Old Wino, you had some interesting points, so I decided to adress them in a seperate point.
1) Time is a fair one. Depending on the topology of the landscape, the conditions of the road, your own fitness, cycling can be fast, depending on the scales involved. Everyone goes to work at roughly the same time, so you are either going to fight as a commuter on a train, or fight as a commuter on roads. For some, "out in the sticks" where things are more spread out, and you have to travel further, a car will be a better deal. But certainly around cities, where congestion is high, 5 minutes late will equal a 40 minute queue.
2) Living beyond peddling distance is fair enough. However, if you are living and working in a city, even from the outskirts, it is not so far, again based on your own conditions etc. "Peddling distance" is a relative term.
3) It rains. I get wet cycling. No biggy. Some people don't like rain. But unless you are carrying your work in a paper bag, its not likely to affect you too much. Buy a coat/hat.
4) Very true... we have poor infrastructure in this country concerning bicycle lanes - and often, they just carve up a piece of the roads, restricting traffic even more. However, cycling on the side of the road is preferable to going by car on congested roads *any* time, except when cars are almost clinging to the far left hand side.
5) Well, incentives aren't necessary in my opinion. I have already saved myself about £600 this year from cycling to work instead of taking the train. I could walk, it would be a 45 minute walk. But instead its an 18 minute cycle, and its getting faster, despite being heavily congested.
6) Well, this is an issue. At the moment, businesses expect you to handle yourself, and often provide the most limited personal space at work (e.g. a toilet and washbasin) simply because people do most things at home. If you came to work and brought a spare set of clothes to change into, it wouldn't be such an issue. It *is* an issue at the moment, if you are on your way to work, and somehow manage to spill coffee etc all down your front, etc etc.
7. Narrow roads + lorries + BMW drivers = danger
True. But narrow roads not designed for lorries may be an issue to take up with the lorry drivers, and more people cycling = less people in BMWs.
As far as I can see here, the only people who are winning in all of this, is the car companies. And all of our problems are "tragedy of the commons" type issues.
1) Time is a fair one. Depending on the topology of the landscape, the conditions of the road, your own fitness, cycling can be fast, depending on the scales involved. Everyone goes to work at roughly the same time, so you are either going to fight as a commuter on a train, or fight as a commuter on roads. For some, "out in the sticks" where things are more spread out, and you have to travel further, a car will be a better deal. But certainly around cities, where congestion is high, 5 minutes late will equal a 40 minute queue.
2) Living beyond peddling distance is fair enough. However, if you are living and working in a city, even from the outskirts, it is not so far, again based on your own conditions etc. "Peddling distance" is a relative term.
3) It rains. I get wet cycling. No biggy. Some people don't like rain. But unless you are carrying your work in a paper bag, its not likely to affect you too much. Buy a coat/hat.
4) Very true... we have poor infrastructure in this country concerning bicycle lanes - and often, they just carve up a piece of the roads, restricting traffic even more. However, cycling on the side of the road is preferable to going by car on congested roads *any* time, except when cars are almost clinging to the far left hand side.
5) Well, incentives aren't necessary in my opinion. I have already saved myself about £600 this year from cycling to work instead of taking the train. I could walk, it would be a 45 minute walk. But instead its an 18 minute cycle, and its getting faster, despite being heavily congested.
6) Well, this is an issue. At the moment, businesses expect you to handle yourself, and often provide the most limited personal space at work (e.g. a toilet and washbasin) simply because people do most things at home. If you came to work and brought a spare set of clothes to change into, it wouldn't be such an issue. It *is* an issue at the moment, if you are on your way to work, and somehow manage to spill coffee etc all down your front, etc etc.
7. Narrow roads + lorries + BMW drivers = danger
True. But narrow roads not designed for lorries may be an issue to take up with the lorry drivers, and more people cycling = less people in BMWs.
As far as I can see here, the only people who are winning in all of this, is the car companies. And all of our problems are "tragedy of the commons" type issues.
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