apparently my city literally literally banned public rail funding, and people online love jerking off about how good biking is, so i figured might as well try. I have come up with:
pros:
- good for mental health / exercise / endorphins
- arguably quaint
- feel like an old timey guy taking his wares to market
- feel european
- can annoy others
- less of a police state around them vs cars
- more flexible parking, routes
- capacity to be peaceful
- nice in summer
cons:
- look like an annoying dork (esp w neon - which also hurts the quaint factor)
- have to wear a helmet (^)
- getting sweaty, potentially “unpresentable” for work
- still have to find safe parking
- still takes a while
- have to find new routes to places
- can’t listen to music or might die
- little meaningful protection against severe injury
- can only carry so many groceries/etc
- sucks in winter
Get an ebike. I wear normal clothes. Lycra is for fitting in to fitness biking groups, most don’t wear it.
I just use my ebike as a car alternative so I don’t have to fight for parking at popular spots in the city or pay for $5/gal gas unnecessarily (unless I’m actually going to a remote place, then I use my car). Gets me to my destination in roughly the same amount of time due to traffic lights and bad traffic. I’ve actually beaten friends in Ubers because the bike paths are much more direct, typically.
Recharging costs pennies, and I’m usually down to half a battery 45 miles in as long as I’m going in hybrid mode where I’m still pedaling. Gets you stupidly into shape as a side benefit, since you are always pedaling and you can turn the battery off if you want a 67lb exercise bike that also goes places.
Throw some panniers on and you can carry or tow a decent amount of stuff since the bike is electric.