Commuting - How many commuters do you see?

How many bike-commuters do you see or pass on an average commute? Not the ones you pass as they're getting off the train, but the ones that are on "your" route, cranking RPMs as they hustle off to work ... just like you.

Oops, sorry. Meant to make this a poll, but blew it. Anyway, I see one, maybe, two bike-commuters on my way in.

On the first days of spring I'll see 3-4 or so, maybe more. But it settles down to 1-2 in the summertime. In the wintertime, I'm the only idiot out there.

I see five to ten commuters daily, don´t know if theyre all regular commuters or some are just commuting that day. Don´t recognize them all from day to day. Maybe three or four are commuting on regular basis that I know of.

Anders K

Usually no one. There's one commuter that gets off the train I ride to work. If I catch a later train I'll see him at the bike lockers. One guy I'll see on occasion for two blocks before he goes in another direction. I do see more bikes at the bike racks by my station in Summer than in Winter.

Originally posted by Andy Dreisch
...I see one, maybe, two bike-commuters on my way in.

On the first days of spring I'll see 3-4 or so, maybe more. But it settles down to 1-2 in the summertime. In the wintertime, I'm the only idiot out there.
Yep, I sometimes feel like saying, "Hi, welcome to my route! I've been waiting all year for you to show up. How about staying a while longer this year?" ;)

Naw, just kidding. I'm glad they come out at least part of the year. Problem is, they don't know what they're missing. How can anyone survive cycling only a few months out of the year in a city that never gets snow (almost never?)

When it snowed last winter here, I ventured into it on my regular road bike. Didn't slip or slide, but I'm sure I would have had to be extremely careful had I tried to actually go anywhere. But wow, what a blast!

Zip. :(

How do you spell zero?

Maybe once a month I'll see another bike commuter.

Sure gets lonely most days. :(

There was this guy who rode a red mountain bike all done up in panniers and such. Then it got hot and I haven't seen that guy anywhere.
Occasionally, I'll see some full-grown gangsta-type riding along on a BMX bike with the handlebars bent way forward and they're scrunched over like a scared cat, knees hitting the chest while pedaling. They only go so far as the store usually.

Originally posted by Bikes-N-Drums
...
Occasionally, I'll see some full-grown gangsta-type riding along on a BMX bike with the handlebars bent way forward and they're scrunched over like a scared cat, knees hitting the chest while pedaling ...
This is funny ! I'll pass hordes of, well, possibly (probably) illegals riding in all kinds of directions, breaking all kinds of laws, and wreaking havoc. One consistency they have, however: they'll never ride a straight line.

I probably see 10 to 20 during the spring and summer. Half a dozen in winter. Most are on a popular route with bike lane from north seattle to downtown seattle. It actually can get rather congested at long stop lights. Someone I know refers to it as the "Deter Derby" (Dexter is the street name), because it's hard not to get competitive with the other riders when heading up the hill.

Reminds me of birdwatching. There are a few that come out regularly I can spot, if I'm in the right place at the right time. Then there are a whole lot more that I spot, but I can't identify
as regulars, exactly.

As for those that I see on my commute regularly, I would have to say, zero. Don't get me wrong, I see lots of cyclists, but only a very few I can say I know.

I know one guy named Henry who rides my route, but I almost never see him. He must ride later than me. But he rides in my direction and on my route. Funny thing, one day I took a long detour north on the way home and thought I spotted Henry! So I called out, "Is that you, Henry?" He replied, "No, but lots of people think I'm Henry!" Henry must be very well known among
bicycle "user groups" in the area.

:D

See 2-3 max when I have the chance to partake myself...as soon as I get the new road bike you'll be calling me a regular...even in 95 degree/95% mid-west weather... :p

Hi, LegalIce!

Welcome to BikeForums!

Keep riding...

When I drive to work: 15 to 20 cycling commuters

When I cycle to work: 1 or 2

I suppose it's the warp vs. impulse drive thingy.

-Rob

A few regulars I guess, and the occasional one who does it once or twice that I never see again.

10-15 usually when I get to the cyclepaths in Edinburgh , but it drops to 5-10 in winter.

3 or 4 I guess.

I might try counting one fine and sunny day, but the answer is dozens - I often travel with upto 10 others is the lift that takes the bikes down to cross the Thamses at Greenwich - the lift runs about every 3 mins during the rush hour and they take about 600 bikes per day or 100 per hour during the rush hours

Worse than bird watching in Tokyo. Almost NONE. Loads of shopping bikes, a few overdressed ponses on show bikes at the weekend, but that is it. ]

its a lonely life

Many. More as I get closer to work. Once I'm within 6 miles I see quite a lot, really. That's not including all the school kids I see in one of the villages I go through.

I'm ashamed to admit I caught myself being snobby this morning. A 'larger' girl with bleached blonde hair (I guess the trailer-trash look would explain it) on a full-suspension Halfords mountain bike. I gave myself a firm mental talking-to and reminded myself that it was better than her not riding at all!

Ellie

It varies, but quite a few once I get to Canterbury.

I rarely see anyone else riding a bike on the road when I commute to work. Once in a great while I'll see some guy who has obviously lost his driver's license and has borrowed his child's bike to get to work as a last ditch effort. You know, sack lunch on the handlebars, work clothes, looking kind of despondant rather than happy and enjoying the ride? A few folks with no helmet, headphones (in traffic - how smart of them) and riding an ill-fitting bike.

I did see a guy from my office window yesterday riding an old beater "racing?" bike, baseball hat on backwards, sack lunch in hand and of course riding against traffic. Will they never re-learn that stupid idea that they were told when they were 12 years old. "Yes Jimmy, always ride your bike against traffic so you can see the cars coming at you". Perceived as safer, until you get blasted by a driver that doesn't expect you to be there.

Sad to say that there are just not enough people willing to ride to work on a bike. Of course the traffic systems in the U.S. don't exactly promote a safe environment for cyclists all the time. People are scared to ride. Heard it mentioned hundreds of times. "I'd ride if I had a safe way to get to work".

I ride my 8 miles at 4:30am. In the two years I've been commuting, I haven't seen anyone. I don't even see others on my way home. Come to think of it, my bike is the only one in the bike rack during the day. People just don't know what they are missing!!

I see a few, every now and then. My neighborhood must be much like bikeman's because utility freds outnumber non-waving snobs by a large margin.

In the winter, they all disappear.

Saw nary a soul today. Shame. I'm the only one having fun.

none. But this morning I came upon an old fellow pushing his old single speed, with peddle brakes up a hill this morning. He had side baskets over the rear wheel and a big basket up front. The baskets were full of aluminum cans (he was collecting). Now that I think about it, he might be considered at work, therefore he must have been using his bike to commute, right?

Aside from him, never a sole, plenty of grain trucks though. :(

On the way home I saw 181 cyclists in 29 km. Most were not commuting but recreational riders. Thats to be expected when school is out and many people are taking their summer vacation.

Originally posted by AndrewP
On the way home I saw 181 cyclists in 29 km. Most were not commuting but recreational riders. Thats to be expected when school is out and many people are taking their summer vacation.

Did you really count them?

My commute is 3 km long (one way, mostly on one-way streets).

In the morning, I typically see 2-3 other commuters for 8 months/year, none in Winter. However, even in Winter, there usually are a few other bikes parked near mine. Some are courriers', but others are clearly for other office workers.

In the evening, I typically see 20 other commuters for 8 months/year, although the number halves if the weatherman has announced rain. In Winter, I see 4-5 other commuters.

Why the difference between AM and PM? My typical schedule might be part of it, but I suspect that in the afternoon, many people try to avoid another street that has a long hill and a stretch of wrotten pavement.

Another thing I should point out. I see more commuters in summer than in winter generally. Can anyone explain this? Remember, this is in Queensland, where 'winters' are beautiful and summers suck.

On my 21 mile bike commute from Kirkland to south Seattle I might see 12 to 15 bike commuters. I see most of them on the I-90 bridge, since this is a funneling point for a bike commute. This is a typical summertime number. During the fall and spring I might see 6 or so. During the dreary november / december / january I might see 2.

I also do a bike - bus - bike commute from kirkland to downtown Seattle which results in about 8 miles of bike commute from the international district to the industrial part of south seattle. On this route I might see about 4 bike commuters during the summer.

Chris L - After reading this thread I decided to do a count. Some I may have counted twice,if they passed me after I had passed them, and I may have missed a few, so I think the count was close.

I saw one TODAY! First one I have seen in a month's worth of commuting. I was so happy, I gave him an enthusiastic wave and he ignored me. Oh well...

Originally posted by pforbes
... I gave him an enthusiastic wave and he ignored me. Oh well...
Funny that even when I pull aside a fellow commuter the conversation usually consists of a series of grunts and "yeah, the weather's better.."-type pronouncements.

Bike-commuting is a decidely solitary activity.

Glad to hear you're sticking with the commute after a month or so. Especially in hot Houston.

I might see a lot of recreational riders( I think) on way to work, but other commuters- maybe a couple all year long.... It is a shame with gasoline at almost $2 a gallon here. More bike commuters and that would come down... That would also be a good way to tell any terrorists to go to hell..

In the interests of the members of this thread I conducted a sceintific survey this morning on my 40 minute, 8 mile regular route into London, (Greenwich to the City) which is conducted mostly on back roads, cycle paths and 'with' the flow of the rush hour.

Therefore I could only count bikes going in the opposite direction as me ('against' the flow, so heading out of town)

As I was in the office before 9am my count should not have included any of the many bike dispatch riders that work in the city, nor at that time of day will it include any of the students (9am is regarded as the middle of the night) and obviously I was counting bikes with riders not parked bikes.

I have also left out the two DHL delivery recumbents on the basis they were not commuters.

Today's grand total for the morning commute was 122 riders.
or 15.25 per mile

I see 2 regular commuters on my 17-18 mile round trip. One will nod, the other actually says "Good Morning" and even stopped as I was changing a flat to see if I was all set. The fellow I saw regularly last year has vanished. On the return trip almost all of the cyclists are recreational.