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Not to be glib, but a bicycle solves a lot of the medium range issues. I have a car but use it sparingly. Anything inside of 15 miles or so is fair game and I’

Not to be glib, but a bicycle solves a lot of the medium range issues. I have a car but use it sparingly. Anything inside of 15 miles or so is fair game and I’m almost always faster than a car and guaranteed faster than public transportation. Kid and grocery hauling is well within reason. And my weather is about as weird as yours.

NikolaNovak 8y ago
For people in good health, for people with flexibility of time and condition they arrive to target in, for people in cities with amenable climate, for select times of year. Not to be glib, but what about the old, the young, those who cannot come in sweaty to work, those who don't live in Caribbean / those who need to get out of their house more than 6-8 weeks out of the year, those of poor health or limited mobility, those in places which are not friendly to bikes, those who need to go with somebody, those who need to carry stuff, etc? My pregnant wife, my 73 year old dad, my waist-down-paralyzed nephew, my asthmatic self (no made-up examples) cannot take 15 mile trips in Canadian Winter through a place lovingly called "Halton Hills". I have two friends who can. They did for one season, they told everybody how awesome they are, and their bikes are now in the locker.
jimmaswell 8y ago
I drive my car less than half a mile to a Wendy's on a regular basis. On a bike I wouldn't be able to bring my dog, it would be weird using the drive-thru, it would be uncomfortable on all but the few days of the year that are a perfect temperature, and I'd be much less safe in the case of an accident (people don't look at all coming out of this one place they're supposed to yield sometimes). And taking home the amount of groceries that I do on a bike would be impractical, and if put in a backpack, probably hurt my back. I cherish having the choice to take a car to these kinds of places. No way a bike would be faster because whenever there's someone on a bike in front of me on these routes, I have to slow down, and these routes are never badly congested. Admittedly riding a bicycle in a bike lane can be a lot faster in some of the most congested parts of the country like Manhattan, but there often aren't bike lanes and using sidewalks is a point of contention.
- KozmoNau7 8y ago
  >"On a bike I wouldn't be able to bring my dog" Your dog can run leashed next to your bike, it's a very common way to walk dogs. Or you could even walk, half a mile is super close. >"it would be weird using the drive-thru" Yeah probably a bit. Go inside instead and sit down to eat, maybe? >"it would be uncomfortable on all but the few days of the year that are a perfect temperature" You get used to it extremely quickly, trust me :-) >"I'd be much less safe in the case of an accident" Even in a car, I would avoid a place like that, and find an alternate route. That just sounds like an accident waiting to happen, to be honest, no matter your mode of transport. >>"And taking home the amount of groceries that I do on a bike would be impractical“ Yeah, if you only shop once every week or even two weeks. My girlfriend and I manage grocery shopping quite well on foot and bike, and I would think we buy an average amount for two people. I know it's easiest to stick with what you know, but there's always an alternative.
  - jimmaswell 8y ago
    > Your dog can run leashed next to your bike, it's a very common way to walk dogs. Or you could even walk, half a mile is super close. Biking across a street with her beside me? No. She freezes sometimes when there's something like a dog or just a person she doesn't like in the distance, and she can be stubborn about running regardless. If I was biking at a speed she could keep up with then I might as well walk. And I wouldn't make her stay outside that long in extremely high or low temperatures, especially 10 minutes both ways. > Yeah probably a bit. Go inside instead and sit down to eat, maybe? Like I said, I like to bring my dog, and you can't bring doge inside a restaurant. Taking her with me there and giving her a bit of bacon/whatever has been a great positive reinforcement to make her see car rides as a positive. > Even in a car, I would avoid a place like that, and find an alternate route. That just sounds like an accident waiting to happen, to be honest, no matter your mode of transport. You're less visible in a bike. It's not a big deal with a car, I just go slow and stay prepared to stop. The speed limit the entire trip is 25mph at most. >You get used to it extremely quickly, trust me :-) > I know it's easiest to stick with what you know, but there's always an alternative. In college I walked across campus for food daily. At my job training when I was in a hotel I walked to the nearby mall or Wendy's for food daily. I never particularly got used to freezing temperatures on my face (and sometimes texting gloves weren't enough for the hands) and very hot temperatures. Even in nice weather I didn't like all the walking college entailed. After all this I greatly appreciate having the option of driving, not to mention that I've come to enjoy driving in its own right.

NikolaNovak 8y ago

For people in good health, for people with flexibility of time and condition they arrive to target in, for people in cities with amenable climate, for select times of year. Not to be glib, but what about the old, the young, those who cannot come in sweaty to work, those who don't live in Caribbean / those who need to get out of their house more than 6-8 weeks out of the year, those of poor health or limited mobility, those in places which are not friendly to bikes, those who need to go with somebody, those who need to carry stuff, etc? My pregnant wife, my 73 year old dad, my waist-down-paralyzed nephew, my asthmatic self (no made-up examples) cannot take 15 mile trips in Canadian Winter through a place lovingly called "Halton Hills". I have two friends who can. They did for one season, they told everybody how awesome they are, and their bikes are now in the locker.

jimmaswell 8y ago

I drive my car less than half a mile to a Wendy's on a regular basis. On a bike I wouldn't be able to bring my dog, it would be weird using the drive-thru, it would be uncomfortable on all but the few days of the year that are a perfect temperature, and I'd be much less safe in the case of an accident (people don't look at all coming out of this one place they're supposed to yield sometimes). And taking home the amount of groceries that I do on a bike would be impractical, and if put in a backpack, probably hurt my back. I cherish having the choice to take a car to these kinds of places. No way a bike would be faster because whenever there's someone on a bike in front of me on these routes, I have to slow down, and these routes are never badly congested. Admittedly riding a bicycle in a bike lane can be a lot faster in some of the most congested parts of the country like Manhattan, but there often aren't bike lanes and using sidewalks is a point of contention.

KozmoNau7 8y ago
>"On a bike I wouldn't be able to bring my dog" Your dog can run leashed next to your bike, it's a very common way to walk dogs. Or you could even walk, half a mile is super close. >"it would be weird using the drive-thru" Yeah probably a bit. Go inside instead and sit down to eat, maybe? >"it would be uncomfortable on all but the few days of the year that are a perfect temperature" You get used to it extremely quickly, trust me :-) >"I'd be much less safe in the case of an accident" Even in a car, I would avoid a place like that, and find an alternate route. That just sounds like an accident waiting to happen, to be honest, no matter your mode of transport. >>"And taking home the amount of groceries that I do on a bike would be impractical“ Yeah, if you only shop once every week or even two weeks. My girlfriend and I manage grocery shopping quite well on foot and bike, and I would think we buy an average amount for two people. I know it's easiest to stick with what you know, but there's always an alternative.
- jimmaswell 8y ago
  > Your dog can run leashed next to your bike, it's a very common way to walk dogs. Or you could even walk, half a mile is super close. Biking across a street with her beside me? No. She freezes sometimes when there's something like a dog or just a person she doesn't like in the distance, and she can be stubborn about running regardless. If I was biking at a speed she could keep up with then I might as well walk. And I wouldn't make her stay outside that long in extremely high or low temperatures, especially 10 minutes both ways. > Yeah probably a bit. Go inside instead and sit down to eat, maybe? Like I said, I like to bring my dog, and you can't bring doge inside a restaurant. Taking her with me there and giving her a bit of bacon/whatever has been a great positive reinforcement to make her see car rides as a positive. > Even in a car, I would avoid a place like that, and find an alternate route. That just sounds like an accident waiting to happen, to be honest, no matter your mode of transport. You're less visible in a bike. It's not a big deal with a car, I just go slow and stay prepared to stop. The speed limit the entire trip is 25mph at most. >You get used to it extremely quickly, trust me :-) > I know it's easiest to stick with what you know, but there's always an alternative. In college I walked across campus for food daily. At my job training when I was in a hotel I walked to the nearby mall or Wendy's for food daily. I never particularly got used to freezing temperatures on my face (and sometimes texting gloves weren't enough for the hands) and very hot temperatures. Even in nice weather I didn't like all the walking college entailed. After all this I greatly appreciate having the option of driving, not to mention that I've come to enjoy driving in its own right.