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this post was submitted on 15 Mar 2024
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Futurology
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Anyone got any experience commuting 10-15 miles one way on an ebike in a car dependent city? I'd love to make the plunge but.my city in particular has a proud tradition of maintaining one of the highest rates of pedestrian deaths in the state. Id have to cross multiple 4-8 lane roads during rush hour in order to get to work so becoming road pizza is a very real concern
One thing most often missed with bike-curious people, like yourself, miss is that the roads taken by bike are usually not the ones you'd drive.
A car route is often a poor choice when riding a bike. Avoiding fast moving cars means avoiding those dangerous areas. Pedestrians die because they don't have an alternative (parked across the road, or it's near home, school, etc).
For example, I'm at a friend's place and I rode my bike here. The path I take is through slower neighborhoods and dedicated trails. If I drove my car, I'd take a very different route.
My advice is to think of some regular trips you make; work, shopping, or otherwise. Then use Google or Strava or other mapping software to see what their suggested bike routes are. You may be surprised at what's available. I know I was when I started biking more regularly.
Also there are health benefits. If you're not exercising every day, then commuting for 5 days by bike absolutely will improve your health. I've lost a ton of weight. Take a look at how deadly heart disease is for folks without regular "walking 20 minutes a day" exercise is.
For sure, I have a regular bike I ride for recreation when I have the time and I'm very familiar with the city. My average shift has me driving between 100-300 miles a day, usually without leaving my county. I've mapped out bike paths using Google and just kind of looking at adjacent roads and whathaveyou. Problem is for ~8 of my 10 mile commute would be following an 8 lane road that doesn't have any viable alternatives near it. It's lined by shopping plazas, with disjointed, disconnected housing subdivisions behind those. No bikepaths to speak of. After that it would be half a mile of mixed development side streets, crossing a 10 lane intersection, small stretch of residential street, crossing a 6 lane road, and then finally into the business park my job is located. A business park with a 40 mph speed limit, down winding roads with no bikepaths and sidewalks that like to end abruptly and switch sides of the road.
My city itself is damn near hostile to pedestrians and the area I live in is the poster child for awful design.
Shopping is another thing entirely that is just luck on my part. I'm a short walk to the shopping "hub" for my area
Wow, that's not great. You have my condolences and I hope you manage to convince your city to put some money into a frontage road or path of some sort. I've seen some pretty nice rail trails and the like in very small communities, but they take a lot of work and time.