this post was submitted on 03 Jun 2024
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The heat in qld. The humidity in summer cannot be understated.
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
Everywhere that I've worked so far has had an End of Trip facility except for my supermarket job as a teenager.
I've worked in quite a few places in Brisbane, and never had a shower (that I was aware of).
That was a while ago though, so good to see things are changing.
I remember one particular summer, just walking from the valley train station, about 1 km to work. It was before 8am. A very hot summer.
By the time I got to work my shirt was stuck to me from the sweat. Soaked. That was before 8am.
I can't imagine riding. I'd have been dripping puddles if I'd have ridden.
It won't be the norm for workplaces for a long time, but my city also has semi public spaces that offer the same in the CBD. Basically, for a subsidised monthly fee, you have access to the facilities I described above, in a dedicated bike storage space. And that could easily become normalised
I have no idea what they're talking about, because it's already the norm. Last time I was applying for work, asking about end of trip facilities was one of my routine questions, and they always had a good answer to it. Most CBD offices have them. As do other major employers like unis, schools (via the change rooms used for PE, if nothing else), and hospitals.
And if your particular CBD building doesn't, there's the Cycle2City EoT facilities, which are cheaper than public transport and much cheaper than paying for CBD parking.
Oh, that's good to know!
I've been with my current employer for longer than I've been cycling to work, so I don't have any other points of comparison.
It would become normal if more people started riding to work and requesting it.
You can definitely work in an office job, bring your clothes in your bag and get changed at work.
If that's not your thing, catch PT. Nobody's saying you have to do the cycling thing. But plenty of people ride into offices for work and wear their smart clothes just fine.
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.
Yes, except the pro-car people.
Why are you so angry
I ride all year round in Brissie. I find my comfort level depends on when I ride, distance, speed and my bike setup.
First, I ride to and from work in the morning and arvo when it's cooler, not in the middle of the day.
I ride 6km each direction which is manageable. In winter I barely break a sweat. In summer I have a shower on each side. I can and sometimes do get away without showering by riding slowly. Or I just catch PT if I'm going somewhere else after work.
The other thing I noticed is that not wearing a bag helps a lot with reducing sweat on my back. I have a basket on the back of my bike and just throw my bag in. A lot of other people use pannier bags.
Panniers are a game changer. Love mine