I am in love with my ebike. I may get less exercise total, but I get a lot more joy from a lot more time outdoors. I feel a stronger connection to place and culture, because the bike allows going slow and looking around. When there’s traffic or you’re going fast, your attention will and should be mostly on that, but you can stop or go slow as much as you want to lok around. Rubbernecking in a car can feel rude or dangerous; on a bike it’s easy and fun.
Having a big convenient cargo carrier and places to secure collapsible bags for extra space means you can do most errands by bike instead of car.
Increased time on a bike sounds risky, but here’s a weird study: there were more closed head injuries recorded per mile travelled in a car vs. a bike. I didn’t catch the ref and I realize this is absolutely astounding. The ones on bikes are probably more severe, but I think it’s not fully appreciated how much even minor car accidents mess your brain up.
I do recommend biking as though no car will ever notice you by default, but realize that’s not really an option in dense cities with a lot of traffic. For smaller towns with less traffic and more side streets and bike lanes (Boulder is an extreme but I’m also biking in Traverse City, a smaller and much less bike-friendly town) there’s no comparison in levels of joy and fun to driving.
I am in love with my ebike. I may get less exercise total, but I get a lot more joy from a lot more time outdoors. I feel a stronger connection to place and culture, because the bike allows going slow and looking around. When there’s traffic or you’re going fast, your attention will and should be mostly on that, but you can stop or go slow as much as you want to lok around. Rubbernecking in a car can feel rude or dangerous; on a bike it’s easy and fun.
Having a big convenient cargo carrier and places to secure collapsible bags for extra space means you can do most errands by bike instead of car.
Increased time on a bike sounds risky, but here’s a weird study: there were more closed head injuries recorded per mile travelled in a car vs. a bike. I didn’t catch the ref and I realize this is absolutely astounding. The ones on bikes are probably more severe, but I think it’s not fully appreciated how much even minor car accidents mess your brain up.
I do recommend biking as though no car will ever notice you by default, but realize that’s not really an option in dense cities with a lot of traffic. For smaller towns with less traffic and more side streets and bike lanes (Boulder is an extreme but I’m also biking in Traverse City, a smaller and much less bike-friendly town) there’s no comparison in levels of joy and fun to driving.