[frnx]

The new large cycling strips that appeared in the last 5-6 years are so good. At commute time there are frequently jammed with /cyclists/, but let's face it it's miles better than being stuck in a car. I shudder to think about the alternative where each cyclist was instead alone in a small car, this wouldn't even fit on the roads.

[philamonster]

I would love to be on what amounts to a group ride to and from work safely. That has to do wonders for all kinds of things both physical and mental. If it were safe I would do it year round.

[recursivegirth]

I would rather float to work like the Swiss.

https://www.businessinsider.com/switzerland-workers-commute-...

[tw-20260303-001]

Yeah, unless you’re a pedestrian. Cyclists in NL in cities like Utrecht or Amsterdam are worse than car drivers.

[david-gpu]

As a pedestrian, I would rather risk a crash with a cyclist than with a car.

[tw-20260303-001]

As a pedestrian I would hope that those cyclists remember when they’re pedestrians too. Both can kill you easily. But cars don’t sneak up on you silent from behind when you’re on a sidewalk.

[david-gpu]

Have you looked at any actual data about the rate at which drivers and cyclists kill people in your area? Can you even find news about the last time a cyclist killed a pedestrian in your city?

Because I keep an eye on the official Police stats in Toronto and it is eye-opening. Statistically, drivers kill people, and cyclists don't. It is not even remotely close.

[jay_kyburz]

Just a single anecdote, but one death made the papers here last year because it was an e-bike that hit and elderly gentleman. The e-bike had been modded and the media was suggesting the cyclist faced jail time as a result. (if I remember correctly)

[tw-20260303-001]

I don’t care about your stats. The fact is: cars move in their dedicated space. Most of them obey most of the traffic rules. Bicycles and scooters zoom past me on the sidewalk and it doesn’t make me feel safe. Neither having to jump over them on a sidewalk. I’m young, I can, but my mother cannot and it’s a problem for her. So take your stats and read them alone. Thanks, I take a car. I’m from the generation who doesn’t have their noses glued to mobile phone 24/7.

[thrance]

> Both can kill you easily.

What a ridiculous statement. Motorized vehicles are involved in the vast majority of road casualties. You are much, much more likely to die from a car accident than a bike accident.

[convolvatron]

as a former pedestrian only and bike rider for the last 5 years, we really do have to admit that bike riders can be real assholes. whether or not the level of injury is the same, it definitely feels an unwarranted physical threat to have a biker shoot past you from behind or run you down in the crosswalk.

[1718627440]

Motorized and bikes are not exclusive.

[tw-20260303-001]

It’s ridiculous because it doesn’t fit your narrative. A bicycle hitting you are 15mph is going to fuck you up one way or another.

[ndsipa_pomu]

Most collisions between cyclists and pedestrians end up with the cyclist getting more hurt. Also, the blame for collisions is slightly more attributed to pedestrians (e.g. walking across a cycle lane without looking).

As I recall, pedestrians are more likely to be killed by a driver whilst on the pavement, so whilst collisions may be more frequent with cyclists, they are extremely unlikely to lead to a KSI.

[financetechbro]

Unless they’re EVs tho right

[tw-20260303-001]

You reckon EVs drive on a sidewalk? Maybe you consider moving. Seems like you’re surrounded by idiots.

[Rebelgecko]

How often do cyclists kill pedestrians relative to drivers?

[consp]

You haven't been in a bicycle-jam until you've been before an open bridge just before the university colleges start in the Netherlands. Hundreds of cyclists trying to squeeze through a tiny bottleneck. Still costs less time than by going in a car.

[suddenlybananas]

I do wonder how many cyclists in Paris are really replacing cars versus replacing metro usage. Obviously, it's still good for people to cycle as well since the metro can be insanely crowded at times, but living in Paris, my impression is that the people who cycle are the kinds who would have been unlikely to own a car in any case.

[nchagnet]

That's a really good point, I hope at the very least it enables a "car -> public transport -> bikes" flow. So even if these people were taking the metro, all that extra metro space can accomodate car-owners who wish to switch.

[martinald]

It depends though. At least in London a lot of cycleways were made by removing bus lanes and replacing them with high quality segregated cycle lanes.

This has led to a big increase in %age terms of cyclists in London, but a fairly significant decline in bus passengers.

I think roughly 300m/yr cycle journeys were added, but bus has lost 500m pax/yr (mainly because of increased congestion making them less and less attractive). Note this isn't all down to bus lane removal, but it's a significant part of it.

[kergonath]

> I do wonder how many cyclists in Paris are really replacing cars versus replacing metro usage.

That’s not necessarily a problem, particularly for saturated lines like the 13.

[saltysalt]

Exactly.

[jay_kyburz]

I don't love the waist high black poles that separate the roads from the cycle lanes on some roads. They are not visible enough.

When we were there a few years ago we saw a young woman on a bike slam into one on her morning commute.

I nearly nutted myself a few time too.

[throw-the-towel]

Well IDK, as a pedestrian in Paris I hate cyclists way more than I hate cars. Cycling in the Netherlands is wonderful; here, it might well have been a mistake.

[drnick1]

> At commute time there are frequently jammed with /cyclists/, but let's face it it's miles better than being stuck in a car.

Cycling is wonderful, except when it rains, when it's cold, when it's hot, when it's windy, or when you want to carry stuff. So it's not a practical solution 80% of the year.

[mcv]

Get a rain coat, a warm coat, take it off, and make sure you've got a big crate on your bike.

Wind does suck. I can't help you there.

[occz]

Electric assist helps with the wind.

Or just building some fitness, which in my experience comes automatically when you bike

[drnick1]

Unless you have a place to shower and change at work or wherever you go, biking is utterly impractical. That's also assuming you have a safe place where to leave your bike, and that your commute is like 10 miles or less.

[mcv]

Not true. There's no need to shower after a short trip. Or even a 10km trip, if you don't exert yourself too much. But fortunately many offices do have showers. Also, bike locks exist.

There are millions of people who find cycling incredibly practical, so claiming it's impractical for some easily debunked reasons only shows the limitations of your experience. But you can fix that. Give it a try.

[gambiting]

God I hate this argument so much - it's just such an obviously incorrect statement which is always hard to win against because then the other side will always say "well what if you live in Novosibirsk and it's -60C outside, WHAT THEN CYCLISTS" - well nothing, if you live there then yeah I guess it doesn't work. But if you live in London, Paris, Warsaw, Barcelona, Talin or Stockholm it just doesn't hold water , and these are places that get very hot, very cold, get plenty of rain, snow and wind. It's like that old thing about beetles being too heavy to fly but also they can't read so they don't care - somehow cyclists in these places just get on their bikes and get to work and carry stuff and stay dry or cold or warm and it's fine, despite what the internet thinks.

[marc_g]

I’m with you. As someone who cycles every day, just put the right clothes on when the weather calls for it, and if you need to buy a sofa, then rent an hourly car for ten bucks.

[hectdev]

I've been to Copenhagen in the dead of winter with snow on the ground and my mind was blown by how many bikes there were on the streets. It really is an adaptable activity.

[ndsipa_pomu]

I believe they prioritise clearing snow/ice from the cycle lanes.

Personally, I enjoy cycling on snow as it's often not that slippery and due to the cold, I'll usually have a fair amount of clothing to act as padding for if I do come off. Black ice is worse as the rest of the road may be fine, so you go fast until suddenly you're sliding down the road.

[ZeroGravitas]

I often say that when cycling I don't mind the cold, the rain or the wind, only when you get all three at once it gets bad.

[jfengel]

On a nice day it's fantastic to be out, but Paris can be cold and rainy. They really need to have a plan for those days, too.

Paris Metro is pretty nice, and reaches most of the car free area. But I'm not sure if it can handle all of the cyclists if they're all trying to avoid a déluge.

[nchagnet]

I live in the Netherlands where the weather is arguably tougher than in Paris (rain, cold and wind for large portion of the year) yet everyone bikes year in year out.

And not just young active people, it's a habit found across all age groups, parents bike their children to school (or with them if old enough, etc.)

All that to say I wouldn't worry too much about the feasibility issue, it's really more of a mindset to adopt, and it's happening more and more in France.

[jacquesm]

Paris has one thing that Amsterdam does not that makes cycling more challenging: elevation. (Ok, Amsterdam has bridges but those are for the most part really short and momentum is enough to carry you across).

[consp]

I seriously consider 6-7bft headwind far worse than any hill. Won't get that in large cities but a bit out that's normal cycling weather.

[jacquesm]

That's true, we can have some serious wind here.

[microtonal]

I cycled to work every day in Southern Germany, which had even more elevation, it was not a huge problem, you get fit enough in now time. Older people just use e-bikes.

[jacquesm]

> Older people just use e-bikes.

Or those with bad legs. Raises hand.

[nchagnet]

Oh I agree. When I lived in Lyon, who is also quite bike-friendly, it was a lot more challenging than Amsterdam.

But with electric bikes becoming more affordable, hopefully the gap can eventually close.

[jacquesm]

I've become utterly addicted to my e-bike. You can have my car, but my e-bike stays.

[prpl]

In amsterdam, few people wear modern/synthetic rain coats as well. Just riding around in the rain with what I assume must be waxed duck out something

[stef25]

> the Netherlands

It's completely flat and the obvious reason why everyone cycles. Nothing to do with mindset, like you're somehow superior to the rest of EU.

[david-gpu]

Bicycles have had gears for almost a century, and they allow to tackle hilly areas easily. Also, the Netherlands is notoriously windy, and a headwind is just as difficult as a hill.

No, what makes the Netherlands different is their street design prioritizing safety rather than speed at all costs. When the streets feel safe from speeding drivers, more people choose to ride a bike.

[stef25]

> Bicycles have had gears for almost a century, and they allow to tackle hilly areas easily.

Assuming everyone but you is retarded.

[david-gpu]

Not at all. I simply suspect that you are uninformed about why cycling is popular in the Netherlands. In the 60s the Netherlands was just as flat as it is today, but it wasn't a cycling paradise. It all changed with the campaign "Stop de Kindermoord" (literally translated as "Stop the Child Murder"), which began in 1972.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cycling_in_the_Netherlands#His...

[nchagnet]

Considering I'm not Dutch, you may feel reassured there is no superiority feeling at play here.

I agree with another commenter that while flat, the Netherlands have their own hurdles (biking with a strong headwind on the banks of the IJ is not easy, even if flat), and I definitely agree that their city design is what makes this unique.

I lived in various parts of France growing up, and I can assure you there are flat cities there, yet biking in them felt very risky at best.

[IneffablePigeon]

This “nobody cycles in bad weather” is a tired myth. Yes, there’s some truth in it but cycling numbers past the traffic counters in my city in the UK (very similar climate) dip by 10-30% in winter months, and the higher end of those is mostly leisure routes not commuting ones. The Netherlands has a lot of rain and much more cycling than most other places.

[jacquesm]

Summer here is on Tuesday. The rest of the year it is rain, alternating with fog, snow & ice.

Nah, jk, it's a beautiful day today and I'm thinking of going for a ride.

[p_j_w]

This is overblown. I visited Tokyo recently and a friend of mine was constantly riding his bike around in the middle of a cold and snowy winter. He wasn't the only one, either.

[enriquto]

> Paris can be cold and rainy

I cycle in Paris every week, and the only annoying experience climate-wise is the extreme heat you can get some days in july and august. If it's cold or wet, you can just wear appropriate clothes and be comfortable. But if it's sunny and 35°C, you are going to be drenched in sweat no matter what! Of course, being in the metro those days is even worse...

[hamdingers]

Put on a jacket.

One of the saddest effects of car-dependency is people forgetting how to dress themselves for the weather.

[microtonal]

I have cycled every working day in The Netherlands and in Germany for years (in Germany it was 22km per day) and I would often cycle a bit recreationally in the weekends. It really isn't an issue at all. I just have a waterproof jacket (one of those that circulate air as well), water resistant shoes, and rain pants. On very rainy days, I would put on the rain pants and would arrive mostly dry.

It is not really an issue.

The only thing that was slightly meh was the yearly ~two weeks of thick snow in Southern Germany. It increases effort a bit, but still not a huge issue and the cycling roads got cleared pretty quickly.

[bethekidyouwant]

I would almost believe this, except for your shoes get absolutely soaked.

[microtonal]

They don't, Gore-Tex Eccos with high-enough collars. (Gore-Tex does have other issues though.)

[alamortsubite]

Not necessarily. I have a pair of Gore-tex Nikes that are amazing.