People say cars give you freedom and while in a lot of places that you can’t get anywhere without one by design that may be true, being able to get around under your own power has always felt like freedom to me.
While I like to cycle, I also like to go places. Where I live, some places are just too far to get to by bike (I don’t have a shower at work and 70km one way is a decent ride).
To me a car provides a considerable amount of freedom. A bike provides me a different kind of freedom.
It’s really just situational mode of transport. If everyone ride a bike for trip shorter than 10km, if there’s great public transport and bicycle infrastructure to support the biking system, and if places are build in way that’s easier to have public transport to serve, then car will have the kind of freedom it promise.
Still, motorcycle does solve the issue, it’s a middle ground for car and bicycle, it can go long range with less emission, it can free up a lot of space that car will take, and it also help you explore places. In Malaysia, there’s almost an equal amount of car and motorcycle on the road. Sure, it does have problem with people riding like a racer and weave around due to not having enough enforcement, but I’d imagine the traffic get worst without it. And it’s not like car didn’t do that as well.
I’m in the market for an electric motocycle that can travel highway speeds and gave a span of at least 200 km for commuting.
Needs to be privacy friendly though. So no apps or accounts. Just a key and a simple dashboard.
Unfortunately i still haven’t heard of any electric motorcycle that can travel such range. You have better option for ICE one though.
I believe zero motocycles offers some options, but they require you to use a cellphone as dashboard if I recall correctly
What if you were to go half and half with a motorcycle?
I’d go full on a motocycle if I found a good electrical one, got the loan for it, get a drivers license for it.
you’re right, in that context a car provides a different kind of freedom. it shouldn’t be like that though.
It gives you freedom to drive to the next gas station.
I lived rurally most my life and now I live near a downtown core. I still miss the country but i do love being able to walk to the majority of my needs.
Exactly.
When I’m in my car, I feel trapped into going to places with decent parking lots. When I’m in my bike, I can go anywhere. I park right next to the entrance of stores, I can ride into and across parks, I can stop right next to the lake front, etc. Oh, and I never need to fill up gas or plug in my bike, I just hop on and go.
The main downside is all the cars in the way.
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Except when its hot
Much better than walking when its hot tho.
Dress in light, airy clothing and don’t wear a backpack, strap it on the bicycle rack or carrier. Then it’s usually quite nice, especially if you can get a bit of speed.
Then it’s both
Or windy.
Then again, I set my best time coming home with the rare tailwind (11 miles in <30 min), but a bad headwind is super demoralizing.
You can then tell others you’re scientifically proven to be hot. Win win.
Yo, my dad stayed biking to work and looks like a whole different person after only a few months, it’s legit
I did it for a few years. I only stopped because I switched jobs after COVID and my new commute is more than twice as long.
I highly recommend it, and the main reason I’d switch jobs is to go back to cycling to work.
I live 20 minutes of highway from my job, which is in an industrial area with absolutely no pedestrian infrastructure.
Feels bad man.
Yup, same for me, but 30 min and my company is at the top of a big hill.
Feels bad. I might give it a try because there’s a train that’ll take me halfway there, but that hill isn’t going anywhere…
Ebike is your friend
Idk, an hour on an ebike is kinda long…
Oh I thought you were worried about the hill. I do 40 minutes myself and prefer it over any other option
It’s just that it’s 25 miles away, so even with an ebike, it would be quite a long ride (probably 2hr w/o ebike).
But think about the speed you’d get on the way home!
Also I grew up on a bluff, I had to go down a big hill and back up twice every day. After a summer of going it I was powering straight up a monster hill every day. It’s daunting for a few weeks though.
rejects bycicle lanes, Which the state is spending a lot of money for
does not respect the road rules
Get hit by a car
Gets compensation
Truly a Chad moment
Your state spends a lot of money ln bycicle lanes? I really envy you…
Yup, mine just puts some “sharrows” on a regular traffic lane and calls it good.
We have one solid bike path, but if that doesn’t go where you want… screw you I guess.
Most bike lanes are worse than riding on a road unfortunately. Especially for confidant cyclists.
I equally hate those that break/bend the rules of the road, whether on bikes or in vehicles.
Exactly. If those lanes exist, they’re right next to parking, and I’m much more worried about getting doored than hit from behind by a car. Nobody looks at their mirrors before getting out of the car…
If there’s a good bike lane, I’ll take it every time.
I find the ones on roundabouts near me insulting, instead of being on the road and having right of way, you now have to sprint across two lanes of traffic without any right of way. - more dangerous!
Most of the rest are just wide pavements. Technically segregated, but you have to give way on every side road (when your not manoeuvrering around entire families) - technically safer, but not nice to use.
The rest are just short and spit you back out onto the road without and protection or markings.
London has some good ones though.
bicycle lanes are usually death gutters. they’re better than nothing but it can be safer to not use them depending on where you are
there should be separated bicycle paths/lanes separated by barriers that motor vehicles can’t… y’know… easily go into or open their door in front of
also I have legitimately never seen people on bicycles disrespecting road laws unless those road laws enforce something that is unsafe. like disallowing rolling stops. car drivers violate road laws all the time though, not including speeding but i’m pretty sure almost every driver sees speeding as normal too
I have legitimately never seen people on bicycles disrespecting road laws unless those road laws enforce something that is unsafe
Come to Philly where you can see guys on fixies blowing through red lights without even looking left and right first. Or go anywhere and see people (of all ages, surprisingly) riding against traffic on the wrong side of the road - something that is the perfect blend of illegal and stupid, although not quite as illegal and stupid as the first thing I mentioned here.
Well I’m delighted they don’t use the term removed as negative any more, I guess?
And tard is OK now too. I guess.
biking is the way. never been happier than when I’m commuting by bike. just wear a helmet, you can’t predict drivers and some of them get pretty pissed that you’re able to get places faster than them.
It’s 115°F/46°C outside and everyone on the road is trying to kill me; no thanks.
I was waiting for the part where they blow through a red light and get tagged by a car and blame them for it.
Yeah, was waiting for the part where a car just fly past him and hit him, then the internet blame him for exists.
i was waiting for the part where a tractor trailer passes them at 55 in a 40 without even considering moving over into the left turn lane and runs them off the road or kills them
I don’t think I’ve ever seen a cyclist blow through a red light, most cyclists don’t have a death wish. I’ve seen tons of cars do it though. And my area has a lot of cyclists vs most areas.
I don’t think I’ve ever seen a cyclist blow through a red light
Lol never been to Philly, huh?
Nope, never been anywhere near the NE. I guess cyclists are better behaved here in the west.
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