I think one of my favorite words in the Swiss German vocabulary has to be the word “velo.” Ok, so they stole it from the French, but it’s almost a comforting word for me, something that I feel really familiar with, and that I can say without even thinking about it. It also happens to be Niven’s favorite word too. As a three year old, nothing puts a smile on his face like when I say that magic word, “velo.” Then he knows we’ll be off on a bike ride, him sitting on the back of my bike singing along and watching the world go by, just like I did once as a little girl with my mother. Never did I realize that having a heavy kid on the back of your bike makes pedalling up a steep hill really difficult!!! But all the same, I have become a cycling enthusiast (my mother cheers in the background as she reads this post).It’s not hard to see why. For a cyclist, Luzern is the dream city.

Why Luzern? Luzern is a very bike friendly city. Not only are the bike lanes just about every street, especially the busy ones, but they are very brightly painted and obvious, so that any driver who runs over a cyclist MUST be blind (or the cyclist wasn’t where he/she was supposed to be). Even with traffic lights they have sensors for cyclists, who get their own spot to wait in front of all of the cars. This means that instead of waiting for the next car to trip the green light, you can actually manage to get a “go” on your own.

It’s also more convenient than other forms of transport in the city. Although the busses are relatively frequent during the day, they stop running as often in the evening, and finish service by 12, which can be inconvenient if you want to stay out later. Not to mention that you’ll have to pay quite a bit for the bus to begin with, and you’re going to have to walk a little bit anyways to get where you want to go. With a bike, you can gete from point A to point B probably almost as fast if not faster than taking the bus. As for cars, finding parking in the city is really a pain. Not only is it expensive, but most street parking is limited to a few hours. Everywhere you look there is bike parking for free, and with plenty of nice bikes standing there, you feel more comfortable leaving your bike, knowing it probably won’t be the first one stolen (Switzerland is pretty safe anyways, and people tend to use cheap flimsy locks on their bikes).

So now that I have gotten into the habit of riding my bicycle into town, there’s no stopping me now. I feel so independent and competent, able to get anywhere at anytime, for free (ok, aside from a few costs of buying a lock, fixing things, etc). And those legs are getting stronger too, which can’t hurt. Of course I’m not the only one with this great idea. From business suits to hipsters, biking is not just for the few out of many. It’s as commonplace here as driving can be in America. It’s a way of life.