More about the benefits of biking...

Okay, I don't want to bore everyone by making the same point over and over again, but I keep finding reasons that a good system of biking/walking trails is a great idea. Yesterday I was coming home from my daily run and passed two mothers, riding their bikes next to each other, gabbing away, while their two 4 year old daughters, riding in the child seats on the back of their mothers' bikes were riding along gabbing with each other at the same time.  A lot of Amsterdamers get around on bikes.  It's easy with the trail system, it's cheap (parking and gas prices are very high), and it's simply part of the Dutch culture.  I keep seeing people talking as they travel this way, with their kids, spouses, co-workers, friends, etc.  It strikes me that in addition to the ecological, economic, and health benefits, biking and walking trails offer more opportunities for people to be "in contact" with each other as they go about their daily business.  Some of us worry about the loss of a sense of community in the U.S.A.  So many people don't know their neighbors, stay inside their houses when not at school or at work.  Would bikeways be a way to regain that sense of connection with others, even others in our own families?  Take a look at these two photos. Which child/parent would you rather be?