I’m Eritrean-American. Before clicking the link, I laughed in my head and thought what would the chances be that it’s Asmara.<p>EriTV, the state sponsored new channel and only news station, tends to showcase individuals that exhibit “Eritrean excellence.” This includes professional Eritrean cyclists that compete internationally, making most respect or appreciate the sport. Even the Eritrean community that I’m a part of in the US will come out and support an Eritrean cyclist if race through our city.<p>Last time I visited the country, cycling was normal for transport but still too expensive for a lot of people. Most relied on black market parts to afford maintenance. But like the article mentions, cheap and legitimate parts have been coming in since the open border with Ethiopia. There’s still plenty of black market dealings, but business is hurting for them with this increased competition.
I remember visiting Hanoi, Vietnam in the mid-1990s. In those days, cycling was <i>by far</i> the dominant mode of transport in the city. You’d see the occasional small motorcycle (scooter), but the streets were dominated by thousands upon thousands of cycles, everywhere you went. They must have been >95% of all traffic.<p>But now, over 20 years later, it’s all changed. Most of the cycles are gone to be replaced by a few cars, and incredible numbers of noisy, polluting combustion scooters.<p>Air quality has declined dramatically and city streets have become much less pleasant places to be.<p>The Vietnamese government probably sees this as progress? I think it’s a dystopian nightmare and a huge step backwards.
I've spent the last 3 years driving around Africa - 35 countries and over 50,000 miles. In more than a few cities the traffic (and pollution) have been absolutely horrific, and I've often wondered if there is a large city where biking is much more common.<p>Biking is very common in rural areas.<p>Unfortunately I've had to skip Eritrea, although I really wanted to get there. Because of the recent peace deal with Ethiopia the borders are wide open.. but that means for me nobody really knows how I can enter at a land border legally... there won't be anyone to stamp my passport, and so it's very likely I'll be arrested by the first Police that see me, even with a valid visa.<p>The ambassadors in Ethiopia and Djibouti were more than happy to give me a visa, but they had no idea what would happen if I tried to drive in. Maybe I'll have to go back!
I'm sure Pyongyang also has very little cycling. Eritrea and North Korea regularly vie for the bottom spot on human rights rankings.<p>That this article tries to pass it off as "diplomatic isolation" is a whitewash and a travesty.
China used to be the bicycle kingdom before its economic opening. It wasn’t even that long ago, 1999 when I first visited still had the sea of bicycle commute going on in Beijing.
The hassle of dealing with traffic has always prevented me from cycling to more places. A city with little motor traffic would be an absolutely amazing place for cycling everywhere!
I am constantly saddened when seeing people carrying lots of stuff on crappy mountain bikes. How come mountain bikes have become so popular that they are so much more ubiquitous than all other kinds of bicycles? A (crappy) suspension fork is nowadays cheaper than (any) rigid fork, yet heavier, less durable and harder to maintain. Why there are so few cargo bicycles? Why don't Chinese frame makers make them? Cars would be so much easier to replace if cargo bikes were more affordable.
I'm slightly disturbed by the amount of comments that appear to suggest people in the west "can afford" to ruin the environment with car travel. That boat sailed a long time ago, no matter what your personal finances are like.
In India, cycling continues to be the main mode of transport in rural as well as urban areas, for those people who cannot afford a bike.<p>But whats shocking is that dedicated cycle lanes are rare and cyclists have to ply on the same roads that carry cars, trucks etc. I can't recall the last time I saw a dedicated cycle track in an Indian city which is a disgrace since most of the people belonging to lower classes still use cycles as a daily mode of transportation.<p>I guess, among the explosion of cars and bikes on the roads, people on cycles have either become invisible or they have just been forgotten by those in authorities.<p>I used to cycle to work a long time ago. After a few Nearly Near-Death-Experiences, I gave up and bought a bike instead. My cycle languished in a corner of my room, until one day the maid that worked at my house asked if she could borrow it so that her husband could drop her children to school and then go work at a nearby textile factory.<p>I guess, they are still using that cycle while I have graduated from a bike to a car now.
I think it'd be awesome if Eritrea were to produce some pro cyclists. Right now, the pro peloton is, within a rounding error, entirely Caucasian - which I think is something of a shame. To take some examples - while the famously cycle-friendly nation of the Netherlands is extremely strongly represented, China is not - despite the latter state also being known for its embrace of bicycles. I imagine this is almost wholly down to lack of opportunity, with the majority of pro cycling teams being based in Western Europe or America. Would the Kazakh flag be as common a sight in pro cycling were it not for the influence of Team Astana? I doubt it. Hopefully one day we may see Eritreans compete alongside the best in the Grand Tours - if nothing else, it would hopefully stamp out some of the uglier attitudes in the peloton (see: Moscon).
The state of Eritrea is so bad people are running away from it to countries like Israel taking the risk of getting shot to death in all the countries they pass
Eritrea has a very high per capita pro cycling representation. Higher than the UK, France and Spain, and more far behind Italy. I always wondered why that was so.
In my world vision 2075 AD, the surface will be reserved for cyclists and pedestrians, while all automobile traffic will disappear into Elon Musk style underground tunnels.
Cycling heaven is The Hague, Netherlands, not a city where people are unable to afford the purchase and operating cost of a 15 year old Toyota Corolla.
<a href="https://www.theverge.com/2015/2/9/8003637/north-korea-satellite-photos-night" rel="nofollow">https://www.theverge.com/2015/2/9/8003637/north-korea-satell...</a><p>Astronomy heaven: The Asian capital with ‘no light pollution’
There is a coordinated effort on HN to tear down and/or just shit on mainstream western amenities. Such as nice homes [1], abundant personal transportation, and even lawn care equipment [2]. It’s pretty ridiculous to see in general, let alone on a site about technology and business.<p>1. <a href="https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=19497422" rel="nofollow">https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=19497422</a><p>2. <a href="https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=18523630" rel="nofollow">https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=18523630</a>