My parents never bought any of us cars. We were expected to get ourselves where we needed by bicycle (which we did). If we wanted a car, we could buy one - with our own money. Borrowing the family car could be done with advance permission and by paying for gas. Needless to say, none of us opted to buy a car. Just not necessary when a bike can get you where you need to go. Biking to school when I was in college made a lot more open to biking everywhere as I am doing now.
Another thread where you proclaim your awesomeness as a bike rider while totally ignoring reality. Thanks, you were a real contribution to the last one you jumped in on. ( this is where I would insert the "roll eyes" smiley if there was the option) The OP has repeatedly made it clear that biking is NOT a safe option for her child, but as in the past, why let facts get in your way.
Remind me - are we on the Mustachian forums or the Sukka Consumer forums? Last time I checked, biking is one of the core tenants of Mustachianism, and cycling safety is not an issue (and also an expensive illusion).
I think a facepunch may be in order.
I agree wholeheartedly, but before you go giving yourself a well deserved slap in your pie hole, please have someone roll video. If your going to smack a bit of that smug hipster bullshit out of yourself, please let us enjoy your pain.
Hey, maybe a different approach, like stroking your ego, will help? I'll go first. You are awesome! Only a true superhero rides a bike as much as you do, we are all lame consumers and bow to your greatness. There, does that puff you up enough?
Now, since you tend to totally ignore reality, we can cover this again. As the OP and I have explained repeatedly, we (as in tens of millions of us) live in rural, flyover country. This is that icky area between NYC and the awesome city that you live in. Now pay attention, because this will be the fourth or fifth time that folks have answered your smug questioning of this. There are vast areas of this country that do not have even a hint of a bike riding culture. Areas where there are endless miles of unlit, shoulderless, high speed secondary roads, where not a single person ever commutes anywhere on a bicycle. Self righteous indignation over sharing the road issues , or bikers having all the rights of any motorist, are not even thoughts in these parts. You want to ride in an environment like that, please feel free, but like many I wouldn't allow, or expect my children to do so. Now here's another thing that you seem to struggle with. Flyover country is not a place where everything you will ever need is located within a small radius from your super trendy apartment. In my case one of my kids had friends, school and a job all 10-25 miles from the house, all in different directions. Not only would a bike be dangerous, but of no use when there was 75 miles of commuting, school and work to be done in a day.
With regard to mustachian behavior, yea it would be great to live in a place where all of the necessities of life are within bike range, and there is a bike culture in place. There is no doubt that the massive amount of commuting that the wife and I did over our careers, and while raising our children, was a huge drain on our finances, but it is what it is. We both landed high paying jobs fifty miles apart and split the difference when it came to settling down. Since the area we chose nearly quadrupled in population over the two decades we spent there, we were far from pioneers in doing so. Now that we are FIREd, were moving on to a better lifestyle and leaving the clown car game behind. All of that however doesn't change the fact that for most folks in rural America, a cars is a vital tool to advance in life, and a bike isn't an acceptable substitute.
