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Whether you're driving your car like you're a normal person or you're walking like you're a child or a guy with two DUIs, there's one thing that we can all agree on, and that is bicycles.
Climate Town explores why America turned against bicycles, from the 1890s bike boom and early road advocacy to car companies pushing bikes out of streets and the invention of jaywalking.
Key Takeaways
- America's decline in cycling was driven by the rise of automobiles and a deliberate reshaping of streets to favor cars.
- The concept of jaywalking was a product of car industry and media campaigns to protect car access to roads.
- Bicycles have historically been highly energy efficient and socially transformative, from women's emancipation to road-building advocacy.
- Lessons from other countries, especially the Netherlands, suggest alternative transportation models are achievable.
What the video covers
- The bicycle boom of the 1890s saw over a million Americans riding, and the League of American Wheelmen pushed for better roads that helped kick off paving of America.
- Early bicycle history includes the shift from bone-shaker designs to the chain-driven safety bicycle invented in the same era as the car.
- Bicycles were far more energy efficient than walking or driving, and cycling was a source of women's independence, praised by Susan B. Anthony.
- Patent activity for bicycle components, including brakes, ball bearings, and pneumatic tires, was intense in the 1890s.
- As cars became cheaper and affordable, wealthy cyclists switched to cars, and the car population exploded from 8,000 in 1900 to over 20 million by the 1920s.
- Rising car deaths led to proposals to restrict roads to cars, with the American Automobile Association backing limits on non-car traffic in 1916.
- The term 'jaywalking' was popularized by car companies and the media to shift blame for pedestrian deaths onto people walking in streets.
- The video frames the modern era as a turning point where countries like the Netherlands show alternatives, and there is growing support for non-lethal transportation options.
- The transcript includes sponsor segments, behind-the-scenes remarks, and a collaboration with Not Just Bikes.
- Overall the video is an entertaining, humorous history with some editorializing and tangents.
Chapters
- 00:00Why Everyone Hates Bicycles (Jokingly)
- 03:33The Early History of the Bicycle
- 12:48The 1890s Bicycle Boom and Road Advocacy
- 20:12Patents, Tires, and Technology
- 25:55Bikes Give Way to Cars
- 36:27Car Deaths and the Push to Remove People From Streets
- 45:42The Invention of Jaywalking
- 55:54Changing Tides and Lessons From Other Countries
Full Transcript — Download SRT & Markdown
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They're either running over your poor grandmother on the sidewalk or trying to throw themselves under the wheels of your car on the streets.
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Sure, just 1% of trips in America are taken by bicycle, but if you ask me, that's 1% too many.
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The only thing bikes are good for is reducing our dependence on oil and also improving our health, and I guess taking cars off the road, which improves air quality and traffic congestion and transportation options, and saves you money on car insurance and fuel and maintenance.
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It also reduces your risk of chronic illnesses and loss of life, and, sorry, improves city quality, city design, and general quality of life.
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That list is actually super long.
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And there's a ton of countries that already do this.
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So, what's going on with America?
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Yep.
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In America, we got cars.
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A lot of cars.
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We used to have bikes.
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We actually used to be one of the top biking countries in the world.
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Right up until the time that cars stabbed bikes in the back.
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And it's actually such a crazy story that I called up my friend Jason over at the YouTube channel Not Just Bikes.
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Hey Raleigh, what are we talking about today?
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Street design, metros, maybe trams, bikes?
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Are you sure?
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I mean, there's lots of stuff we can talk about, not just bikes.
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Well, let's get right to it.
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Hi, I'm Raleigh Williams, a guy with a climate science and policy degree and a helmet to make sure it doesn't leak out.
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And this is the story of why America hates bikes, featuring Not Just Bikes.
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Welcome to Climate Town.
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Now, when we first started this episode, I figured we'd be going all the way back to Egyptian times, where ancient pharaohs cruised around on wooden bikes with stone wheels.
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But would it surprise you to hear that the rover style safety bicycle was invented in the same year as the car, right?
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I mean, the bicycle seems like such ancient technology, and yet the car and the bike could have gone to the same middle school.
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It's a crazy fact, and now you know it.
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Anyway, they called this one the safety bicycle because protobicycle models from the 1800s were known as bone shakers, because you had to sit on top of a 4-foot-tall metal wheel, and the streets would shake the bones right out of your damn body.
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These were expensive.
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They were hard to ride, and the only way to get down was to jump off and then try not to snap both of your ankles.
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People were not commuting to work on these things.
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But then in the 1880s, they figured out how to build a chain and a crank system so you could sit in between two equal-sized wheels, and modern cycling officially began.
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Of course, the main attraction of cycling is the gentle swish of the tires on the road.
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Cheerio, old fruits.
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By the early 1890s, over a million Americans were riding bikes.
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And good lord, they're having the time of their lives.
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Look at their faces.
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I mean, not that guy.
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That guy's always sad.
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But most of these people are really jacked about this.
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With bikes booming, the mostly wealthy, cycling-obsessed League of American Wheelmen pushed for better bicycle infrastructure.
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Bikes don't ride so great on muddy roads.
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So the LAW launched one of America's first organized PR campaigns for higher quality roads.
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They published a monthly magazine called Good Roads, handed out branded jerseys for horses, and lobbied Congress, which led to the formation of the Office of Road Inquiry, an early precursor to the Federal Highway Administration.
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That's right.
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It was bicycles that kicked off the process of paving America.
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But then the car came along, and just as bikes had brought new freedom to women decades before the suffrage movement got women the right to vote.
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Ally much.
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In 1896, Susan B. Anthony told a reporter, "I think it has done more to emancipate women than anything else in the world.
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I stand and rejoice every time I see a woman ride by on a wheel."
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And you know what, Susan?
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Me, too.
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No, I'll cut this.
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Cut.
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And as the people demanded more and more bikes, the technology got better and better.
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A third of all the patents filed in the US in the 1890s were for bike equipment.
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Early brakes, ball bearings, and more complex gearing systems all came from that drive to build better bikes.
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The first air-filled rubber tire was invented by an Irish veterinarian whose name is now on tennis balls.
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And within a few years, Michelin got the first patent for a removable pneumatic tire, which was then used to win the world's first long-distance bike race.
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And we can't skip past this monstrosity.
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Yeah, his name is Bibendum.
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And here he is drinking a champagne coupe full of glass shards and road hazards to show you he can handle anything.
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You guessed it, this is the Michelin Man.
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And I guess I just wanted to point out that these bikes from 130 years ago were shockingly close to the bikes that we have today.
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Sure, the materials got better and lighter, and we added more gearing and handbrakes and a bunch of other improvements, but this still looks a lot like this.
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And that's probably because bicycles are awesome.
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They are four times more energy efficient than walking.
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They're 50 times more energy efficient than driving.
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They're just an incredible invention.
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When you're riding your new electrolyte bike from Huffing, you're ripping through the universe with the speed of light.
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Unfortunately, the bicycle craze didn't last long.
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Bicycles came down in price and became available to the poors.
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So the rich traded their bikes for gasoline-powered cars.
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At first, it seemed like all of these new-fangled modes of transportation could live together in harmony.
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We used to have horses and also carriages.
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So in this brave new world, the bike could be the new horse and the car could be the new carriage.
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And at the time, there really wasn't anything getting in the way of that plan.
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There were no rules of the road like we have today.
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No street signs, no satnav, or even driving directions.
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Under English common law, all users had equal right to the roads.
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And nothing was really big enough or fast enough to make the shared street a serious problem.
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And this kind of worked in the year 1900 because there were 8,000 cars in the entire country.
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By 1908, we were up to 200,000 cars.
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And then Henry Ford dropped the Model T.
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By the 1920s, there were more than 20 million registered cars in the US.
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By 1927, Americans owned 80% of all the cars in the world.
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And as wave after wave of new cars flooded the streets, those cars started killing tens of thousands of people every single year.
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Car accidents accounted for two-thirds of all deaths in larger cities.
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It was insane.
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According to a New York City traffic court magistrate, the slaughter cannot go on.
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The mangling and crushing cannot continue.
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And I don't know what your job is, but if you ever find yourself saying the mangling and crushing cannot continue as part of your work, it's time to find a new job.
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Now, obviously, this was not going to work for the car companies.
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But they had an incredible solution.
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If people keep getting killed by cars in the street, then what if people are just not allowed in the street?
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It's genius.
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That way, there's nothing for the cars to kill.
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Now, did that go against all precedent to date?
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Yes.
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And would that monopolize the public roads for just one type of transportation and lifestyle above all others?
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Yes.
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But car companies were graciously willing to make that change.
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The American Automobile Association backed the idea in 1916, limiting non-car traffic to street crossings and leaving the roads to cars.
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And if, say, a child went out into the street to play or to cross, well, you little... that's jaywalking now.
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A term that car companies were foaming at the mouth to popularize in the media.
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Out they rush, running, jumping, and skipping across the stree
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[music] transforming their streets for walking and cycling, and now 10% of trips are taken by bicycle, while cycling fatalities per trip fell 88%. Of course, Dutch cities have continued to [music] improve, too. And now about 40% of trips by Amsterdam residents across
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the whole city are by bicycle. Cycling in the Netherlands is the safest in the world to the point where even very elderly people, the kind of people you would never see cycling anywhere else, feel safe on a bike. And people here
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dress for the destination, not the ride. Cycling here is not just a sport. It's an easy and efficient way to get around for all kinds of trips and for people of all ages. Yeah, I'm sure that works for
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you guys, but here in America, we do biking, right? Ready to die at any moment.
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[music] You know what? Our way has its own juna. But I suppose it is time to embrace a future where, you know, people have a non-lethal alternative to car transportation. And you can actually be part of the solution by helping to
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advocate for bikes. For one, you can just try riding your bike more often. Try swapping out one trip you'd normally take [music] in a car with a bike and just see how it feels. Lots of cities have big bike meetup groups, which are
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really fun and also good for you. It's crazy. You can even try contacting your local representative or showing up to a city council [music] meeting to help your community rediscover its latent bike culture. And we're actually making a ton of progress on this. [music] The
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most recent 2024 American Association of State Highway and Transportation Guide [music] has been rewritten to include a ton of protected bike lanes, bike intersections, and generally much better guidance for bike infrastructure.
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[music] It doesn't guarantee it'll be built, but it's no longer a direct impediment. And in this country, that counts as a win. [cheering and music] But let's kick it back over to Jason, a guy who loved bikes so much, he straight
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up moved to a country where they care about them. That's right, Raleigh. The tides are changing. Back in the 80s, it wasn't so clear which way was the right approach for cycling. But now, the trails have been blazed and the data
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collected. And we [music] know protected bike lanes work. They help keep people safe, but more importantly, they feel safer, too, which is what's needed to convince [music] people of all ages to try out cycling. The best part is that
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these days there are lots of cities around the world that have built highquality protected bicycle infrastructure and have seen a jump in new bicycle riders as a result. The most important thing to remember is that advocacy is local. Posting on social
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media only goes so far. What really makes for change is talking to the people in your community about how you want to see your city improve. [music] There are other people near you who want the same things that you do. So join
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your local cycling or safe streets advocacy group, but most importantly, make sure that whenever your city holds public consultations for new bike lane plans, you show up to cheer them on. So it's not just the cranky old people and
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avid cyclists in attendance. Also, don't tell Raleigh, but the Dutch do orange because of Villiman Orana, the guy who led the Dutch revolt against the Spanish in the 16th century.
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Ah, you know what? I did want to know that. That's really good information. [music] Thank you very much, Jason. And now a ad. According to this app I have that tracks how many times I've ridden a bicycle in New York City, I'm currently
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at 4,143 rides. Now, I could be lying, but could a liar do this. Hang on. Hang on.
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Look, I bike around the city a lot. I'm not doing wheelies all day. It's not the same skill set. But as someone who's biked roughly 14,000 miles around New York City, I can say definitively how nice it is to have something that sticks
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your phone right to your handlebars. And for me, that's the outfront bike mount FROM PEAK DESIGN. WO PRODUCT PLACEMENT MUCH? YEAH, but hear me out. It's actually really good. This thing locks into my phone case. It's not going
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anywhere. It works great. It keeps my phone at the perfect angle for the entire ride. It's easy to attach and remove if you want to take it with you.
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And the case itself is sleek and thin, which means you don't have to feel like you've got a VHS tape in your pocket all day. Look, I've used a lot of bike mounts in my life. And I gotta say, the
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Peak Design one is my absolute favorite. Wheelie, but it's not just the phone mount. We really do use the out of Peak Design gear. When we're walking around the city making episodes of Climate Town, we've got the backpack,
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the tripod, the gear case. Honestly, it's a little excessive. Peak [music] Design guarantees their product with a lifetime warranty, which is usually a pretty good sign that they're doing something right. And to prove that they actually are involved in this ad and
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we're not just stalking Peak Design, they're doing something they almost never do, they're giving us a discount code for 20% off. Hiya, come on. But it only works for the first 100 people who use it. So get over there and use code
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climate for 20% off Peak Design gear. Peak Design. We really use it and it's really actually very good. Okay, I got to go learn how to do a wheelie. I'll see you next time. And that's the end of
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the episode. Whoa, you did it. Thank you so much for watching. And thank you to John Orut and Charles Kenoff for all their help on the script. We truly could not have done this without them. Also, thank you to Jason from Not Just Bikes
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for making this episode with us. Go subscribe to his YouTube channel and check out his other projects. Links to all of those in the description. You will not regret it. But the biggest thank you has to go to a very special
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group. They are the patrons over on the Climate Town Patreon page. And I've brought my energy down to let you know how serious I am. We really truly could not make these episodes without you guys. I really appreciate your support.
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You are the only reason we're able to research and write and shoot and edit.
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That's the order. I almost said edit first. We don't edit first. We shoot first, then edit first. That's an established order. We're not with the order cuz it takes so much work to make something we're proud of. And we
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really have the Patreon page to thank. So, thank you so much. If you're not a patron, that thank you does not apply to you. Thank you for watching this video.
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We really appreciate that. But you don't get a thank you for being a patron if you're not a patron. That's stolen patron valor. And [music] I'm not for that. If you go become a patron now, you can go back and watch that. That will
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still apply to you now. And then you can fast forward through this section. And if you were already a patron, you can fast forward through both those two sections and you can land right now because now you're a patron. And you
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know what you get? You get behind the scenes clips, blooper reels, monthly town halls, the phone number to the Climate Town landline that you can actually call and talk directly to me if I'm around. Is that real? You also get
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exclusive clips from our live shows. Discounted tickets to future live shows like the one we're doing on September 21st, 2026 at the Bell House starring Amy Westervelt. Yeah, exactly. Kind of like that. And that's the real end of
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the episode. Thanks for watching if you've got a bike. Okay. Okay. I've seen a bunch go by. Okay.
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What' you say, dude? Are you kidding me? Look how long that wheelie is being held. Oh my god, this is unbelievable.
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How did you guys All right, hang on. Let me do that one more time. Can one of you guys wheelie pass on this shot? Okay.
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All right. All right. Uh, I'll walk in and then wheelie wheelie it up. Man, we just we got we got the Harlem Globe Troters of cycling over here. This is nuts.
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I have [music] not tried marijuana. Uh I have never used it at any time.
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[music] Did you hear that pop? Goodbye.
Topics:bicyclesAmericacar historyjaywalkingcycling historyurban transportationClimate TownLeague of American Wheelmenroad safetyNetherlands cycling
