Welcome to #BikeNite on Friday, June 12th!
Thanks for joining our chat. Anyone can join, now or later. Reply to what you like, and boost for visibility.
Our intro, and question from @pete:
Q1. Where are you posting from today? Very loosely inspired by the football (or soccer if you must) World Cup's 48 participating nations: How many countries have you ridden a bike in?
@ascentale @pete @bikenite A1: posting from San Francisco - finally back after a week in Vegas for work. I'm not sure but probably like 10 countries for me - always like to rent bikes when I travel! #BikeNite
Jun 12, 2026, 11:03 PM@ascentale @pete @bikenite A1: Northshore area, northwest King County (north of Seattle), Washington State, Cascadia.
And I think only here in #Cascadia - I had a motorbike when in the eastern US for school, but not a bicycle.
I did utterly fail to ride a unicycle out there, though! A friend of mine had one and would get people to try it. I went literally nowhere, it was hilarious. xD
Jun 12, 2026, 11:05 PM@ascentale @pete @bikenite (But not as funny as my one attempt to use regular roller skates. Inlines, I was great at, it was like ice skating, and I did both figure and hockey. But paired wheels mystify me and comedy ensued.)
@moira @ascentale @pete @bikenite Unicycle counts for 1/2 point. #BikeNite
Jun 12, 2026, 11:23 PM@lopta @ascentale @pete @bikenite maybe 1/200th of a point I did not get far xD
@moira@mastodon.murkworks.net @ascentale@sfba.social @pete@masto.hypertelia.com @bikenite@fedigroups.social Unrelated, but your mention of "motorbike" reminded me of this. I was biking with my daughter in the hood when a motorbike went by. I told her, "That's a motorbike. We're on bikes." She immediately said, "No, that's a 'motorcycle,' not a motorbike!" 😅
Jun 12, 2026, 11:07 PM@ascentale @pete @bikenite A1 Posting from Beaverton, OR today, bracing for triple digit weather this weekend.
I have only ridden a bike in one country. Maybe next time SIGGRAPH is in Vancouver I can use a bike share and bring that up to two...
New York State.
One. Been in 7-9 depending how you count them, but only backpacked at most there.
US States, at least three, possibly five.
@ascentale @pete @bikenite A1: back in Chicago today after a week long trip across Wisconsin. I can't say for sure. Pretty sure I haven't biked outside the US, the last time I was in Montreal was cold and snowy, and I couldn't overcome my hesitancy to get a bixi in winter in the cold in the ice.
It's been four states in the recent past as an adult, plus a few others where I lived as a child. Those arent countries though
@djuber @ascentale @pete @bikenite Are the traffic lights working? #BikeNite
@lopta @ascentale @pete @bikenite they are for me. When I was in Madison Wednesday they definitely had outages. The grid here (in the city) is normally really reliable, mostly trees are out front and utility poles are in the alleys, it's rare to have outages since falling trees don't have contact with wires, and they're often very local and fixed quickly. I only got in this afternoon so it might have been chaotic yesterday
@djuber @ascentale @pete Almost all of them were out this afternoon as I drove from Rosemont to Orland Park. It was a mess.
@ascentale @pete @bikenite A1) 3. #BikeNite
A1: Northern Monterey County. We are in the coastal fog here at a pleasant 59F. I’ve ridden a bike in two countries, having biked around the various islands between Anacortes, WA and Vancouver Island in Canada.
@ascentale @pete @bikenite A1. I’m in Waterloo, Ontario, Canada. That's just 90 km west of one of the World Cup host cities.
And I’ve cycled in exactly one country 😀🚴🏼♀️❤️
@ascentale @pete @bikenite A1. Whoa! I need to amend my answer. Somehow in my head I was thinking of only riding my own bike outside of Canada. But in the before times I rode bike share bikes in Boulder CO on multiple trips, and it was completely awesome!
@uxMark Yeah. Toronto surely will be a wonderful host for the match Ivory Coast vs. Germany.
@realSiegfried Hey! Germany has four stars on their kit! Great team to watch 🤣⚽️❤️
Jun 12, 2026, 11:28 PM@ascentale @pete @bikenite A1: Nagoya, Japan.
Just two, the US and Japan. We lived in London for ten years, but I didn't ride at all then.
#bikeNite
Jun 12, 2026, 11:31 PMA1. Tokyo, Japan
I've ridden in:
The US
Japan
England
France
Abandoned Lejog in Carlisle, so I can't add Scotland to the list.
Jun 12, 2026, 11:36 PM@ascentale @pete @bikenite #BikeNite A1 Boonwurrung land, (Melbourne, Aus)
Australia, New Zealand, England, Jersey, France, Portugal, Spain, Switzerland, Italy, China -- makes 10 provided the channel isles / england / UK thing count as two
@ajft @ascentale @pete @bikenite I've sailed to the Channel Islands but never had access to a bicycle there. #BikeNite
@lopta @ajft @ascentale @pete @bikenite in the spirit of the original question, Jersey people are eligible to play for England. Useless fact of the day. #BikeNite #MattLeTissier
@ascentale @bikenite Posting from Atlanta!
I have only ridden in 1 country but I hope to add to that number eventually.
@ascentale @pete @bikenite A1. Northern Virginia as always.
One country. It might be more if there were a low-emissions way to get from my country to other counties, but we’re kinda stuck between some large oceans. #bikeNite
@ascentale @pete @bikenite
#BikeNite A1:
I'm posting from a hotel in Wallace Idaho.
I've ridden a bike in the USA and Canada.
By September, if all goes well, I'll add 3 countries to the list.
@ascentale @pete @bikenite
#BikeNite A1a:
While I've only ridden in 2 countries, I can boast that I've ridden in 39 USA states and 3 Canada provinces.
A1) posting from home in southern New Mexico. It's hot here.
I've ridden in the US, Canada, Germany, Chile, New Zealand, and Antarctica (I know, not a country)
@wanderinghermit @ascentale @pete @bikenite Antarctica warrants a special prize! #BikeNite
@ascentale @pete @bikenite A1 #BikeNite from the usual Boston suburb. I've biked in US, Canada, England, Denmark, Netherlands, Australia. Almost in Sweden, but I could not make the Donkey Bike rental work and so I used an e-scooter instead.
Posting from Londinium
A1. 4 (5 if you consider West Berlin was a separate country to West Germany)
UK
France
West Germany
Crete
@Pionir @ascentale @pete @bikenite West Berlin very definitely in East Germany, whatever the Four Powers Agreement might have said!
I'm posting from Berkeley, CA as usual today, on a very nice, sunny day. I have only ridden bikes in one country so far, but I have ridden in many states, as long as short trips to the store count!
@Heyweldon @ascentale @pete @bikenite
Say hi to my beloved #Berkeley for me!!
Jun 13, 2026, 12:56 AM@ascentale @pete @bikenite #BikeNite A1. Posting from my overheated bedroom in Northern New England, where, without air conditioning, it is an uncomfortable 87°F (30.6°C) in my bedroom, just now, at nearly 2100 EDT.
I have ridden a bicycle in the United States, only. None of my trips outside the US have involved bicycling.
@ascentale @pete @bikenite #bikenite A1, posting from Carbon County Montana. If being on a bike only for a few minutes counts, 5 but really only here in the US, though I would like to tour through the EU someday.
@ascentale @pete @bikenite
A1.
Posting from Arden, Ontario, Canada, on the Trans-Canada Trail.
I've ridden a bike only in Canada, though I've travelled into the US by car and by big truck.
#BikeNite
A1. Posting from Alameda, California.
3 countries:
US, China, France
I used to bike daily in Beijing to commute to work or run errands like getting a propane tank.
My spouse and I took a vacation in France where we hung out and toured Carcassone and then biked part of the Canal du Midi
Those are the ones I remember at the moment. I’m gonna go out to dinner with her in a bit and see if there aren’t a couple more.
(Edit: 4 countries. Mexico, Baja Sur, La Paz.)
Jun 13, 2026, 11:39 AMIsn't the Canal du Midi an absolute treat? I did it in a lovely barge with good friends a long time ago and keep threatening to go back.
@etp @ascentale @pete we only rode the path; getting a proper barge is on my list !
Jun 13, 2026, 1:59 AM@ascentale @pete @bikenite posting late from Central Illinois. I have fridays *off* for 8 weeks so I was doin' other things, not Coming Home From Work.
Lost power for some minutes tonight but got it back. Did NOT lose it last night dodging the assorted tornadoes.
@ascentale
Posting from sweet home Chicago. Seven – US, Italy, France, Canada, Mexico, and (technically – never went more than a few blocks) Belgium and Uruguay.
@pete @bikenite
@ascentale
Oh shit! How did I forget New Zealand?! All over South Island.
@pete @bikenite
@ascentale@sfba.social @pete@masto.hypertelia.com @bikenite@fedigroups.social A1: Posting from Seattle, WA. I've travelled to a lot of countries but only cycled in three—Japan, Canada and the US.
#BikeNite #MastoBikes #SEABikes
Jun 13, 2026, 2:32 AM@ascentale @pete @bikenite A1. Toots from World Cup Central, aka Atlanta! I've... only biked in the US so I suppose one country. Would like to do more bike traveling, but my wife is not as bike crazy as I am so short of one or more of our kids being bike nuts, it'll be something I would need to do alone which I'm not ecstatic about.
@ascentale @pete @bikenite #BikeNite A1. Ventura County, California. Only rode in one country, the USA. Hmm... maybe also as a kid visiting Beijing, China.. maybe.
@ascentale @pete @bikenite A1. I'm posting from Los Angeles, CA USA. I've only managed to ride a bike in the US. I attempted to ride one in Japan, but all of the bike rental places were closed for New Year's when we were there. #bikeNite
@ascentale @pete @bikenite a1. From my usual Seattle. I think 8 countries. The newest addition was Mexico
#BikeNite A1: Posting from #WaterlooRegion, in Canada, where I've ridden a bike. Also rode a bike in the Netherlands as a kid, and again when I went back in the 1980s. My Oma let me use my Opa's bike, and I rode around #Groningen.
I look at some of the videos of people people biking in the Netherlands - makes me want to go back someday.
Cycling Groningen: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC_08IDYY8z43zMiWb3Cvg1g
Bicycle Dutch: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC67YlPrRvsO117gFDM7UePg
Nic Laporte:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCntZaUVKDzZq0zJsIzdhwyg
@bobjonkman @ascentale @pete @bikenite biking in Groningen in the '80s was revolutionary
It didn't feel very revolutionary 🙂
There were lots of people cycling in Groningen in 1985. Perhaps not as many as today, and there may have been more cars on the road, and (from the videos) the cycling infrastructure has improved.
The clearest memory I have of those bike trips is how uncomfortable my Opa's bike was...
#BikeNite A1
@bobjonkman @ascentale @pete @bikenite it was only a few years after the city was converted into a bike city, so it was very novel at the time
Jun 13, 2026, 3:49 AM@ascentale @pete @bikenite A1. Back in Santa Clara, CA. Spent last weekend in Santa Cruz where there were a lot of bikes!
I’ve ridden in the US, Australia, and Denmark. So I guess three! #BikeNite
Jun 13, 2026, 4:59 PM@ascentale @pete @bikenite A1. Continued, but only one US state. I had plans to change that this summer, but I gave up that plan last week. #BikeNite
I'm in the Netherlands and I've cycled the entire country.
My first multi-day trip was coast-to-coast in the US.
From there I've biked in Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Scotland, England, (Northern)Ireland, Wales, Germany, Poland, Belgium, Luxemburg, France, Switzerland, Austria, Liechtenstein, Italy, Spain, Greece, Slovenia, Croatia
Also in Indonesia and Thailand and in the US again in Utah
@ascentale @pete @bikenite A1. hello from Bristol where I expect shortly to be riding one of the city's many convenient hire bicycles to get from dropping off Roach Major's new motor, to the restaurant for family lunch. #BikeNite
Five:
England, Wales, Man, Belgium, France, West Germany, Netherlands, of which five would field their own national footer team. I will add Scotland to the list next weekend if everything goes to plan.
@FourT4 @ascentale @pete @bikenite Are we not including the Isle of Wight?
It needs a ferry, so surely it counts? 😉