a whole forum called automotive and no thread about true automotion... moving yourself! cars don't move themselves; they're propelled by the decomposed carcasses of dinosaurs, which seems somehow fitting. as for the people in them, their displacement is only accessory to that of a ton or two of steel, plastic and whatnot. this is not intended as a thread for pleasure cycling, although all remarks are welcome, even from those with bumper stickers MY SECOND CAR IS ANOTHER HUMMER (right next to the sierra club one). it's for those who are in the trenches morning and evening trying hopelessly to make the world safe for... well for itself! so many reasons to bike to work: better for the air, for the city, for traffic, for your health, for your wallet... and only one reason for taking your car: bone laziness and utter lack of concern for the planet... well that's two reasons i guess . any more?
Very often, I have to be somewhere right after work, whether it be softball, working a hockey game, or a host of other things. While I could bike to the train station, it'd be impossible to meet those other commitments in the evening. The high tomorrow is 8. I'm not biking anywhere when it's 8 degrees outside. Very often I meet with outside clients, and have to look respectable. If it's pouring out that morning, it's probably not a good idea to bike to the train station.
well, GLU, since your first destination is the train station it's already clear you're no ozone eichmann... and i understand the points you put forward. when you say 8° i assume you mean °F... 8° in real temperature is pretty balmy for this time of year. and i'm not sure what you mean by respectable... i have to meet with customers and suppliers too, but for me dockers and a polo shirt are OK. if i had to wear a suit it might be different (although i do see an occasional suit biking to work). and i have a basketball team to coach, a daughter to pick up at ballet etc. too, but it's true those logistics are more difficult for suburbanites than city dwellers (which is another subject) i personally have been biking to work for years rain shine summer winter, and it's honestly not that tough. it never gets any colder than -10° here (that's 14° in dog years) and while i admit that's on the unpleasant side of invigorating, i'm not sure i've got it much worse than those who are still scraping their windshields when i'm halfway to work and already warmed up (although at those temps the hands, nose and ears are never happy). for the rain, well, i've got a rain suit; it may look daffy but it works like a charm. colleagues who bike to work less religiously see me as some kind of stakhanovite, but i particularly enjoy the inclement weather rides. i'm getting on in years but the pipe and slippers have no appeal... yet! but granted that your reasons are good... are they really operable every day? and for a lot of people out there none of those reasons exist at all. like in california... when we were living there my wife and daughter biked to school and the neighbor housewives all thought that was SOOO CUTE... but continued to commute that half-mile in the XC90 or X5, sierra club sticker and all! neo, i don't know what the roads are like up cabin crik way, but here in the big city we got sumpin' called pavemint. y'all come down and have a look one day!
takes me 10mins to drive to work, it would take me a good 30mins or so to cycle, I must prefer them extra 20mins in bed.
for me it's the opposite: it takes me 16-18 min. to bike and in the car it would be about half an hour at 8 am.
I'm lucky insomuch I work on an industrial estate and from where i live is against the flow of commuter traffic. So we can conclude, really it's down to time and personal choice.
I cycle the five miles to and from work almost every day mostly because it's much quicker - takes me about 20 minutes while by car it'd take me at least half an hour. The fresh air also helps me to wake up. And there's nothing more depressing than to be sat stuck in traffic first thing in the morning. Cycling to work gets subsidised in the NL. I get 40 Euros from the government for it each month. Which is not a lot but still a nice gesture.
johan, you just restored my faith in BS... it looked like the only response was going to be the anti-bike crowd, and that argument i've been through enough elsewhere... and what i really wanted was to share notes and gripes with other cyclists. 40€ a month for cycling to work? that's terrific; is it new? because when i was living in holland ('n dikke vijf-en-twintig jaren geleden, toch) i don't think it was the case. did they have to do that because the dutch were going soft and getting in their cars more? when i was there it was just natural, everyone biked everywhere, even grandmothers!
well, maybe not... there was a bike in the cycle shed at work this morning just CAKED in mud, the brakes and derailleur were just clumps of grass and mud... even the seat and handlebars were filthy. hasn't this guy found time to hose down his bike since this weekend? it's wednesday for crying out loud!
My 90-yr old nan still rides a bike! It's just the easiest way to get from point A to point B in this country to be honest. The subsidy is a fairly new thing, introduced about five years ago I reckon. The Fietsbond (cycling association) argued that considering that the government subsidised public transport, it would only be fair to also subsidise cycling to work!
I never cycle through grass and mud though! And don't need to, as the entire country is tarmacced, so to speak. You get more dirty travelling on the train than on your bicycle.
old queen juliana used to get around too... apparently she'd go to market on her bicycle sometimes. i can't imagine beatrix doing the same, maybe there's another reason than the time of year that queen's day is still april 30! just thinking... 40€ is actually quite a lot per month! how do they make sure you're actually cycling? everyone should take a trip to the netherlands and see for themselves just what an improvement in quality of life reducing automobile use can mean for everyone.
There is no such thing as bad weather, only inadequate clothing... Hell, last time I was out biking, there was 3 inches of snow on the roads, and it was dumping down. Just threw on my snowboard pants, a fleece, and my goggles, and off I went, warm and comfortable as hell. I felt a LOT better than most of the people I saw walking looked. - I love biking somewhere. I've got a huge bag I can throw pretty much anything into, and Denver has a very good bike system. You can take your bike on the bus or train, too. There are a fair amount of bike commuters, here. We also have a shitload of SUVs, as well, but, hey, its Colorado, you can justify that.
i also bike to work in the snow (although we didn't get any this winter, pity...) and i find that the worse conditions are, the more time gained compared to driving... traffic just piles up, tempers fray, and i just sail past in a winter wonderland... mind you i might like it less the next time. i just put new tires on my bike, michelin country rocks and they do indeed ROCK... but i'm not sure how well they'd do in the snow.
i imagine left is front and right is back? looks like a pretty hot setup for the mucky muck, but in town i was really surprised what a difference these smoother tires made compared to the original equipment, you almost gain a gear... if i was really gung ho i'd buy a new front sprocket with a tooth or two more to go with them.
Oh, yeah, totally. I hate riding it in the city. Thats why I got a road/race bike. And your right on the setup. I usually go biking here: so yeah, its helpful. took these tires to moab, too. worked like a charm!
They could check it if they wanted to as they have both your work and home address. But I don't think they do check it!
A couple of years ago there also was the 'cycling plan' where the government helped pay for a new bicycle for those people who decided to cycle to work. Then they stopped that plan as half of the Netherlands took their chance and bought a new bike and it was costing too much.