I generally don't drive anywhere that's under 15Km away, but there are exceptions. Taking the family to certain places just isn't feasible by bike sometimes.
is 2km far? that is a very short bike ride, and even shorter drive. As someone who lives in a suburb i regularly drive over 2km just to pickup some takeout food
With a dysfunctional public transit system and unsafe bike lanes (not separated from the road), that doesn’t always work. Our school is 10km away, so for us, bike is off the table for now.
Don't you feel confined to your little area? In the weekend my wife and I drove out to a rural hike, 40mins out of town. I couldn't imagine giving up that kind of convenience and missing those kinds of opportunities.
What if you don't live near a pool? Your kids just don't learn to swim? My local pool is a 15 minute drive, but a harrowing cycle route.
Where I live, my 14 mile commute requires traveling on a highway. To avoid the highway (not an interstate, legally can bike on, but too dangerous for me to cycle on, people here are dicks to cyclists), would push the distance to 20 miles. East of the highway is a no-go because of wetlands, west of the highway is the only option but due to some other wetlands and farms pushes me much further west.
I agree that many of the drives out in the countryside should be bike rides, but not all.
I’ve seen people driving their car to the supermarket <1km away for a handful of shopping, which is obviously bonkers. Then again, you sometimes need to drive somewhere or be cut off, which leads to poor mental health and quality of life.
Well, it's only 15-20 minutes by motorcycle, but I live in mountainous terrain and I'm not one of those crazy bicyclists who can maintain 20mph up a hill. If it was 15-20 minutes away because of stoplights and traffic it'd be bicyclable, but it's 15-20 minutes of highway through the hills.
I can't exactly just pick any 'ol other job; I'm in school and that is extremely limiting.
Also, if I suddenly had more money, I'd spend at least some of it on (motor)bikes because that's my hobby, so "you'll save money on transportation" doesn't work.
Sure, you can ride a bike. Now, tell me how you would transport groceries for a family of 4, or how you transport the kids to doctor's appointments, for instance. What about people who physically can't ride a bike? What if I'm coming from 15 miles away?
Imagine that you and your spouse both work 15-20 miles away from your home, in different directions (This is common outside of the biggest urban areas). Unless you REALLY like to bike, you need two vehicles.
I realized part of the problem recently; if you can afford to live in a 15 minute bike city, you're also living in a 5 minute car city. (Or more precisely, if something is a 10 minute walk away, it's about a minute or two by car.)
Until you go from one car to zero, the car is a damn good temptation.
I just did a round trip to pick up something from the library, a mile away. Could have walked, but couldn't have walked and got back in time before my meeting.
Have you ever been to the rural US? Things are very far apart (often 10s of miles) and riding a bike may not be practical for things in the same way as in an urban or suburban area.
US suburban sprawl, enormous parking lots, and generally inefficient land use is what puts everything 10 to 15 to 25 miles away from home. It didn't have to be like this.
I drive 4 miles to my office and back, Monday - Friday.
*I only drive because, with no footpath most of the way, it's dangerous to walk and I would not feel safe cycling (the road attracts many idiot drivers because there is almost zero chance of encountering police).
You would think so, but my commute to work is a little over 3 km and I used to drive a car to work, until I realized how ridiculous that was. I know co-workers who live even closer and still they drive.I live in a small town, but people still use cars for everything although we have good bike roads.
reply