So the tracks are already there they just don't run passenger trains on it?..

Okay, so counterpoint: In a lot of ways, the EU is like a country. And it’s a large one - maybe not quite the US’s size, but big. And much of it is bike friendly.

No, people don’t traverse the mountains in their little hand-me-down red bike. But they don’t often traverse those mountains every month anyway. And when they do, trains exist for that.

So this exposes not a landmass problem, but an urban planning problem. It is the easiest thing in the world to stand in the middle of an 8-lane stroad in the boonies, where people are waiting 5 minutes to traverse two blocks of traffic lights to get to the quarter-square-mile parking lot outside their coffee shop, praying you’re not killed as you wait for the walk signal, and scream at the top of your lungs “What in the everloving fuck is the point of all this?” And it would be a family-friendly exasperation since it would be drowned out by engine noise.

We can build about 8 new walking-friendly cities in the space taken up by one goddamn McDonald’s parking lot.

people who live in 90% of the least densely populated land on earth are... not that many people in the grand scheme of things.

And if you live close enough to civilization to have utilities like power maybe it's possible to also have a grocery store that's closer than average distance between towns in germany. Might even be beneficial idk.

15 mile with an electric bike and good infrastructure that let you go fast is doable. And electric bike is already so much better than a car because it weight much less and as such consume much less. But I agree overall it does not replace a train because people won't cycle when it rains.

Why the fuck is the nearest produce section 15 miles away? That's a major planning failure. Most trips that Americans take are less than 3 miles, so planning by population would be a lot more sensible than planning by land mass.

My country runs courses for adults to learn how to bike - maybe yours does the same?

The more you ride, the better you get. Try include cycling into your exercise, and within a year you should be better with it.