Originally Posted by
I-Like-To-Bike
Yeah, pandemics and lockdowns and layoffs as well as hundreds of thousands dying and millions of people sick and stressed out, are wonderful thoughts; bicyclists just going outdoors, celebrating the "quiet" and having a good time.
One could also say that with everything that was going wrong and all the concerns it raised,
having one thing that still worked was very key to helping people through it. And not just cyclists - a huge swath of the population was out walking, too - it was the one thing you could still do, the one way you could still maybe interact in person with friends. The people in places where walking or biking for outdoor exercise was effectively banned for a while really suffered.
Additionally, with more traditional shared-air bus/train public transit raising some concerns, there were places were the self-powered option suddenly filled a serious need.
Typically when there is a tragedy (and there indeed has been one) the survivors are influenced to make assorted changes in their lives and outlook, variously large or small depending on opportunity and personal experience. Lots of people have re-considered things like routinely travelling to a workplace, vs when it is particularly useful to the job. Others have re-evaluated the balance of careers vs family time or personal health There are definitely those whose work situations have become more challenging; there are also many enjoying a newfound flexibility. Things are returning closer to what they were, but a variously subtly or substantially different version of it.