Cycling is bad for the economy and bike lanes should be stopped

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Amidst all the hullabaloo about Joe Rogan’s interview with Trump, I was amazed to learn of how many millions of people subscribe to his podcast. Joe Rogan’s interviews are interesting but they are also insanely long and I’ve never had the time to listen to one, even though I’d very much like to. I wondered for a while as to how so many million people find the time to listen to his podcasts and it then occurred to me that there are millions of commuters out there who spend hours each day stuck in traffic and need something interesting to listen to. Bicycle commuters, on the other hand, can’t really listen to much of anything during their rides and so miss out. Cyclists are also therefore bad for the entertainment industry and particularly podcasts. It probably wouldn’t be a stretch to thereby regard them as less well-informed about current events compared to your average car-dependent person.

Joe Rogan isn’t helping with that.

[Anonymous]

Bicycles are also terrible for the entire car industry, for example car sales and car repair. If someone runs an errand by bike instead of driving, that's fewer miles on their car; less need for car repairs, oil changes, new tires, etc.; possibly cheaper car insurance; less gasoline bought and used (if it's a gas-powered car) from the gas station - a total economic disaster.

[Anonymous]

This is a pretty funny post but it's completely true that the consumption of fossil fuels has powered economic growth over the past 300 years.

That cyclist running errands so nobly on their bike might be picking up food and flowers grown all over the planet.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This is a pretty funny post but it's completely true that the consumption of fossil fuels has powered economic growth over the past 300 years.

That cyclist running errands so nobly on their bike might be picking up food and flowers grown all over the planet.

It's still better to do that by bicycle than by car, though.

(I don't do it to be noble. I do it because I enjoy bicycling and hate driving.)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is a pretty funny post but it's completely true that the consumption of fossil fuels has powered economic growth over the past 300 years.

That cyclist running errands so nobly on their bike might be picking up food and flowers grown all over the planet.

It's still better to do that by bicycle than by car, though.

(I don't do it to be noble. I do it because I enjoy bicycling and hate driving.)

It isn't better or worse and it is most definitely not morally superior. The only virtuous mode of transportation is walking.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:A cyclist is a disaster for the local economy. A cyclist does not buy a car and does not take out a car loan. They do not buy car insurance. They do not buy fuel. They do not send their car for service and repairs a couple times a year. They do not use paid parking. All of this means that they are existing outside of the transportation system that the rest of us use without contributing to the spreading out of its cost. This is bad for society.

But it goes further, cycling is an activity that is exercise. That means that the cyclist is less likely to become obese and more likely to be healthy. Healthy people are not needed for the economy. They don't buy drugs, they don't go to hospitals and doctors as much, they don't pay lots of co-pays to their HMO each year helping keep insurance cheaper for the rest of us.

Compare the investment in bike lanes to a similar investment in building a Popeye's Chicken restaurant. The bike lanes will add nothing to our area economy, indeed for the reasons above it will only erode it. The Popeye's Chicken though - just from the health impact - should create at least 30 jobs - 10 cardiologists, 10 dentists, 10 weight loss experts, in addition to the fast food workers and the general happiness of all of their patrons from the serotonin rush from eating the highly palatable fast food.

So, this is what our area officials should be thinking about when evaluating the bike lane plans by Big Bike. A bike lane? Or a Popeyes. The choice is obvious.

But bicyclists do increase the demand for cardiologists by caused anxiety among drivers and pedestrians who must bow to their wishes on the road; to dentists who get more business from people who grind their teeth over the antics of bicyclists on the road, and weight loss experts who treat the loved ones who overeat coping with the death and dismemberment of bicyclists. Also add in the value of divorce lawyers who get sick of bicyclists crowing about their fitness and superiority.

Lol ... looooserr.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This is good satire, OP. I got through the whole first paragraph before I realized.

Agree. You had me there!

[Anonymous]

A good bike costs $6000

[Anonymous]

Bicycle generates $100K+ in economic value when a car driver hits them

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:A cyclist is a disaster for the local economy. A cyclist does not buy a car and does not take out a car loan. They do not buy car insurance. They do not buy fuel. They do not send their car for service and repairs a couple times a year. They do not use paid parking. All of this means that they are existing outside of the transportation system that the rest of us use without contributing to the spreading out of its cost. This is bad for society.

But it goes further, cycling is an activity that is exercise. That means that the cyclist is less likely to become obese and more likely to be healthy. Healthy people are not needed for the economy. They don't buy drugs, they don't go to hospitals and doctors as much, they don't pay lots of co-pays to their HMO each year helping keep insurance cheaper for the rest of us.

Compare the investment in bike lanes to a similar investment in building a Popeye's Chicken restaurant. The bike lanes will add nothing to our area economy, indeed for the reasons above it will only erode it. The Popeye's Chicken though - just from the health impact - should create at least 30 jobs - 10 cardiologists, 10 dentists, 10 weight loss experts, in addition to the fast food workers and the general happiness of all of their patrons from the serotonin rush from eating the highly palatable fast food.

So, this is what our area officials should be thinking about when evaluating the bike lane plans by Big Bike. A bike lane? Or a Popeyes. The choice is obvious.

But bicyclists do increase the demand for cardiologists by caused anxiety among drivers and pedestrians who must bow to their wishes on the road; to dentists who get more business from people who grind their teeth over the antics of bicyclists on the road, and weight loss experts who treat the loved ones who overeat coping with the death and dismemberment of bicyclists. Also add in the value of divorce lawyers who get sick of bicyclists crowing about their fitness and superiority.

Lol ... looooserr.

That's a perfect selfie

[Anonymous]

I'm so sick of everything having to be good for the economy. Maybe we should care more about people than money.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Or, you could just walk.

Walkers are even worse. They don't buy expensive biking equipment and lycra shorts, they don't contribute to the creation of jobs selling and maintaining bikes and equipment. And they might be putting trauma and orthopedics surgeons out of jobs, think about the consequences of this to the local home builder and luxury car reseller activity. Because walkers will get all the healthy physical activity benefit they are still going to be poor contributors to our medical care and Insurance machine just like bikers but with a lot less risk of injuries or impact to their muscular skeletal system. This will heavily impact all the chiropractors, massage places, and physical therapists. And don't forget the workers employed to create all these bike lanes. Hopefully we can convince them to eat Popeye's chicken while walking. They are already on board smoking pot and vaping while walking. Maybe our healthcare jobs will be ok after all, plus they may have a higher chance making it to the frail old age and that's when we will get them

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Or, you could just walk.

Walkers are even worse. They don't buy expensive biking equipment and lycra shorts, they don't contribute to the creation of jobs selling and maintaining bikes and equipment. And they might be putting trauma and orthopedics surgeons out of jobs, think about the consequences of this to the local home builder and luxury car reseller activity. Because walkers will get all the healthy physical activity benefit they are still going to be poor contributors to our medical care and Insurance machine just like bikers but with a lot less risk of injuries or impact to their muscular skeletal system. This will heavily impact all the chiropractors, massage places, and physical therapists. And don't forget the workers employed to create all these bike lanes. Hopefully we can convince them to eat Popeye's chicken while walking. They are already on board smoking pot and vaping while walking. Maybe our healthcare jobs will be ok after all, plus they may have a higher chance making it to the frail old age and that's when we will get them

Another benefit to the economy -according to my dentist - is that bikers often knock out their teeth when they crash their bikes, resulting in thousands in payments for repairs.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Or, you could just walk.

Walkers are even worse. They don't buy expensive biking equipment and lycra shorts, they don't contribute to the creation of jobs selling and maintaining bikes and equipment. And they might be putting trauma and orthopedics surgeons out of jobs, think about the consequences of this to the local home builder and luxury car reseller activity. Because walkers will get all the healthy physical activity benefit they are still going to be poor contributors to our medical care and Insurance machine just like bikers but with a lot less risk of injuries or impact to their muscular skeletal system. This will heavily impact all the chiropractors, massage places, and physical therapists. And don't forget the workers employed to create all these bike lanes. Hopefully we can convince them to eat Popeye's chicken while walking. They are already on board smoking pot and vaping while walking. Maybe our healthcare jobs will be ok after all, plus they may have a higher chance making it to the frail old age and that's when we will get them

Another benefit to the economy -according to my dentist - is that bikers often knock out their teeth when they crash their bikes, resulting in thousands in payments for repairs.

/Yawn. Can you tell us about the Trump-infused shadow campaign by the smart growth guy during redistricting again? I need a good fairy tale to fall asleep tonight.

[Anonymous]

lot of good satire in this thread and some worryingly potentially too earnest posts to qualify as satire (cities relying on commuters for a “strong” economic recovery: I’ve heard that argument in earnest a few months ago)