Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

Things people blamed on bicycles

twitter.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

741–750 of 852 posts

Re: Things people blamed on bicycles

#741

Post by brewdad »

sleepybrett wrote: post #714
lastofthemojito wrote: post #569

Earlier quoted context omitted.

As I understand it there are 2 Dutch words for cycling [0]: >Crucially, the Dutch distinguish between everyday cycling (fietsen) and competitive cycling (wielrennen). Fietsers (cyclists) are found everywhere. ... The term wielrennen, on the other hand, is reserved for the sweaty, colourful and seemingly endless cycle races on which the people of Benelux are so keen. In my experience, at least in my area of the US, mo…

In seattle I'm staring to see a lot more adult Fietsers than I'm historically used to seeing. E-Bikes have really opened up the audience for more casual cyclers (at least in the spring and summer months).

E-bikes make the hills manageable for mere mortals.

Re: Things people blamed on bicycles

#742

Post by mmcnl »

moffkalast wrote: post #246
DoubleFree wrote: post #194

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The problem of dangerous interactions between drivers and cyclists is much smaller here in the Netherlands, mainly due to two reasons. The first reason is the infrastructure, both visible and invisible. Separated bicycle lanes are commonplace and in the few places where they intersect with car traffic, care is taken to make crossing safe and comfortable. This visible infrastructure is complemented by the concept of "…

> Going out for drinks? Bike. As long as you don't actually drink anything hah. Everyone's a designated driver with bikes.

It's not enforced in The Netherlands. Better to have drunk people on bikes than in cars.

Re: Things people blamed on bicycles

#743

Post by matsemann »

Agentlien wrote: post #353
montebicyclelo wrote: post #114

Cycling is cheap, often faster than driving (in my city), healthy, less noisy, creates vastly less pollution, less dangerous to pedastrians... And I'd guess that about 95% of drivers that I come across are respectful of the danger they present - overtaking with enough space, and not at too high a speed (my city doesn't have great bike lanes). Unfortunately, a typical journey involves passing more than 20 cars, which…

I live in a small town about 30km from Gothenburg, Sweden. I typically have no problem with cyclists except that there's quite a lot of them where I live staying in the middle of the road next to the broad bicycle lane and randomly darting from one side to another with no warning. I don't want to pass because they might randomly turn without looking and get run over. They're typically going at 15km/h where it's 50-60…

What you call a bike lane I can almost guarantee is made for pedestrians, full of holes, curbs, corners, and also often make you yield to crossing roads which you avoid on the main road.

Few voluntarily bike with cars, especially not those only doing 15 km/h.

Re: Things people blamed on bicycles

#744

Post by slingnow »

Jsharm wrote: post #737

My bike was stolen on Monday and I'm honestly still grieving the loss. A bike is more than just transport, it's freedom, exercise and a million times better at clearing your head than any other mode of commute.

Have you yet considered acquiring another bike instead of grieving the loss of an easily replaceable object?

Re: Things people blamed on bicycles

#745

Post by matsemann »

alt227 wrote: post #471
montebicyclelo wrote: post #114

Cycling is cheap, often faster than driving (in my city), healthy, less noisy, creates vastly less pollution, less dangerous to pedastrians... And I'd guess that about 95% of drivers that I come across are respectful of the danger they present - overtaking with enough space, and not at too high a speed (my city doesn't have great bike lanes). Unfortunately, a typical journey involves passing more than 20 cars, which…

>Unfortunately, a typical journey involves passing more than 20 cars, which means experiencing at least 1 very close pass Unfortunately I see it the other way. Asa rule I give cyclists plenty of space when overtaking, even happily sitting behind a slow cyclist on a 60Mph road for 30 seconds to a minute in order to find a safe passing spot. However the same courtesy is not paid the other way. When in multi lane traffi…

If I have my hand on a table, and you slam a hammer down next to it, that poses a danger to me.

If a hammer lies on the table, and I slam my hand next to it, that poses no danger to anyone.

Re: Things people blamed on bicycles

#746

Post by bluGill »

brewdad wrote: post #736
sirmarksalot wrote: post #674

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Living in a city, the idea of leaving anything of value on your bike, and expecting it to still be there when you get back is completely foreign to me. When I visited Amsterdam, I even had the seat stolen off my rental bike. Biking in the states means carrying a helmet inside with you everywhere you go, and it absolutely sucks.

When I visited Copenhagen a few years ago, most of the bikes I saw were either unlocked or locked to themselves to prevent riding off but not carrying away. It was rather shocking.

You see that on any area where there is low crime.

Re: Things people blamed on bicycles

#747

Post by crooked-v »

turing_complete wrote: post #54

There is nothing new under the sun. Today we have "Things people blame on cars". I've read many Americans that argue that cars are somehow destructive to community live. Here in Europe, people in rural areas or small towns are entirely dependend on cars, even more, they love their cars (and rightfully so). Yet, they have healthy communities, live in large houses. Nature is near, history at hand (look, you have a nice…

> cars are somehow destructive to community live

Cars by themselves? No. Car-centric design? Yes. The most obvious place to see this in the US is suburbs designed entirely around cars, where there's often literally nothing but cul-de-sacs and single-family homes for miles and miles and it's nigh-impossible to do anything out of the house without a car.

Re: Things people blamed on bicycles

#748

Post by mmcnl »

systemvoltage wrote: post #704
montebicyclelo wrote: post #114

Cycling is cheap, often faster than driving (in my city), healthy, less noisy, creates vastly less pollution, less dangerous to pedastrians... And I'd guess that about 95% of drivers that I come across are respectful of the danger they present - overtaking with enough space, and not at too high a speed (my city doesn't have great bike lanes). Unfortunately, a typical journey involves passing more than 20 cars, which…

I hate cycling (bicycling). Hate every aspect of it. There are ways for me to get healthy but I always prefer driving over cycling. The benefits are tremendous and not even close: - Faster for most of America, unless you're in places such as Manhattan. - Can use normal clothes, no need to specially dress up for it - Can enjoy beverages, music and audiobooks, you can do that on a bicycle but not as safe - Better quali…

You totally ignore the car tax on society. Just look at how much space car lanes and parking spaces take. The simple ability to take a walk around the city does so much for actually living in the city, instead of everyone transporting themselves in cars that are bigger than WW2 tanks.

Re: Things people blamed on bicycles

#749

Post by anjbe »

ch_sm wrote: post #348
DonHopkins wrote: post #299

Earlier quoted context omitted.

[flagged]

This article is so insane, it just has to be some sort of outrage-bait (that actually worked for me, although my blood typically has a pretty high boiling point).

It seemed obvious satire to me (not funny or sophisticated, but satire nonetheless).

Felt like my suspicion was confirmed after seeing that other “Men of the Year” articles in the Free Beacon include “The Brothers Cuomo” (https://freebeacon.com/men-of-the-year/2021-men-of-the-year-...) and “Dem Who Spent Campaign Cash at Strip Club” (https://freebeacon.com/men-of-the-year/2021-man-of-the-year-...).

In this case the cyclist is the primary butt of the joke, not the driver. But the grandparent’s description of the article as “pure incitement to violence” is ludicrous hysteria.

Re: Things people blamed on bicycles

#750

Post by mmcnl »

mytailorisrich wrote: post #314
montebicyclelo wrote: post #114

Cycling is cheap, often faster than driving (in my city), healthy, less noisy, creates vastly less pollution, less dangerous to pedastrians... And I'd guess that about 95% of drivers that I come across are respectful of the danger they present - overtaking with enough space, and not at too high a speed (my city doesn't have great bike lanes). Unfortunately, a typical journey involves passing more than 20 cars, which…

"Less dangerous to pedestrians"... that really depends. Here many cyclists like to cycle on pavements, making bikes more dangerous to pedestrians than cars!

No cyclist likes to cycle on pavements. This is a symptom of the absence of proper bicycle infrastructure.
Post reply on HN