check out my tangentially related project: http://abogo.cnt.org/ tells you how much the average household in your neighborhood spends on transportation. Let me know what you think!
In German Suburb, Life Goes On Without Cars (2009)
101–110 of 206 posts
Re: In German Suburb, Life Goes On Without Cars (2009)
#102I think having the right legal framework helps a lot to get a good bicycle culture. Here in Belgium, when a car hits a bicyclist, the car driver's insurance will always pay for bodily damage of the bicyclist, even if the bicyclist is at fault. Most streets where I live (in the center of Antwerp) are one-way for cars, but two-way for bicycles. And cars are limited to 30 km/h. My wife goes to work on her bicycle and ge…
Here in Belgium, when a car hits a bicyclist, the car driver's insurance will always pay for bodily damage of the bicyclist, even if the bicyclist is at fault.
Sorry, but doesn't anyone have an issue with this? Why is there an expectation that cyclists cannot possibly be held responsible for their actions?
By this logic, if my mini hits a bus, I shouldn't be responsible, even if I ran a red light.
I tend to agree with most of the other points, but this one is ridiculous.
Re: In German Suburb, Life Goes On Without Cars (2009)
#10321st Century, that anybody can argue against (in this thread or elsewhere) that going by bike to work is way better, healthier, more humanly fulfilling, than by car leaves me speechless. Vote for mayors pro bike roads or ask for showers at work, there is always a solution.
I'm not going to say that we should all be in cars, but I used to ride my bicycle everywhere- I ride motorcycles now, and I still get a lot of the upsides- open to the environment, a physical activity (though more mild than biking at a hard pace), and my stress levels are lower. But it has one more huge upside; back when I bicycled all the time, I'd always arrive everywhere hot and sweaty. Workplaces can install show…
[Somewhat off-topic from bicycles in cities; my apologies.]
Do you not get sweaty on motorcycles? Even with a fully mesh jacket, I arrive everywhere _drenched_. In the height of the summer, I put on an athletic shirt and keep my real shirt in a bag to change into when I get to my destination.
If anything, I'd say bicycles are better because it's difficult to go fast enough to require the safety gear that a motorcycle does.
Disclaimer: new motorcyclist, used to race bicycles at a high level; I'm kind of a pedal head.
Re: In German Suburb, Life Goes On Without Cars (2009)
#10421st Century, that anybody can argue against (in this thread or elsewhere) that going by bike to work is way better, healthier, more humanly fulfilling, than by car leaves me speechless. Vote for mayors pro bike roads or ask for showers at work, there is always a solution.
Better is the word I'm going to hit on in your comment. I'd love to bike to work. I've even considered it actually, this in spite of the following:
- I live in Vancouver. It rains 5 months of the year.
- I have a 30km commute, my car is faster (By a longshot, not by a few minutes).
- My car does not require I have a shower after getting to work.
- My car is more adaptable: I can carry extra work home, I can stop for a coffee, I can schedule a meeting in the morning or afternoon and then hit the office.
There are many ways in which my car is "better". Healthier? No. More humanly fulfilling? Well, that depends. Is it more humanly fulfilling to spend the time commuting on my bike or with my kids? -
Re: In German Suburb, Life Goes On Without Cars (2009)
#105Earlier quoted context omitted.
Some of us live in cities where it rains pretty frequently. Today would be lovely on a bike. Yesterday in the rain - not so much.
In Sweden (average 164 days/year with rain), there's a saying typically used by parents when their kids complain about the weather. It goes, translated very verbatim: "there is no bad weather, only bad clothes". It's far snappier in Swedish where it rhymes, but I guess the point comes across, still. Update: after reading a few more comments, I guess this doesn't address the other end of the spectrum, that it can be t…
I grew up in Florida and lived in Sweden for a couple years. Even as a kid I disliked Florida because you quickly run out of clothes to take off. Even in a bathing suit it's sweltering. While I don't find winter weather pleasant, I just put on more clothes until it's bearable.
Re: In German Suburb, Life Goes On Without Cars (2009)
#106Earlier quoted context omitted.
No - not even close for total amount of precipitation. However, the Scottish Highlands do excel in miserable drizzle that falls continuously for days, weeks and probably months ("dreich"). And yes, I am Scottish and have spent a lot of time outdoors!
By "rainiest" I did mean "highest number of rainy days" rather than "highest amount of precipitation".
That's the same reason Seattle has it's rainy reputation even though it gets fewer inches of rain than most East Coast cities.
Re: In German Suburb, Life Goes On Without Cars (2009)
#107I think having the right legal framework helps a lot to get a good bicycle culture. Here in Belgium, when a car hits a bicyclist, the car driver's insurance will always pay for bodily damage of the bicyclist, even if the bicyclist is at fault. Most streets where I live (in the center of Antwerp) are one-way for cars, but two-way for bicycles. And cars are limited to 30 km/h. My wife goes to work on her bicycle and ge…
Here in Belgium, when a car hits a bicyclist, the car driver's insurance will always pay for bodily damage of the bicyclist, even if the bicyclist is at fault. Sorry, but doesn't anyone have an issue with this? Why is there an expectation that cyclists cannot possibly be held responsible for their actions? By this logic, if my mini hits a bus, I shouldn't be responsible, even if I ran a red light. I tend to agree wit…
Well, there's a huge asymmetry between a car hitting a bike and vice-versa. So I'd guess it's not that the bike can't be held responsible, but that the potential downside for a biker is death, while the car would likely just suffer some dents.
Whether or not that causes reckless behavior on the biker's part, I don't know. But I can imagine the argument.
Re: In German Suburb, Life Goes On Without Cars (2009)
#108In other words, I should come into work completely drenched in sweat? In many parts of the USA, it is very humid and temperatures can easily reach 90 and above. How do you expect people to bike in such conditions? In addition, many people commute long distances to work, which may take up to an hour just by car. Bikes are great, but not very practical.
Bikes are great, but not very practical … if the infrastructure isn’t there. You know, city planning and stuff. I think the goal is not to get people to drive 50 miles to work, the goal is to make it possible for them to live so close to work (or appropriate public transport infrastructure) that they can bike there (or use public transport). You are right, bikes wouldn’t work in every case but sometimes they can repl…
Bikes already have the infrastructure, they are called "roads".
Re: In German Suburb, Life Goes On Without Cars (2009)
#109I get the point - and I support the development of car-free suburbs for people who want them. Streets safe for children, people saying hello instead of staring from behind closed windows, etc. Less local pollution, more friendly streets, less accidents : all pluses. I just don't want to see some zealot telling me I can't have a car, and that I am some sort of evil person for having one. Further, not everywhere is sui…
> I just don't want to see some zealot telling me I can't have a car, > and that I am some sort of evil person for having one. I am not saying you are a bad person, but giving a car to everyone - like we do right now - is a terrible idea. I'm hoping for legislation that will ban private persons from buying cars. No one (...) needs half a ton of metal and 70PS to move his 70kg ass.
I'm paraphrasing Jay Leno who was being interviewed on a car show, so take this with the appropriate number of grains of salt, but ...
I'd like to see cars go the way of the horse. Horses used to be used for transportation, everybody had one, and they were abused to a huge degree. Then cars came along, and now horses are kept just by enthusiasts who care for them a great deal and go riding for fun every once in a while.
I think the best of both worlds would be for [insert your car alternative of choice here] to develop enough to replace the car for commuting and errands, with just a few thousand cars for people who like to drive them around tracks or through the countryside every once in a while.
Re: In German Suburb, Life Goes On Without Cars (2009)
#110Earlier quoted context omitted.
I've ridden a fixed gear bike exclusively for the past 15 years. (alright, that's not exactly true... I have a dutch bike for groceries and recently bought a Brompton for traveling) It was built for me by the patron saint of internet cyclists, Sheldon Brown (RIP). http://www.sheldonbrown.com/fixed.html You just need a front brake to dump speed, and ride a gearing suitable for your environment. For instance, in NYC th…
Going fast and having just a front brake can easily cause you to do a forward flip. 80% of your stopping power is in the front brake, but if you're going very fast engaging the front brake for an emergency stop can make a bad situation worse. That's a pretty sad story there, I read a bit on his site and he seems to have been a very nice and knowledgeable guy. I'm pretty sure he would have smiled at the way you charac…
I've never bought the front brake argument. As a bicyclist, motorcyclist, and physicist, I know that 100% of your stopping power is on the front brake, exactly because (as you say) the front brake can make you do a forward flip. This means that all your weight is on the front wheel, and the only thing you can do with your rear brake is make the rear wheel lose traction, and that will indeed make a bad situation worse.
The answer is to become proficient in the use of your front brake and commit the proper brake pressure to muscle memory so that you do not grab at it and skip the front wheel before weight has shifted, or do a "stoppie". Practice maximum braking from speed, it could save your life!
There is one counter-argument to this: In situations with poor traction (on snow, ice, sand, etc.) you don't have enough traction to shift all your weight to the front. In those cases, the optimal case is judicious use of both brakes. But if you bike on such surfaces, you have much more to learn anyway...
Second lesson: People rely too much on brakes. In most high-speed situations, swerving is a better action. (Due to the way braking distance vs turning distance scales with speed.) Practice change direction quickly to avoid obstacles in your path!
Sorry for the long post, but it was fresh in my mind: My wife got side swiped by a car turning right yesterday. She's fine, but we had a long discussion about bicycle proficiency and the futility of being "dead right".