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this post was submitted on 17 Jul 2023
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If I'm doing a short trip locally in the city, I get that convenience out of my bike. There are times I would have taken a taxi somewhere, but when the app told me how long it would take for my driver to arrive, I just end up cycling there (often rolling past some long lanes of traffic in the process). That process can be even better if a city is built with safe biking paths.
Unfortunately that's super weather dependent and seasonal. Plus, some of us would be a sweaty mess by the time we biked to where we needed to go.
Bikes don't have to be seasonal. Some Nordic countries have well maintained and plowed biking networks and they see significant use throughout the winter.
I get heat warnings every other day lately, and unless it's the rare cloudy day my UV index is at the top of the scale. I don't worry about snow here, I worry about heat and sun. I don't see a good solution for that unless you want to build covered bike routes with ventilation fans all through the metroplex?
That's an unfortunate aspect of global warming I don't see talked about a lot, as more places approach wet bulb, any kind of physical activity outdoor will become deadly.
For me it's moreso the cold. But the act of biking should warm you up anyway. I think it really depends. The pathways are definitely clear, the question is if the weather would make someone drive vs bike.
I would've expected winter time to invalidate options of bike transport, but in city areas where the snow doesn't stay down, it doesn't end up happening as much. You'd of course want to bundle up for the weather, but then it's not so bad. NJB has even talked about how there are some areas of the world that have permafrost under them, and they still prefer bikes. Rain, in my experience, is just miserable either way, so I'd usually prefer the flexibility to go when a downpour has halted rather than keeping a dedicated roof-mobile around to force my way through. That said, buses have been great for rain too, so again, flexibility.
The sweaty mess remark matches with my experience when I was unused to cycling, and when going uphill. The former becomes less true after even just a week or two of experience on the pedals; I didn't even need a ton of acclimation after recovering from a leg injury. The latter may be a symptom of poorer city planning - which prefers bikes treading flatlands for long distances. It shouldn't end up being tiring when you're basically moving your legs in a walking motion at a low pace (traveling for chores is naturally going to be very different from the Tour de France).
Hang on, the sweating goes down with more experience? I was under the assumption it'd just stay that way.
What it really comes down to for biking in the winter is how cold it is vs how much biking itself warms you up. I think most of the time it's probably fine, but there are definitely conditions where it'd be unsafe but a car wouldn't be.
What bothers me is that climate change is making those conditions more frequent, but biking is a good solution to combat emissions too.
At my old job we had showers there, so in the morning I'd just grab a quick bite and pedal off with my change of clothes in my backpack, and shower when I got there.