned to bike out of Fomo in the parking spaces nearby after my then friends left me in trips where they rented bike to roam around. Right on that very lanes of Markt, Bertha Von Suttner Platz , Stiftsplatz and Kennedybrucke I took my first bike lessons 😊
Oh I can relate so much to you! I also had the motivation to learn after I was left out on biking trips that my friends went on! Greetings to you!
Well done you! It's very brave learning to ride a bike on the busiest streets of Bonn! I don't like to ride there, and I am an experienced cyclist!
Tolles Video. Ich bin in den USA aufgewachsen und lebe dort. Ich bin 68 und habe mein ganzes Leben lang das Radfahren geliebt. Ich habe mehrere Fahrräder für unterschiedliche Fahrarten, Straßen und Radwege. Wir haben hier viele Radwege. Ich liebe die Fahrradkultur in Deutschland und meine Frau und ich hoffen, in naher Zukunft ausgiebig in Deutschland Rad fahren zu können.
As an added comment, my ancestors are all from Northern Germany (Niedersachsen and Mecklenburg-Vorpommern). My Great Grandfather bought my Great Uncle one of the first bicycles in our area in Wisconsin and that bike is now on display in our local historical museum. That was in the very early 1900's. Yes, Germans do love bikes!
Woah! So cool, Fred! You just provided a lot of context for us when we say 'Germans love bikes'. So amazing to see how deep it runs in the culture :) @@fredbehn9287
Haha, screaming all the way to your destination...welcome to cycling. :-)
Screaming all the way, indeed!
In my country a child gets on a bicycle around 2-3 years old. But we don't cycle in winter because it is cold 🥶and there is a lot of snow.😬
Look at Finland...
went cycling yesterday for 30 minutes. it was 3C degrees, but felt warmer while moving under the sun
@@Curling_Rack In my youth I was cycling all year around. Now I'm too lazy. But last week I cycled to work at -5°C. But we have no snow at the moment.
Thank you so much for sharing your experience! Yes, it is not easy but you can learn to ride a bicycle as a grownup. The ADFC cycling schools for adult beginners of all ages are easy to find on the internet. Courses start in spring. You will practice in a car free environment. The schools provide training bicycles and helmets. Give it a try, You can do it.
Thanks a lot for the motivation! The course was really so much fun!
I remember having an exchange student from Spain over and she didn't know how to cycle lmao
She had to learn it otherwise we couldn't get to school
My solidarity with that student. I know what she must have felt!
Sehr schönes, informatives und interessantes Video, total Klasse !!! 👍👍🚴🚴♂🚵😸
Danke sehr!
Super Video und gut erklärt. Und den Radfahrkurs hast Du in der Schule meiner Kinder in Troisdorf gemacht. 😊😊 Ich wünsche Dir allzeit gutr Fahrt und viel Spaß unterwegs.
Vielen herzlichen Dank, Martina! Der Kurs ist eine Top-Empfehlung von meiner Seite :)
Nice story! Very brave to learn cycling as an adult. I thought you would also Stützräder to start learning.
Thanks Lucy! We were given regular bikes with no wheels to start balancing ourselves on day 1.
👍 - also for the YT algo! 😊
👍 - auch für den YT-Algo! 😊
Coolest video again!!!. So interesting and enriching to see things which we consider „natural“ with your eyes.
Danke danke!
Ah those BMX Bandit dayz and cycle football.
never heard of adults that just learn to ride a bike. i think the main problem with this is not to get frustrated. don't panik and try to get some confidenc in riding! with some experience you will notice how nice it is to ride your bike through the spring, summer and fall ... 🙂 and bycicle tours are a great way to spend a weekend
Thank you, Alexander! It is still very scary for me, especially with new traffic rules. But like I said, I am not giving up!
I ride a recumbent trike (as seen at 2:17). 🤙
Wuhu! Team Liegerad!🎉
Interesting to see, how it is for an adult person to start learning riding a bicycle.
As mentioned, kids start with a "Laufrad" (balance bike) to get the balance and have a tricycle or Kettcar to learn pedaling.
And when they are fit in both, they get their first bike at the age of four or five and even don't need training wheels on the bicycle.
And for adults, we started with a bike with no wheels too! A lot similar like a Laufrad. First lesson: balance the body!
@@ShabnamSuritaMTG Yep, training wheels actually make it harder to learn cycling because you cannot lean into the curves. It is totally counterintuitive and that is why in Germany and NL, nobody uses them anymore...
I haven't ridden I bicycle since 2010
Good job, Shabnam. Congrats on learning to balance on two wheels? What's next? A motorbike? I've been riding my bicycle many years, was lucky enough to learn in India and kept it alive in Germany. Love driving cars too, the Autobahn is just too amazing to resist. It's about finding the balance between different modes of transport. Enjoyed the video, thanks. Cheers, Govind
Hahaha thanks, Govind. But not going on a motorbike anytime soon. Want to get my basics checked first. :)
As more they say they will "improve" the bicycle infrastructure here, as more problems I have when riding a bicycle. E.g. I never had problems passing a car on its left side when it doesn't show that is wants to turn left. Now they painted more and more such narrow lane so I have to pass parking cars using that narrow lane. Because if I want to pass the car on its left side, it's also less distance to the opposing traffic by that😱
That's why, biking is not just a thing you suddenly introduce. It requires a lot of in-depth planning and restructuring. Thanks for the comment!
Germany has better cycling infrastructure than in Canada
Oh really? How is cycling in Canada like?
Wow, so much info packed into just a few minutes! And such an apt subject. In the USA, it is so piecemeal, partial, and largely unsupported, because the automobile is king. Still, there are decent efforts here and there. But we are waay behind Germany regarding bicycle safety and popularity. I learned when I was seven, and that is how I got to memorize every street and alley in my home town. Thank you!!
Thank you and stay tuned!
Ah such a nice feeling it must have been! :) Thank you for sharing!
Glad to see so much Bonn content in this one! Shabnam is killing it 🚀on camera and on the bicycle
Yay for Bonn! And thanks for the encouragement. Really means a lot! :)
I DIDNT SEE U IN NERTGHERLANDS YES IN STTE VISIT HOW UNFORTUNATE OBVIOUSLY HOW EASY..BREAD THANKS
It's amazing how the host's nationality was never questioned when it was a British white woman. Thank you DW for showing us the good, diverse, progressive side of Germany.
It didn’t matter then, and it shouldn’t matter now too :)
you translated as do sport, but I learned it is make sport.
Omg i love this host!
Thanks Amrutha!
Yay!! Go Shabnam!! You've got this!! 🚴♀ =D Streets here in Mexico are not very safe for bikers =( (it depends on the place, but still, we could learn so much from German driving culture) Also in some parts it's just too hot to bike around during the day 🌡💀 Despite all this, cycling has been growing in recent years, and "clubs" have been emerging!! =D They meet after sundown to ride around town as a group (safety in numbers!!), often with a vehicle trailing behind the group just in case =D 🌆🚴🚴♀🚴🚴🚴♀🚴 🚗
That is such a heartening comment! Would love to visit Mexico some day and check out the cycling scene there! :)
@@ShabnamSuritaMTG Come for the cycling, stay for everything else!! =D 🌮🦐💃🕺🎵🗿🏰🏙🏔🌴🏖🦜🐆🐋
Well, comparing Utrecht and Münster is a bit far-fetched... Or even Germany and Netherlands, when it comes to bike-friendliness...
The bike-infrastructure is far from good in most places in Germany (as mentioned in the film), and the car-drivers are the most ruthless I have experienced when it comes to bikes (well, Luxemburg winning a close second). Before everybody writes "but in my country...", I have not ridden bikes in all countries ;-)
Germany and German drivers have a lot to learn before Germany can really be called a bike-friendly country, in my mind...
Thanks Felix for your comment. Like you said, it is a lot about perspective. Yes, the Dutch may not really give the Germans full marks on bike-friendliness. But biking is really omnipresent in Germany, and that itself shows how deeply ingrained it is in the society. Even though the establishment says otherwise sometimes.
As a German it always baffles me that there are ppl who dont know how to cycle or even swim 🤯 such basic skills
Yup, just how it baffled me to see how common and regular cycling was for women here. Cultural contrasts, oder?
>Meet the germans!
>Shows some south asian
That's DW for you 😂😂.
... who tells about her experience in Germany. You don't see much of Deutsche Welle, do you?
Interesting to hear how it is in the rest of Germany. Bike infrastructure in Aachen is really not great. Its dangerous and people on bikes therefore often ride on the sidewalks. The city has given too much space to cars in their city planning...
Bike infrastructure in Germany is quite a dividing topic, as I saw. Depending on what lobby the city is inclined to prioritize, cars or bikes, is how a city ends up looking like.
Everywhere in Germany, too much space was given to cars... but also in other countries...
Title : meet the germans
Vedio : indian girl !
It's Video and not the vedio.
Also Hussein 'Meet the Germans' is always hosted by foreigners who depict Germans and Germany from a foreigners perspective.
@@Vanillevirus
What the difference ?
@@Vanillevirus
Idc i was just wondering
It's DW . What do you expect 😂😂 . They probably care more about Israel than germans.
She wears her helmet wrong 🙈
Still a newbie! :D
Germans are so passionate about their environment and their health . hope India also turn their wheel to it
Cycling has been common in India, but not for the urban, privileged. It is mainly used by people who don't have access to alternate modes of transport. But nowadays, it is slowly becoming a greener alternative for those who care and can afford to get sturdy bikes for Indian roads.
Roads are extremely bad in Germany. Too many bumps, uneven cobblestones, small broken patches. Transition area between bike lane and motor lane is always a big bumpy curb. Changed at lease 10 inner tubes in 3 years, with no heavy use.
Wie fährst du???
You forgot the German bike-"friendly" drivers...
Sie ist sehr gut.
Haha danke! :)
@@ShabnamSuritaMTG bitte schön 😁
Nice video 👍🇮🇳
Thank you!
Shubnam, you look beautiful in your cute bindi.
Thanks Ravi
German?
Yes
She's not a german 😂😂
@@yalinahewage1941 Do you know her passport? It is a German channel for foreigners.🤷♂️
@@arnodobler1096 I know that ethnic germans don't look like that
@@yalinahewage1941 that's bs
one like as well a comment from an Indian go ahead love lots