Bikes are awesome, but the practical concerns around them are kind of limiting. Like, it’s not ideal to show up to something important drenched in sweat. If you need to bring anything with you that’s heavy or doesn’t easily fit in a single backpack, you’re going to struggle if you don’t have a bike trailer or a good place to keep it. It’s also tough if you have health problems or live in an apartment without access to an elevator. And long distances are going to take a long time.
It does sort of make sense that they’re looked at as primarily recreational, because the situations that make them great for travel are somewhat limited. We definitely could be using them more in the US, but the idea that they’re going to be the best solution for everyone is unrealistic and a bit ablist.
No one wants to force people to hand over their cars and replace them 1:1 with a bicycle.
We want bicycle infrastructure that is on par with car infrastructure, so that it’s possible to use a bicycle without feeling like you’re unarmed in a war zone.
The goal isn’t to abolish cars, it’s to abolish car dependency.
Because car dependency sucks for everyone.
Step outside in a random place of a random American city. Look around. How much of what you see was built for people? And how much was built for cars?
Tell me you have never used a bike as transportation without telling me.
A cheap bike trailer is like $120. How many times do you fill a tank of gas for that price. Wow, a bike trailer, what an extravagant thing to have compared to a whole car!
I used to bike to work every day. A lot of the time I would get there pretty sweaty.
This was when I was younger, in better shape, and when my health problems weren’t giving me as much trouble. The last several times I got on a bike it was painful and exhausting. If I tried to commute somewhere today I’d probably collapse mid-way there with an asthma attack. If I did have a bike trailer, I wouldn’t have anywhere to put it. I live in an apartment building with no elevator and nowhere to park or store anything on the ground level.
Everyone isn’t in the same circumstances as you. That’s the point.
But you go ahead and tell yourself whatever you want.
It’s as if there aren’t countries that exist were people use bicycles on a daily basis.
I too can speak about cars like I’ve never used one.
Cars areawesome, but practical concerns around them are limiting. Like, it’s not ideal to show up late to something important because of traffic or struggling to find parking. If you need to bring anything with you that’s heavy or doesn’t easily fit in your boot/ backseat, you’re going to struggle if you don’t have a trailer or a good place to keep it. It’s also tough if you have health problems or live in an apartment without access to adequate parking. And long distances are going to take a long time
It does sort of make sense that they’re looked at as primarily recreational, because the situations that make them great for travel are somewhat limited. We definitely could be using them more in the US, but the idea that they’re going to be the best solution for everyone is unrealistic and a bit ablist.
Using specific examples to make one’s point is easy.
Bikes are awesome, but the practical concerns around them are kind of limiting. Like, it’s not ideal to show up to something important drenched in sweat. If you need to bring anything with you that’s heavy or doesn’t easily fit in a single backpack, you’re going to struggle if you don’t have a bike trailer or a good place to keep it. It’s also tough if you have health problems or live in an apartment without access to an elevator. And long distances are going to take a long time.
It does sort of make sense that they’re looked at as primarily recreational, because the situations that make them great for travel are somewhat limited. We definitely could be using them more in the US, but the idea that they’re going to be the best solution for everyone is unrealistic and a bit ablist.
No one wants to force people to hand over their cars and replace them 1:1 with a bicycle.
We want bicycle infrastructure that is on par with car infrastructure, so that it’s possible to use a bicycle without feeling like you’re unarmed in a war zone.
The goal isn’t to abolish cars, it’s to abolish car dependency.
Because car dependency sucks for everyone.
Step outside in a random place of a random American city. Look around. How much of what you see was built for people? And how much was built for cars?
Tell me you have never used a bike as transportation without telling me.
A cheap bike trailer is like $120. How many times do you fill a tank of gas for that price. Wow, a bike trailer, what an extravagant thing to have compared to a whole car!
I used to bike to work every day. A lot of the time I would get there pretty sweaty.
This was when I was younger, in better shape, and when my health problems weren’t giving me as much trouble. The last several times I got on a bike it was painful and exhausting. If I tried to commute somewhere today I’d probably collapse mid-way there with an asthma attack. If I did have a bike trailer, I wouldn’t have anywhere to put it. I live in an apartment building with no elevator and nowhere to park or store anything on the ground level.
Everyone isn’t in the same circumstances as you. That’s the point.
But you go ahead and tell yourself whatever you want.
It’s as if there aren’t countries that exist were people use bicycles on a daily basis.
I too can speak about cars like I’ve never used one.
Cars areawesome, but practical concerns around them are limiting. Like, it’s not ideal to show up late to something important because of traffic or struggling to find parking. If you need to bring anything with you that’s heavy or doesn’t easily fit in your boot/ backseat, you’re going to struggle if you don’t have a trailer or a good place to keep it. It’s also tough if you have health problems or live in an apartment without access to adequate parking. And long distances are going to take a long time
It does sort of make sense that they’re looked at as primarily recreational, because the situations that make them great for travel are somewhat limited. We definitely could be using them more in the US, but the idea that they’re going to be the best solution for everyone is unrealistic and a bit ablist.
Using specific examples to make one’s point is easy.