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

121–130 of 218 posts

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

#121

Post by cjf101 »

ryandrake wrote: post #30

I don’t get how you can make bicycling your only form of transportation, even if the bike travel infrastructure and parking is adequate. When I bicycle, even for a short amount of time like 15 minutes, I sweat, and end up a stinky wet mess at my destination. Especially in the summer. My shoes and pants get dirty from the road and my hair gets wet and messed up especially if it’s raining. So if I’m going anywhere with…

Re: Copenhagen + Amsterdam.

These cities are relatively flat, relatively cool (watch videos of cycling in Copenhagen and you'll see a lot of people in coats and hats), and you don't have to bike very far to get somewhere interesting. There's also the fact that there's a lot of bikes on the paths (which, for me, caused me to slow down considerably from my typical bike pace when I visited). This all combines to mean you aren't putting anymore effort in than a short walk: you just end up going a little farther in the same amount of time.

Re: the rest.

When I was a regular cycle commuter (in a Canadian city) I did pack a change of clothes, spare deodorant and/or wore a removable outer layer that resisted road gunk. Road gunk is _much worse_ on any route you share with cars. Dedicated bike paths tend to be quite clean. Paniers are far better than a backpack, since they sit on the bike frame, you barely notice the weight. But as other commenters noted: a little fitness goes a long way. After a year of commuting, my regular route wouldn't even cause me to break a sweat.

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

#122

Post by tremon »

mattcantstop wrote: post #22
h1fra wrote: post #19

People not living in Paris can't even grasp how much the city has changed in just 6 years. Starting a bit before 2020 but massively accelerated by the covid situation (and public transport saturation). You could barely cycle safely before and now it's hard to not find a bike lane. Because of the fast pace, of course not everything is perfect but we have to celebrate this as much as we can.

That's a problem I desperately hope the US has to encounter soon. Too much demand and we have to accelerate our plans to satisfy all those people on bikes!

Too much demand

That's interesting because the article says the opposite, that supply (mostly) proceeds demand when it comes to mobility infrastructure. The fact that demand is showing so readily indicates there is much unrealized potential there.

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

#123

Post by vanilla_nut »

rrrrrrrrrrrryan wrote: post #107
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…

Way less noise though

I don't think London has made quite the strides in bikeability that Paris has since 2020, but when I visited Hackney last year I was astonished to see more bikes during rush hour than cars. Walking down a road to a coffee shop, I actually had to wait a few seconds to cross at the intersection between two bike highways.

Hundreds of people riding bikes to work. And as quiet as the wilderness behind my house in the rural USA. I could hear the wind in the trees, and that was it. Maybe a little drivetrain noise from a poorly maintained bike here or there.

I desperately want to live in a city that quiet. Back when I lived in NYC practically every environment was an assault on the ears.

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

#124

Post by ryandrake »

FinnKuhn wrote: post #74
ryandrake wrote: post #30

I don’t get how you can make bicycling your only form of transportation, even if the bike travel infrastructure and parking is adequate. When I bicycle, even for a short amount of time like 15 minutes, I sweat, and end up a stinky wet mess at my destination. Especially in the summer. My shoes and pants get dirty from the road and my hair gets wet and messed up especially if it’s raining. So if I’m going anywhere with…

For most day-to-day things you don't need to cycle longer than 15 minutes in most bike friendly cities. In addition to recommendation by others I would also add that for journeys significantly longer than 15 Minutes you can take public transport for part of it.

Interesting! I picked 15 minutes because that’s the shortest possible distance I could imagine having to go to do anything (yes I’m in the USA). Once in my life, very briefly, I managed to afford to live a 15 minute bike ride from my work, and I did it, but (like I said) with the sweaty consequences. Usually it’s 1-2 hours by car.

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

#125

Post by sloowm »

gregoriol wrote: post #46

It must also has be taken into account that driving has become annoying to the point that many people from suburbs don't come anymore to Paris for shopping, theatres, exhibitions, ... and many living inside or nearby are really annoyed by the public transports which are dirty, not on time, too crowded, beggars every few minutes, ... so biking is like a forced solution that helps with some things but isn't always a ch…

You describe Paris as if it's a shopping/entertainment center for the suburbs. It also looks like you're implying that Paris needs the economic activity generated by the suburbs. For that I would investigate what a suburb is by definition.

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

#126

Post by adverbly »

ryandrake wrote: post #30

I don’t get how you can make bicycling your only form of transportation, even if the bike travel infrastructure and parking is adequate. When I bicycle, even for a short amount of time like 15 minutes, I sweat, and end up a stinky wet mess at my destination. Especially in the summer. My shoes and pants get dirty from the road and my hair gets wet and messed up especially if it’s raining. So if I’m going anywhere with…

> What about going to a restaurant or business meeting or a museum or an appointment with a professional?

Depends on the restaurant obviously. Client meetings and appointments obviously depends on the location. If they're coming to your office then you would probably have already showered if needed. If you have the kind of job where you need to go to other client locations to meet with them then obviously you want a car because you're going to be driving a lot across clients. I imagine such people have cars in Amsterdam as well. For museums, nobody gives a damn. I've never dressed up for a museum in my life.

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

#127

Post by throwup238 »

consp wrote: post #84
throwup238 wrote: post #47

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> And that was in the often mentioned cyclists Valhalla. I’m confused by this analogy. Are cars Valkyries in this case, taking the souls of bikers off to Valhalla?

Probably lost in translation, should have phrased differently. A Valhalla is seen as an alternative phrasing to paradise but probably does not translate well into English and might be a specific cultural thing (and not even Nordic in use, since I'm talking about the Netherlands). It has a bit more "promised land" tone than paradise without the baggage of a large faith behind it.

No that part translated, I was just under the impression that one only got to Valhalla by dying in glorious battle.

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

#128

Post by Ylpertnodi »

darkamaul wrote: post #63

As a daily biker in Paris (and for years), I think it is hard to grasp the changes Paris has seen in the last years. You now even get to see some congestion on bike lanes (Bd Sebastopol for instance), because they are too many cyclist on an older (and thus too narrow) bike lane. This change, the new subway lanes, and the reduction of car usage in the city make the city much more enjoyable on a day to day basis, espec…

Is Paris still full of dog poop?

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

#129

Post by seer »

triceratops wrote: post #70
seer wrote: post #56

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Best solution is of course “shower at the office”. I worked for a company about 1h cycling away, and Sofia, Bulgaria is a hilly city, so cycling would involve quite a lot of exertion. After some experimenting I found that my condition would be acceptable if I just change my t-shirt when I arrive. My role was just your average dev so grooming requirements are a bit less than customer facing roles. Also its all about t…

> cycling would involve quite a lot of excretion. I think you meant "exertion". I did giggle like a child though (very sorry).

thanks!

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

#130

Post by ryandrake »

posix_monad wrote: post #65
ryandrake wrote: post #30

I don’t get how you can make bicycling your only form of transportation, even if the bike travel infrastructure and parking is adequate. When I bicycle, even for a short amount of time like 15 minutes, I sweat, and end up a stinky wet mess at my destination. Especially in the summer. My shoes and pants get dirty from the road and my hair gets wet and messed up especially if it’s raining. So if I’m going anywhere with…

A large part of that is cycling on roads with automobile traffic. Dodging cars, taking gaps, sprinting at lights, constantly looking around... are all things that make you sweaty. Plus cars kick up a load of road grime and water (when it rains). Comparing cycling on pleasant infrastructure to cycling on roads is a bit like comparing walking and running. They're similar activities, but the level of exertion is quite d…

For sure. I guess I’ve never bicycled anywhere where I wasn’t in constant fear for my life with cars whizzing past me at 45-55 miles per hour. The anxiety alone makes ya sweat!
Post reply on HN