I’m kind of suprised more people on this board don’t bike to work.
I do it every day, been doing it for 7 years. But then, I only live 1 mile from my job, have a bike path the whole way, and I can wear jeans to work. A lot easier than getting in the car and facing traffic. That one stop light is a royal pain.
(I like living in a small city.)
Being so close, the only manly claim I can make is that I do it year round, 90F summer days and -40 wind chill with snow on the ground. Gotta prove my insanity somehow.
I used to bike all the time, but since I’m not working now, I ain’t going anywhere except to Chinatown for cheap groceries Winter, Sun, Rain, nothing stops me on two wheels; I’m better than the post office.
I have found that in most cities, anything under 10 kms is faster on two wheels than on four…
Since I moved my business I’ve been walking to work, and as soon as I get air in my bike tires I’ll try that. It’s only a mile each way but with hills. The hills have been getting less tiresome on the legs lately, so maybe I’ll be able to pull them when I use the bike (well… eventually. :rolleyes: )
After about 10 bike-free years, and a recent move that puts me 3 mostly flat miles away from work, I started biking again some last month. Starting slow, 2-3 times a week. I leave early enough that I don’t sweat much, but in the summer I can take advantage of showers at work.
The unfriendlier the town to biking, the more you need a new bike. For a short commute, there is no substitute for a mountain bike. The ability to ride safely in gravel or jump curbs easily is at times invaluable.
I live 20 miles from work. Last summer, I rode to work and back at least one day each week, weather permitting.
I have just started serious riding again after a sedentary winter. It’ll take a couple of weeks before I am up for that again, but I fully anticipate continuing riding to work again this summer…
Sigh. I lived in Oxford (UK) for about 9 years and used to bike to work and back, about 3 or 4 miles each way, depending on whether I would take the cross-city route: shorter and very scenic, but more traffic and fumes, or the longer suburban/rural route which took me through residential areas and a cycle track that goes through meadows.
I am not a sporty person so this was a big deal for me, and I am sure it did a lot towards keeping me in shape. I am almost completely sedentary now and very worried about it, but where I live now cycling is not an option.
My workplace had shower facilities and reasonably good bike parking areas.
Well actually I wear chinos but everything else fits. Where in the world are you (that’s not here) that has bike paths that are actually useful. London style bike lanes do not count.
My trip’s about a mile, downhill in, uphill home. And I ride home for lunch. Not far enough to be proper exercise I don’t think but I also bike everywhere else so I guess it all adds up.
Just yesterday my wife’s van bit the dust, so it was I who offered to ride to work today. No big deal 2.5 miles, very few hills, all in all an easy ride. But, yes, it is raining. Weenie me hopes my wife will call and offer me a ride.
I’ve been biking to different jobs for nearly 20 years. (There was a period of about 20 months where it was just too far, so I drove.) Distances have all been under 10 miles each way.
My current commute is about 7 miles and takes 25 to 30 minutes (depending on how I hit the lights). I did gain a fair amount of weight a few years ago and this really slowed me down. Two years ago the same commute was taking me 45 minutes. Since then I’ve lost 20 lbs. It amazed me how much physical ability was improved by losing 20 lbs. Now if I could just lose another 20 lbs.
But just think how virtuous you can feel when you get home all dripping wet.
I ride my bike sometimes (I live about 2 miles from work). I plan to start riding it more now that the weather’s gotten nicer. My biggest problem is not getting to work, it’s if I decide to go do something after.
I almost rode my bike today. The weather people have been screaming “rain!” all week so I took their word for it. Now it’s sunny. Strangely, we have a tornado watch all day and most of tonight…
I’ve ridden my bike to work. It is about 5 miles, some of which is a fairly demanding mountain bike ride. (I could take the roads and avoid some serious hills, but what fun would that be? ) Unfortunately, my pick up the kids schedule doesn’t quite allow for it right now.
On Wednesdays, I leave my big, honking, holds-all-five-kids SUV at the pool I swim at, and then run to work. I run back in the evenings, and pick up my kids from that same pool. It is somewhere in the 5.5 to 5.7 mile range. Does that count?
I do have the advantage of a shower at work. I solve the clothing problem by packing new clothes in on Monday or Tuesday.
I do drive to the gym though, Mr. Miskatonic. Not much choice there if I am to work long enough hours to keep my job. Plus, the ladies seem to frown on showing up for yoga drenched in sweat, and I don’t have the cuts to lift weights in my bike shoes.
I don’t know why Ukulele Ike hasn’t posted here–he bikes to work, occasionally toting a child or two–and, I might add, he’s dropped a good 30 pounds in the past couple of years and looks quite the “foine figger of a man” these days.
There is no such thing as bad weather, only bad clothing. A decent fender and a good slicker with pants, gloves… Presto! Laugh at rain.
Winter snowstorm? A hat with rabbit fur cheeck flaps, scarf of alpaca, 4 layers under the winter coat, and lined pants with longjohns.
(Yes, I am an evil influence on neighborhood kids as I do not wear a helmet for my short off road commute. I do hypocritically fore my kids to wear helmets at all times though.)
For small clangerI live in a small Iowa university city. I live near a remote student parking lot, so the bike path/sidewalk is always cleared of snow in the winter and goes right to campus. There are more and more bike paths around town now, and most of them lead to the University where lots of people work.
“cheeck flaps”… This is a technical term for Mongolian hat flaps. Not a typo.
“fore my kids to wear helmets” … This is ummmmm. OK. Can’t lie my way out of that one. I thought I could sneak by without preview. Is there a standard penance?
Winter, Sun, Rain, nothing stops me on two wheels; I’m better than the post office.
) Unfortunately, my pick up the kids schedule doesn’t quite allow for it right now.