Not Just Bikes
4 HN recommenders · recommended in 10 months, 2022–2026
11:47 · 1.3M views · May 11, 2022
Not Just Bikes argues that people in walkable, bikeable Dutch cities stay healthy because exercise is built into daily life, which he calls the gym of life. It contrasts this with car-dependent cities that require deliberate workouts.
HN recommends it whenever fitness, aging or cycling comes up, as the clearest statement that city design is the best public health investment.
10 comments from Hacker News
I can heartily recommend anyone who thinks they dislike cycling to watch Not Just Bikes on youtube[0]. Most of the problem is the city you live in, not the concept of cycling. [0] this video
Live somewhere you can bike and/or walk to work and for your daily needs. Admittedly this can be weather-dependent, so it might not suit your requirement (though even living in Ireland I find rain only rarely causes an issue). I lost about 100 pounds this way. Moving to a new country would be one of the more extreme options but this video describes the idea of "The Gym of Life" well this video
If not sugar, then other causes should be taxed if the evidence supports that such taxes would have an impact. I'm not a policy expert myself. The best public investment to promote physical activity is designing cities to enable "the gym of life"! this video
> Daily exercise This can simply be walking a lot, especially if you're in a more urban area, where you don't have to drive everywhere (either figuratively or literally). See "The Gym of Life": * this video
Yes, I did consider that. That's exactly my point. He stated he hates (A) and likes (B). I suggested that hating (A) is a poor POV. It would be better to like both (A) and (B) even if you prefer (B). Let's put it another way. If someone says the France sucks, Germany rules. And someone replies "The France doesn't suck, here's a few reasons why". Why do you feel the need to jump in and defend the POV that "France sucks"? I also listed spending time with people as a plus to the city. It's interesting that you left that out. I'd guess if the author had a job they loved with people they loved their attitude about everything else would change. The fact they're in a job they hate arguably taints everything else about their life. Commuting of course sucks if it's to a place you don't want to go in the first place. To me, commuting by public transport rocks because I got, on average, 50+ minutes of walking (25 each way) for free (added to the 20 minutes of standing on the train) this video