5 ms·

I live in Seattle, it's cold and rainy all year long (more or less). I still prefer using my bike over a car (though I have no problem with small car that repla

I live in Seattle, it's cold and rainy all year long (more or less). I still prefer using my bike over a car (though I have no problem with small car that replaces big car.)

PaulDavisThe1st 3y ago
> it's cold and rainy all year long (more or less End of May - September, Seattle is the 5th driest metro in the USA, with temperatures in the range that most people consider "ideal". Good effort trying to perpetuate the story told to outsiders, though. (I lived there for 7 years).
- EngManagerIsMe 3y ago
  I've lived here 35+ years. I mean, May-September can be nice, though these days that's smoke season.
munificent 3y ago
I also live in Seattle, bike to work three days a week, and don't mind biking in the rain and cold. Even so, I think mobility vehicles like this are excellent and should absolutely be part of our transportation systems. Sometimes you: * Have a disability that prevents you from biking. * Need to pick something up from the store that won't fit in your paniers. * Want to bring a passenger who doesn't bike. * Need to bring a small child who can't bike or doesn't have the endurance. * Need to carry something you can't get wet and won't fit in your panniers. * Are going somewhere nice and need to arrive without your hair and clothing discheveled. * Won't have a safe place to park a bike. * Need to leave something with your vehicle and want to be able to lock it away. There is a reason cars are so popular. They are amazingly useful and convenient. I dislike arguments against cars because so many of them try to downplay the benefits as if car consumers are idiots. The benefits are real and profound. The problem with cars isn't that they aren't as great as people think they are. It's that the externalities often don't make the benefits worth it. Any vehicle that can give you many of those same benefits while reducing those externalities should be applauded.
- thewebcount 3y ago
  Thank you so much for posting this sane response. As the spouse of someone who can't walk due to a disability (and also can't move themselves in a wheelchair), reading these discussions where people assume everyone is young, able-bodied, and lives in great weather gets really tiresome. It often feels like they're intentionally not arguing in good faith because some of the points are so obviously incorrect.
  - munificent 3y ago
    > It often feels like they're intentionally not arguing in good faith because some of the points are so obviously incorrect. Charitably, I think it's most often just that they're young and not yet as experienced at seeing things from a variety of different perspectives.
  - EngManagerIsMe 3y ago
    I don't think that's an assumption (it's certainly not one for me). Bikes are great, most folks could use bikes. Some folks cannot, and we should ensure our spaces are available to all of us. And I deal with a similar issue in my own life -- not due to a disability, but due to another form of discrimination. Believe me, I'm well aware that spaces aren't designed for everyone. If I gave the impression that bikes were the only or universal option, then of course I apologize!
- EngManagerIsMe 3y ago
  Of course. I explicitly tried to say this -- bikes are fantastic, small cars like this are ok too (though, building for cars carries a lot of externalities with it).
dmoy 3y ago
It's hardly ever cold in Seattle to the point where biking isn't ideal. This is exactly what GP is getting at. We have a warped view of "cold" here on the west coast, because "cold" to us means 0C, not -30C ~ -40C.
swalling 3y ago
You are weird. I am a born-and-raised PNW resident and a very small proportion of the population can tolerate having to wear a rain suit to bike home from work or go to the grocery store for 6-8 months of the year.
- EngManagerIsMe 3y ago
  I'm not sure I'm weird. I've been here 35+ years at this point, plenty of folks bike, plenty of folks public transit, plenty of folks drive. Putting on a pair of snow pants over my jeans and a waterproof shell over my jacket takes... 1 minute? and protects me from basically all our weather.
  - swalling 3y ago
    Do the napkin math on how many of the residents (don't forget children and old people) in your neighborhood bike year round vs. the number who use a car daily. Being on a bike seeing the few other people who bike in the rain is a form of availability bias.

I live in Seattle, it's cold and rainy all year long (more or less). I still prefer using my bike over a car (though I have no problem with small car that replaces big car.)

PaulDavisThe1st 3y ago

> it's cold and rainy all year long (more or less End of May - September, Seattle is the 5th driest metro in the USA, with temperatures in the range that most people consider "ideal". Good effort trying to perpetuate the story told to outsiders, though. (I lived there for 7 years).

EngManagerIsMe 3y ago
I've lived here 35+ years. I mean, May-September can be nice, though these days that's smoke season.

munificent 3y ago

I also live in Seattle, bike to work three days a week, and don't mind biking in the rain and cold. Even so, I think mobility vehicles like this are excellent and should absolutely be part of our transportation systems. Sometimes you: * Have a disability that prevents you from biking. * Need to pick something up from the store that won't fit in your paniers. * Want to bring a passenger who doesn't bike. * Need to bring a small child who can't bike or doesn't have the endurance. * Need to carry something you can't get wet and won't fit in your panniers. * Are going somewhere nice and need to arrive without your hair and clothing discheveled. * Won't have a safe place to park a bike. * Need to leave something with your vehicle and want to be able to lock it away. There is a reason cars are so popular. They are amazingly useful and convenient. I dislike arguments against cars because so many of them try to downplay the benefits as if car consumers are idiots. The benefits are real and profound. The problem with cars isn't that they aren't as great as people think they are. It's that the externalities often don't make the benefits worth it. Any vehicle that can give you many of those same benefits while reducing those externalities should be applauded.

thewebcount 3y ago
Thank you so much for posting this sane response. As the spouse of someone who can't walk due to a disability (and also can't move themselves in a wheelchair), reading these discussions where people assume everyone is young, able-bodied, and lives in great weather gets really tiresome. It often feels like they're intentionally not arguing in good faith because some of the points are so obviously incorrect.
- munificent 3y ago
  > It often feels like they're intentionally not arguing in good faith because some of the points are so obviously incorrect. Charitably, I think it's most often just that they're young and not yet as experienced at seeing things from a variety of different perspectives.
- EngManagerIsMe 3y ago
  I don't think that's an assumption (it's certainly not one for me). Bikes are great, most folks could use bikes. Some folks cannot, and we should ensure our spaces are available to all of us. And I deal with a similar issue in my own life -- not due to a disability, but due to another form of discrimination. Believe me, I'm well aware that spaces aren't designed for everyone. If I gave the impression that bikes were the only or universal option, then of course I apologize!
EngManagerIsMe 3y ago
Of course. I explicitly tried to say this -- bikes are fantastic, small cars like this are ok too (though, building for cars carries a lot of externalities with it).

dmoy 3y ago

It's hardly ever cold in Seattle to the point where biking isn't ideal. This is exactly what GP is getting at. We have a warped view of "cold" here on the west coast, because "cold" to us means 0C, not -30C ~ -40C.

swalling 3y ago

You are weird. I am a born-and-raised PNW resident and a very small proportion of the population can tolerate having to wear a rain suit to bike home from work or go to the grocery store for 6-8 months of the year.

EngManagerIsMe 3y ago
I'm not sure I'm weird. I've been here 35+ years at this point, plenty of folks bike, plenty of folks public transit, plenty of folks drive. Putting on a pair of snow pants over my jeans and a waterproof shell over my jacket takes... 1 minute? and protects me from basically all our weather.
- swalling 3y ago
  Do the napkin math on how many of the residents (don't forget children and old people) in your neighborhood bike year round vs. the number who use a car daily. Being on a bike seeing the few other people who bike in the rain is a form of availability bias.