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Anon finds a plot hole (sh.itjust.works)
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[-] TheTechnician27@lemmy.world 100 points 7 months ago* (last edited 7 months ago)

> setting has bikes and trains

> still using cars as main form of transportation

[-] RaivoKulli@sopuli.xyz 20 points 7 months ago

Cars are much more advanced tech than bikes. Hell we have partly self driving electric cars now. That's some sci-fi shit

[-] HeyThisIsntTheYMCA@lemmy.world 12 points 7 months ago

huh, now i want to slap some sensors on my ebike so it can do ACC

[-] Damage@feddit.it 5 points 7 months ago

That's why I can't understand how some bikes can cost as much as a small used car.

[-] Bronzebeard@lemmy.zip 7 points 7 months ago

Buying something at the beginning of its usefulness vs the end where it's practically falling apart and worth only what you can sell its parts for...

[-] wander1236@sh.itjust.works 3 points 7 months ago

Economies of scale and subsidies

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[-] kbobabob@lemmy.dbzer0.com 16 points 7 months ago

Hold on, let me just load up the family onto my bicycle and ride the 15 miles to the grocery store.

[-] fnrir 41 points 7 months ago

Can this argument just disappear from discourse? People don't always drive around with their partner, dog and 2.5 kids AND groceries AND spare tires AND grandparents.

The majority of people in car-centric areas use their car only to haul around themselves, which could be done with public transport or bikes.

[-] TheTechnician27@lemmy.world 15 points 7 months ago* (last edited 7 months ago)

That, and the nearest grocery store being 15 miles (25 km) away is highly unusual even by US standards. In the US alone, over 80% of people live in what the Census Bureau calls a city, defined as "encompass[ing] at least 2,000 housing units or hav[ing] a population of at least 5,000 people." The fact that someone chooses to live in bumfuck nowhere shouldn't mean that the other people who live in a town with population > 5 shouldn't get to have safe, affordable, well-kept walking/micromobility/public transit infrastructure.

People don't suddenly stop driving cars when not-cars becomes the predominant form of transportation. Like I said, "main form of transportation". That cars are by far the main form is the problem because, among other huge problems, it induces reliance on cars and creates expensive, unmaintainable sprawl that makes other forms of transit completely impractical. Hell, even bumfuck nowhere towns used to have passenger rail that came through them before the tracks were ripped out. I think people who worry that good not-car infrastructure will destroy their ability to drive are projecting, because in reality, it's always been car infrastructure that eats up everything else around it, not vice-versa.

"What do you mean 'boats shouldn't be the primary form of transportation'? Did you ever consider that I chose to live on an island off the coast of Michigan??"

[-] prole 4 points 7 months ago

True. However "food deserts" do exist in some US cities. Though that's another consequence of unfettered capitalism.

[-] driving_crooner@lemmy.eco.br 5 points 7 months ago

Im surprised everytime I see a car with more than 2 people, just 1 is the norm

[-] HeyThisIsntTheYMCA@lemmy.world 3 points 7 months ago

Legit. If my wife wants to come on a trip I'm driving on, she can hop on her bike. The two of our bikes together cost a fifth what our car cost, and the "fuel" expenses are negligible with solar.

Honestly thinking of a way to solar recharge the bikes while we're camping. Like, an umbrella to shade the battery, with a solar panel on top and an extension cord up connect the battery under the damn thing. Maybe solar panels on the bike too and some active cooling for the batteries idk

[-] vacuumflower@lemmy.sdf.org 22 points 7 months ago

I leave the 8-story building (with an elevator), walk 5-10 minutes (one road crossing with lights), buy groceries, in 30 minutes I'm back home.

Something is wrong with that murrka thing.

[-] Taldan@lemmy.world 7 points 7 months ago

Most Americans are used to very spread out cities. It causes a lot of problems with groceries since you have to make far fewer grocery trips, which then means fresh foods are rare. Probably a huge contributor to America's obesity problem

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[-] balsoft@lemmy.ml 3 points 7 months ago* (last edited 7 months ago)

The closest grocery store is literally in the same building I currently live in. It takes me ~30 seconds from my apartment door to grocery store door.. This (<3 mins to the nearest grocery store) is the norm in a lot of places.

When I lived in my own house in the woods (literally no neighbors), I could bike ~10 minutes to the nearest small farmer's shop, or ~20 minutes and get to a bigger grocery store. The fact that you must drive to buy groceries is, frankly, insane.

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[-] kiagam@lemmy.world 21 points 7 months ago

Oh yes, the grocery store commute. You can clearly see in traffic that every car is full of groceries and people everyday at all times, and is rarely one person alone

[-] balsoft@lemmy.ml 10 points 7 months ago* (last edited 7 months ago)

You know that your family can ride too? In cities which aren't car-centric hell-holes, it's normal for kids of very young ages (6-8 years old) to walk/bike everywhere on their own. It also tends to help a lot with their independence and development.

Also, if you build your cities correctly, your grocery store will be a <3 minute walk. Your spouse or kids can just walk there.

[-] kbobabob@lemmy.dbzer0.com 3 points 7 months ago

If, if, if... That's not how the real world works

[-] balsoft@lemmy.ml 3 points 7 months ago* (last edited 7 months ago)

This is precisely how the real world works, unless you live in under a dictatorship of capital so brazen they have even taken the concept of a livable city away from you.

[-] kbobabob@lemmy.dbzer0.com 2 points 7 months ago* (last edited 7 months ago)

This is precisely how parts of the real world work, but guess what? There's a fuck ton of places that are not like that, so why just pretend that isn't the case?

[-] prole 2 points 7 months ago

They didn't pretend that, they literally just told you exactly why it isn't the case.

You were the one who said that it isn't how the world works, when it literally is.

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[-] prole 3 points 7 months ago

I mean, it's literally already how it works for billions of people.

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[-] HeyThisIsntTheYMCA@lemmy.world 4 points 7 months ago

Step one: leave the family (especially toddlers and infants) at home with a trusted caretaker or dog. Step two, ride about 15mph so you don't drain the battery too fast. Step three, wake up

[-] CancerMancer@sh.itjust.works 2 points 7 months ago

I'll be sure to tell my brother (single parent) he can just leave his kid at home with the caretaker he can't afford

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[-] Cruel@programming.dev 5 points 7 months ago

Trains and bikes are much more inconvenient. Though bikes are good for close proximity.

[-] Taldan@lemmy.world 11 points 7 months ago

I find the opposite to be true. Taking a train is so much more convenient. Don't have to find a place to park, don't have to do any work to get there. Just sit down and wait

Bikes are nice because I don't have to worry about traffic much, and generally parking isn't an issue

Cars are really inconvenient. You have a gigantic vehicle that you have to navigate around many other vehicles, then find a parking spot, usually not close to where you're actually going

[-] Cruel@programming.dev 4 points 7 months ago* (last edited 7 months ago)

Finding a place to park a car is inconvenient, but locking up a bike somewhere isn't?

And you must live within walking distance of a train.

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[-] Damage@feddit.it 11 points 7 months ago

There are bikes that have motors, it helps reach further away locations.

[-] Bronzebeard@lemmy.zip 9 points 7 months ago

Do those motors keep the rain and snow off you?

And look at all these single non-parents trying to tell everyone they should only use a bike...

[-] wizardbeard@lemmy.dbzer0.com 7 points 7 months ago* (last edited 7 months ago)

Don't forget that most of them live in dense urban areas as well, and to say they "look down" on those who don't would be an absurd understatement.

Like, I moved to a place that is aiming to be an entirely walkable town, but it's not there yet. The pandemic put a lot of the development on hold and things are finally getting back up to speed now. My closest grocery store was going to be two blocks away, but that was scrapped. There's one being built that will be 3 miles away, so bike-able when it's finally fucking opened. Currently, the closest one(s) are ~10 miles away. I work a job that is entirely possible to do remotely, but the execs have forced us all back into the office, ~20 miles away. I drive a hybrid because I can't afford a full EV right now. My home's power is nuclear and solar.

Some of the chucklefucks in these comment sections act like I'm personally clear cutting the rainforests because I dare to say that I require a car in my current life situation. Motherfuckers, I'm doing all I personally can. So go sabotage some private jets, or locally campaign for more bike lanes and public transit solutions, and get off my balls.

[-] Taldan@lemmy.world 5 points 7 months ago

they “look down” on those who don’t would be an absurd understatement.

These discussions are never about rural areas. No one is going to a rural town and installing bike lanes. No one is suggesting 20 miles of bike lanes go in where you live. It's always about putting in bike lanes and transit where it makes sense

Some of the chucklefucks in these comment sections act like I’m personally clear cutting the rainforests because I dare to say that I require a car in my current life situation

People are chastising you for arguing people in cities that could easily bike need to drive a car. That's what you're doing. People say we should have bikes and transit in cities and you come out arguing against it

Keep driving your car. No one is taking it away from you, no matter where you live. We just want the option to bike or take transit in our communities. We don't currently have that option because suburban and rural people constantly fight urban transit tooth and nail

[-] wizardbeard@lemmy.dbzer0.com 2 points 7 months ago

These discussions are never about rural areas. No one is going to a rural town and installing[...]

That's... not what I'm talking about at all in regards to people talking down about people who live outside of urban centers. There are people out here actively calling people maga chuds based entirely on the environment they live in.

People are chastising you for arguing people in cities that could easily bike need to drive a car. That's what you're doing.

Oh fuck off, I've done no such thing.

You're only feeding my point and getting all bent up about shit I didn't say. Thank you for at least explicitly stating the strawman you've imagined me to be.

suburban and rural people constantly fight urban transit tooth and nail

Citation fucking needed. How would someone outside one of the cities in question have any influence on those decisions, and more importantly, why in the fuck would they even care?

I personally have the displeasure of knowing plenty of god awful nimbys, and they're all upper class urbanites worried that their little nest egg(s) in the wealthy parts of my local city will lose value.

[-] balsoft@lemmy.ml 2 points 7 months ago* (last edited 7 months ago)

Like, I moved to a place that is aiming to be an entirely walkable town, but it’s not there yet. The pandemic put a lot of the development on hold and things are finally getting back up to speed now. My closest grocery store was going to be two blocks away, but that was scrapped. There’s one being built that will be 3 miles away, so bike-able when it’s finally fucking opened.

That sounds like it's not a walkable town then, not even close. Even my shithole city has multiple grocery stores and cafes on every block, and nobody calls it particularly walkable.

[-] Taldan@lemmy.world 6 points 7 months ago

There are carts you can pull behind your bike that your kids can ride in. Some of them even have up to 4 seats for kids

[-] Bronzebeard@lemmy.zip 3 points 7 months ago

You haven't seen American roads, have you? They're not remotely safe for this shit in most places

[-] TheTechnician27@lemmy.world 3 points 7 months ago

They're not remotely safe for this shit in most places

Yes, good, and why is that? Keep that thought going.

[-] Bronzebeard@lemmy.zip 2 points 7 months ago

It's not because I'm not out there risking my life on a bike trying to commute 40 miles because some idiot on the internet thinks they know everything, that's for sure.

Do we need better infrastructure? Yes.

Are bikes the solution to everything like some dummies in this thread think? Fuck no.

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[-] HeyThisIsntTheYMCA@lemmy.world 2 points 7 months ago

Also they have fairings for the rider you can buy to be your windshield basically

[-] Cruel@programming.dev 5 points 7 months ago

Seriously. Last winter here was -25 C. Miserable for bike rides.

[-] TheTechnician27@lemmy.world 4 points 7 months ago

Thank you, Not Just Bikes, for finally giving us this video when someone pretends that winters are normally -25°C.

[-] HeyThisIsntTheYMCA@lemmy.world 2 points 7 months ago

Could you summarize I don't have half an hour right now

[-] TheTechnician27@lemmy.world 3 points 7 months ago* (last edited 7 months ago)
  • People in much more extreme climates bike at rates an order of magnitude higher than the US and Canada.
  • People physiologically adapt to the climates they live in by being outdoors.
  • North Americans who complain about the cold use the wind chill rather than ambient temperature when that's not actually the temperature they're feeling with clothes on that block the wind. They also take the coldest data points and just say "that was the whole winter".
  • Poor weather magnifies the US and Canada's unsafe bike infrastructure. If we had safe, well-maintained bike infrastructure, it would not be nearly as much of a problem (shown by the Nordic countries biking all the time in the snowy dead of winter).
  • Car infrastructure makes hot weather much worse by creating a heat island.
  • In extreme weather, you can still delay your trip, take public transit, take a car, etc. Commuting via micromobility isn't a binary yes/no thing; if you can't on some days, then don't.
[-] j_overgrens@feddit.nl 2 points 7 months ago

Don't bike that day. Bike the other 364.

Sent to you from the Netherlands where people still cycle in hurricanes.

[-] Cruel@programming.dev 2 points 7 months ago* (last edited 7 months ago)

It's that way for a good 3 months. At least -10 anyways.

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[-] balsoft@lemmy.ml 4 points 7 months ago* (last edited 7 months ago)

Do those motors keep the rain and snow off you?

You know that clothes exist? Like, put on a raincoat, it's fine.

And look at all these single non-parents trying to tell everyone they should only use a bike…

Your partner can just ride on a second bike. That's how me and my gf mostly get around. What a concept, I know!

If your kids are younger than 6 yo, they can probably fit in a cart behind your bike. If they are older, they can ride a bike themselves. This is the norm in many places in europe now.

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[-] Cruel@programming.dev 3 points 7 months ago

Those same vehicles also have a 4-wheel model that's pretty nice.

[-] HeyThisIsntTheYMCA@lemmy.world 1 points 7 months ago

Three wheel is lighter and more efficient

[-] HeyThisIsntTheYMCA@lemmy.world 2 points 7 months ago

I can't speak to trains (our rail system is a joke here) but I've been having more fun traveling and saving money by using my bike. Since I'm on the ground floor, it's very convenient.

[-] mudkip@lemdro.id 4 points 7 months ago

You do know steam powered locomotives started appearing in the early 19th century, long before than cars?

this post was submitted on 15 Oct 2025
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