apparently my city literally literally banned public rail funding, and people online love jerking off about how good biking is, so i figured might as well try. I have come up with:

pros:

  • good for mental health / exercise / endorphins
  • arguably quaint
  • feel like an old timey guy taking his wares to market
  • feel european
  • can annoy others
  • less of a police state around them vs cars
  • more flexible parking, routes
  • capacity to be peaceful
  • nice in summer

cons:

  • look like an annoying dork (esp w neon - which also hurts the quaint factor)
  • have to wear a helmet (^)
  • getting sweaty, potentially “unpresentable” for work
  • still have to find safe parking
  • still takes a while
  • have to find new routes to places
  • can’t listen to music or might die
  • little meaningful protection against severe injury
  • can only carry so many groceries/etc
  • sucks in winter
  • akwd169@sh.itjust.works
    0·
    5 months ago

    Try that in Canada though, it’s not going to work out. 15cm of fresh snow with ice underneath and it’s still coming down, while the sidewalks haven’t been cleared yet? Good luck biking to work then…

    You would have to use transit for about half the year here

    • LwL@lemmy.world
      0·
      5 months ago

      It’s an issue of political will, because it’s perfectly possible to keep cycling possible even in those conditions, but yea as long as that isn’t there you can’t always.

      • pumpkinseedoil@sh.itjust.works
        0·
        5 months ago

        In Austria I’ve already seen people cross country skiing through the city in extreme conditions (but usually streets are cleared quickly so it isn’t needed)

    • TranquilTurbulence@lemmy.zip
      0·
      5 months ago

      Can confirm. Especially wet snow/sleet can make bicycling completely impossible. A few centimeters is only a minor annoyance, but 10 cm is a serious problem. Fortunately, it doesn’t last long where I live, since the streets get cleared fairly quickly. During one of those mornings you better take a bus/train/subway instead. It also really depends on how well your town takes care of the streets and what public transport options are available.

    • Curious Canid@lemmy.caEnglish
      0·
      5 months ago

      My city plows the bike paths at the same time it plows the emergency routes. We’re in Wisconsin, but a startling number of people still commute by bike all year long.