Originally Posted by cyccommute

Depends on where you live, what you do and what kind of life you want to lead. For example, I live in Denver. my daughter goes to school in Durango, CO. If we want to visit her or if she wants to visit us, it's a 7 to 8 hour, 400 mile trip. Buses don't go from Denver to Durango and there hasn't been train service to Durango since the Denver and Rio Grande Southern pulled up tracks in the '50s. There is no way to get there in a reasonable amount of time and at a reasonable cost, except by car. I suppose I could ride my bike down there but that is a 2 week trip, minimum, through the most rugged of Colorado's mountains...and it would only be possible from June to August, possibly September.

Then there are the quality of life issues. I don't want to lead a life where I can only go, comfortably, 50 miles from home, if I go out on the plains. If I go into the mountains, cut that in about half (25 miles out and 25 miles back would be a hard day, especially around Denver). I like to range further afield than that. I also like to do other things than ride a bike all the time. I like to fish and hike and camp. Taking 2 weeks to accomplish that every few weeks would be difficult considering that I do have a job and a family. So a car is a necessary evil.

Don't get me wrong, I admire people who are willing to give up their cars. I just can't give up mine totally, so I do the next best thing...I use it as little as possible. Since 1988, I have ridden my bike to work and average of 110 workdays per year (that's the years I have records for). Considering that there are 260 workdays per year, that's an average of around 43% of the time riding to work. I don't know many people who have cyclocommuted to work that much for so long.