Bicycle Living

The Bicycle Diaries - Is it possible to live in America without a car?

I thought this article was funny, because it is true how difficult it is to ride your bike everywhere, and it doesn't need to be. Except one thing is different, the author mostly rode for fitness and to save money, and my whole family always rode our bikes everywhere, even to different cities (or suburbs within the city, actually.) We didn't have a car, so it was either that or we walked. Riding everywhere would be okay, except that in a lot of places, the city isn't designed for bikes. When I visited Chicago, I was surprised to see that there weren't bike lanes or sidewalks, or even clearly defined road lanes. That was the only time I felt like it was really dangerous to ride my bike. Also, I was visiting during the summer. I can't imagine riding a bike through three feet of snow!
It would be better if more people rode, because then you wouldn't be the only bike against a sea of cars, with drivers screaming insults at you. In other countries, cars have to drive with a lot more bikes and pedestrians, with fewer traffic signals, and it seems a lot more difficult for the driver. Here, everything is more difficult for the pedestrian, and drivers really take it for granted. It's amazing how much the car dominates everything here, so people are surprised if you don't own a car, and can still survive.