Things you can’t do with a car: stop to have a spontaneous chat with friends you randomly meet. The essence of a city is all about close social interactions, after all. Something that cars are very good at destroying.
One of the many advantages of cycling is exactly the fact that you can stop anytime or change your mind and go somewhere else. You don’t need to search for a parking spot or a highway exit miles away. You can bike near some shops and maybe see a nice cafe and you just decide you want to stop and that’s it. It’s so simple. And good for businesses, obviously. A lot more people can pass by a store by bike than by car and many times more will stop. Speeding by in a car you don’t even see the coffee place, or the friends on the sidewalk, etc.
The Dutch have a good view on this, when they say cycling is just walking, but faster.
Shot in Amsterdam, 2021.