# Poll: Biking to work. Do you? Can you? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [August 26, 2009, 8:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-biking-to-work-do-you-can-you/507808 "2009-08-26T20:07:07Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 18\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![freedumb2003](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/c2a13f/32.png) [@freedumb2003](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/freedumb2003)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2009, 4:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-biking-to-work-do-you-can-you/507808/41 "2009-08-27T04:39:12Z")
I did for a while at one place I was working. I rather liked it and miss it. I am a consultant so I travel all over the country and each new gig is different. When I am lucky, I can walk to work. When I can bike, I buy a cheap bike from Wal Mart and then donate it when the gig is done. ---
**Author:** ![svrider](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/eb8c5e/32.png) [@svrider](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/svrider)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2009, 4:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-biking-to-work-do-you-can-you/507808/42 "2009-08-27T04:57:23Z")
I live too far from my work (+100km), but I actually keep [my bike](http://www.comparestoreprices.co.uk/images/bi/bianchi-c2c-via-nirone-7-alu-carbon-ultegra-105-10-sp-double-2007-road-bike.jpg) in my office. In the summer, during the week, most days I’ll then ride to work from my sisters place which is 20 km away or the family’s summer cottage which is 60 km away and then drive home in the weekends. ---
**Author:** ![St.Urho](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/8e7dd6/32.png) [@St.Urho](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/St.Urho)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2009, 10:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-biking-to-work-do-you-can-you/507808/43 "2009-08-27T10:09:29Z")
I started riding into Denver to work at the beginning of the summer. It’s about 10 miles one way. It’s been a lot of fun- I’d been really bad about exercising on my work days. We have a locker room with a shower at work, so I keep some stuff there and carry the rest in panniers. ---
**Author:** ![SecondJudith](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b5ac83/32.png) [@SecondJudith](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SecondJudith)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2009, 11:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-biking-to-work-do-you-can-you/507808/44 "2009-08-27T11:25:52Z")
I live in east London and work in Canary Wharf. It’s about two miles from my flat to my office. I could theoretically bike, but the idea of fighting my way through the morning rush hour traffic plus all those weird tiny City streets and turns throws me into a panic. Urban cycling make me a little nervous no matter what time of day it is, though. I sit on a bus and read instead. ---
**Author:** ![HeyHomie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/heyhomie/32/207_2.png) [@HeyHomie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HeyHomie)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2009, 3:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-biking-to-work-do-you-can-you/507808/45 "2009-08-27T15:05:34Z")
The distance isn’t too far (~4 miles door to door), and most of it is on streets with sidewalks. One railroad overpass that might be difficult to climb, but it’s doable. The problems: 1) Winters here are brutal, so I could only bike for a few months out of the year. 2) My job requires me to travel, so driving me car to work is absolutely necessary. ---
**Author:** ![Lightnin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lightnin/32/180_2.png) [@Lightnin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lightnin)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2009, 3:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-biking-to-work-do-you-can-you/507808/46 "2009-08-27T15:11:36Z")
I would- I’m only four miles from my office. When I lived in Seattle, I rode to work about 9 miles, and loved it. However, this area just doesn’t seem to believe in bike lanes. Most of the roads would be dangerous, but the one my house is on would be extremely so. It’s a two-lane, twisty, hilly back road that people love to speed down. I’d be lucky to survive a week. ---
**Author:** ![RedWood](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f08c70/32.png) [@RedWood](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RedWood)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2009, 3:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-biking-to-work-do-you-can-you/507808/47 "2009-08-27T15:22:58Z")
I am a gardener and need tools most days; there is one client that I can’t reach without freeway ☹ bike will not work for me that said, if I am permitted electric scooter… I think I can get 93% of all travel dealt with. There are MANY hills that I just can’t get bike+tools+me up without assistance. \*note that I’ll still have to drive car for the one aforementioned client that I need freeway for… ---
**Author:** ![TheBori](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ee7513/32.png) [@TheBori](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TheBori)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2009, 3:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-biking-to-work-do-you-can-you/507808/48 "2009-08-27T15:26:40Z")
Once a week or so…kid’s schedule permitting. It’s 28 miles one-way, but it’s all on bike path (rail-trail) so I don’t have to worry about traffic. My building has a locker room and shower. It makes for a long commute ~2 hours each way, but the motivation is great…if you’re halfway home and you don’t feel like riding…tough. I think I would ride less if I only lived a mile or 2 away. It’s not worth getting sweaty for a 5 min ride. ---
**Author:** ![Hanna](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b3f665/32.png) [@Hanna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hanna)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2009, 4:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-biking-to-work-do-you-can-you/507808/49 "2009-08-27T16:11:00Z")
A few years ago I took a summer class and biked the 26 miles (round trip). I had access to showers and lockers so that helped. The morning ride in was great - quiet, cool, calm, and beautiful. The route was mostly on wide, suburban-ish country roads with a 35 mph speed limit, so it was pretty much traffic free. The ride home was harder - I was usually riding into the wind, it was hotter, and the last mile in heavy afternoon traffic sucked. At the end it got to be too time consuming. Taking 2 showers a day plus the 2 hours or so on the bike…those morning rides were great, though. ---
**Author:** ![the\_first\_supraliminal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/f475e1/32.png) [@the\_first\_supraliminal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/the_first_supraliminal)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2009, 6:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-biking-to-work-do-you-can-you/507808/50 "2009-08-27T18:37:11Z")
I live on a street with a bike lane, and they are dangerous to bike riders, motorists, and pedestrians. The bikes often ride on the sidewalk, approaching silently and nearly killing people who are startled by them. They shout “You shouldn’t have moved when I was passing”, ignoring the fact that the bike lane is there to prevent accidents, and the cheap little bike bell or horn was invented a century ago. My dad had his ribs broken by such a creep who chewed him out and sped off. And they get pissed if you are in your car by the curb, waiting for them to pass before you pull out, because they assume wrongly that you won’t, thumping your door as they pass. Makes me want to install speed bumps. And have you ever seen a bike rider stop for a stop sign? But they will complain when they get to work that someone cut them off while they did something illegal. The oddest thing is the stripe up their backs. I’m old enough to remember when bikes had wide fenders and mudguards and wide chainguards. Does dropping a couple of ounces of metal really make you arrive at work a minute sooner? It’s not like you ever reach top speed in the city. ---
**Author:** ![control-z](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/eada6e/32.png) [@control-z](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/control-z)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2009, 6:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-biking-to-work-do-you-can-you/507808/51 "2009-08-27T18:46:04Z")
I work about 12 miles from home, but 10 miles of that is rural 2-lane hilly curvy highway, with no bike lane. So I really don’t want to ride all that way with cars swerving over the center yellow line to pass me. ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Love](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e8c25b/32.png) [@Dr.Love](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Love)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2009, 7:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-biking-to-work-do-you-can-you/507808/52 "2009-08-27T19:47:51Z")
Always. Don’t own a car, actually. Only live about 3 miles from work/school, plus Tucson is close to biking heaven. Someday I would like to move farther away so I can get in more miles. Unfortunately, with the start of the new school year we have lots of new student bikers who have no idea how to act on the road. It’ll probably get better in a month or so. ---
**Author:** ![phreesh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/9fc29f/32.png) [@phreesh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/phreesh)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2009, 10:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-biking-to-work-do-you-can-you/507808/53 "2009-08-27T22:00:42Z")
Specifically chose my house location so I could bike the ~5 km to work. 1/4 in neighbourhood, 1/4 along a golf course and 1/2 along the river. I don’t bike in the ~6 months of winter though, so that’s a bummer. Work has underground bike parking, showers and lockers. ---
**Author:** ![Invisible\_Chimp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/f05b48/32.png) [@Invisible\_Chimp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Invisible_Chimp)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2009, 10:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-biking-to-work-do-you-can-you/507808/54 "2009-08-27T22:24:41Z")
I don’t drive and only live five miles from my work. I have a very good public transportation system in my city. However, there is only one bus line that serves my neighborhood and only one bus line that serves my work, and only at peak hours. The lines cross, but don’t connect. Therefore, I walk twenty five minutes and catch the bus that takes me to work. I usually get a ride home from a coworker. Lately, a coworker has picked me up at the bus stop, so I haven’t had to take a bus at all. We have been working mandatory overtime shifts on Saturdays lately and the bus to my work doesn’t run on weekends, so I get a ride from a relative then. I decided I was tired of relying on other people and bought a brand new bike about three weeks ago on Saturday. I did a test ride on Sunday to see how long it would take me to get to work, so I would know when to leave on Monday. I had no problems on Monday. Tuesday, I was almost home after work and my bike broke. It is probably a minor fix, but I am not mechanical at all. I could easily take back to the shop I bought it from, but I have been too lazy. My excuse is that I have been too tired working 48 hour weeks. Once I get around to fixing it, I don’t know if I will bike commute again or not. My bike commute experiment lasted for two whole days. ---
**Author:** ![Zebra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/c0e974/32.png) [@Zebra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zebra)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2009, 1:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-biking-to-work-do-you-can-you/507808/55 "2009-08-28T01:53:15Z")
I could not bike to work because I sweat like a pig\*. Unless I have access to showers and a closet for work clothes there is no way I could do that. (\*actually I do not know the level of sweat a pig produces, if they really don’t sweat all that much I apologize for insinuating that sweat nearly as much as I do, which is quite a lot.) ---
**Author:** ![Cunctator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/43a26b/32.png) [@Cunctator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cunctator)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2009, 3:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-biking-to-work-do-you-can-you/507808/56 "2009-08-28T03:15:36Z")
I could cycle, quite easily. It’s only about 4km to work. I don’t though. I’m not a great cyclist, and if I want exercise, I prefer to walk (approximately 40 minutes). ---
**Author:** ![Patty\_O\_Furniture](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/96bed5/32.png) [@Patty\_O\_Furniture](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Patty_O_Furniture)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2009, 3:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-biking-to-work-do-you-can-you/507808/57 "2009-08-28T03:37:07Z")
I walk about 14 blocks (30-40 minutes) to work. That’s too close to deal with the hassle\*, and the walk is pleasant. \*The hassle of getting all suited-up, having to carry my dress clothes in a back pack, changing when I get to work, getting pissed because I forgot my belt or picked up my brown shoes instead of black, and dealing with dragging the bike inside and up to the 10th floor in an elevator full of coworkers. ---
**Author:** ![gotpasswords](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c57346/32.png) [@gotpasswords](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gotpasswords)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2009, 4:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-biking-to-work-do-you-can-you/507808/58 "2009-08-28T16:17:45Z")
No and no. Home to office is about 40 miles. That’s pretty much a deal-breaker right there, even without the hills. Worse, there is no legal way to ride across the Bay Bridge yet. During regular commute times, bikes aren’t allowed on the train either, so I can’t ride a bike to the train station, ride across the bay, then bike from the downtown station to my office. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-biking-to-work-do-you-can-you/507808.md?page=2)