I got comments exactly like this a long time ago when I made a video comparing biking to driving over the same distance. A certain kind of person will simply say the first nonsensical thing that pops into their head just so they can feel like a clever contrarian - ThreadSky

nerd4cities.bsky.social • 16 days ago

I got comments exactly like this a long time ago when I made a video comparing biking to driving over the same distance. A certain kind of person will simply say the first nonsensical thing that pops into their head just so they can feel like a clever contrarian

Reposted from Alessandro Rigolon

A dude on Facebook is trying to explain to me that driving a fuel efficient car is more environmentally friendly than biking because *wait for it* biking requires eating more and the environmental impacts of those calories outweigh the impact of producing, transporting and fueling a car. Amazing

Comments

schwingstate.bsky.social•16 days ago

It's more than that. There's a deep resentment/hatred toward people who exercise. Obviously not everybody shares it; those who do have a huge chip on their shoulder. I once knew a woman who was overjoyed that the guy who wrote "Running" had a heart attack because he was "stupid" for running at all.

willemvanaltena.bsky.social•16 days ago

Well we never see fat people drive cars, do we? Least of all
in the USA. Here in Holland all 17 million bikers only eat organic food from their own gardens.

noobixcube.bsky.social•16 days ago

If you’re gonna count the impact of producing a little more food, then you’ve got to be fair and count the impact of mining, transporting, and refining fossil fuels. For the record, though, I don’t eat any more than when I didn’t bike. If anything I’m snacking less.

ofsevit.bsky.social•16 days ago

The number of ways this is just laughably wrong …

A pro cyclist can average 300 watts and can cover about 30 miles in an hour. You probably don't have a watt meter, but probably average 100 watts and cover 10 miles. Either way: 10wh/mi.

ofsevit.bsky.social•16 days ago

An electric car uses about 300 watt-hours … per mile. A gas car would use about the same amount of energy … about 30x as much as cycling.

sillylittlewoman.bsky.social•16 days ago

To be fair, you can produce 1kwh of electric energy a lot more easily than 1kwh of chemical energy. Its also important to note that for 1kwh put into the pedals, your body requires around 3.6kwh of chemical energy. In the end it depends on your diet, and its important to note that driving a car

sillylittlewoman.bsky.social•16 days ago

results in a lot more than just co2. But assuming an average diet, a cyclist will absolutely be better than a motorist for the climate in every single way.

nerd4cities.bsky.social•16 days ago

Ok yeah I should link the video in question, I think it still holds up

https://youtu.be/-7UcvadTgac?si=656GAU6FBNTPQy_O

bthemurph.bsky.social•16 days ago

I'd take the 4 or 14 to get to work, and on days when I had the time I'd change into running clothes to walk/run back to my neighborhood. Went from middle age chub to high school weight.

nerd4cities.bsky.social•16 days ago

lol it was the 4 when I first moved to that location

bthemurph.bsky.social•16 days ago

4 was always packed with school kids in the morning. If I took 10-15 minutes to walk to Hawthorne I could ride the 14 and actually sit. :)

yourcooluncle.bsky.social•16 days ago

I guess the real question is how much imported beef cooked with gas would you need to eat to pollute more than a Prius given the same distance travelled?

yourcooluncle.bsky.social•16 days ago

I don’t understand why one would need to compare biking to driving in any context with regards to environmental impact. You could be on the caveman raw meat brain worm diet and it’s still better to bike.

sillylittlewoman.bsky.social•16 days ago

Reminds me of this german article where the author talked about how you would have to eat 1kg of beef, which equals 13kg of co2, or if you are vegan 13kg of tomatoes for cycling 100km. Truly mind boggling stuff. It never occurred to him that peoples diet consists of more

https://www.faz.net/aktuell/technik-motor/fahrrad-und-co2-bilanz-13-kilogramm-tomaten-fuer-2500-kilokalorien-18468552.html

syntaxzombie.bsky.social•16 days ago

@standupmaths.bsky.social did the math on a similar question in episode 068 of A Problem Squared: https://pca.st/episode/2c5ac9bd-e84e-426c-92e8-7ca204dd75de?t=601

Cars use so much energy. Cyclists use so little

chap.bsky.social•16 days ago

we even have a somewhat direct comparison that easily proves this false. Gas is 10% ethanol, or 380ml, or 2100 kilocalories. 2100kcal is about how much a cyclist would burn over 40 miles. So, similar to 40mpg by car. Still remaining is 90% or fuel volume and other variables.

beforethedeluge.bsky.social•16 days ago

Have seen this bogus argument used to claim electric mopeds are better than bicycles

justonemusicfan.bsky.social•16 days ago

Crazy!

swxswphotagraphy.bsky.social•16 days ago

I remember Rush Limbaugh saying that. I'm sure that nonsense originated there.

callmeedweirdo.bsky.social•16 days ago

The extra eating is a feature not a bug…

tafinucane.bsky.social•16 days ago

When I drive, I subsist on exhaust fumes and road grit.

egg.indy.fyi•16 days ago

none of these people have ever taken a chemistry or physics class.

bedubble.bsky.social•16 days ago

Ray, I too enjoy a chunk of coal and a Double Gulp of unleaded gasoline for lunch before my bicycle ride just like my fellow humans

fighterlawyer.bsky.social•16 days ago

Never mind that agriculture is a DISTANT third in emissions behind transportation and electricity generation.

We can reasonably eat all the things we want and make our emissions budgets if we cut back the first two.

typewriteralley.bsky.social•16 days ago

And a certain kind of person takes those views to the state capitol.
https://usa.streetsblog.org/2013/03/04/washington-state-lawmaker-cyclists-cause-pollution-by-exhaling

vidca.bsky.social•16 days ago

>veganism has entered the chat

surpluscornbread.bsky.social•16 days ago

I do think there’s a lot of overlap in the people who spend their efforts attacking cyclists and those who attack vegans. Having a lifestyle that's outside the norm, requires effort, and with beneficiaries that aren't yourself seems to lead to a lot of folks getting defensive in nonsense ways.

vidca.bsky.social•15 days ago

my take was not eating carbon- and water-intensive foods to produce would mean even eating more of them when cycling would be better than driving but that's what happens when you shitpost and don't explain lol

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