• Juniper@skein.city
    link
    fedilink
    English
    arrow-up
    8
    ·
    edit-2
    1 year ago

    Out of curiosity, could you clarify “close proximity”? Because I certainly agree a bike is not viable if you are in the countryside. However having switched to bicycling and no longer driving my car, it has shrunk the world around me far more than driving ever has.

    • AdamEatsAss@lemmy.world
      link
      fedilink
      English
      arrow-up
      1
      ·
      1 year ago

      Well for me about 1-3 miles would be a distance I would be fine biking as a commute or to go to the store for a few items. In a compact major city this could cover everything you could need, grocery stores, doctors, liquor store, post office, yoy name it. In some suburbs you might have to drive 5-10 miles to get to some of these things and a bike become more time consuming and more of a physical activity.

    • kool_newt@beehaw.org
      link
      fedilink
      English
      arrow-up
      1
      ·
      1 year ago

      Can you expand on that? What do you mean bicycling shrunk the world, it seems counterintuitive?

      • Juniper@skein.city
        link
        fedilink
        English
        arrow-up
        8
        ·
        1 year ago

        Understandably so, I think haha. But for me, abandoning my car has made me actually realize distances in my city. Relying on a car, I barely even considered the distances I was traveling, and how necessary or not they were. I was more concerned about where I could park the thing than how far I was traveling just to do errands. But on a bicycle (and just walking), the first thing I do is consider the route, and distance, and I came to realize a lot of the distances I thought are best driven are… extremely walkable, or bikeable. And the distances that are a little far for a bicycle (in my current shape), I questioned why I even need to go that far. Especially if you’re in a city, there are a ton of businesses everywhere, it was easy to look for and find closer alternatives.

        So I guess for me personally, it really helped me contextualize the distances I was actually traveling, and helped me more concretely view my city and what’s around me, compared to just driving through liminal spaces until I reach whichever destination I was headed towards.

        • kool_newt@beehaw.org
          link
          fedilink
          English
          arrow-up
          4
          ·
          1 year ago

          Ah, it’s like it allowed you to view where you lived at a new scale. You previously viewed it at car scale, now viewing it at human scale.

          • Juniper@skein.city
            link
            fedilink
            English
            arrow-up
            2
            ·
            edit-2
            1 year ago

            Absolutely, that is a far more eloquent way to put it! It’s very freeing in it’s own way.

        • omenmis@beehaw.org
          link
          fedilink
          English
          arrow-up
          1
          ·
          1 year ago

          I had the same experience, biking made me appreciate travel over distances I can’t bike. It really is very eye opening.