Commuting - I can't

Here are some of the reasons "I can't" commute by bike:

1) I don't have the energy.
2) My legs are too white.
3) There isn't a path.
4) I'll have to get up 30 minutes earlier.
5) Bicycles are for children and super-athletic types.
6) It's ridiculous even to consider it.
7) I'll get dirty.
8) I'll get sweaty.
9) I've never been the outdoors type.
10) People will think I'm not able to afford a car.
11) I can't afford to buy a bike.
12) I can't stand the heat.
13) I can't stand the cold.
14) I can't stand the humidity
15) I can't stand the rain.
16) I can't change a flat.
17) I don't have time.
18) I don't know how.
19) I'm too old.
20) I'm too young.
21) I will, someday.
22) It will mess up my hair or makeup.

23) My hair hurts.

Point: It all comes down to just being lazy.

24) Riding a bike sucks.

This is a familiar mantra from my bandmates.

It's too far.
I'll get run over.
People will laugh at me.
It's too much work.
My old football injury



Originally posted by LittleBigMan
Here are some of the reasons "I can't" commute by bike:

12) I can't stand the heat.
13) I can't stand the cold.
14) I can't stand the humidity
15) I can't stand the rain.


Have you noticed that as a cyclist you look at weather differently than most folks. Most people see weather as something to be avoided. It is either too hot or cold or too wet or windy. When I answer the one question everybody asks:


What do you do when it rains ?


with "I get wet" they look at me like I am from Mars. Even my wife doesn't get it all the time. This morning she asked me if I wanted to listen to the weather radio to find out if it would rain on me on the way home. She was suprised when I said it doesn't matter, I am riding anyway, wet or dry.

regards
Dan

Originally posted by DanFromDetroit
This morning she asked me if I wanted to listen to the weather radio to find out if it would rain on me on the way home. She was suprised when I said it doesn't matter, I am riding anyway, wet or dry.

Another (and my favorite) answer to this one is: I think I'll find out on the way home.

--J

"People will think the police revoked my driver's license."

:D I love it when people assume I won;t bike because it's raining--gives me all the more motivation to prove them wrong!

How about:

-I need to be able to drive to catch up on eating and putting my makeup on because I could not possible wake up five minutes earlier to do them.

25). I forgot where I put my bike

Have you noticed that as a cyclist you look at weather differently than most folks. Most people see weather as something to be avoided. It is either too hot or cold or too wet or windy.
Hehe, and it's SO much more comfortable driving, shivering in my 30F/0C driver's seat in the winter for the first ~5 miles while waiting for warm air to come out of the vents... oh wait, 5 miles got me to my destination. (ditto for the summertime, waiting for my car to cool off after sitting in the sun at 95F/35C).

I will allow this one as a possibility where I live:
It's too snowy or icy to be sharing the road with the less-skillful motorists today, I may need one or two tons of motorized armor for protection before the day's done!

nothing to argue about. any excuse will serve

I carry a raincoat, and hooded poncho on my bike at all times.

one day in the rain, wearing a poncho, I schwinned to the Stop-N-Rob for coffee. I could tell by the (vacant) grins that I must have looked like a large bird coming in for landing.

PS I have a small two AA battery operated red flasher that I wear on the back of my hydropack if I start before daylight, or in the rain.

26) Bike..... whats that?

My chamios need to be rinsed.

I can't find my other defeet sock.

What would Lance do?

Ohp, the Polka dot jersey's not back from the cleaners.

Oops, my US postal jersey's not back from the cleaners.

It's too much trouble to take the bike off the trainer.

I don't have the weekend club riders to draft on.

Did you see that hill at the foot of the driveway, you can't possible expect me to make that sort of climb first thing in the morning.

Where will I put my travel mug and doughnut?

Helmet hair.

27) "If I ride to work I'll be killed" (I actually heard this one from another cyclist - who was out riding at the same time as I was commuting)

I get that a lot: 'but it's so DANgerous (quivering lip)'

it is statistically a little more dangerous than driving I admit (have had my bike run over by a bus after I came off it) - but is supposed to add 10 years to your life

if you cycle enough you might use all those 10 extra life years up riding.....lets say 1 hr a day - thats 365 hrs riding a years - ie 15 days solid cycling a year. times that by lets say 60 years and you get about 3 years solid cycling over that period.

hmm - so you'd have to ride about 3-4 hours a day to use up the extra ten years cycling gives you...

dunno if that makes sense but I know what I mean