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Re:Building a city optimized for bikes is a choice by phkahler on Friday March 10, 2023 @08:36AM (#35094150)
What are the demographics like? Do elderly people ride much? Are they trapped at home? What about the weather? How is biking in the rain or snow?

On the upside, I suspect people are in better physical condition.

Re:Building a city optimized for bikes is a choice by piva00 on Friday March 10, 2023 @08:42AM (#35094201)
> Are they trapped at home?

No, if they can't bike there's always public transportation. If they can't even move in a wheelchair then yeah, I think you'd be trapped anywhere in the world without a caretaker.

Re:Building a city optimized for bikes is a choice by seper8 on Friday March 10, 2023 @08:42AM (#35094210)
If anything elderly people are biking more than their younger (18+) counterparts...
Re:Building a city optimized for bikes is a choice by DoubleFree on Friday March 10, 2023 @08:47AM (#35094247)
Elderly people also use bikes and often transition to electric bikes or sometimes tricycles if needed. As other people have commented, public transportation in The Netherlands is also quite decent, so that also sees much use by the elderly.
Re:Building a city optimized for bikes is a choice by yanboss on Friday March 10, 2023 @08:49AM (#35094266)
There are a lot of elderly people now riding e-bikes. So they are able to travel at up to 25 km/h without requiring a high level of fitness or strength.
Re:Building a city optimized for bikes is a choice by Someone on Friday March 10, 2023 @08:53AM (#35094301)
https://www.statista.com/statistics/620201/average-biking-di... shows that in km/person/day, the 65 to 75 years old beat all other age categories, except for the 12-18 year old.

So yes, they cycle.

Re:Building a city optimized for bikes is a choice by masklinn on Friday March 10, 2023 @08:53AM (#35094302)
> Do elderly people ride much?

Yes. There are also assistive devices like mobility scooters and canta (enclosed microcars).

And bikeable neighbourhood also tend to be a lot more walkable.

And the netherlands have extensive public transportation networks

> Are they trapped at home?

Much less so than in the US, as they don’t need the ability to drive to get out.

> What about the weather? How is biking in the rain or snow?

As they say in Scandinavia, climate is a clothing concern. Biking in the rain is a habit. It doesn’t snow that much in the Netherlands, but Finns do just fine (NJB has a video on Oulu, Finland, where people cycle year round and there’s 10~20 inches of snow from January to March).

Re:Building a city optimized for bikes is a choice by soco on Friday March 10, 2023 @09:13AM (#35094489)
I've seen fat tire bikes doing very well in fresh snow so there are solutions to everything.
Re:Building a city optimized for bikes is a choice by vanilla_nut on Friday March 10, 2023 @10:18AM (#35095395)
You don't even need a dedicated fat tire bike if your city or town clears snow regularly. Studded tires can fit on just about any commuter bicycle!
Re:Building a city optimized for bikes is a choice by TheCoelacanth on Friday March 10, 2023 @09:19AM (#35094561)
Anecdotally, my grandfather (in the US) had an adult sized tricycle that he rode long after he was no longer capable of driving. If anything, I think car-centric cities are more likely to trap people at home than the alternative.