this post was submitted on 25 Sep 2023
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Well, not that those aren't useful in some capacity, there's the question of hauling groceries and such home, not to mention we need protection from the elements with increasingly brutal summers, and also violent thunderstorms. There's the question of these things being able to trek through deep snow too, to consider.
I guess you could just fit it with baskets and wear a big backpack... but honestly, how far down the hole do we have to go here?
Carbrain from a hexbear, for shame.
I'll start you on some basic NotJustBikes
Groceries
Snow
This one line is heavily assuming that the above poster lives in a urban area, meanwhile they could be someone like me who lives out in essentially a rural area. In my particular case I live in one of the many 'rural cities' (and one that's doing "better" than a grand majority of them) the populate the US outside of your big cities.
Honestly it feels that rural areas just keep being a huge glaring blind spot for most everyone here.
Thank you for the provided resources. Many of the things I've been concerned about were addressed.
However, there's something I want to clear up here.
I'd like to know what your thought process was that caused you to start off with this, so I can address it.
I'm not the type that particularly likes car-centric planning and car-centric infrastructure. I've understood that walkable communities were much easier and less stressful, less expensive, and more efficient in saving on fuel costs and environmental impact for quite some time.
I simply have concerns, which should be understandable, and I want to resolve those concerns in good faith.
The thought process was essentially just "this is the type of post I've seen a thousand times from redditors and @lemm.ee users."
Worries about things like groceries and snow are extremely common themes of car centric reaction post, and I've seen posts much like yours countless times both back on
and on the wider lemmy whenever I mention bicycles or electric micromobility.
The biggest obstacle as an American who has lived in Europe that I see is our infrastructure. You can live comfortably fine your entire life without owning a vehicle in most of Europe. Public transportation isn’t disgusting and is on time. There are many many times more options for travel. But in Europe, they have the advantage of having civilizations living in the area for hundreds, even thousands of years in some spots. This causes the towns to become more compact as there is limited land available compared to the states. Major cities such as Chicago or New York could adopt something like this, but the vast majority of people don’t live in these cities. Instead the towns are expanded and vast in comparison. It’s not uncommon at all to work in a different town, have your kids go to school in a different town, etc.
I work in construction, I and most of the others in my area commute daily. I cannot take public transportation because 1. It doesn’t exist in any area nearby where I’ve worked. And 2. Even if it did, it doesn’t run at 4AM when I’m helping create the cluster of traffic on the highways. I was spending $1300/month in diesel to commute my Truck. I’ve since purchased a Tesla Long Range. While it is somewhat cheaper, it’s not a major difference, but more importantly I have to be extremely careful with my driving and charging. I have to make sure I charge every evening and if I only commute to and from work without additional stops, I’m looking at 20% charge left. This is on the long range model. On top of that, it’s almost half the price to charge from a supercharger than it is from Home due to the power companies having a monopoly. The battery isn’t supposed to be used on a supercharger daily, isn’t supposed to be charged more than 80% daily, and isn’t supposed to be drained to less than 20% daily. Degradation is a huge unforeseen problem in the market. Solar is ridiculously expensive and the majority of families aren’t homeowners.
I’m all for going electric and car free, but we aren’t going to be truly capable for another decade or two.
See, @sicklemode@hexbear.net this is the type of carbrain I thought you were.
Don't be rude and don't waste my time filing mod reports just because you don't agree with something.
lol feel free to rebuttal all of my completely valid points instead of reverting to name calling. If you actually read the comment , it’s pretty clear I’m not but okay 🙄
How far do you live from work and why?
Today, 75 miles away. Yesterday was 88.
Because I work in the construction industry, so I must go where the job site is located
Isn't it fucked how your boss was basically taking $15,600 out of your annual pay by not covering your commute costs?
It's part of the job, truly ask anyone in construction and also why I traded in my expensive truck. Nobody is taking money from me, as I voluntarily go to the job. I could sleep at the job site if I wanted (some guys do). I'm also entitled to a hotel room if I really wanted, but I'd rather drive the couple of hours, eat dinner with the kids, and sleep with my wife in my bed. There are some perks such as fuel cards, however I switched companies only 6 months agobso I'm low man on the totem pole for it, or wait till I get promoted. I'm in a union and well taken care of. I can just as easily find something closer, but I love my job, I love my crew, and I love my company. At the end of the day, there's plenty of ways we are all getting screwed, but my company isn't one of them. I'd rather focus on the monopoly cartels such as PGE, Verizon, Blackrock, and a plethora of others that are directly costing me much more and affecting my cost of living.
Ok I'm gonna start a struggle session here. Bikes aren't practical in America atleast atm because:
We're not a perfectly flat glorified city state like the Netherlands
Certain subcultures in the US will literally try to kill you with their car if they see you riding a bike on the road.
Bikeseats are uncomfortable.
Ebikes
Kill them first
Skill issue
I mean, you have a point. Americna infrastructure is wildly hostile to bikes in most places. In my area bikes go on the sidewalk as a mater of course or someone will make it weird. So then you have deal with poorly maintained sidewalks.