Re:Pop-up bike lanes show that demand exists
by pmontra on Friday June 23, 2017 @10:20AM
(#14619309)
I can add something about Milan that could explain those data. Milan has some water channels going at least halfway into the city. Some bicycle roads follow the channels and they don't have many intersections. Some 10 miles each way are believable. People doing 10+10 miles each day on those roads could be the kind of people that also record their commutes with Strava. However people that have to commute on normal roads shared with cars probably can't be that fast.
I live inside the city and I never mount my bike computer when moving around in there. The normal cyclists that use a bicycle to go shopping probably don't do more than 12 km/h, twice as much as a fast pedestrian. Obviously they don't record their journeys.
So, still skewed data but with an explanation.
I wouldn't be at all surprised if the average American bike commuter averages 15 mph. But I'd also expect the average American bike commuter to be much faster than the average Milanese bike commuter because in the USA most bike commuters are dedicated enthusiasts.
18.7 miles per day seems like a really high average, but is entirely believable. I used to do something close to that, and our summers were also hot.