because conservatives are fat
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Bikes are awesome. I would love to experience the joy of waking up in the morning and riding a bike to work. No traffic, healthy and all that good shit. I live, however, 40min away from my work by car and 3 hours by bike, one way. I dont see this changing in the foreseeable future so my idea of freedom has to be something different.
In Europe this would likely be 30 mins commute on a train if you work in any sizable city. And you can take your bike on the train and finish the rest of the commute on the bike.
Cop pulls you over on a bicycle:
"Drivers License and registration please"
"I don't need those, I'm not driving this bicycle, I'm travelling on it officer. Private conveyance. I don't contract with DMV."
"Right you are sir, have a nice day!"
Why haven't the sovcits cottoned on to this loophole?!
I'm still confused how they didn't argue
Why didn't the cop shoot them? Did this conversation happen in Europe?
Nothing feels more like freedom than being stuck in a traffic jam.
Cars are the ultimate symbol of freedom because you just get in and go wherever to do whatever.
Pick nanna up? sure. Go buy her groceries? Sure. In the pouring rain? Ok. Pick up her dog from the vet? Yep. Drop by the garden store and grab 50kg of fertilizer? You bet.
You can do all of those things with out any planning or notice. You just get in and go wherever the day takes you.
I'm a bit bonkers about bikes. I have a cargo e-bike. It absolutely could do all of these things in separate trips. Doing all of them together would be a challenge but I am 100% here for that so long as nanna is. The main difference is planning. You need different gear, like a bike trailer for example. You're also probably going to pick the right time of day, like early before it gets too hot or too windy, provided that it's not raining.
That freedom comes at quite a cost. Both to the driver and society. Riding a bike puts the "free" in freedom
Frankly I find bikes stupid as a proposed method of transportation.
I would love to see cities designed around everything needed being in walking distance, with a supply of inexpensive rentable cars for the things that aren't, like meeting friends that live elsewhere, so we can travel between walkable locations, but at no time do bikes seem a reasonable option.
They have so many inconveniences and problems attached, and don't provide enough transportation utility to make up for it.
A car provides shelter, climate control, a comfortable and relaxing ride, and enough cargo space to transport most things we could need to transport on any sort of regular basis.
A bike meanwhile provides no shelter from the elements or outdoor temperature, an uncomfortable ride that digs into your ass, requires you to exert yourself significantly, and has between zero and very little cargo space; certainly not enough to do something like shopping for groceries.
Pushing for using bikes as primary transport is ridiculous; there's a small number of people for which that would work, but for most it doesn't and never will. For most people, things are either in walking distance, or you need a car, so it'd be a lot better to restructure our living spaces around walking.
Have you ever seen Amsterdam? About 60% of people ride a bike daily, and it accounts for about 40% of all traffic movements in the city.
If you replaced all of these bike journeys with cars, the yearly economic burden would be around €750,000,000 (~$785,000,000) from congestion alone. Are bikes good for all journeys, no. But it's hard to say that most cities wouldn't benefit from design that allows more short bike journeys.
If you're willing to walk somewhere then the idea of the bike is to make that trip quicker and expand the range of the trip in the time you have. Not to replace all car journeys.
That's a lot of words to say you've never been to Europe
Aren't you late for your intravenous coca cola injection? Shhhh....don't exert yourself.
Where are you all buying bike that don't hurt your wallet to replace? I guess there are Walmart bikes but I've literally had a huffy fall apart while in motion.
If replacing the bike is a concern (I'm assuming due to theft etc), then buy used. Not only do they cost less, they also look cheaper. It does require you to put in some work if you want to be cheap. But that's the same with a car, it won't magically change its brakes either.
Auctions by municipalities, police and the like are a good tip if you have time and the skills to determine what is a hopeless trash pile and what is slightly rusted but good quality.
Online listings, but it requires patience.
Bike groups/coops/repair shops, if you have decent ones.
Used bikes can be had for like 20 bucks. You even find them for free on the side of the street, but you just need bolt cutters.