Montpellier, France. July 4, 2013. By Jen Benepe
OPINION
It’s a holiday in the United States today, but not in France. That means many Americans will be riding their bikes, watching the Tour and later, watching fireworks across the country.
On July 14, Bastille Day a big holiday for France, you can expect the fireworks to be exploding there. And it will be a big celebration this year for this 100th Tour de France, which began in 1903 and only stopped during the years of WWI and WWII.
But that’s where the comparisons stop. France is a great place to ride your bicycle. With the exception of highways, most small roadways accommodate cyclists because the drivers do. If the road is too narrow, they won’t pass.
In fact, a driver will wait for 5 minutes, with other drivers waiting in a long line behind them, before passing when it is safe. And no one will honk their horn with impatience.
That may be in part because as my friend Peter Stock, (who lived in the South of France for over 10 years,) pointed out years ago, ” Every single person in France either rides themselves, or has a husband, father, brother, uncle, son, cousin, or nephew who rides.”
Though he spoke from the male perspective, you can add all of the women in the family to that list too–but only if you live in France.
Drivers are respectful of cyclists’ lives in France, but in America, in general, they are not. This is the big difference between our two countries.
If you don’t believe me, take a trip to France to watch the Tour in person, and either bring your bike with you, or rent one there and experience it yourself.
You might also ask yourself why here in the Americas we can’t have a Tour of America.
And as we celebrate the fourth of July, maybe we should think critically of why these things may be true, and how we can change them.
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