The Netherlands and Denmark both have high levels of cycling. Some claim that this is because they are somehow temperamentally different to us, or that they have a different relationship to cycling as a mode of transport, or a different culture.

This is untrue. Car ownership is high in both countries; the Dutch and the Danes also walk and use public transport. Furthermore, immigrants to the Netherlands cycle more than they do in the countries where they come from – indeed, they cycle more than people do in other European nations.

The Dutch and Danes don't cycle because it is their manifest destiny to do so, but because they live in places where cycling is designed for, making it a convenient, safe, and obvious way to get around.