“Big Clearance! 12 in place of 1!”

“Grande offerta! 12 per 1!”

ENFB cyclists’ union, Woerden, 1993; poster by Theo van den Boogaard

@fuck_cars

  • Yokozuna@lemmy.world
    298·
    10 months ago

    I’ll speak from experience here, but biking with groceries is the biggest pain in the ass ever.

    • systemglitch@lemmy.world
      85·
      10 months ago

      Let alone 2 to 4 feet of snow, ice on the roads and people struggling to walk, let alone riding a bike, as cars have shovels out trying to get unstuck, and snow piled up where people used to bike in the summer

      People thinking bikes are the solution live in climates with mild weather. There is no possible way for that to work where I live. When I do see people biking it is very specialized gear, and no chance they could pull a trailer on top of things.

      • Pipoca@lemmy.world
        10·
        10 months ago

        Plenty of people in Oulu, Finland bike literally all year round. Fully 12% of all trips in winter are made by bike.

        Their secret? Just as the roads are plowed, so are the bike paths. If we didn’t plow and salt the roads up north, cars would also seem ridiculously impractical compared to a snowmobile or cross country skis.

        Oulu invests in making winter biking safe and practical, while American cities of comparable size and climate like Syracuse, NY don’t. The results are predictable.

        • fruitycoder@sh.itjust.works
          5·
          10 months ago

          Yeah, bike paths are seen as a luxury or pleasure activity in most US cities. The idea that, despite that fact that people do, are actually trying to get places or get shit done by biking isn’t really considered…

          • Pipoca@lemmy.world
            3·
            10 months ago

            I mean, you also see that in the US with bike path design in general.

            Bike paths around me in the US mostly go along creeks and railroads. There’s one in the suburbs that’s an abandoned rail line out into farmland. They’re mostly designed as places for suburbanites to drive to for exercise. They’re more of a park than a piece of transportation infrastructure.

            Oulu, on the other hand, has bike paths that go through the center of town, out to the suburbs. There’s over 300 bike underpasses on the main bike paths. It’s designed for commuters, for people running errands, and for kindergarteners to bike to school. They’re a practical bit of transportation infrastructure.

            • fruitycoder@sh.itjust.works
              2·
              10 months ago

              I want that so bad tbh, I’ve been trying to float the idea of at least getting bike lanes built for kids in the surrounding area of schools here. A kind of starting somewhere plan.

      • wieson@lemmy.world
        9·
        10 months ago

        Just look at street cam footage of any Dutch town. Heavy rain, hail, wind etc. doesn’t stop those madmen on their grandma bikes.

        • kattenluik@feddit.nl
          11·
          10 months ago

          There’s so many solutions to the problem that could easily be funded if there were less cars on the road.

    • kattenluik@feddit.nl
      35·
      10 months ago

      It’s quite clear there’s not much experience going on, if it was truly awful enough to leave a comment like this then you were doing something wrong.

      That something could literally be living in the US, but still.

  • systemglitch@lemmy.world
    143·
    10 months ago

    Imagine seeing a cashier sitting in a chair at a grocery store. That’s the funniest part of this picture.

    • Hagdos@lemmy.world
      44·
      10 months ago

      It’s a Dutch picture. I have never seen a cashier standing up, I think a chair is mandated by law or workers protection rights

    • kase@lemmy.world
      8·
      10 months ago

      We have exactly one grocery store in my city - that I’m aware of - that allows its cashiers to sit. It’s Aldi lol.

    • Little_mouse@lemmy.ca
      4·
      10 months ago

      That guy didn’t have a car in the first photo either. They probably just walked home. But seriously, you can fit a surprising amount of groceries on a bike, especially with saddlebags or just a backpack. Plus, if you don’t have to drive to the grocery store you often find you can make a few smaller trips now and then instead of one giant stressful trip that you have to plan everything around.