4 ms·

Very few people want to walk 5 miles for groceries. I'm lucky enough to be able to walk to my grocery store, and even being healthy and able, 1 mile each way is

by i80and 10mo ago

Very few people want to walk 5 miles for groceries. I'm lucky enough to be able to walk to my grocery store, and even being healthy and able, 1 mile each way is the most I want to do. Bicycling would make 5 miles a cinch, however.

calmbonsai 10mo ago
Not related, cargo bikes absolutely rule if you have a decent climate and suitably safe biking infrastructure.
- oblio 10mo ago
  Even the "decent climate" range is actually huge, <especially with ebikes>. Basically I can think of only a one climate where life on bikes is really hard: very hot and humid. Hot and dry is manageable since when cycling you naturally create cooling currents around you; you need to wear appropriate clothing (sunglasses + cap or helmet with shaded visor; appropriate long sleeved shirt, appropriate pants and shoes). https://youtu.be/2opQQP13lPI?si=LdhJnF8yLKrVNuGM https://youtu.be/2opQQP13lPI?si=LdhJnF8yLKrVNuGM (for long sleeved shirts) Cold climates are super manageable with appropriate clothing, bar mitts and most crucially of all: <well designed bike infrastructure including priority maintenance, just like for car infrastructure>. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uhx-26GfCBU https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uhx-26GfCBU Of course super extreme weather like -30C or +40C at some point makes any active transportation close to impossible, but the vast majority of people don't live in those conditions and the people that do live like that, only do it for max 1-2 months per year. 99.99% of these issues are actually failures of infrastructure design and implementation. For snowy conditions: daily snow plowing, debris removal, salting to prevent ice formation, etc, etc. For hot conditions: planting trees, removing asphalt (for example grassy tram/train lines; parking spots with grass pavers (https://buildwithabs.com/product/grass-pavers/ https://buildwithabs.com/product/grass-pavers/), designing tall buildings to shade urban sidewalks, etc. Also, infrastructure doesn't just need to safe, it needs to be maintained as critical infrastructure, just like for cars, so that the infra is not degraded in practice.
  - calmbonsai 10mo ago
    > Basically I can think of only a one climate where life on bikes is really hard: very hot and humid. Truth. I used to live in D.C. and our office was so enthused about bike-commuting we lobbied the building to install showers and a small locker-room so folks could change. It lasted about a year. It was just too time consuming to maintain "bike clothes & work clothes" and change into/out of them (we're talking suits) every workday. Now I live in Boulder, CO and we've got both better (drier) weather and athleisure sartorial standards--win win!

by i80and 10mo ago

calmbonsai 10mo ago

Not related, cargo bikes absolutely rule if you have a decent climate and suitably safe biking infrastructure.

oblio 10mo ago
Even the "decent climate" range is actually huge, <especially with ebikes>. Basically I can think of only a one climate where life on bikes is really hard: very hot and humid. Hot and dry is manageable since when cycling you naturally create cooling currents around you; you need to wear appropriate clothing (sunglasses + cap or helmet with shaded visor; appropriate long sleeved shirt, appropriate pants and shoes). https://youtu.be/2opQQP13lPI?si=LdhJnF8yLKrVNuGM https://youtu.be/2opQQP13lPI?si=LdhJnF8yLKrVNuGM (for long sleeved shirts) Cold climates are super manageable with appropriate clothing, bar mitts and most crucially of all: <well designed bike infrastructure including priority maintenance, just like for car infrastructure>. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uhx-26GfCBU https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uhx-26GfCBU Of course super extreme weather like -30C or +40C at some point makes any active transportation close to impossible, but the vast majority of people don't live in those conditions and the people that do live like that, only do it for max 1-2 months per year. 99.99% of these issues are actually failures of infrastructure design and implementation. For snowy conditions: daily snow plowing, debris removal, salting to prevent ice formation, etc, etc. For hot conditions: planting trees, removing asphalt (for example grassy tram/train lines; parking spots with grass pavers (https://buildwithabs.com/product/grass-pavers/ https://buildwithabs.com/product/grass-pavers/), designing tall buildings to shade urban sidewalks, etc. Also, infrastructure doesn't just need to safe, it needs to be maintained as critical infrastructure, just like for cars, so that the infra is not degraded in practice.
- calmbonsai 10mo ago
  > Basically I can think of only a one climate where life on bikes is really hard: very hot and humid. Truth. I used to live in D.C. and our office was so enthused about bike-commuting we lobbied the building to install showers and a small locker-room so folks could change. It lasted about a year. It was just too time consuming to maintain "bike clothes & work clothes" and change into/out of them (we're talking suits) every workday. Now I live in Boulder, CO and we've got both better (drier) weather and athleisure sartorial standards--win win!