For the record, I love my bike and don't own a car. However, the local cycling "activists" in my community are from the same mold as the YIMBY, neoliberal urbanist types. Overwhelmingly white, PMC and childless, who view bicycling and bike infrastructures as the harbinger for livable cites.

When you're a coder or social media marketing douche sitting on an ergonomic chair for 8 hours, cycling for five minutes to and from your loft is an ideal arrangement. However, cycling is a lot less attractive to a blue collar worker who has to travel to a exurb for their grueling 9 hour retail or Amazon warehouse shift standing on their feet. They would much rather nap on the bus after a shift than push pedals for 5 miles.

There is significant research that bike lanes are a trojan horse for gentrification and neoliberal housing development.

In my mid-size city, the twittersphere about local city politics is disproportionately geared towards cycling. It's become a cool kids club for PMCs to get involved in municipal politics, while ignoring much more desperate issues like homelessness and police brutality.

  • Koa_lala [he/him]
    ·
    edit-2
    4 years ago

    Watch this video. No really, watch it. It covers this very topic.

    spoiler

    Fucking watch it already geez, it's good.

    This is such an American problem. Bikes are ubiquitous here, and we literally have separate roads for bikes, it's an awesome mode of transport, not a lifestyle. American infrastructure is so fucking shit for bikes anything that isn't a car. It's insane.

    Bikes or bike lanes aren't the fucking problem okay?

    Also, see what dedicated biking infrastructure is like

    and https://youtu.be/5iFlWteKVlY

    • anthm17 [he/him]
      ·
      4 years ago

      I don’t like biking around much because I can go from a nice protected bit of bike infrastructure to shoved in with cars on a busy road.

      So I drive or just ride my motorbike.

    • GruttePier [any]
      ·
      4 years ago

      Honestly one of the few things I 100% unironically love about my country is the biking infrastructure.

      It facilitates the use of public modes of transportation as well. Something like 80%+ of those who use public transport start their journey by bike here.

      Also biking home after a night out rules.