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Graega t1_j648xz6 wrote

Reply to comment by [deleted] in Amsterdam’s underwater parking garage fits 7,000 bicycles and zero cars by Ok_Champion6840

That won't happen. "But mah lifted 20" truck with custom rims and paint job 47 trump bumper stickers and a jeebus fish!" is the next thing out of the yokels' mouths, right after, "But mah freedumbs" when anyone mentions gun control, separation of church and state, or gender reveal parties not killing the parents and 18 guests plus four bystanders who just happened to be in the area.

Our great great grandchildren won't even have a cycle culture at this rate.

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gertalives t1_j64ak3j wrote

Let’s zoom out and then back in a little on the US. It’s an enormous country, and a lot of those yokels live where it’s many miles between anything of interest. Those folks still don’t need lifted trucks in most cases, but bikes aren’t a viable solution. If we look at dense cities, absolutely, bikes and public transit make a zillion times more sense than a sea of individual autos clogging the roads. Those cities are where the infrastructure push makes sense.

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AccordingLifeguard49 t1_j64cqh8 wrote

Hard to ride a bike in 4 feet of snow at -31. In addition some cities & towns are just too darn big for this to work. There are a few chuckle heads with lifted trucks and stickers of course. However, bike travel only works like 3 months out of the year in MT. And I've seen I snow in July. I dont know of many towns where bike travel is so feasible they could restructure for it.

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azimir t1_j64gr8p wrote

And yet, Finland has managed to do just that: bike in the snow.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uhx-26GfCBU

It requires cities to build and maintain bike infrastructure and not just hope that people manage to bike over snowplow drifts.

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feauxtv t1_j652gqq wrote

That was a very enjoyable video to watch!

*A Texan that recently moved to Amsterdam and now only owns a bike and LOVES it!

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InGenAche t1_j65j510 wrote

Yeah but I bet you have that bike jacked on monster wheels and rims right?

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feauxtv t1_j65kclj wrote

Hahaha, no. It's a beater bike, all rusty and has several working/non-working lights, and a kid seat in the back that we wipe down with a wash cloth when it's wet - cuz that's whatya do.

There is a big F150 truck in our neighborhood and we just laugh at thinking about them trying to find parking. And it's only a 150. Doofus.

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azimir t1_j65bhr9 wrote

Do you have a pile of spare bedrooms for a visiting family? :-)

I'm glad that you've found a great place. My visits to Amsterdam have been very nice and it looks like the city is continuing to invest in positive change over time.

The Not Just Bikes YouTube channel has lots of great material on cities and city design. He's got a great one on why he's not a fan of Houston.

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feauxtv t1_j65fkmu wrote

Haha, we live in the city so definitely no "piles of spare bedrooms." 😅

The kiddo loves it and is a fully Dutchy now, so we're sold. And yeah, we ended up watching a few of his videos, they were great! I'm from Dallas, so no real love for Houston from me either. 😜

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alc4pwned t1_j64i63j wrote

I'm sure you can do it. I just don't want to lol. I'm guessing not many people in the US would choose the bike over a warm car during the winter.

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ObsceneGesture4u t1_j65375m wrote

And this is why things never change and we’ll be the deaths of ourselves

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alc4pwned t1_j65kj97 wrote

Because we don't want to bike in the snow? That's a bit sensationalist.

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ObsceneGesture4u t1_j65mked wrote

Is it? We’re currently in the midst of a climate crisis because people refuse to make changes that are inconvenient to them.

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alc4pwned t1_j65nxku wrote

You have made those changes though? Do you eat meat? Live in single family housing? Spend a meaningful portion of your income on nonessentials? Have energy intensive hobbies such as PC gaming?

Those are the kinds of sacrifices I'd expect someone who is saying "not wanting to bike in the snow will be the end of us" to have already made.

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XKSS_ t1_j64fron wrote

It surely never snows in Finland huh.

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Guson1 t1_j64i803 wrote

I can see why you’re in uplifting news because it seems pretty miserable in that box you’ve put yourself in, but please don’t drag the rest of us down with you.

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