Cycling is like a piece of magic: It only has advantages
September 7, 2017 5:59 AM Subscribe
Link from this thread:
Let’s Nail the Cycling Hills Myth Once and For All
posted by Pendragon at 6:17 AM on September 7, 2017 [13 favorites]
Let’s Nail the Cycling Hills Myth Once and For All
posted by Pendragon at 6:17 AM on September 7, 2017 [13 favorites]
The Twin Cities are flat, but we have a few godawful hills due to the river. Like, when you cross the river going east in a couple of places, OMG, you will die. Or if you cycle along the river to downtown, you have to climb the bluff. (I never go downtown that way for this reason.)
When I first moved here in 1997, I was fresh from living in Shanghai and biking pretty much everywhere that wasn't literally down the block, so I naturally biked around. At that time there weren't tons of cyclists, there was no greenway and hardly anyone biked year round (or even, as I do, sorta-year-round, taking the bus for a couple of weeks here and there in the worst of winter). I think there have been two decisive aspects to cycling in MPLS - one largely discounted - the greenway and a big uptick in low income cyclists. I feel like I've seen more and more practical cyclists, meaning people who don't really have another way to get around, over the years. I think this is a consequence of increasing precarity, actually, because jobs are more scattered, hours are worse and it's more difficult to ride the bus for these reasons.
It's a funny thing. Minneapolis gets nicer and nicer for those with money, and shittier and shittier for those without. In some places it's sort of like a...a modern-day Pleasantville? Affluent mostly white people cycling from organic lunch to boutique shopping and back home to their new lofts, and you wonder where all the money came from and why none of it seems to be making it to my neighborhood. I still like my neighborhood better, anyway, because whatever it is, at least it isn't fake.
posted by Frowner at 6:34 AM on September 7, 2017 [7 favorites]
When I first moved here in 1997, I was fresh from living in Shanghai and biking pretty much everywhere that wasn't literally down the block, so I naturally biked around. At that time there weren't tons of cyclists, there was no greenway and hardly anyone biked year round (or even, as I do, sorta-year-round, taking the bus for a couple of weeks here and there in the worst of winter). I think there have been two decisive aspects to cycling in MPLS - one largely discounted - the greenway and a big uptick in low income cyclists. I feel like I've seen more and more practical cyclists, meaning people who don't really have another way to get around, over the years. I think this is a consequence of increasing precarity, actually, because jobs are more scattered, hours are worse and it's more difficult to ride the bus for these reasons.
It's a funny thing. Minneapolis gets nicer and nicer for those with money, and shittier and shittier for those without. In some places it's sort of like a...a modern-day Pleasantville? Affluent mostly white people cycling from organic lunch to boutique shopping and back home to their new lofts, and you wonder where all the money came from and why none of it seems to be making it to my neighborhood. I still like my neighborhood better, anyway, because whatever it is, at least it isn't fake.
posted by Frowner at 6:34 AM on September 7, 2017 [7 favorites]
The Twin Cities are flat, but we have a few godawful hills due to the river. Like, when you cross the river going east in a couple of places, OMG, you will die.
QFT. With the way they bend, it seems like you are always rolling down or climbing up a riverbank, and some of them are especially terrible. There is a reason I have only once biked down (and I do mean down) to Afton.
posted by Flannery Culp at 6:44 AM on September 7, 2017
QFT. With the way they bend, it seems like you are always rolling down or climbing up a riverbank, and some of them are especially terrible. There is a reason I have only once biked down (and I do mean down) to Afton.
posted by Flannery Culp at 6:44 AM on September 7, 2017
Didn't we have pretty much this thread about a week ago? It is clear that adoption of cycling as a primary mode of transportation is driven by a confluence of geography, infrastructure, density, job availability within the urban center and, as Frowner pointed out, income. Not to mention hard-to-quantify cultural factors.
Some people bike for health / convenience / virtue signalling, others bike because they don't have any other mode of transportation. For the latter demographic we as a society owe better infrastructure (like protected bike lanes) as a matter of public health.
posted by grumpybear69 at 6:45 AM on September 7, 2017 [10 favorites]
Some people bike for health / convenience / virtue signalling, others bike because they don't have any other mode of transportation. For the latter demographic we as a society owe better infrastructure (like protected bike lanes) as a matter of public health.
posted by grumpybear69 at 6:45 AM on September 7, 2017 [10 favorites]
The highest elevation here in the Tampa Bay Area is maybe 140 feet or so (bridges) and is flat as a pancake yet cycling is something only Lycra-clad roadies do. St Petersburg has miles of bike lanes that go largely unused except for about a thousand cycling enthusiasts. As people lobby for more cycling infrastructure the larger population bitch about bike lanes they'll never use. I'm not sure what can be done here in the south to encourage more bike commuting. I read stories on cycling in Copenhagen and the Netherlands and wonder what the tipping point was that created a public/ political environment that encouraged people to get out of their cars and ride a bike.
posted by photoslob at 6:53 AM on September 7, 2017 [2 favorites]
posted by photoslob at 6:53 AM on September 7, 2017 [2 favorites]
I do wonder about the culture of hot weather and cycling - not so much the actual fact of hot weather, as there are parts of China that are super hot where people bike, but the ways in which people are used to handling heat. The southern cities that grew with air conditioning seem like places where people might not be psychically ready for biking in the heat - even here in MPLS, it's a horrible nuisance to bike commute in the summer if you have a long ride and/or need to be presentable at the end. (A couple of miles in the early morning at a slow speed is fine if you have a job where you can wear lightweight casual clothes, but anything else requires biking kit and changing at work, and I started to switch to shorts for the ride home this year after many years of toughing it out.)
posted by Frowner at 7:02 AM on September 7, 2017 [3 favorites]
posted by Frowner at 7:02 AM on September 7, 2017 [3 favorites]
There is a reason I have only once biked down (and I do mean down) to Afton.That's the single best climb within an ~hour of the cities! So good <3.
I chased down an e-Biker on my commute last week because I was slightly miffed that he whizzed past me on a climb without breaking a sweat. When I got back up to him, I realized this is a guy that wouldn't be commuting via bike otherwise, and we can use all the allies we can get. If e-Bikes combat the 'it's too hilly/I'll get too sweaty' problem for people, then great.
But that one dude that commutes on the bike path with his tiny gas-powered moped scooter abomination with "pedals" can screw right off.
posted by strange chain at 7:10 AM on September 7, 2017 [5 favorites]
The highest elevation here in the Tampa Bay Area is maybe 140 feet or so (bridges) and is flat as a pancake yet cycling is something only Lycra-clad roadies do. St Petersburg has miles of bike lanes that go largely unused except for about a thousand cycling enthusiasts.
...and what's the temperature and humidity in the summer?
posted by leotrotsky at 7:14 AM on September 7, 2017 [1 favorite]
...and what's the temperature and humidity in the summer?
posted by leotrotsky at 7:14 AM on September 7, 2017 [1 favorite]
There appears to be a high correlation between relatively narrow average temperature bands which tend towards the middle of the spectrum and high adoption rates of cycling.
Amsterdam
Copenhagen
Portland
San Francisco
Though even in San Francisco cycling only makes up 4.4% of commuter traffic.
posted by grumpybear69 at 7:16 AM on September 7, 2017 [2 favorites]
Amsterdam
Copenhagen
Portland
San Francisco
Though even in San Francisco cycling only makes up 4.4% of commuter traffic.
posted by grumpybear69 at 7:16 AM on September 7, 2017 [2 favorites]
If we made the infrastructure costs for cars more apparent and proportional to the people using it more, that might help. Make the gas tax an actual thing again, for starters.
If you want to drive a 3-ton truck to work and back everyday, great, just start paying a more accurate share of the wear and tear your vehicle is causing on the roads and air. Use the extra revenue to build out transit so people at least start to consider other options.
posted by strange chain at 7:22 AM on September 7, 2017 [8 favorites]
If you want to drive a 3-ton truck to work and back everyday, great, just start paying a more accurate share of the wear and tear your vehicle is causing on the roads and air. Use the extra revenue to build out transit so people at least start to consider other options.
posted by strange chain at 7:22 AM on September 7, 2017 [8 favorites]
I used to live in Coventry and cycled fairly regularly, the flatness definitely played a part but also the uni I worked at had set up a cycling path network to the campus. I cycled more when I lived in Milton Keynes, which is roughly as hilly, but has much lower population density, because they had dedicated cycle paths everywhere. When I moved to Cornwall, which is very hilly, I stopped pretty much immediately. The fact that there is no cycling infrastructure and cars zip around the roads doesn't help. I don't always feel that safe in a car on the country roads, to hell with cycling them.
posted by biffa at 7:28 AM on September 7, 2017 [1 favorite]
posted by biffa at 7:28 AM on September 7, 2017 [1 favorite]
I just started partial cycle commuting (I drive with a bike rack to drop my kid at school then leave my car there and bike the remaining 2 miles into work) for the first time in a long time. It's all downhill on my way in but I still arrive with a slight sheen of sweat on warm days. It's okay because I wear business casual at work and can just go splash some water on my face. The way back is all one long steady ceaseless up hill, it sucks, and I'm drenched by the time I get there. And other people on bikes (not electric!) are whizzing by me the whole time wtf! There's protected lanes for a few blocks which make me feel more comfortable tootling along like a grandma, but those hills are effing tough and we have four actual seasons here so it's a big nope to midsummer or midwinter cycle commuting. I will take the bus instead.
posted by soren_lorensen at 7:30 AM on September 7, 2017 [1 favorite]
posted by soren_lorensen at 7:30 AM on September 7, 2017 [1 favorite]
I was a bike commuter in Stavanger. It was a little hilly, but that was part of the fun. The weather was usually not cooperative. What made it work was the short distance (5 miles) and changing room + shower at work.
posted by redyaky at 7:39 AM on September 7, 2017
posted by redyaky at 7:39 AM on September 7, 2017
Infrastructure.
If there is a shower at work, if there are protected bike lanes, then heat and hills can be surmounted my most cyclists.
The Piedmont in NC has some horrendous hills, but the worst problem is that as I am crawling up them, I have to worry about getting hit by a driver ... who may or may not be texting. If I had a protected lane, I'd actually be able to breathe because I wouldn't be holding my breath in fear of becoming a smear on the curb.
The rest of the inconvenience of cycling to work just gets normalized and part of the workday, once the fear of death can be discarded.
posted by allthinky at 7:46 AM on September 7, 2017 [11 favorites]
If there is a shower at work, if there are protected bike lanes, then heat and hills can be surmounted my most cyclists.
The Piedmont in NC has some horrendous hills, but the worst problem is that as I am crawling up them, I have to worry about getting hit by a driver ... who may or may not be texting. If I had a protected lane, I'd actually be able to breathe because I wouldn't be holding my breath in fear of becoming a smear on the curb.
The rest of the inconvenience of cycling to work just gets normalized and part of the workday, once the fear of death can be discarded.
posted by allthinky at 7:46 AM on September 7, 2017 [11 favorites]
wonder what the tipping point was that created a public/ political environment that encouraged people to get out of their cars and ride a bike.
Probably this.
Before World War II, journeys in the Netherlands were predominantly made by bike, but in the 1950s and 1960s, as car ownership rocketed, this changed. As in many countries in Europe, roads became increasingly congested and cyclists were squeezed to the kerb.
The jump in car numbers caused a huge rise in the number of deaths on the roads. In 1971 more than 3,000 people were killed by motor vehicles, 450 of them children.
In response a social movement demanding safer cycling conditions for children was formed. Called Stop de Kindermoord (Stop the Child Murder), it took its name from the headline of an article written by journalist Vic Langenhoff whose own child had been killed in a road accident.
That's roughly twice the per capita US car deaths in 2015. Also, the Netherlands is a small place, so I assume everyone knew someone who was killed in a car accident.
posted by zabuni at 7:49 AM on September 7, 2017 [2 favorites]
Probably this.
Before World War II, journeys in the Netherlands were predominantly made by bike, but in the 1950s and 1960s, as car ownership rocketed, this changed. As in many countries in Europe, roads became increasingly congested and cyclists were squeezed to the kerb.
The jump in car numbers caused a huge rise in the number of deaths on the roads. In 1971 more than 3,000 people were killed by motor vehicles, 450 of them children.
In response a social movement demanding safer cycling conditions for children was formed. Called Stop de Kindermoord (Stop the Child Murder), it took its name from the headline of an article written by journalist Vic Langenhoff whose own child had been killed in a road accident.
That's roughly twice the per capita US car deaths in 2015. Also, the Netherlands is a small place, so I assume everyone knew someone who was killed in a car accident.
posted by zabuni at 7:49 AM on September 7, 2017 [2 favorites]
Jesus, the whole "you can only get a lot of people on bikes if it's flat" canard? We went through this really recently.
Also, Trondheim.
posted by entropone at 8:06 AM on September 7, 2017 [3 favorites]
Also, Trondheim.
posted by entropone at 8:06 AM on September 7, 2017 [3 favorites]
Biking everywhere is awesome, though I definitely prefer 5° F in a blizzard to 105° F and sunny. Have never bothered with a shower at work in either scenario, though I do have one available. (OK, it's usually not that hot in the morning, and going home on stupidly hot days may involve immediately shucking off all clothes the instant I close the door behind me.)
Anyway, I love several things about this parking garage: not only the sheer number of users and the fact that it exists at all, but that it has awesome find-a-spot features, and, most especially, that it has room for large bikes without creating an enormous tangle pile. I spend a lot of time in public meetings commenting on bike parking specifics, and making sure racks are actually suitable for their supposed purpose is a hassle. Not only are the drawings often indicating something that won't fit bikes properly (because the engineers and architects don't bike), they're often installed incorrectly (because the construction teams don't bike). And that's with bog-standard staple/inverted U racks, which should be difficult to screw up. And yet.
Also, the Netherlands is a small place, so I assume everyone knew someone who was killed in a car accident.
Is that not true in the US? If not killed, then horribly maimed? I certainly know a few personally, and that's without bringing in my past life in personal injury law.
posted by asperity at 8:15 AM on September 7, 2017
Anyway, I love several things about this parking garage: not only the sheer number of users and the fact that it exists at all, but that it has awesome find-a-spot features, and, most especially, that it has room for large bikes without creating an enormous tangle pile. I spend a lot of time in public meetings commenting on bike parking specifics, and making sure racks are actually suitable for their supposed purpose is a hassle. Not only are the drawings often indicating something that won't fit bikes properly (because the engineers and architects don't bike), they're often installed incorrectly (because the construction teams don't bike). And that's with bog-standard staple/inverted U racks, which should be difficult to screw up. And yet.
Also, the Netherlands is a small place, so I assume everyone knew someone who was killed in a car accident.
Is that not true in the US? If not killed, then horribly maimed? I certainly know a few personally, and that's without bringing in my past life in personal injury law.
posted by asperity at 8:15 AM on September 7, 2017
photoslob: "St Petersburg has miles of bike lanes that go largely unused except for about a thousand cycling enthusiasts."
Is that because Florida's "bike lanes" are mostly comprised of narrow, unprotected shoulders on 50-65mph roads with bicycles painted onto them?
If you put seriously half-assed infrastructure into a region that has neither the climate nor urban fabric to support cycling, then yeah. Nobody's going to use it.
To an extent, I support the "build it, and they will come" mentality when it comes to high-quality bicycle infrastructure. However, localities need to make efforts in other areas to get people out of their cars, and build cities that don't require people to drive 20 miles to work, or snake 5 miles through a subdivision to drive to a grocery store.
posted by schmod at 8:21 AM on September 7, 2017 [9 favorites]
Is that because Florida's "bike lanes" are mostly comprised of narrow, unprotected shoulders on 50-65mph roads with bicycles painted onto them?
If you put seriously half-assed infrastructure into a region that has neither the climate nor urban fabric to support cycling, then yeah. Nobody's going to use it.
To an extent, I support the "build it, and they will come" mentality when it comes to high-quality bicycle infrastructure. However, localities need to make efforts in other areas to get people out of their cars, and build cities that don't require people to drive 20 miles to work, or snake 5 miles through a subdivision to drive to a grocery store.
posted by schmod at 8:21 AM on September 7, 2017 [9 favorites]
build cities that don't require people to drive 20 miles to work
That is easier said than done. It is no coincidence that many cities with high rates of bicycling are also ports of commerce. And even when you are a port, like Philadelphia, getting jobs into the city center rather than miles away in lower-cost suburban enclaves is a real challenge and usually requires tax incentives which drains funds from other initiatives, like education and cycling infrastructure. Philly does have a higher rate of cycling than New York, but it is also far smaller and lacks ubiquitous public transit.
posted by grumpybear69 at 8:34 AM on September 7, 2017
That is easier said than done. It is no coincidence that many cities with high rates of bicycling are also ports of commerce. And even when you are a port, like Philadelphia, getting jobs into the city center rather than miles away in lower-cost suburban enclaves is a real challenge and usually requires tax incentives which drains funds from other initiatives, like education and cycling infrastructure. Philly does have a higher rate of cycling than New York, but it is also far smaller and lacks ubiquitous public transit.
posted by grumpybear69 at 8:34 AM on September 7, 2017
There appears to be a high correlation between relatively narrow average temperature bands which tend towards the middle of the spectrum and high adoption rates of cycling.
Amsterdam
Copenhagen
Copenhagen can get pretty windy, and gets a good amount of rain; I believe it snows there in the winter as well. So while it's good for cycling, it's not the Platonic optimal cycling location, nor proof that lesser climes are unsuitable for bicycle-based transportation.
posted by acb at 8:35 AM on September 7, 2017 [1 favorite]
Amsterdam
Copenhagen
Copenhagen can get pretty windy, and gets a good amount of rain; I believe it snows there in the winter as well. So while it's good for cycling, it's not the Platonic optimal cycling location, nor proof that lesser climes are unsuitable for bicycle-based transportation.
posted by acb at 8:35 AM on September 7, 2017 [1 favorite]
The flat landscape allows you to clearly see all that political will that simply doesn't exist in the Midwest.
posted by humboldt32 at 8:36 AM on September 7, 2017 [12 favorites]
posted by humboldt32 at 8:36 AM on September 7, 2017 [12 favorites]
...and what's the temperature and humidity in the summer?
Trust me, cycling in the summer months is no fun but from the end of Sept thru May it's easy peasy. Highs in the low 80's at most and most mornings you're riding in temps in the high 60's. It's ideal.
And Schmod, I'll be the last person to defend FL at large when it comes to disfunctional infrastructure but here in St Pete we have miles of bike lanes and protected trails. We even have protected bike lanes in downtown. There's a reason why St Pete is becoming the Portland of America's dong.
posted by photoslob at 8:37 AM on September 7, 2017 [2 favorites]
Trust me, cycling in the summer months is no fun but from the end of Sept thru May it's easy peasy. Highs in the low 80's at most and most mornings you're riding in temps in the high 60's. It's ideal.
And Schmod, I'll be the last person to defend FL at large when it comes to disfunctional infrastructure but here in St Pete we have miles of bike lanes and protected trails. We even have protected bike lanes in downtown. There's a reason why St Pete is becoming the Portland of America's dong.
posted by photoslob at 8:37 AM on September 7, 2017 [2 favorites]
I'm still waiting for someone to invent and engineer more sheer joy, goodness per kilo of metal or other materials, with the least risk and the most accessibility, than a bicycle.
A surfboard or skateboard comes close, except for the lack of access to good surf, and the increased risks of both. Snowboarding, while awesome, doesn't even come close due to the restricted access. A kite, perhaps, comes even closer, and maybe even surpasses it just on weight/joy ratios alone.
A good camera might nearly match a bicycle on the engineering, weight, joy and usefulness ratios, but that's a very specific thing. Few people naturally get the kind of joy you get from a bicycle out of a camera.
And yet none of these things will ever also be as useful as a bicycle. It is so incredibly rare that you have a simple machine that is so self-evidently good for the heart and soul and just plain old innocent fun that can put a smile on some of the grumpiest faces known. And yet, somehow, it's still useful and utilitarian - it's also a proper tool and vehicle.
A bicycle is kind of like pizza. Even when it's bad, it's pretty good.
posted by loquacious at 8:40 AM on September 7, 2017 [24 favorites]
A surfboard or skateboard comes close, except for the lack of access to good surf, and the increased risks of both. Snowboarding, while awesome, doesn't even come close due to the restricted access. A kite, perhaps, comes even closer, and maybe even surpasses it just on weight/joy ratios alone.
A good camera might nearly match a bicycle on the engineering, weight, joy and usefulness ratios, but that's a very specific thing. Few people naturally get the kind of joy you get from a bicycle out of a camera.
And yet none of these things will ever also be as useful as a bicycle. It is so incredibly rare that you have a simple machine that is so self-evidently good for the heart and soul and just plain old innocent fun that can put a smile on some of the grumpiest faces known. And yet, somehow, it's still useful and utilitarian - it's also a proper tool and vehicle.
A bicycle is kind of like pizza. Even when it's bad, it's pretty good.
posted by loquacious at 8:40 AM on September 7, 2017 [24 favorites]
Places that get their right-wing culture-war politics from America are unsuitable for cycling, because the American morality of “personal responsibility” and poverty as a personal failing, as well as racialised zoning covenants and an antipathy towards cheap mobility for poor people (i.e., non-whites) do not go well with ubiquitous cheap transportation. (Other than the US, this mostly includes Australia, though the mindset emerges in the UK in the pages of the Daily Mail and/or talk radio from time to time.)
posted by acb at 8:41 AM on September 7, 2017
posted by acb at 8:41 AM on September 7, 2017
Philly does have a higher rate of cycling than New York, but it is also far smaller and lacks ubiquitous public transit.
It is also a more affordable city, which means that you have people living in the city, closer to their jobs. I'm thrilled to that as a working class person I can live a ten minute bike ride away from my job.
What this thread touches on is that one of the big challenges to improving American cities is a history of sprawl and car-centric development. A lot of people think it's normal to spend 60 minutes or more in a car to get to work - combine that with a more recent history of urban gentrification, and a pretty fucked-up economy in general, and you've got a situation in which it's very hard for a lot of people to live close to where they work.
Which makes it harder to bike to work.
Transit would be great, but we go back to that history of sprawl/car-centric development - low-density residential networks doom transit to being inconvenient and under-used.
So people keep choosing cars, which choke the road, foul the air, and ruin neighborhoods.
posted by entropone at 8:47 AM on September 7, 2017 [4 favorites]
It is also a more affordable city, which means that you have people living in the city, closer to their jobs. I'm thrilled to that as a working class person I can live a ten minute bike ride away from my job.
What this thread touches on is that one of the big challenges to improving American cities is a history of sprawl and car-centric development. A lot of people think it's normal to spend 60 minutes or more in a car to get to work - combine that with a more recent history of urban gentrification, and a pretty fucked-up economy in general, and you've got a situation in which it's very hard for a lot of people to live close to where they work.
Which makes it harder to bike to work.
Transit would be great, but we go back to that history of sprawl/car-centric development - low-density residential networks doom transit to being inconvenient and under-used.
So people keep choosing cars, which choke the road, foul the air, and ruin neighborhoods.
posted by entropone at 8:47 AM on September 7, 2017 [4 favorites]
I bought a Brompton last month, and it is awesome... Just thought I'd throw that out there. Easy to hop on the commuter rail without feeling like an asshole, and just got back from an Amtrak trip over the long weekend that required no bike boxes... Super lovely.
posted by kaibutsu at 9:02 AM on September 7, 2017 [4 favorites]
posted by kaibutsu at 9:02 AM on September 7, 2017 [4 favorites]
I second the Brompton. I have one, and am very happy with it. It's my third folding bike (after a Dahon Vitesse which was stolen, and a Raleigh Stash which was cheap but I would not recommend), and the best one. In its folded state, it is the size of a large piece of hand luggage and fits under a desk, I usually don't need to worry about there being bike storage facilities at work.
The thing about folding bikes that a lot of other manufacturers miss is that the centre of gravity of the folded bike is crucial to its portability. The Raleigh, in particular, sucked at this; one could just about carry it, but only as an unwieldy object that occupied both arms. It was a folding bike that would fit in a car trunk, but not one anyone would want to take on public transport if one had a choice. The Dahon was a little better, but still cumbersome. The Brompton, however, is exquisitely well designed in this regard; once can pick it up with one hand (it weighs about 10Kg) and carry it up several flights of stairs, or through a crowd on a railway platform.
The one downside of the Brompton is that, as they're built by hand in London, they're somewhat expensive compared to the Chinese/Taiwanese bikes. (Apparently they once tried to shift production to Taiwan, but weren't happy with the results and abandoned the experiment.)
posted by acb at 9:14 AM on September 7, 2017 [4 favorites]
The thing about folding bikes that a lot of other manufacturers miss is that the centre of gravity of the folded bike is crucial to its portability. The Raleigh, in particular, sucked at this; one could just about carry it, but only as an unwieldy object that occupied both arms. It was a folding bike that would fit in a car trunk, but not one anyone would want to take on public transport if one had a choice. The Dahon was a little better, but still cumbersome. The Brompton, however, is exquisitely well designed in this regard; once can pick it up with one hand (it weighs about 10Kg) and carry it up several flights of stairs, or through a crowd on a railway platform.
The one downside of the Brompton is that, as they're built by hand in London, they're somewhat expensive compared to the Chinese/Taiwanese bikes. (Apparently they once tried to shift production to Taiwan, but weren't happy with the results and abandoned the experiment.)
posted by acb at 9:14 AM on September 7, 2017 [4 favorites]
Let’s Nail the Cycling Hills Myth Once and For All posted by Pendragon at 9:17 AM on September 7 [10 favorites +] [!]
I spent way too much time composing a post about the methodologies in this but TLDR their idea of "hills" and assumptions about infrastructure, commute lengths, and the fitness of the populace aren't a good match for conditions in much of the US.
posted by achrise at 10:58 AM on September 7, 2017 [1 favorite]
I spent way too much time composing a post about the methodologies in this but TLDR their idea of "hills" and assumptions about infrastructure, commute lengths, and the fitness of the populace aren't a good match for conditions in much of the US.
posted by achrise at 10:58 AM on September 7, 2017 [1 favorite]
I have recently gotten back to bike commuting, after quite a while away from it. I was mainly motivated by parking prices-a university class has me commuting to the downtown area to park 4-6 times a week, and I realized over the summer that I was spending (wasting) $25 a week+ on parking garages. My city fairly recently added a physically separated bike lane on one of the downtown main roads and I was shocked by how much more enjoyable it made the commute into parts of downtown. It allows you to plan trips such that you spend only the very last few blocks in traffic. The rest feels much safer, and you only get the stress at the very end of the trip.
In general, I have been pleasantly surprised to find that the trips I am taking on my bike add less than 10 minutes (sometimes less than 5!) of commute time each way, but save me a bunch on parking on gas. I'm hoping to keep the habit up through the winter, though I'll probably skip it on the absolute worst days.
posted by HighTechUnderpants at 11:09 AM on September 7, 2017 [2 favorites]
In general, I have been pleasantly surprised to find that the trips I am taking on my bike add less than 10 minutes (sometimes less than 5!) of commute time each way, but save me a bunch on parking on gas. I'm hoping to keep the habit up through the winter, though I'll probably skip it on the absolute worst days.
posted by HighTechUnderpants at 11:09 AM on September 7, 2017 [2 favorites]
When I first moved here in 1997, I was fresh from living in Shanghai and biking pretty much everywhere that wasn't literally down the block, so I naturally biked around. At that time there weren't tons of cyclists, there was no greenway and hardly anyone biked year round (or even, as I do, sorta-year-round, taking the bus for a couple of weeks here and there in the worst of winter).
I was just thinking (while riding my bike!) that all of us who bike-commuted in Minneapolis before the current infrastructure boom deserved some kind of campaign ribbon for dealing with the Tough Biking Climate of Yore.
posted by the phlegmatic king at 11:21 AM on September 7, 2017 [3 favorites]
I was just thinking (while riding my bike!) that all of us who bike-commuted in Minneapolis before the current infrastructure boom deserved some kind of campaign ribbon for dealing with the Tough Biking Climate of Yore.
posted by the phlegmatic king at 11:21 AM on September 7, 2017 [3 favorites]
I'm still waiting for someone to invent and engineer more sheer joy, goodness per kilo of metal or other materials, with the least risk and the most accessibility, than a bicycle.
That's just, like, your opinion, man.
I cycle part way because there's nowhere to park where I work and with traffic and topography it's just as fast as the bus. But I don't enjoy it. Even the protected stretches. Even if cars disappeared tomorrow. It's exercise I'd rather not be doing at 8 in the morning. The up hill trip back is definitely not what I really want to be doing after a busy day at work. It's practical when the weather is okay, but it's not enjoyable for me.
posted by soren_lorensen at 11:27 AM on September 7, 2017 [2 favorites]
One of the things I miss most about living in The Netherlands is being able to bike to work, to bike to the pub, to bike home afterwards. I miss being warned by serious-faced policemen that my front or rear light wasn't working, I miss getting my front tire stuck in the tram tracks and being pitched over my handlebars in a business suit, I miss people expecting me to be able to carry an entire case of beer on my handlebars, a friend on my seat, and still somehow do a kick-start on a bike that I needed to have an advanced karate belt to kick over the top tube.
Good times.
posted by 1adam12 at 11:41 AM on September 7, 2017 [5 favorites]
Good times.
posted by 1adam12 at 11:41 AM on September 7, 2017 [5 favorites]
Just moved to Phoenix from Copenhagen, and I hear ya, 1adam12. I miss biking where it is easy to do.
That having been said, for many months a year here in PHX it is totally reasonable biking weather. Today, it is 104, and we biked anyhow. It's much easier to bike in 104 than it is in snow though, but I'm not sure I'd feel the same at 114.
Speaking of, my first winter in Copenhagen, the first day it snowed (which doesn't happen too much; it's usually more rainy than snowy) -- I put my bike away and proceeded to take the bus. Past all of the Copenhageners who were on their bikes anyhow-- because *the city clears the bike paths*. So, areas with snow can totally do year-round biking-- provided they're willing to invest not only in infrastructure for biking but also in snow clearing.
posted by nat at 2:28 PM on September 7, 2017 [3 favorites]
That having been said, for many months a year here in PHX it is totally reasonable biking weather. Today, it is 104, and we biked anyhow. It's much easier to bike in 104 than it is in snow though, but I'm not sure I'd feel the same at 114.
Speaking of, my first winter in Copenhagen, the first day it snowed (which doesn't happen too much; it's usually more rainy than snowy) -- I put my bike away and proceeded to take the bus. Past all of the Copenhageners who were on their bikes anyhow-- because *the city clears the bike paths*. So, areas with snow can totally do year-round biking-- provided they're willing to invest not only in infrastructure for biking but also in snow clearing.
posted by nat at 2:28 PM on September 7, 2017 [3 favorites]
I've biked through the desert in 122 degree weather. Electrolytes and long sleeves are the way to go.
My biking buddy had a harder time of it and we ended up biking at night, when it was more like 104 out. But I got used to it. I had just put long sleeves on right before the cop pulled us over:
Cop: "Why are you biking at night? It's dangerous."
Us: "Would you rather we biked during the day?"
Cop: "Oh. Want some ice water?"
posted by aniola at 9:17 PM on September 29, 2017
My biking buddy had a harder time of it and we ended up biking at night, when it was more like 104 out. But I got used to it. I had just put long sleeves on right before the cop pulled us over:
Cop: "Why are you biking at night? It's dangerous."
Us: "Would you rather we biked during the day?"
Cop: "Oh. Want some ice water?"
posted by aniola at 9:17 PM on September 29, 2017
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Guess what? Larges swathes of the Midwest are really flat, too! Indianapolis, Fort Wayne, Chicago, Minneapolis, Detroit, Columbus, Dayton, Toledo, etc.
Indy in particular, thanks to its last mayor, has been investing in some bike infrastructure to the downtown's benefit.
posted by leotrotsky at 6:15 AM on September 7, 2017 [4 favorites]