[coolmind]

Sorry this may be off-topic post.
I see many here posting about pollution as hindrance for bicycling. But how do we control pollution when everyone is using only cars/bikes for commutes!
Even a mile starts with a single step and let it start with us BHPians.
And yes, I agree that its difficult/risky in traffic conditions. But let us do for some small activities like door to door grocery shopping or when office is near by etc. Thanks.

[GTO]

Voted for no. Pedestrians & cyclists are at the bottom of the food chain on Indian roads. If I have to go somewhere within 1 - 2 km, I prefer to walk. Any longer and I drive. It's too unsafe and too hot most of the time.

I cycle thrice a week though, but on a stationary bike in my gym room .

Originally Posted by Aditya

I use them for fitness, competition, running errands, sight-seeing and joyrides and cover more than 10,000 km every year.

Here is friendly Mod Aditya in "pro" mode:

[joslicx]

Originally Posted by Jeroen

Having been brought up and currently living in the Netherlands, I am of course heavily biassed to riding a bicycle.

Jeroen

I started my career in the Netherlands with Royal Philips and the first 'vehicle' I ever bought was a very beautiful bicycle there for daily use. I bought it second hand ( or maybe it was nth hand) for about 90 euros. It was the first geared bicycle i had ever used and it served me well for all of those few weeks till it got stolen! It was replaced by another lesser priced bicycle that also got stolen in just couple of weeks! Then I bought a really really cheap bicycle that nobody would want even for free and used it for remainder of my stay there. Cycling was really fun and convenient there. Never felt the need to get a car.

Coming to the question of using a bicycle here, my answer would be no for public roads. There is no respect for people who walk or cycle from those who use bigger vehicles. My workplace is a huge campus and we have yulu bikes there so I do get to cycle there sometimes within the campus. That is all the cycling I get to do now.

[Sudarshan42]

Had a good laugh at this: one more reason to commute by cycle- to love your job more

[luvDriving]

Voted Yes.

Just yesterday I was at the bicycle repair shop to get my daughter's cycle some repairs. The guy told me that his business has increased so much that he had to shut down the puncture and repairs he did for bikes and cars since his whole time is occupied with cycle repair and sales !

And here I am actually surprised by all the NO answers in this thread coming right on the back of that experience. Don't get me wrong, I agree that these are compelling reasons to not cycle to work and even I would not cycle to work unless it is nearby. Being 15 years in IT has the advantage of an office with good facilities.

I will prefer a bicycle to commute to nearby shops and the like. My father rode a bicycle all his life in a city like Pune. When I started earning I taught him how to ride a two-wheeler and he even got a license. But he never gave up cycling to office.

Cycling does have its advantages - minimal parking required, good exercise, not contributing to pollution etc but would I ride one to work currently ? No because of the traffic mainly and the constant worries that I would have my family go through everyday until I reach home.

[ads11]

I've voted yes because in principle cycling absolutely will help massively towards a lot of public health challenges we face in India - be it improved fitness, reducing pollution, cutting commuting times and helping city planners cut down on congestion in crowded city centres. The irony is, that as things stand in India, that initial push will be extremely hard to achieve regardless of the pandemic changing priorities - we can see that from most of the responses on the thread. I don't dispute them at all, but it's like a chicken and egg paradox to me somewhat.

I guess then the main issue is the time and place.

In Western countries it's critical to solve inner city issues. No way around it. Anecdotally for those familiar to the layout in Calcutta, when the lockdown happened, one of junior staff members who works for my father surprised us all by deciding to commute by cycling from Salt Lake to Santoshpur (a 40 min, 13.5 km drive usually). And he did it for about 2 months. Later in the year I asked mum where our Linea was and she chuckles saying dad had leant it to the cyclist because the heat had made it too much for him to keep up cycling to work. That being said, even in the west, cycling in the city takes some getting used to. I hated cycling in London during commuter times.

Originally Posted by Jeroen

Our grand daughter has just turned 9 months a few days ago. Today my daughter will take her, first time, on her bicycle to the local toddler care. Dutch kids, as soon as they can sit up reasonable well, get stuck in a very sturdy and safe kiddy sit attached to the bicycle. It is about a 5 km ride to drop her off, then my daughter will peddle onwards to her work, another 4 km. It is currently 2oC, windy and it rains. Not going stop her or taking Bella. out on her bicycle.

My partner grew up in Cambridge, all the photos of her and her siblings from when they were little are in the little cargo trailers for bikes with the kids seats. In fact I was reading a review about an electric front loading cargo bike by a Dutch brand that was very highly regarded by parents who tried it out. Her grandparents are super excited to have got electric bike conversion kits for their bikes, letting them zip to the vaccination centre and back. I guess it's about that mindset as well. Her family countenance driving as a last resort whereas I've grown up loving anything to do with driving. But increasingly nice bikes like VanMoofs for example are enticing me in the way cars would.

An urban planning concept that has a lot of appeal for me is the 15 Minute City (see what the Paris mayor is planning). Maybe if new cities come up in India with this planning from the outset, there could be an opportunity at least in small pockets to create cycling friendly districts even.

[Jeroen]

Originally Posted by ads11

I
My partner grew up in Cambridge, all the photos of her and her siblings from when they were little are in the little cargo trailers for bikes with the kids seats. In fact I was reading a review about an electric front loading cargo bike by a Dutch brand that was very highly regarded by parents who tried it out.

These kind of bicycles are very much used these days to take the kids to school, or bring them to friends etc.

These days more Bikes are sold in the Netherlands than regular bikes. Whereas it started as something handy for elderly folks, even schoolkids of 10-12 years ride Bikes. I don’t approve, I think everybody should just cycle. It is fine when you are old and decrepit, but I don’t get it why healthy folks should be riding Bikes.

But these days everybody does. The vast majority of people out touring (not racing) will be riding an Bike. They are ridiculously expensive too. The average price of an Ebike is around Euro 1,400,-- . Many people will easily spend Euro 2-3,000 on their Ebikes.

Jeroen

[rdst_1]

I see many people said 'No' because of safety reasons. However, even in a city like Chandigarh, which now has dedicated cycling lanes on most main roads, I still don't see people opting for using cycles for local commute. Heck, Chandigarh makes the best case for using cycles regularly as distances are also very low. My grandfather cycled to work till he retired and I cycled as well till I went away to college and by the time I came back, Chandigarh was suddenly so over crowded with cars that cycling started feeling unsafe until they built the dedicated tracks. Right now, one of the reasons commuting via cycle in Chandigarh doesn't work because of the extreme summers but it should be alright for the rest of the year.

[ads11]

Originally Posted by Jeroen

These kind of bicycles are very much used these days to take the kids to school, or bring them to friends etc.
They are ridiculously expensive too. The average price of an Ebike is around Euro 1,400,-- . Many people will easily spend Euro 2-3,000 on their Ebikes.

This was the review I remember distinctly and yes, I've seen more and more of these on British roads lately, especially suburban areas.

I agree with you - a lot of these really high end electric bikes are in the 2-3k EUR or GBP price band. I mentioned one off hand to my parents and they were shocked, they couldn't see why anyone would choose one of those over a used car. It's interesting how I'm beginning to see arguments being made where for some urban families (in Europe that is), you could justify one of these ebikes in the same way you could a car. Mostly though lockdown saw demand sky rocket for your average commuter hybrid (much more reasonable 300 EUR).

I think cycling infrastructure makes a big difference. In Manchester, the govt took a year or two constructing these dedicated cycle lanes on one of the main roads running into the city centre, crucially along the axis containing both major universities in the middle, office districts at its northern end and residential hubs and student areas to the south. They combined this with making this major road public transport only (all private vehicles were redirected).


It's been an enormous success. Like I said earlier, my previous experience of cycling around rush hour in London was so off putting I never really got around to it for years but cycle lanes of the type in Manchester really made a massive difference for less confident cyclists like me to even consider it. The key difference as you can see is that it isn't just a cycle lane demarcated with paint on the road, it has physical barriers (see red arrow) that prevent most cars and delivery vans from even considering mounting the kerbs to park in the lane. That buffer makes a huge difference in making you feel safe.


Now of course anyone who sees this will know in India, that lane would immediately be clogged by motorbikes, scooters, hawkers and pedestrians. But I think there is an opportunity in small sectors at least to create cyclist friendly corridors.

[vibbs]

Voted no.

I am in Singapore now. Excellent infrastructure for cycling, but simply too hot and humid specially if u intend to use it as an office comute. But still something that can be worked out by using shower facilities at work. Ubiquitous rain and the need to protect Laptop could be a hindrance but like I wrote for the above point, probably can be worked out.

In India, I would not even considering cycling. Our roads are too unsafe, traffic too unruly for me to take up this. There have been cycle to work initiatives at office when I was in Pune, but one thought of having to cycle from Hinjewadi through mumbai Pune bypass to Baner gave me shivers those days. So never got into it. I do plan to start cycling now here in Singapore. But still would be from an excercise point of view rather than using for short urban commutes.

[Phaseolus]

As much as I like the idea of commuting by bicycle with it's associated health and environmental benefits, I simply cannot see it being a practical option in our mostly hot, humid and polluted cities. You would almost always reach your destination sweaty and dirty.

On the other hand, I do see great value when used solely or primarily as a means to excercise.

[landcruiser123]

In India, NO. Maybe once/twice a week if there is a secure parking and a decent shower in the office. Traffic and lack of infrastructure can wear you down. Also, the rain, heat, humidity, bags to carry, etc will all make me think twice about commuting to work a bicycle.

I have used a bicycle for my commute during the last semester of my undergrad. Since I had only one class on Saturday mornings, I'd ride my bicycle and cover the 10km commute in 40-45 minutes and ride the same distance back home for lunch.

However, it is a different story in California. Except between November & February (when the sun sets at 4:45 PM), I used to commute on my bicycle for 2-3 weekdays. My two favorite commute routes are the shoulders on two county expressways, which are more like arterial Roads that cut through the city and most traffic can enter only at major intersections. Despite the high-speed limits, I actually feel very safe on these routes after learning a few golden rules from my colleague.

Lawrence Expressway in Santa Clara/Sunnyvale: Speed Limit at 50 mph / 80 kmph



San Tomas Expressway in Santa Clara/Campbell: Speed Limit at 45 mph / ~70kmph

[warrioraks]

The same question kept ringing in my head few years back when I was working in Amsterdam. Found it fascinating that it was so normal for everyone from entry level staff to very senior folks cycle-in for work. Also the ingenuity with which people had customised their bikes to carry groceries, kids and whatever purpose suited them was such a novelty to observe.
In my mind, commuting on a cycle is what I wanted to do as well once back home.
But then I returned and the reality dawned on me. It is simply not possible to do this atleast in Delhi NCR. We just do not have the weather, infrastructure or respect for cycling to be used as a viable commute option. Voted for NO.

[raider9990]

I have been into cycling from last 5 years but I do not prefer cycling for commutes , so voted NO . I usually prefer country roads during early hours .



I really don't like the idea of riding bicycle among four wheeled behemoths , there were many instances where I had a narrow scape . Now days cycling is limited to country roads only.



I usually carry my bicycle in back of my V-Cross to the starting point of ride.

[KkVaidya]

Voted NO.
While I recently started biking again after nearly 25yrs, commuting daily on a bicycle is not convenient due to traffic, pollution and weather.
It is fun to move around Altstadt Europe on a bike, but a horrific experience roaming the streets of an Indian city with the sun beating down on us and other vehicles honking behind you as if you are a cow on the road

The best time to enjoy a bicycle in India is to go early mornings but those are only joyrides. My recent acquisition to cheer up my mornings is a Btwin Riverside 120 Hybrid 8-speed. Nice and easy for pedaling around town.