Topic Battle

The bicycle's velocity depends entirely upon its operator - a concerning proposition for some, but rather the point for others. A fit cyclist on flat terrain can sustain 15-20 miles per hour indefinitely, with sprints exceeding 30 miles per hour entirely achievable. On descents, bicycles regularly surpass any legal electric scooter speed.

Yet this potential comes with caveats. Hills extract their toll. Headwinds slow progress. The final miles of a long journey may see speeds collapse as fatigue accumulates. The bicycle's speed is earned rather than given, subject to the glorious variability of human physiology.

The bicycle's durability borders on the legendary. Steel frames from the 1950s continue to serve their owners faithfully. The mechanical components - chains, gears, brakes - wear gradually and can be replaced individually at modest cost. A skilled owner can maintain the same bicycle for a lifetime, simply replacing worn parts as necessary.

More importantly, the bicycle's failure modes are typically graceful rather than catastrophic. A puncture immobilises but does not destroy. A broken spoke can be ridden, carefully, to a repair shop. Water poses no threat whatsoever. The bicycle has been engineered, through a century of refinement, to endure the full spectrum of human carelessness and environmental hostility.

The bicycle demands something of its rider. It requires physical exertion, particularly when confronting hills or headwinds. The rider may arrive at their destination flushed and breathing heavily, requiring a moment of recovery before appearing in polite company. This is, by some measures, inconvenient.

Yet the bicycle offers conveniences the scooter cannot match. There is no battery to charge, no range anxiety to calculate, no finding oneself stranded fifteen miles from home with a depleted power cell. Storage is simpler - bicycles fit into racks, sheds, and hallways without demanding electrical outlets. The bicycle's convenience is that of self-sufficiency, the assurance that one's transport will function regardless of infrastructure.

The bicycle represents one of the most economical transport investments available to humanity. A serviceable machine can be acquired second-hand for under one hundred pounds. Annual maintenance costs - chains, brake pads, occasional tyre replacement - rarely exceed fifty pounds for the conscientious owner.

The fuel cost is precisely zero, or rather, it is absorbed into one's existing food budget. There are no registration fees, no insurance requirements in most jurisdictions, no charging electricity to pay for. Over a decade of ownership, the total cost of bicycle transport is orders of magnitude lower than any motorised alternative. It is the poor person's chariot and the miser's delight.

The bicycle stands as perhaps humanity's most environmentally benign transport invention. Its construction requires modest amounts of steel, aluminium, or carbon fibre - materials that can be recycled indefinitely. A well-maintained bicycle can serve its owner for decades, some specimens remaining roadworthy after a century of use.

The energy source is renewable by definition: human metabolism, fuelled by food that would be consumed regardless. No batteries to dispose of, no precious metals to mine, no charging infrastructure to construct. The bicycle's environmental credentials are not merely acceptable - they are exemplary, a benchmark against which all other transport modes are measured and found wanting.