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A comment on We Need to Dream Bigger Than Bike Lanes. Parent comment

Re:We Need to Dream Bigger Than Bike Lanes by JibJabDab on Wednesday October 23, 2019 @10:10AM (#21334781)
20 mph is far, far faster than "casual biking". Most people can't maintain 20mph much less 12mph. You need to change your frame of mind to be more inclusive as it seems you're thinking of people decked out in biking shorts/jerseys with water bottles and all geared up. The context we are talking about here is not that kind of biking.

Also keep in mind, jogging can cause traumatic injuries. But I agree, biking does pose more risk as you have less control than being on your feet.

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Re:We Need to Dream Bigger Than Bike Lanes by magduf on Wednesday October 23, 2019 @11:09AM (#21335401)
>20 mph is far, far faster than "casual biking". Most people can't maintain 20mph much less 12mph.

Maybe if your country is flat as a pancake. If there's hills, then yes, people really can hit 20mph, even with casual bikes.

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Re:We Need to Dream Bigger Than Bike Lanes by brnt on Wednesday October 23, 2019 @12:29PM (#21336242)
You are perhaps confusing the sport of cycling with cycling-the-mode-of-transport. When I lived abroad, it seemed very difficult for people to understand the nuance, and difficult to see how missing the nuance was holding back bike-usage in commuting.

In NL, the average is ~20kph for muscle-powered bikes on bikes like [1]. Sports bikes like [2] are not usually used in commutes and considered as dangerous as scooters if used at speeds of 20mph. E-bikes legislation takes 25kph as the limit above which the cyclist is required to follow certain extra rules, and of course muscle-powered cyclist reaching that speed should perhaps also be legislated accordingly. The reason it isn't is difficulty of enforcement, but there are people advocating a maximum speed for bike infrastructure [3], at 25pkh.

[1] https://omidbikes.nl/wp-content/uploads/mat-zwart-7.jpg [2] https://s3-wielrennen-xjspucykgif.netdna-ssl.com/welke_wielr... [3] https://www.fietsersbond.nl/nieuws/een-maximum-snelheid-op-h...

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