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I live in Chicago and use a cargo ebike with a child seat for probably 90% of my trips. I can take my kid to school, go shopping, and go to my office on my bike

I live in Chicago and use a cargo ebike with a child seat for probably 90% of my trips. I can take my kid to school, go shopping, and go to my office on my bike, often quicker than if I were to take a car. Chicago has (recently?) put a lot of focus on their bike infrastructure (protected bike lanes, bike signals, bike only paths, etc) and it seems pretty widely used.

lazide 1y ago
I’ve experienced Chicago winters. Do you put the kid in that seat?!?
- doctoboggan 1y ago
  Yes, with a warm coat and this full enclosure[0] she was happy in the winter. [0]: https://betterabound.familybikeride.org/img/winter-kit.jpg https://betterabound.familybikeride.org/img/winter-kit.jpg
- ty6853 1y ago
  The bigger problem in the winter is the drivers get even crazier and the roads can occasionally get icy. When I was bike only I had my arm damaged in a way that it took close to a decade to get back to normal. On another occasion I was knocked unconscious. Both occasions were drivers who left turned into a parking lot without looking, crossing a lane then going right into me in the bike lane. A car provides a nice cushion for those sorts of happening. I think if I had a child in either case there is a good chance they would be dead. While I support the right of people to make their own risk assessments for their family, I fear it is only a matter of time until they come to understand what I did about Chicago biking.
ghaff 1y ago
>protected bike lanes I'm certainly not opposed. But my observation in the relatively nearby city when I go in and sit on the sidewalk at a restaurant is that the fairly new protected bike lanes have a fairly terrifying combination of transportation modes (bikes, ebikes, things that I guess are ebikes but look almost like small motorbikes, escooters, and pedestrians crossing). And then, because they're in a bike lane, many seem to assume the signal at the next street doesn't apply to them. Not sure of the best answer.

lazide 1y ago

I’ve experienced Chicago winters. Do you put the kid in that seat?!?

doctoboggan 1y ago
Yes, with a warm coat and this full enclosure[0] she was happy in the winter. [0]: https://betterabound.familybikeride.org/img/winter-kit.jpg https://betterabound.familybikeride.org/img/winter-kit.jpg
ty6853 1y ago
The bigger problem in the winter is the drivers get even crazier and the roads can occasionally get icy. When I was bike only I had my arm damaged in a way that it took close to a decade to get back to normal. On another occasion I was knocked unconscious. Both occasions were drivers who left turned into a parking lot without looking, crossing a lane then going right into me in the bike lane. A car provides a nice cushion for those sorts of happening. I think if I had a child in either case there is a good chance they would be dead. While I support the right of people to make their own risk assessments for their family, I fear it is only a matter of time until they come to understand what I did about Chicago biking.

ghaff 1y ago

>protected bike lanes I'm certainly not opposed. But my observation in the relatively nearby city when I go in and sit on the sidewalk at a restaurant is that the fairly new protected bike lanes have a fairly terrifying combination of transportation modes (bikes, ebikes, things that I guess are ebikes but look almost like small motorbikes, escooters, and pedestrians crossing). And then, because they're in a bike lane, many seem to assume the signal at the next street doesn't apply to them. Not sure of the best answer.