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"Car culture" generally brings out the same primate programming you see in the "comments section". There's a level of pseudo-anonymity that brings out the aggre

"Car culture" generally brings out the same primate programming you see in the "comments section". There's a level of pseudo-anonymity that brings out the aggressive asshole in all of us and make it unsafe for the most vulnerable. Its night and day when you are on a bicycle versus a car. I get conversations and interactions with people while biking that makes the experience so much more "human" (for lack of a better word). I have been preaching car-free downtowns for years, and continue to believe it is the correct next step for healthy city and town life.

deleted 9y ago
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kazinator 9y ago
> I get conversations and interactions with people while biking. Never happens for me. Probably because I'm about twice as fast as the average cyclist and basically pass them like they are standing still. The guys that go head to head with me or that I can't keep up with tend not to be conversationalists, which suits me fine. Riding side by side and chatting, in traffic, would be impractical, even if either of us wanted to. The stops at intersections are brief. Plus you get separated; one just makes the green light, the other stops and that's it. And then, what's there to say? "Hi, I know everything about bicycle maintenance and fitness". "Wow, me too!" "`Kay, see you later".
- jedrek 9y ago
  > I'm about twice as fast as the average cyclist A TDF winner then?
rconti 9y ago
One article I read suggested that the helmet de-humanizes the cyclist in the same way a car de-humanizes drivers. This is one reason pedestrians are treated better than cyclists. This is not a suggestion to not wear a helmet, although there is ample evidence that you're better off without one. That said, I'll take my chances and wear a helmet :)
- kazinator 9y ago
  > there is ample evidence that you're better off without one. Not anything that can be called rational evidence. I've suffered several falls in which I heard a very loud crack: that of helmet hitting pavement, hard. That would have been my head, each time.
  - rconti 9y ago
    http://www.howiechong.com/journal/2014/2/bike-helmets http://www.howiechong.com/journal/2014/2/bike-helmets It's not enough for me; I wear a helmet each and every time I ride (well, except on recent bike-shares in Paris, Stockholm, Vienna, and Munich, where none were available). But I've crashed bicycles a number of times in my life, even once crashing into a car as a teenager (flipped, bounced off the car, hit the ground) and still never hit my head. Anyway, it's just interesting to read about what causes head injuries and what makes a cyclist prone (or not) to them.
- Buldak 9y ago
  That seems dubious to me. I think that pedestrians are viewed more favorably than cyclists mainly because everyone spends a lot of time as a pedestrian. By contrast, most people aren't cyclists, which means that drivers tend to view them as an out-group, and therefore an object of contempt. This also helps to explain why people are often more incensed by traffic violations by cyclists than by drivers or pedestrians.

deleted 9y ago

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kazinator 9y ago

> I get conversations and interactions with people while biking. Never happens for me. Probably because I'm about twice as fast as the average cyclist and basically pass them like they are standing still. The guys that go head to head with me or that I can't keep up with tend not to be conversationalists, which suits me fine. Riding side by side and chatting, in traffic, would be impractical, even if either of us wanted to. The stops at intersections are brief. Plus you get separated; one just makes the green light, the other stops and that's it. And then, what's there to say? "Hi, I know everything about bicycle maintenance and fitness". "Wow, me too!" "`Kay, see you later".

jedrek 9y ago
> I'm about twice as fast as the average cyclist A TDF winner then?

rconti 9y ago

One article I read suggested that the helmet de-humanizes the cyclist in the same way a car de-humanizes drivers. This is one reason pedestrians are treated better than cyclists. This is not a suggestion to not wear a helmet, although there is ample evidence that you're better off without one. That said, I'll take my chances and wear a helmet :)

kazinator 9y ago
> there is ample evidence that you're better off without one. Not anything that can be called rational evidence. I've suffered several falls in which I heard a very loud crack: that of helmet hitting pavement, hard. That would have been my head, each time.
- rconti 9y ago
  http://www.howiechong.com/journal/2014/2/bike-helmets http://www.howiechong.com/journal/2014/2/bike-helmets It's not enough for me; I wear a helmet each and every time I ride (well, except on recent bike-shares in Paris, Stockholm, Vienna, and Munich, where none were available). But I've crashed bicycles a number of times in my life, even once crashing into a car as a teenager (flipped, bounced off the car, hit the ground) and still never hit my head. Anyway, it's just interesting to read about what causes head injuries and what makes a cyclist prone (or not) to them.
Buldak 9y ago
That seems dubious to me. I think that pedestrians are viewed more favorably than cyclists mainly because everyone spends a lot of time as a pedestrian. By contrast, most people aren't cyclists, which means that drivers tend to view them as an out-group, and therefore an object of contempt. This also helps to explain why people are often more incensed by traffic violations by cyclists than by drivers or pedestrians.