4 ms·

This feels like trying to shove this into the opportunity available. There is no indication that cycling is better for the virus. If anything it might make thin

This feels like trying to shove this into the opportunity available. There is no indication that cycling is better for the virus. If anything it might make things bad. You now have people sweating all over and trying to take showers and so touching everything. I thought the page will talk about scientific advantages to cycling or something like that but it just rambles hope about cycling benefiting from this.

pajaroide 6y ago
Beats public transport where people are shoved in without any social distancing.
ogre_codes 6y ago
> This feels like trying to shove this into the opportunity available. There is no indication that cycling is better for the virus. If anything it might make things bad. You now have people sweating all over and trying to take showers and so touching everything. I don't think you understand what this is about. Most of the cycling for transportation is short hops, 0.5 - 2 miles and low key. No sweating or showers involved unless you live in Phoenix (in which case you have my sympathy regardless). I have a 7 mile commute and since it's cool in the morning and I'm not working out hard. I don't need to shower when I get to work. Also, e-bikes are likely to be a bike part of this which makes the sweatiness even less an issue even if your commute is longer. It does feel like they are trying to shove this solution in there to some extent. Many large cities have been trying to find ways to increase the amount of cycling and walking regardless. Cars and their infinite demand for resources (parking, wider roads, gas stations) have become a growth dead-end in dense urban areas.
kristo 6y ago
Not defending the article, but if the alternative is for everyone to drive cars, I think you need to think about what that means for a second. 1. Everyone in the US has to own and maintain a car. (I've saved $85k by not owning a car over the past 10 years.) 2. We have an increase in the number of 2000 lb steel boxes driving around, polluting, being built and trashed. 3. More drivers, more deaths. Driving is already a leading cause of death in the US. 4. Further sprawl, growing infrastructure costs, higher taxes. 5. Further decline of spontaneous interactions in the US. There are many many other negative externalities of car dependence. Cycling is an opportunity to reduce our car dependence, and is safer than public transportation for COVID. Yes, sitting in your personal, 40 thousand dollar, 2 ton steel box anytime you leave the house is the best way to avoid COVID transmission. But it also destroys the earth, social ties, lives, etc.
- the_gastropod 6y ago
  > Yes, sitting in your personal, 40 thousand dollar, 2 ton steel box anytime you leave the house is the best way to avoid COVID transmission. But it also destroys the earth, social ties, lives, etc. I think there's another point you've missed. You sitting in your personal 2 ton steel box is good for you, but it practically takes up the entire street space, and forces pedestrians to stay on the much narrower sidewalks, breaking the 6 foot social distancing rule-of-thumb. Opening up the streets to bicycles and pedestrians allows people to use the street to maintain safe distances.
  - astrea 6y ago
    I think this is a cute ideal for a world in which we all live in dense cities and have no business going anywhere but other places in the city. But in reality, I have business in other cities, even states. Work-related travel as well as visiting family. The former could surely be adjusted, but not the latter.
    - adrianN 6y ago
      A very large fraction of all car trips are shorter than 10km. Those can be replaced with bicycles in most climates most of the time.
    - vertex-four 6y ago
      Ok... so drive when you drive to another city. Or even better, take a train.
    - the_gastropod 6y ago
      How many pedestrians do you typically see on the highways between cities? I'm talking strictly about streets inside cities. Cars are great tools for traveling great distances. They're a ridiculous tool for traveling inside cities. They should be looked at with a similar level of absurdity as taking a cruise ship out on the lake for a weekend fishing trip. It's a very American attitude that this is "cute" or "idealistic". In cities like Copenhagen and Amsterdam, bicycles dominate intra-city transportation. And what's funny about these cities is that they have worse cycling weather than most US cities.
nradov 6y ago
Coronavirus isn't spread through sweat. https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/health/conditions-and-diseases/coronavirus/coronavirus-frequently-asked-questions https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/health/conditions-and-diseas...

pajaroide 6y ago

Beats public transport where people are shoved in without any social distancing.

ogre_codes 6y ago

> This feels like trying to shove this into the opportunity available. There is no indication that cycling is better for the virus. If anything it might make things bad. You now have people sweating all over and trying to take showers and so touching everything. I don't think you understand what this is about. Most of the cycling for transportation is short hops, 0.5 - 2 miles and low key. No sweating or showers involved unless you live in Phoenix (in which case you have my sympathy regardless). I have a 7 mile commute and since it's cool in the morning and I'm not working out hard. I don't need to shower when I get to work. Also, e-bikes are likely to be a bike part of this which makes the sweatiness even less an issue even if your commute is longer. It does feel like they are trying to shove this solution in there to some extent. Many large cities have been trying to find ways to increase the amount of cycling and walking regardless. Cars and their infinite demand for resources (parking, wider roads, gas stations) have become a growth dead-end in dense urban areas.

kristo 6y ago

Not defending the article, but if the alternative is for everyone to drive cars, I think you need to think about what that means for a second. 1. Everyone in the US has to own and maintain a car. (I've saved $85k by not owning a car over the past 10 years.) 2. We have an increase in the number of 2000 lb steel boxes driving around, polluting, being built and trashed. 3. More drivers, more deaths. Driving is already a leading cause of death in the US. 4. Further sprawl, growing infrastructure costs, higher taxes. 5. Further decline of spontaneous interactions in the US. There are many many other negative externalities of car dependence. Cycling is an opportunity to reduce our car dependence, and is safer than public transportation for COVID. Yes, sitting in your personal, 40 thousand dollar, 2 ton steel box anytime you leave the house is the best way to avoid COVID transmission. But it also destroys the earth, social ties, lives, etc.

the_gastropod 6y ago
> Yes, sitting in your personal, 40 thousand dollar, 2 ton steel box anytime you leave the house is the best way to avoid COVID transmission. But it also destroys the earth, social ties, lives, etc. I think there's another point you've missed. You sitting in your personal 2 ton steel box is good for you, but it practically takes up the entire street space, and forces pedestrians to stay on the much narrower sidewalks, breaking the 6 foot social distancing rule-of-thumb. Opening up the streets to bicycles and pedestrians allows people to use the street to maintain safe distances.
- astrea 6y ago
  I think this is a cute ideal for a world in which we all live in dense cities and have no business going anywhere but other places in the city. But in reality, I have business in other cities, even states. Work-related travel as well as visiting family. The former could surely be adjusted, but not the latter.
  - adrianN 6y ago
    A very large fraction of all car trips are shorter than 10km. Those can be replaced with bicycles in most climates most of the time.
  - vertex-four 6y ago
    Ok... so drive when you drive to another city. Or even better, take a train.
  - the_gastropod 6y ago
    How many pedestrians do you typically see on the highways between cities? I'm talking strictly about streets inside cities. Cars are great tools for traveling great distances. They're a ridiculous tool for traveling inside cities. They should be looked at with a similar level of absurdity as taking a cruise ship out on the lake for a weekend fishing trip. It's a very American attitude that this is "cute" or "idealistic". In cities like Copenhagen and Amsterdam, bicycles dominate intra-city transportation. And what's funny about these cities is that they have worse cycling weather than most US cities.

nradov 6y ago

Coronavirus isn't spread through sweat. https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/health/conditions-and-diseases/coronavirus/coronavirus-frequently-asked-questions https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/health/conditions-and-diseas...