Commuting - Q. & A.: Why Not Commute?

I spent some time asking co-workers the simple question, "Why not ride a bike to work?". Here's the responses I got:

1. You crazy! (I got this 3 times)
2. I rode my bike earlier this year and it made my butt hurt.
3. Are you nuts?
4. Oh, you think I can take a client out on a BIKE?
5. *SIGH* [points to door].... GO!
6. I went and looked at a bike at Play It Again Sports and they wanted $200 for a used bike so I left.
7. Look, I jog.
8. I live in [wherever], do you know how far that is? (I got this one a lot).
9. Yeah, I'm sure I'll get all the girls on a BIKE!
10. No, I do the exercise bike at the gym.
11. I am NOT getting out there in that heat.
12. Like I'm going to spend my money on a BIKE.
13. No way. I thought about it but someone will hit me.
14. Don't you get wet when it rains?
15. Yeah right, and show up to work all sweaty? I don't think so.
16. I haven't been on one in years and I'm not about to start again.
17. Heh heh heh! No, no, no, no, no.
18. Dude, I drink. Do you wanna see me all hungover on a bike? I don't think so.


I swear, these people just don't know what they're missing.

How about - it is 38 miles one-way, and I do not have time for a daily metric century+ and work and do everything else.

I did commute at times when it was 18 miles one-way, though!!

Originally posted by DnvrFox
How about - it is 38 miles one-way, and I do not have time for a daily metric century+ and work and do everything else.

Please excuse my ignorance here, but is there really any reason to live 60km from work?

:confused:

Originally posted by Chris L
Please excuse my ignorance here, but is there really any reason to live 60km from work?:confused:
I have a friend who lives in Perth, Western Australia and works for a New York company. He mostly telecommutes but on the days he has to go to the office .... that's a hell of a commute. I can see why he doesn't ride a bike to work.

(He has to travel to the states every month or so.)

Originally posted by Bikes-N-Drums
I spent some time asking co-workers the simple question, "Why not ride a bike to work?". Here's the responses I got:

10. No, I do the exercise bike at the gym.

Ugh. I really cannot understand why people like to schedule a certain part of their day to travel to a building, go inside, and start exercising. Don't they realize that they are completely wasting that time and energy? OK, they are getting exercise but why not get something else done while you're at it? There are plenty of ways to get exercise done and be productive at the same time. Bike commuting is one of the best. The least these people could do is hook their exercise equipment up to generators.



18. Dude, I drink. Do you wanna see me all hungover on a bike? I don't think so.

Now this one I can understand the most. I've had to cut back on drinking since I started commuting. That's a good thing, right?

I'm not a huge drinker; but I find that when I'm slightly hungover and I can force myself to ride anyway, I get to work feeling better.

I personally thought number 14 was the pick of the litter.

Originally posted by Chris L


Please excuse my ignorance here, but is there really any reason to live 60km from work?

:confused:

Well, yes there is.

The home location came before the job. When you are almost 63 and reentering the work force, sometimes jobs are a little scarce, and you go where the work is. And, since I plan to retire in this home (which I just moved into a couple of years ago), it doesn't make sense to sell, relocate and all the moving stuff for a job that will last at the most 3 more years, now does it?


Besides, I really like the job!!

Please excuse my ignorance here, but is there really any reason to live 60km from work?

I recently moved about 35km from work (one way) and that is too far for me to commute by bicycle. I use to for years, summer and winter, back in my old home town, but I moved to a new city, didn't like what I saw in the city so I moved outside.

My reasons for not staying in the city:
1) no where to ride. I like back country roads, so that meant driving my bike outta there on weekends.

2) crazy freaky people

3) traffic is nuts here, never stops

4) house was way more expensive in the city (20% more). Yeah I know now I need a second car, gotta answer for that in a minute

5) couldn't go out in the back yard without someone staring at me. I want my privacy, and I got it with a 1 acre piece of land surrounded by trees. I'm not anti-scoial but when I want MY time and peace I can get it

6) People are nicer out in the country

7) the list of things I could not do in a subdivision was stupid. Couldn't hang out clothes on a clothes line, fence had to be a certain height and colour, house had to be a certain size and shape and had to pick from a list of colours, HAD to have a lawn in a year with certain type of grass, etc etc etc

8) less noise in the country

9) less crime

10) nicer kids

11) we have a Hell's Angles club in town, why it was allowed I have no idea. so I'm stayin' away from the area

12) now don't get mad, but we have a black community here that police will not/cannot visit without getting shot at, rocks thrown, etc. there is a racist problem here in this town, if your white and caught there you're in trouble. I drove through there once and got looks, so I'm staying away from THAT area also.

So I cannot ride to work and is why I live so far away from town.

However, being somewhat.....sensitive to our enviroment I am in the process of becoming a driver for a van pool that commutes to work everyday and hence i will not be using my car and will save on gas and emissions, plus one less car on the road.

I debated for a year whether I was gonna move outside, and made the decision. I don't regret it and haven't looked back. I do miss commuting somewhat, but I hope to make up for it by van pooling.

Digger

I agree with Digger. We have just moved into the country also, about 38kms/24miles from the city where we both work.

Reason for moving. Even with two incomes we couldn't realistically buy a house in the suburbs we liked, not to mention we have lived in the city for almost 10 years and we hated it. We rented on a four lane road that was busy from 5am to 1am. A city with a population approaching 1 million, is not somewhere I would like to raise kids either.

Now the only noise we hear at night are the horses playing in the paddock across the street.

I still ride to work 3-4 times, but only one way and then get a lift home with my wife.

CHEERS.

Mark

Originally posted by Dutchy
.... I still ride to work 3-4 times [at 24 miles], but only one way and then get a lift home with my wife.

I betcha that over time you'd be able to do this both ways, 3 or maybe 4 times a week. It'd save your wife some bother!!

Well, I just started commuting about a month ago. I make it in about 1-2 times a week into the office, I telecommute the other times or I have to drive around the city to various customer sites. So I would love to commute every day, but if I have to flit around town and across the lake then I am kinda stuck driving...