"It's true their average speeds are much slower than American roadies and that in itself may be the real reason."

Ammond, I think you got a good start on answering your own question/argument. Amsterdam is wall-to-wall people and then some, a relatively small city with New York density (and the 84 square miles in the Wiki page must be including some of the less dense satellite areas like Bijlmer, because the more touristy bit, which is less than 30 square miles, is really jam packed.) It's crammed in every way, so speed is not really possible, and there's only a little way to go before you're in the next city. And when you're not going anywhere to speak of, speed is not essential.

When they're out in the country - or, more precisely, what they would refer to as the "country" - I never saw anything that looked like real "country" as it's hard to find a spot out of clear sight of the next town - they may sometimes even ride road bikes and even wear your horror of horrors, spandex shorts. (By the way, I've never quite understood the horror of some over those, in the light, or whatever it is, of the routine acceptance of the often glossy spandex, or at least spandex-like, knickers that are part and parcel of the standard American football uniform.)

In addition, theft is so utterly out of hand that you can't use an even slightly decent bike for utilitarian purposes unless, for example, you commute and can take the bike inside where you work. I knew a couple of people who could indeed take it inside, and they indeed rode road bikes to work unless they needed to run errands (they also participated in races, so sport and utilitarian use are actually compatible, contrary to what you seem to imply.) So it's a choice forced by social mores, in this case that people profess to hate petty crime but fundamentally condone it as some sort of Robin Hood thing. That means we can't know what they would do if they could choose freely.

And then there's weather. On the exceedingly rare occasions when it hits 90F in Amsterdam (all-time record a whole 93, something I, even well in the north, can only wish for), it now makes for global headlines about how, boo-hoo, the world is coming to an end. In many parts of the USA, spring and fall are short, leaving little time when it's not (1) too icy to ride safely, or (2) reaching well into the 90's F or at least the high 80s and probably with a sky-high dew point. In that kind of stifling heat, virtually unknown in Amsterdam, one's office mates will simply not tolerate one's failure to wash up and change clothes unless the distance is very, very short (see first point above.) So, might as well wear something that's comfortable on the bike, rather than lug all sorts of heavy fenders and guards up and down hills in the heat in order to accomodate flouncy clothes one will need to change anyway. (Another alternative is the Tokyo-area approach, to carry, at a minimum, several freshly washed shirts or blouses to change into every couple of hours over the course of a perfectly normal steaming, sauna-like summer day.)

Oh, and I was forgetting the ultra-flat terrain of Holland, which beats out by a long shot many areas in the allegedly flat U.S. midwest. I wouldn't care to try to get the perfectly normal $20 single-speed Amsterdam junker bike up and down the hills of San Francisco several times a day, or up and down Midwestern hills in the heat of a 95F early evening commute (heat aggravated by our corrupt Congresscritters with their Daylight-Saving Time.) But then again, Amsterdammers never need to - the highest terrain for many miles around would be the motorway overpasses.

As to the helmet issue, well, with respect to smoking and leaded gasoline, Europe lagged fifteen or twenty years behind the USA. So I think the jury is very much still out on what the 'elf'n'soifety Puritans will forcibly impose in Europe, as they have all long since run out of important things about which to get their undies all in a bundle. Stay tuned.

In summary, while I'm aware that a very peculiar national self-hatred seems to be de rigueur among many leftists and environmentalists in the USA, when all is said and done, it is not terribly helpful always to view things in snarky terms ("We think it's just for sport. Cyclists in Bruges and Amsterdam think of it as life.") based on apples-to-oranges comparisons that fail to compare, and fail on no less than multiple physical and social dimensions.

Ammond,

As PaulS's reply illustrates, often there are rational reasons having to do with different local conditions as to why different cultures have different practices. The Americans who look down on their fellow citizens as somehow morally defective as compared to Europeans ought to try thinking before snottily condescending. I realize that makes it harder to score status points. But it leads to a more accurate assessment of reality.

After the collapse of public transportation in New Orleans post-Katrina, I saw quite a few office workers commuting by bicycle from late September till April/early May. Not wearing coat and tie (either in bag or @ the office, but white or blue long sleeve shorts and suit pants.

Even in New Orleans, the weather is not so bad for a 1, 2 or 3 mile bike ride at moderate speed in the cool of the morning.

Alan

BTW: Maybe 5% to 8% (1 in 20 to 1 in 12) New Orleanian bicyclists wear helmets.

It comes down to the trade off of what is more important, getting to work or being sweaty. I agree that today, it is not socially acceptable to arrive at work sweaty. But the future might be different.

At my work (in the DC suburbs where it gets quite warm and humid) we have a shower, and a growing number of employees are biking in. We have over 1000 employees at my site, so a shower room is little overhead for us, and the same cannot be said for a typical work site.

I live in Austria... Today it was 30°C and about 200 bikes were in the park platz at work. Including mine (and I do wear a suit & tie). During the winter with 10-15 cm of snow that number will drop down to about 75 bikes parked out front. So while cycling & walking may not work for all commutes in all geographic areas, it can work for far more than many people realize.

All of the points against cycling are arguments of convenience. I too work in an office environment that requires at a minimum 'office casual' as acceptable dress. In South-Western Ontario Canada, where I live, the humidity can reach Amazonian proportions and as such you WILL arrive sweaty.
Solutions are simple work-arounds:

1) purchase a decent backpack or set of panniers for your bike.
2) choose to pack clothes that either do not wrinkle, or wrinkle minimally (the few wrinkles drop out quickly with body heat)
3) pack a wash cloth and a small towel. (leave the bath sheets at home - this is about function, not luxury)
4) pack your deodorant/antiperspirant (and soap if you feel you will truly need it).

All of these items MIGHT add 10lbs to the total weight of your bike (which for most of us is equal to the minimum amount of weight we will loose by choosing to bike instead of driving so the weight point is moot)

Even if your place of work does not have a shower, they ALL have a washroom. And unless you are exceptionally stinky when you sweat, a simple wipe down of your body with a cool wet wash cloth will be more than sufficient (fresh sweat doesn't really stink horribly, OLD sweat does, and fresh sweat wipes off your body easily). This method is also known as a 'sink bath'
http://www.wikihow.com/Take-a-Bath-in-a-Sink,-Bucket,-or-River
(note: I do not condone the wasting of paper towel as they use it in that how-to)

This really isn't rocket science and I'm rather dumbfounded that while many here at TOD can comprehend some of the higher science put forth, but come up with extremely weak arguments why something just cannot be done by them.

As for going shopping or whatever other discretionary trips you have to make. Either choose times that are cooler, wait for a cooler day, or simply go slower.

As I sit here, I just got back from a 10 mile bike ride over rather hilly terrain with mixed paved/gravel trails, road, and rough forest trails. I have not showered and hey, my deodorant is doing its job just fine. I would be completely comfortable riding in a crowded elevator.

I will agree, the bicycle is NOT the most convenient thing, but then again, neither is peak oil.

I've been playing around with electric assisted bicycles, and can't say enough. I feel as though I could ride forever, and never break a sweat even in hot smoggy Los Angeles. Obviously China figured that one out already. Check_out_and_share www.peakaware.com

After many years of road racing (bicycle) I have a hard time not wearing a helmet. It is like not wearing pants or something.

The only problem with commuting here in the mountains of Western North Carolina is the mountains. I am really in shape and a 5 mile commute is just a miserably sweaty adventure. Although it is not like stinky sweaty causing an odor problem in the office. Just I walk in the office and am immediately frozen by the AC with damp clothes.