...seeing the incredibly stupid protest against Lake Washington Boulevard being for the bikes every once in a while inspired me to try and take this step of asking for help/advice once more, sheerly out of spite. lmao
My main questions are:
- What is the best way for someone like me, who has more limitations than the average Joe, Jane, or Jessie, to learn how to bike in Seattle/the Seattle area?
- What types of biking and biking communities should someone like me seek out to learn from/join?
- I know a lot of cyclists don't like them but, for someone like me, is an e-bike the way to solve for a lot of my issues?
What I mean by "someone like me" is that I have a condition called dyspraxia. Basically I have balance and hand-eye coordination issues that may get better with some physical conditioning and practice but will never go away/resolve. I can physically ride a bike and have very, VERY much enjoyed it in the limited times in my life I have been able to (I think I've commented to my husband a few times that bicycling is probably literally one of the best ways to experience the world around us) but I'll probably NEVER be safe to bike commute or ride in areas with heavy car traffic next to the bike lane.
I've asked these questions before in biking communities (I used to live in Portland) and I've had a lot of people kindly assure me that with enough practice I can get experienced enough to ride with confidence anywhere I want. While there is surely some truth to this, it's also true that I've been walking and standing upright for almost 40 years now and I'm still someone who sometimes falls down flights of stairs, drops nearly full bottles of beer out of my hands, and (most recently) gives myself a black eye opening a cupboard - all simply because I am literally diagnosabley clumsy. The fact is, I could dump myself on a bike path at any given time and even with a ton of practice and time, the likelihood of that happening will remain much higher for me than for someone else learning to become a better rider.
Between this, and, as someone whose family is entirely out of state and who it also doesn't make sense to prioritize living location for biking accessibility considering my condition, I am probably always going to be someone who owns a car and primarily travels by car, realistically, and so the "carbrain" and "cager" rhetoric, while rooted in some general truths, is certainly off-putting to have indiscriminately applied to me, too. Not because I resent it but because I want to find a place I fit in to, if that makes sense. In spite of all this, I want to try and learn how to bike better/bike in an urban environment and also where to bike regularly that if I dump out, I won't be endangering myself or others too badly. I'm guessing places more like the Snoqualmie Valley Trail should be what I'm looking at in this area/region? Basically, I don't mind biking in the city but feel like most of it would need to be on a trail rather than in a bike lane for my own safety, and the safety of bike commuters around me in dense urban areas.
Do I just suck too much to really be a part of any biking community? Should I stick to old people walking groups and not hassle cyclists with my inability to overcome being a bit of a casual?
EDIT: C'mon now, whoever immediately downvoted this - don't be a coward lmao. I straight up asked if I sucked too much to be a part of the biking community so at least have the balls, ovaries, or brains to say your piece if you think I do. I explicitly asked for that because I am okay with whatever the answer/truth is. Don't just downvote and run away quietly when you've already been not just welcomed, but outright invited, to come over here and say it with your whole chest to my (albeit virtual) face.
