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Comment by recursive | Hacker News Reader

This seems like a good application for a bicycle.

Biking in the snow / slush (especially on public streets since Detroit doesn't have the money to clear sidewalks) is an extremely precarious proposition.

The 7 mile leg close to the job is in Rochester Hills. Who knows what the road conditions are there, but Detroit's budget woes aren't a factor (It's even a different county).

So apparently half of the problem is that Oakland county doesn't have as much public transit as Wayne county.

Good point, I was mostly assuming the 'Detroiter' in the headline was accurate. Rochester Hills (and Oakland County) is a much more affluent area than Detroit -- Plows shouldn't be in short supply.

For the unaware, the 'Somerset Collection' they mention in the article is a mall with Cartier / Burberry / Salvatore Ferragamo stores inside. There's a certain amount of symbolism that the Detroiter has to commute past vast affluence that was once local to Detroit to chase a factory job.

I can't speak to Detroit as a cycling venue, but I can to Buffalo. True year-round cycle commuting in a snowy region seems like an epic accomplishment, but just isn't that big a deal once you've actually done it. First, you should already be a competent urban cyclist. By competent, I mean you should have trained in the practices from Forester's Effective Cycling[1] or a similar resource. Second, prepare your bike and yourself for the climate in your area. Icebike.org[2] is a great resource for this.

[1] http://www.amazon.com/Effective-Cycling-John-Forester/dp/026...

[2] http://icebike.org/

Suggested reading: How To Ride Your Bike All Winter – And Love it by Mr. Money Mustache

http://www.mrmoneymustache.com/2011/11/03/how-to-ride-your-b...

My brother rode a bike from Warren to Madison Heights for work for almost a year. I think it was about 8 miles each way. He at least got in good shape doing it.

Too likely to get stolen.

He probably has secure locking facilities at both ends: he lives in a house, and is good friends with the factory owner at work.

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