People whinge about all kinds of things as excuses for why cycling doesn’t happen. In Canada it’s “it’s too cold”. In the UK it’s “too wet”. In Brisbane I alternately see “too hot” and “too hilly” brought up as excuses.
It’s all bullshit.
The evidence tells us pretty clearly. Infrastructure is the whole thing. With good infrastructure, people will cycle in any weather. It’s what happens everywhere in the world, every time they build actual good infrastructure.
And for what it’s worth, I find it much easier to cycle in Brisbane’s summer than its winter. Our winters are an awkward in-between temperature where you can’t rug up properly because if you do you get too hot while riding. But it’s too cold to go out in shorts. Speaking objectively, those Canadians are closer to having a good point. Warm weather doesn’t make your tyres slip; doesn’t require snow to be ploughed off of the path.
If I ride in summer to a meeting, I’m going to need a shower and a full change of clothes. That’s not practical. Sure, at can implement infrastructure (showers) everywhere, and places to store our sopping wet sweaty clothes maybe, but it’s just not going to fly.
Definitely introduce infrastructure, and get people on bikes.
But let’s not live in fantasy land that the humidity makes riding to work in summer a no for most people, who need to be clean, dry, and have non sweat soaked clothes at work.
That comes down to infrastructure though.
My workplace has a bike storage room, change rooms, showers, irons and lockers, so the problems you’re describing as impractical are quite practical for me.
That’s nice. I just don’t see showers and change rooms, with bike storage and whatnot becoming the norm. It would be great if it did, but I think it would be a long way off. Fingers crossed though
But that’s just…straight-up not true? Just ride a little bit less intensely. It’s really not that bad. I’ve done it for years—including in a city far hotter and more humid than Brisbane.
Or yeah, have a shower. It’s pretty easy. Most office buildings, schools, universities, and hospitals have EoT facilities. And you can skip the morning shower at home.
Those are all legitimate reasons to not ride. Don’t be “that guy” who has to force his way of life on others to feel validated.
Nobody is forcing anybody to do anything, except the pro-car crowd who come up with every possible excuse to avoid building better infrastructure for non-car uses.
