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Comment by dudifordMann | Hacker News Reader

This may very well be reflective of my ignorance of that area, but would a bicycle not suffice for an 8 to 10 mile trip? If an average speed of a bicycle is say 10mph, then you've already cut your time by two hours!

Of course.. I believe most American cities and roadways are not well designed for commuter cyclists. Perhaps we need a serious look into the bike highways of Copenhagen.

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The mayor has a plan for LA. Opinions are mixed, but at least someone is trying to do something.

http://la.streetsblog.org/2015/04/08/garcetti-unveils-sustai...

In some instances, most definitely yes! There are areas of the LA basin that are reasonably flat and commuting by bicycle is becoming more popular. In my particular instance it involved going through the Sepulveda Pass (elevation ~1000ft/300m) and back again. Most people would not consider it reasonable to use a bike for that trip: 1) the most direct route is the enormous 12-lane 405 freeway which forbids bicycles, 2) indirect routes are windy canyon roads that have drivers screaming through them in Porches at 80mph. Even if you were physically fit enough to make the trip it's still too dangerous.

In California? it'd work for half the year; the other half, you'd die of heatstroke.

Interesting point. I'm on the west coast, and our summers tend to be much hotter, and winters much colder. So I suppose, not only bike friendly roads are needed, but also a whole biking culture would need to be established to allow employees to change into work clothing from weather sensitive bike gear... hmmm, complexities...

I may have been engaging in some mild hyperbole there, but one big reason I got the hell out of Sacramento and now live up north in blissfully cool, shady, overcast Seattle was that I couldn't stand the 100F-plus summers. It's hard enough just enduring that kind of heat; getting out in the sun and sweating on your way to/from work is just... not something I would ever do. But maybe LA is not as bad as the Central Valley, I don't know.

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