Yes, biking in Copenhagen still terrifies me. Just look at this:

This is just your average commuter bicycle parking lot. Not even one of the most crowded ones. During rush hour the bicycle lanes of Copenhagen become hairraising highways of doom, which some of the locals like to call “kill zones”. (Never, ever, step a foot in a bicycle lane. From time to time I see tourists strolling on them like it’s some extra wide sidewalk. It isn’t! My god, I think to myself, they have no idea what’s coming… Take a moment to familiarize yourself with different pathways. Some of them are for foot traffic. Many are not.)

Needless to say, I’m still very scared to bike in this city. Which is painfully sad, considering that one of the reasons why I wanted to move here was the bike culture…

A few of weeks ago, my neighbors Karin and Karsten, suggested we take a little bike ride outside of the city center. Still within city limits though, but they promised to protect me.

We started at the Dybbølsbro train stop and headed past the Fisketorvet mall.

From there, sticking close to the water, we headed further into Sydhaven.

 

This area is developing rapidly right now. These days it’s still relatively quiet, which means that the bike traffic is manageable.

From Sydhavn there are a couple bicycle-only bridges that lead to the many paths of Amager.

Amager is the island south of central Copenhagen, where there’s the airport, plenty of summer homes, lots of new developments and also wonderful green areas.

Exploring Amager by bike is a great idea. The island is flat, with countless kilometers of trails. I like that.

It was a very nice ride. I loved exploring this part of the city. If only I could just get comfortable on my bike…

To become more comfortable, I have been using it for more shopping trips. Hopefully, one of these days I’ll get on my bike and realize that I’m no longer terrified.

• This Ride: 10.4 km (6.5 miles)
• Elevation Gain: 100 m (328 ft)
• YTD Bike Rides (including the countless little shopping trips): 181.3 km (112.7 miles)