Oh, and even most bike rack designs are worthless if you have a U-lock. One of the great mysteries of the universe to me is who designs these things, and if anyone actually attempts to lock a bike to them before mass-production starts.

I mostly end up biking to well-trafficked, low-crime places, so I've never had a bike stolen. But I personally know more than a few people who won't bike because theft is a legitimately huge concern for them.

2. Lack of Storage for Personal Items

One of the most under-appreciated aspects of having a car is that it's not only a means of transport; its trunk is a free, portable storage locker.

When I bike somewhere, I travel with a pannier—a nice durable bag that hooks onto the side of my bicycle rack while I'm riding, and doubles as a backpack when I'm not. When I walk more than a few blocks, or take the bus somewhere, I just wear a backpack.

It's great if I have one destination, but if I have a more complicated itinerary for the day, involving mid-day errands or a meeting or any appreciable amount of walking, lugging a bag around quickly becomes a nuisance. I've looked around many cities' downtowns for low-cost, short-term storage. It's hard to find. This seems like a huge market niche waiting to be filled.

Another offending factor here: clear-bag policies at the likes of sports stadiums and theaters are particularly obnoxious for non-drivers. If, say, you're biking and you want to bring a helmet, lights, a jacket or any sort of change of clothes with you when you bike to the big game, good luck figuring out those logistics.

3. Expectations Around Professionalism and Appearance

I've biked to every workplace I've ever worked at, and it's never been an issue; worst case, if the weather is hot, I get there early to make sure I had time to pop into the bathroom and spend a few minutes freshening up. Wet washcloth, hand towel, deodorant, comb, change of clothes. All good.

I know that at some workplaces, though, I would get pushback—supervisors would think I looked unprofessional and/or worry my biking routine would be off-putting to clients. Heck, I read a story recently of someone whose employer expressed grave concerns that their car was too old and beat up. (I do worry about appearances when I do freelance private tutoring—I never bike to meet with my students until a few lessons in, when they know me well enough that it’s not awkward to show up in a biking outfit and change in the bathroom.)

All of this stigma is many times worse for women than for the average man, too. Women routinely face expectations around appearance and presentation in the workplace (think high heels) that make it much more onerous to walk or bike to work, if not effectively impossible.

4. Stigma And Expectations Around Children’s Safety

Let's get this out of the way: if you have a kid, that odds are very good that the single most dangerous thing you will ever subject your kid to is routinely riding around in a car. Statistics bear this out. (And it’s not a new revelation; here’s an LA Times article from way back in 1996 about how suburbs are a more dangerous place to grow up than inner cities, purely because of cars—and this is before the monumental decreases in crime that nearly all U.S. cities have experienced between the ‘90s and now.)