I commuted by bike (6km one way) in Tel Aviv, Israel and it was awesome. Great route, bike lanes/parks and a (tiny, but who cares) shower in the office. Did that for one year straight, just like the person in the article.
Now I'm living in Singapore, a city that has a traffic problem and tries to reduce the cars on the streets. You'd think they would welcome bikes, but riding a bike here sucks. Big time. It's basically unbearable.
There are no sidewalks to speak of on a lot of roads. Often the sidewalks are divided in two segments of different heights. Tables will be on the sidewalk, garbage bins will block it.
Riding on the road - the norm in my home country - is discouraged by every local I've met, both bike fans and car drivers. You can ride the bike in this city, sometimes, in some places. But it's a pain in the rear to use it for commutes and a very, very bad experience around the central part of Singapore. Park connectors/outward regions are fine, but the traffic infested center is no place for a bike, which is quite sad..
What I'm trying to say is: I agree that the article describes a great way to live, something I dearly miss. I believe that this isn't possible for a lot of people though, in spite of the benefits it would provide to them and their surroundings.
A lot of the cities in SE Asia weren't even planned with cars in mind, hence narrow roads and lack of space. And then you have these giant freeways springing up haphazardly that bottle necks into these tiny roads. THe result is slow moving traffic yet is just too dangerous for pedestrians, let alone cyclists. The locals rely on motorbikes when they want to beat traffic.
Yes, crazy motorbikes are certainly popular. But then, while they might be fun: They have nothing to do with the "I used my body to get to work" article.
I think we agree that this is a shitty idea in SG. Motorbikes might be fun and are certainly popular, but they're not related to the subject at hand.
Ride where? I can easily find a nice "let's have a pick-nick" route for me and the gf.
But I'm comparing this city to the article, to the idea of commuting to work. My work is in the central district of SG. I _cannot_ ride there without cursing. I actually did find a couple shortcuts and ways etc, but still: It's a PITA. No bike lanes. Shitty sidewalks. There's no way to ignore these issues.
It's actually really nice to bike in Singapore, provided you can shower at work.
I cycled every day for a month along a mix of park connectors (cycle paths) and two and three lane roads.
I only had one close pass from a car because on nearly all roads they have a whole extra lane to use to pass you in so if you ride assertively (in the middle of a lane) they just go around you.
And the park connectors are beautiful, fast tarmac with no cars at all. With some creativity you can link them up to create a great commute to most places. My route home went past a Riverside pub - I was on segregated cycle lanes the rest of the way home so I could easily stop for a beer with little risk.
You do usually arrive soaking wet from sweat or the rain. But that's a minor inconvenience compared to being cold! Biking in Singapore is warm, fast, and safe - much better than most places I've commuted.
NO its not...I grew up here and lived and worked abroad in in UK and US for a few years so I can attest to the difference weather makes...especially the humidity. (I cycled in both here and abroad.)
And no one seemed to mention...two wheeled transport is great, until it rains. And if you have never been to Singapore, Malaysia or the tropics you haven't seen real rain yet.
BTW...in SE Asia, the two wheeled transport of choice is the motorbike. The roads (and motorists attitudes) weren't designed for LOW speed traffic.
Singapore is pretty light on motorbikes compared to places like Hanoi.
I cycle year round in London and would rather cycle commute in Singapore. Once you are acclimatised to the humidity it's not that big a deal, and it's always similar so it's easy to plan for.
You do have to pull off the road to wait out a real tropical rain storm... but so do motorbikes. That's why they have shelters for then under the today bridges.
All these places are ace compared to most US cities, though.
- fast: No. Maybe. Let's hope that you don't ignore traffic lights: There are so many places that don't even care about bikes (underpasses/overpasses exist, but are hard to reach or less friendly to bikes by requiring you to ... wait for an elevator). You can understand the layout of the city, start riding and you will end up stranded. You will need to backtrack. The city hates bikes.
- safe: Yeah ... No. Singapore is not insane, but it's crazy enough. People don't understand turning signals. Drivers instead like to push into the direction they want to go, expecting everyone around them to follow along. This is, with no pun, in traffic terms a Little India.
I personally am fine to drive a bike here and being a nuisance, but most people don't do that. Literally everyone on the road is an asshole, some of these assholes drive Ferrari, Maserati, Lamborghini or whatnot. You do NOT want to scratch those stupid idiot's cars with your bike.
Traffic in Singapore is a huge and utter mess. Do not ride a bike here unless you're convinced that it's a good idea...
Ignoring that I don't have showers at work - some oversight that I dearly miss: I believe that you're not correct.
I cannot get to work via park connectors. Actually I probably have the 'best' way to work already: I'm already in CBD and the distance is small. But .. the city is not ready for bikes. Not at all. There are no bike lanes around my place. The one I found was about 200m long (yay!!) and used by pedestrians exclusively, every time I came there (yay!!!! I can try to ring my bell or push them over. That will help the bicycle community!).
Singapore is a great place. Singapore for bicycles sucks. Do not ride bikes here. Singapore doesn't care, they are not prepared and in general they offer no place to ride safely.
Now I'm living in Singapore, a city that has a traffic problem and tries to reduce the cars on the streets. You'd think they would welcome bikes, but riding a bike here sucks. Big time. It's basically unbearable.
There are no sidewalks to speak of on a lot of roads. Often the sidewalks are divided in two segments of different heights. Tables will be on the sidewalk, garbage bins will block it.
Riding on the road - the norm in my home country - is discouraged by every local I've met, both bike fans and car drivers. You can ride the bike in this city, sometimes, in some places. But it's a pain in the rear to use it for commutes and a very, very bad experience around the central part of Singapore. Park connectors/outward regions are fine, but the traffic infested center is no place for a bike, which is quite sad..
What I'm trying to say is: I agree that the article describes a great way to live, something I dearly miss. I believe that this isn't possible for a lot of people though, in spite of the benefits it would provide to them and their surroundings.