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

Paris cycling numbers double in one year thanks to investment

momentummag.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

211–218 of 218 posts

Re: Paris cycling numbers double in one year thanks to investment

#211

Post by ThunderSizzle »

mbs159 wrote: post #204
ThunderSizzle wrote: post #162

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Freedom of movement. Cars represent freedom of movement akin to a horse with a trailer, except you have an engine instead of a horse. I dont think Americans care for the current road monopoly states have, or the monopolistic tolls and enforcement. The idea of freedom of movement isn't really a European-centric ideal - its more uniquely American and derived from being a nation derived from those escaping injustices of…

I disagree that it provides any freedom at all, since you are limited by roads. If certain roads are cut off by sabotage or other means, you lose your imaginary "freedom of movement". Regarding it being an "American thing", Germany was the first country to build highways, and currently the highways there (Autobahn) don't even have a speed limit, so you could say that they provide more freedom of movement than the roa…

Every freedom has limitations. Just because there are limitations doesn't mean that the underlying principle doesn't exist. People have the freedom to move, even before the car, and well before the interstate highway system.

The Autobahn was constructed for a similar goal as of the Interstate highway system - to act as a transportation backbone for the military during conflict. The fact that it's grown to what it is today is because it was built with free money (for the cities and states building them) and it became one of the safest ways to travel long distances without having to spend a lot of money.

Regardless, there's a lot more freedom to a car than a politically charged public transit system tied to a social credit score or even economic ability to pay whatever arbitrary fare exists. While cars do cost money, they also tended to keep going with a lot of abuse, and aren't tied to how politicians think of you.

Re: Paris cycling numbers double in one year thanks to investment

#212

Post by pandaman »

mbs159 wrote: post #205
pandaman wrote: post #201

Earlier quoted context omitted.

"Freedom of choice" is literally that, a freedom to make a choice, nobody is restricting you from it. Having many choices to make is not a freedom, it's power.

Car infrastructure taking up unnecessary parts of cities limits the freedom of transportation by other means, like walking or cycling.

Homes do the same. In both cases, though, if you don't want people to build something you need to exercise power, not freedom. Freedom of choice does not entitle you to others not doing something.

Re: Paris cycling numbers double in one year thanks to investment

#213

Post by PawgerZ »

lupusreal wrote: post #143
Retric wrote: post #101

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> especially for pedestrians as cyclists are less annoying than drivers As an American pedestrian I find cyclists far worse on average than drivers. They far more often ignore traffic signs and I have seen multiple collisions including one that looked quite serious, though luckily no fatalities. On a per person basis my personal annoyance scale goes subway riders have least impact, followed by busses, normal pedestri…

Seconding this. American cyclists are extremely rude to pedestrians. Whenever somebody brings this up, cyclists dismiss it by pointing out that cars kill more pedestrians than bikes. Well that's certainly true, but I've never had cars yell at me for walking on the sidewalk or over a crosswalk, while cyclists have hurled abuse and (deliberate) near misses at me more times than I can count.

You have. They're just cussing you out in their cars, where you can't hear them.

Re: Paris cycling numbers double in one year thanks to investment

#214

Post by manthedudeguy »

Retric wrote: post #192
jobs_throwaway wrote: post #180

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Seems like much of the danger of cycling is due to being near cars though, while the reverse isn't true. Better infrastructure and less car subsidy is likely to make cycling a lot safer, whereas cars already have ~all the infrastructure and subsidy and are still enormously dangerous

The danger for cyclists is drivers, the danger for pedestrians is both.

[dead]

Re: Paris cycling numbers double in one year thanks to investment

#215

Post by NegativeLatency »

mbs159 wrote: post #204
ThunderSizzle wrote: post #162

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Freedom of movement. Cars represent freedom of movement akin to a horse with a trailer, except you have an engine instead of a horse. I dont think Americans care for the current road monopoly states have, or the monopolistic tolls and enforcement. The idea of freedom of movement isn't really a European-centric ideal - its more uniquely American and derived from being a nation derived from those escaping injustices of…

I disagree that it provides any freedom at all, since you are limited by roads. If certain roads are cut off by sabotage or other means, you lose your imaginary "freedom of movement". Regarding it being an "American thing", Germany was the first country to build highways, and currently the highways there (Autobahn) don't even have a speed limit, so you could say that they provide more freedom of movement than the roa…

Yeah or just like normal traffic where you're stuck behind a long line of other cars

Re: Paris cycling numbers double in one year thanks to investment

#216

Post by mbs159 »

ThunderSizzle wrote: post #211
mbs159 wrote: post #204

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I disagree that it provides any freedom at all, since you are limited by roads. If certain roads are cut off by sabotage or other means, you lose your imaginary "freedom of movement". Regarding it being an "American thing", Germany was the first country to build highways, and currently the highways there (Autobahn) don't even have a speed limit, so you could say that they provide more freedom of movement than the roa…

Every freedom has limitations. Just because there are limitations doesn't mean that the underlying principle doesn't exist. People have the freedom to move, even before the car, and well before the interstate highway system. The Autobahn was constructed for a similar goal as of the Interstate highway system - to act as a transportation backbone for the military during conflict. The fact that it's grown to what it is…

Although I do agree that cars provide some freedom of transportation, they are still heavily regulated, are more difficult to fix yourself than ever before (good luck fixing the electronics in your new BMW in the middle of nowhere), and you have to register them, buy insurance, etc. just so you could drive a extremely limited set of public roads that could be closed down any minute for a variety of reasons. Or you could just get stuck in traffic, enjoying that sweet freedom of sitting in a metal can whilst those peasants drive past you on their bicycles or other, not-as-free, means of transportation.

Are cars cool? Absolutely. Are they some kind of freedom machines? As much as oil companies and car (excuse me - freedom machine) manufacturers would say otherwise, no.

Re: Paris cycling numbers double in one year thanks to investment

#217

Post by saberience »

l1tany11 wrote: post #188
saberience wrote: post #144

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Sweating is absolutely not a “trained” response. I’ve always been an athlete from when I was a competitive athlete in my college days (cross-country running) but I’ve always sweated a lot more than average and it’s not correlated with my fitness. I’ve always been slim and fit and I’ve often noticed that I sweat a lot more than people whom I’m beating in races! That is, I can be fitter and faster than someone and stil…

It absolutely is. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9460081/ Adaptations include decreases in HR, internal body temperature, skin temperature, rating of perceived exertion (RPE), and sweat sodium and chloride concentrations, as well as increases in plasma volume and sweat rate. Sweat rate. Sweat rate is a training adaptation. Thus we would say sweating is a trained response. Yes, I have no doubt you are ve…

Did you even read your own link? This says “increases in sweat rate” not decreases.

And if you read the study and look at the results, after the heat training the average “sweatiness” was higher, not lower.

The whole point of this debate was that you can’t train yourself to sweat less, and I am still right in that assertion.

Re: Paris cycling numbers double in one year thanks to investment

#218

Post by jcul »

CalRobert wrote: post #210
jcul wrote: post #208

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Were you able to rent a cargo bike in Paris? Or did you somehow bring one with you?

We rented one from here - https://www.hollandbikes.com/117-velo-transport One challenge with cargo bikes is transport - They're not allowed on trains (understandably) and carrying one on a car roof is a pretty big undertaking. This guy documented how, though! https://docs.google.com/document/d/1UBGT_eE4q0dJZWZrOoBdM80b...

Thanks, will keep that in mind, we use a cargo bike at home, but never considered renting one. A great way to explore a city!
Post reply on HN