4 ms·

Let's begin with the notion that a biking world is a decline in personal standard. A car makes you fat and poor. A bike makes you fit and rich. You'll be health

Let's begin with the notion that a biking world is a decline in personal standard. A car makes you fat and poor. A bike makes you fit and rich. You'll be healthier in bed with your wife. If not, women will check you out as you walk past them in your toned fit body. Living in a compact city means you'll meet friends more, you'll do more things. Your weekends won't be in front of a TV. They won't involve a 100 mile round trip to the strip mall. You'll hear the planet sing like a bird to the tune of your bike's bell. Fishes in oceans will celebrate MissedTheCue day and drink to excess in your memory. Polar bear will giving sermons holding you up as a shining beacon of hope.

abakker 5y ago
I think this answer does as much to ignore the car owners POV as they are ignoring yours. Bikes are of course great, and fitness is great. But, here in Colorado, even an E bike is impractical for the vast majority of simple errands simply because of distance. If you respond with "move to a city" you are failing in empathy. The existence of long distance trips with probably bad weather make bikes not the right answer for the vast majority of people outside of major cities in America. The right answer probably does include public infrastructure at a vast scale, but, our government cannot afford it, and it is not a foregone conclusion that the environmental impact of major construction of infrastructure is better than that of electric cars. The reason this is not a solved problem is because simple answers like "buy a bike" are not actually answers, they are deflections. As are the answers like, "there is no solution except a pickup truck". edit: removed sarcastic comment.
- JKCalhoun 5y ago
  > The right answer probably does include public infrastructure at a vast scale, but, our government cannot afford it… I'm not convinced of that. If the will were there, I am confident we could totally afford it.
  - netsharc 5y ago
    I agree, the idea that the government can't afford it is odd. When the lockdowns started, both parties quickly agreed to the pandemic bailout, because well, saying no would've meant political suicide. The US will never suffer Greece or Venezuela-style bankruptcy because the whole world will go down with it considering the US dollar's status. And what is credit other than trust, if I loan Bob some money I trust Bob will be able to pay it back, now Bob might get hit by a truck or start a gambling habit and his ability to pay me back would be reduced/gone, but the USA will always have income in the form of tax from productive people paying them. Then again maybe that's too simplistic, the USA could suffer an even worse political gridlock than what it currently has and grind to a halt.
  - abakker 5y ago
    How much do you think it would cost to get the infrastructure necessary to ensure that the US didn't need cars?
deleted 5y ago
[deleted]
collegeburner 5y ago
A car does neither. I am in great shape despite having one. A bike does not necessarily do either of those things. And I'm pretty happy getting the kinds of exercise I like (mostly lifting with a little running and swimming) not the kind the feds think I should get (biking). Also, do you know how much it sucks to bike after an intense leg day? And regardless I'd much rather not show up places sweat soaked (will happen on the 100 degree days) I didn't meet a lot more friends in a compact city than out of one. I never spend weekends in front of a TV, and the people who do will probably do that no matter what. Doesn't the massive decline that is losing the personal space of a house of my own, having land of my own, a yard of my own, no shared walls.
ifokiedoke 5y ago
Wish it were so simple. I (and my partner, an Urban Planning graduate!) had the exact same opinion as you until half a year ago my partner finally found a job out of school... in a small municipality. So we moved away from our very compact city of Toronto. The reality is just different here. We're not going to bike everywhere on the highway in Ontario in the winter, when it's -20C with windchill. We can't even get the government to bring internet to every street, much less bike lanes, street lighting, better infrastructure. My partner is really trying to make change at city hall, but it's just... difficult. And of course, we'd love to have kept living in Toronto, but it's completely unaffordable and this is where the job was. And thousands if not millions of other folks are living in similar realities. Perhaps we could convince everyone who lives in small towns to move to the city, but the city is already a difficult enough place to live. We should do everything we can as individuals to make this better, but that "everything" is getting the local government to actually do something to make biking a real possibility. Until then, blanket statements like yours are just humblebrags about either your city, your situation, or your amazing willpower.

abakker 5y ago

I think this answer does as much to ignore the car owners POV as they are ignoring yours. Bikes are of course great, and fitness is great. But, here in Colorado, even an E bike is impractical for the vast majority of simple errands simply because of distance. If you respond with "move to a city" you are failing in empathy. The existence of long distance trips with probably bad weather make bikes not the right answer for the vast majority of people outside of major cities in America. The right answer probably does include public infrastructure at a vast scale, but, our government cannot afford it, and it is not a foregone conclusion that the environmental impact of major construction of infrastructure is better than that of electric cars. The reason this is not a solved problem is because simple answers like "buy a bike" are not actually answers, they are deflections. As are the answers like, "there is no solution except a pickup truck". edit: removed sarcastic comment.

JKCalhoun 5y ago
> The right answer probably does include public infrastructure at a vast scale, but, our government cannot afford it… I'm not convinced of that. If the will were there, I am confident we could totally afford it.
- netsharc 5y ago
  I agree, the idea that the government can't afford it is odd. When the lockdowns started, both parties quickly agreed to the pandemic bailout, because well, saying no would've meant political suicide. The US will never suffer Greece or Venezuela-style bankruptcy because the whole world will go down with it considering the US dollar's status. And what is credit other than trust, if I loan Bob some money I trust Bob will be able to pay it back, now Bob might get hit by a truck or start a gambling habit and his ability to pay me back would be reduced/gone, but the USA will always have income in the form of tax from productive people paying them. Then again maybe that's too simplistic, the USA could suffer an even worse political gridlock than what it currently has and grind to a halt.
- abakker 5y ago
  How much do you think it would cost to get the infrastructure necessary to ensure that the US didn't need cars?

deleted 5y ago

[deleted]

collegeburner 5y ago

A car does neither. I am in great shape despite having one. A bike does not necessarily do either of those things. And I'm pretty happy getting the kinds of exercise I like (mostly lifting with a little running and swimming) not the kind the feds think I should get (biking). Also, do you know how much it sucks to bike after an intense leg day? And regardless I'd much rather not show up places sweat soaked (will happen on the 100 degree days) I didn't meet a lot more friends in a compact city than out of one. I never spend weekends in front of a TV, and the people who do will probably do that no matter what. Doesn't the massive decline that is losing the personal space of a house of my own, having land of my own, a yard of my own, no shared walls.

ifokiedoke 5y ago

Wish it were so simple. I (and my partner, an Urban Planning graduate!) had the exact same opinion as you until half a year ago my partner finally found a job out of school... in a small municipality. So we moved away from our very compact city of Toronto. The reality is just different here. We're not going to bike everywhere on the highway in Ontario in the winter, when it's -20C with windchill. We can't even get the government to bring internet to every street, much less bike lanes, street lighting, better infrastructure. My partner is really trying to make change at city hall, but it's just... difficult. And of course, we'd love to have kept living in Toronto, but it's completely unaffordable and this is where the job was. And thousands if not millions of other folks are living in similar realities. Perhaps we could convince everyone who lives in small towns to move to the city, but the city is already a difficult enough place to live. We should do everything we can as individuals to make this better, but that "everything" is getting the local government to actually do something to make biking a real possibility. Until then, blanket statements like yours are just humblebrags about either your city, your situation, or your amazing willpower.