apparently my city literally literally banned public rail funding, and people online love jerking off about how good biking is, so i figured might as well try. I have come up with:
pros:
- good for mental health / exercise / endorphins
- arguably quaint
- feel like an old timey guy taking his wares to market
- feel european
- can annoy others
- less of a police state around them vs cars
- more flexible parking, routes
- capacity to be peaceful
- nice in summer
cons:
- look like an annoying dork (esp w neon - which also hurts the quaint factor)
- have to wear a helmet (^)
- getting sweaty, potentially “unpresentable” for work
- still have to find safe parking
- still takes a while
- have to find new routes to places
- can’t listen to music or might die
- little meaningful protection against severe injury
- can only carry so many groceries/etc
- sucks in winter
The major difference is depending on the city.
Absolutely in Tokyo and Saigon, bike riders of all ages were going about their lives. But I can’t imagine being a elderly bike rider in some US cities. Some drivers WANT to fuck with bikers. It’s disgusting.
Indeed, I should have worded my comment better. I just want to point out that it is an infrastructure issue rather than bicycles being objectively worse than cars.