Let’s say I abandon my car for an e bike.
I have one route into town, a freeway feeder road with no sidewalk. the speed limit is 45 to 50 miles an hour depending on the stretch (crosses a county line). The most likely scenario is I get honked at every day by large trucks and SUVs in my area, and one day get hit and probably killed by one of them.
I’ll stick with my car until infrastructure improves and if that makes me “part of the problem” so be it, at least I’m alive and not a pink paste on the concrete
IMO that does not make you part of the problem but a victim of it.
You can be part of the solution by advocating for protected bike lanes, sidewalks, lane reduction, and general traffic calming measures. And voting against anybody that complains about the “war on cars” or uses the word woke as an insult (because they are always carbrains too).
The most likely scenario is you’ll be just fine. We’re taking about 1000 people a year.
We should improve biking infrastructure and make it easier, but it’s really not as dangerous as you make it out to be.
I have one route into town, a freeway feeder road with no sidewalk.
I have some doubts that such a place exist. Got an example?
Visit Texas someday.
Briefly.
Exactly, Texas lmao
MANY places like this exist in America unfortunately. Their point is valid, it’s super fucked up and part of the reason cyclists have been harassed, attacked, and even murdered.
Got any examples? I live in the Midwest and while yes major highways are the main roads obviously, there are always smaller state/county roads as well.
Some of which are 45+ mph with no sidewalks, never mind bike lanes. Hop on Google maps and see for yourself, they are hardly rare.
Speed limit isn’t everything, I’m way more worried about traffic levels than speed.
All about the likelihood of encountering an idiot/asshole, less about whether they hit you at 25 vs 45
My Abound came equipped with an optional bamboo board and handrail for the rear rack, which allowed me to take our friends’ small son — who is always eager to join in on any fun there is to be had — on a ride around the neighborhood. Since they live only a few doors down, this rapidly became a routine, and this helped me realize that cargo bikes are excellent options for folks who need to bring little ones with them on their trips.
Is that legal? Here in NM it is illegal to have anyone on a bike without there being a specific seat for them.
And something i never see any of these articles address is transporting dogs.
This is how I sometimes take my dog on my bike for short trips:
But the best way to transport dogs is using a trailer. That tub takes the place of the rear seat; so to transport kids and the dog at the same time I’d need a trailer.
I think the bamboo board could be considered a seat. Plus the additional hand rails and foot rests in the back. I think that law was meant to prevent people from sitting on handlebars or riding on pegs.
And dogs of any substantial size are difficult to get on bikes without training. You could easily fit a Chihuahua or Yorkie on there, but a lab or retriever would be tough and need to be taught to not jump down mid ride.
What about the back of the bike isn’t “a specific seat” to you? It has foot rests, and typically on bikes of that type you can add retention stuff for smaller kids.
