Originally Posted by ChiapasFixed

where I live we have a 500 year old urban center designed for foot and hoof traffic. now everyone owns a car, and on my fixie i gleefully speed by the lines of cars with one or two people in them, and they look at me morosely, sometimes hatefully, rarely with joy. actually, most of them dont even notice me, they are so caught up in the neurosis of not being able to go anywhere in their metal coffins.
it takes me 10 to 15 minutes to traverse the entire city on my bike.
by car it takes 40 to 60 minutes.
people buy cars here because they think they are escaping poverty that way.