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Comment by GiveOver | Hacker News Reader

I found it bizarre that "weather-independence" was one of the least important metrics. I commuted by bike for years and it's miserable in wind and rain. The numbers of fellow cyclists varied massively depending on the weather.

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Bike ≠ e-bike. My e-bike makes commuting in teeming rain kind of fun - with appropriate rain gear only my hands and face get wet, and there's very little physical effort. Trying to do the same ride on a pushbike is indeed miserable.

I'm about as enthusiastic a bike user as you'll find but I've never found 'rain kind of fun', especially not on longer distances (>40 km, my 'regular' road trip is 64K there and back for 128 in total). The road gets slippery, other people (in cars) pay less attention and have less visibility, you get soaked and if you're not careful you can get undercooled even on relatively warm days. Cold weather: no problem, wet weather: if I can avoid it I will.

I'm talking about a 10 minute 4km commute, not a multi-hour trek (which doesn't sound fun to me in any weather). I really do find it fun, and I really do only get my hands and face wet. Gumboots, rain pants, rain jacket, backpack cover, helmet cover: no way to get soaked or even damp.

In Perth Western Australia my commute is about 25km. and at best a little over an hour to ride by bike down the bike paths along side the freeway.

today it was 25 deg C at 6am and over 32 deg C at 5pm when I would have to ride home.

I'll ride it every now and again, but honestly its too much to do on a regular basis.

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