Is it? I thought all of Silicon Valley was pretty densely populated, and that's more than just San Jose.
In any case, biking works best when distances aren't too big. Amsterdam is probably the bike capital of the world (more bikes than people), but biking from a suburb on one side of the city to one on the opposite side is pretty rare (except for the more dedicated biker, obviously). You're a fool if you take a car into the city center (many people don't even own one), but around the edges, cars work fine.
Although my wife, who is not a dedicated cyclist at all and usually commutes by car, has had a time where she regularly cycled 17 km to Schiphol.
In any case, biking works best when distances aren't too big. Amsterdam is probably the bike capital of the world (more bikes than people), but biking from a suburb on one side of the city to one on the opposite side is pretty rare (except for the more dedicated biker, obviously). You're a fool if you take a car into the city center (many people don't even own one), but around the edges, cars work fine.
Although my wife, who is not a dedicated cyclist at all and usually commutes by car, has had a time where she regularly cycled 17 km to Schiphol.