Commuting - Co-worker, "5km? That's nothing!"

A co-worker just walked into my cubicle, looks at my bike and says, "How far do you have to ride?".
I say, "5km".
He says, "5km? That's nothing! I have 16 or 17km to come."
Me, long confused pause, "That's right, 5km is nothing. Neither is the 2900km I've biked so far this year."

In the 28 months I've been biking my measly 5km to work, year round, in canada, he has not biked to work once, but instead shows up in his SUV. Where does he get off walking into my cube telling me I'm essentially doing nothing?

I'm going to go give him sh1t now, and I would appreciate some ammo from you. If you've ever wanted to give someone at your office sh1t, I will be your conduit. Have fun with it, I know I'm going to.

The best response would be to laugh at him and tell him when is he going to meet your for the 5km.

Peanut butter under the door handles?

He says, "5km? That's nothing! I have 16 or 17km to come."

wait, is this the distance he DRIVES to work?? what kind of comparison is that?

wait, is this the distance he DRIVES to work???
yes

what kind of comparison is that
i have no idea

Use these for ammo (many here bike farther that he drives):

Distance poll one (http://www.bikeforums.net/showthread.php?t=102791&highlight=HOW+FAR+POLL)

Distance poll two (http://www.bikeforums.net/showthread.php?t=67661&highlight=HOW+FAR+POLL)

In fact, I bike his distance everyday, but what do I know, I'm just a 47 year old Clyde...:rolleyes:

Shoot, 16km is like 40 mins. of leisurely riding for most of us. Just tell him you saved over $250 in gas by riding a bike instead of driving (assuming 10 km/l gas @ $0.85/l). Or you could tell him it's the hardest 5 km you've ever ridden cuz of all the women throwing their thongs at you w/ their tel. nos. scribbled on them.

Reading your post I noticed you had a lot of good responses. Why are you asking us for input? In fact; why didn't you just say them then?

Tell him you do it half asleep and close one eye.
Tell him you ride short handed and pull your arm into your sleeve until only your hand sticks out. Then tell him, "don't shoot, I'm unarmed".

Reading your post I noticed you had a lot of good responses. Why are you asking us for input? In fact; why didn't you just say them then?
I was totally taken off guard. I didn't expect someone to insult me for fun.

Figure out his model of SUV
find its gas milage
correct for the fact that since its used its gas milage is even lower
multiply that by the average price of gas this summer
add about $100 per month for the insurance costs of having the vehicle be a primary vehicle
divide that number by the price for a case of pil (or whatever beer you shotgun)
take the resulting number to him

16km is still not that much. (~9.9 miles) I do almost that much each way for my ride, and I feel like I'm doing nothing when I read about some people's 17, 20, and 25 mile (each way) commutes.


Tell you cow-irker that you're amazed he can even stay awake after all the exertion it takes him to push his gas pedal for 17km!

16km is still not that much. (~9.9 miles) I do almost that much each way for my ride, and I feel like I'm doing nothing when I read about some people's 17, 20, and 25 mile (each way) commutes.


Tell you cow-irker that you're amazed he can even stay awake after all the exertion it takes him to push his gas pedal for 17km!

or

"wow, all that exertion and you're still lazy and out of shape? Will wonders never cease?"

I was totally taken off guard. I didn't expect someone to insult me for fun.
You really are Canadian.

You're doing a hell of a lot more than he is. HE is doing nothing. You're at least doing something.

I ride about 17KM to work daily, year round, in Michigan, in temps so far down to -15*C (as cold as it's gotten the last few years here).

What's his excuse?

Meet him at his house (on your bike) when he's getting ready to go in and say "I thought you could use some company while riding in."
"Oh, I don't ride in."
"Oh, so you can't handle the 16km? I'll see you there."

Figure out his model of SUV
find its gas milage
correct for the fact that since its used its gas milage is even lower
multiply that by the average price of gas this summer
add about $100 per month for the insurance costs of having the vehicle be a primary vehicle
divide that number by the price for a case of pil (or whatever beer you shotgun)
take the resulting number to him
This reminds me, despite him having lived in alberta for 18 years, he still has manitoba plates and insurance (to save money). Maybe I need to make a couple of phone calls after work today.

I'm going to go give him sh1t now, and I would appreciate some ammo from you. If you've ever wanted to give someone at your office sh1t, I will be your conduit. Have fun with it, I know I'm going to.
Ride your bike to his house after work, and TP it. The next day, complain loudly and sarcastically about how far it was to ride out to his house, and how you wish you had a nice big air-conditioned SUV to do it in :p

tell him that the ride in from his mom's house is longer

Tell him your commute is uphill both ways.

Point out that he's fat, lazy, balding, and has trouble making friends ... cause I bet he is :rolleyes:

tell him that the ride in from his mom's house is longer
:roflmao:

5 km is how much further than he walks to his suv?

I commute 12 miles (19.312km) in the morning and 8.5 (13.679km) in the evening
and I have been told the same, "oh thats not too bad" and I reply its great excersize.
Most of the time it comes from someone overweight, which always makes me smile.

I agree with The_B.O.C.

I had a person tell me that he averaged 55 mph to work in his car. And that he almost broke into a sweat. I just said "Well next time just turn off the heater". He got mad and told me that 17 mile on a bike would take hime way to long to get to work. So I reply with "It only takes me 55 min." So he then turns and walkes away slowly. What can I say he's old.

Tell him that it's really like 10k in SUV distance because you have to push pedals with both your right and left feet.

I would ask him if he even understood what you said. It sounds like he didn't get it. Ask him if he rides and how far? If he says he does ride ask when you can ride together.

Tell him you're sorry, you didn't realize talking about short lengths makes him self-conscious.

forget him.

You should say it is all on dirt roads and then say but I suppose you've never had your SUV off the pavement. Now, he will likely come back with some sort of comeback but you will have nailed a spike through his Fredlike poseur heart.

It's always difficult to tell the speaker's tone from the written word, but are you sure his intention was to put you down? From the exchange as written, it looks to me like he was trying to rationalize why HE doesn't bike to work ("See, I'd be going 3x as far, so I have to drive").

forget him.

exactly. why waste time with this guy?

That's nothing! I have 16 or 17km to come."
Me, long confused pause, "That's right, 5km is nothing. Neither is the 2900km I've biked so far this year."


Yeah, there's always gotta be some annoying $hithead that tries to compete. It's annoying. Luckily, for you another $hithead didn't come aroudn and say 'Oh yeah? Well I road X miles more than you [so you are worthless]

Don't worry, if he's a real turd, he'll try and compete and shoot off his loud mouth about it.

Tell him that some times your commute is longer when you swing by his house to meet his wife for a morning romp.

Peanut butter under the door handles?

I like it, but I would wait awhile now so he doesn't suspect it's you right away. BTW...my commute is 18 miles one way and I inspire awe and reverence in all who know me. (yeah right)

Wink at him and ask if he wants to feel your sexy biker legs...
then when he reaches down to fondle your leg...
punch him in the dangley bits...
then complain to HR about how he was getting fresh with you.

Introduce him to you-know-who from this forum. Obviously both are experts at putting people down.

" Like wasting good money to pollute the atmosphere and support terrorist acts worldwide?

You don't have to DO anything except blow your hard earned cash to get stuck in traffic?

Wow. i'm jealous."

17 km (10.56 miles) in a car is nothing. I do that on a comfort bike, towing a canoe to go hunting and fishing.

http://static.flickr.com/33/66345500_567ea701da.jpg

That distance is certainly no reason to drive, instead of bike, everyday just to get to work.

I'm not lazy enough to drive everywhere.

Hope you can use this.:)

He's a Topper (http://members.whattheythink.com/dilbert/dilbert051212.cfm). You'll be wasting your time talking to him, unless of course you report the dialogue here. :D

--J

What a pointless thing to say. What kind of ****** is this guy?

I wonder how long it takes him. I do his distance on a bike most days, and it's easily less than an hour.

Point out that he's fat, lazy, balding, and has trouble making friends ... cause I bet he is :rolleyes:

Was going to guess the same. Would ignore.

Point out that cyclists are better in the bedroom due to the intense cardio workout they get daily.
The idea would be to connect everything to sex when talking with other guys and make them feel inadequate. :p

Wulfheir, why are you taking this as a personal attack? I would think that most people here would agree that 5km isn't a very far ride. But isn't that good? Why is living farther from work better? Would you prefer to have a 200km commute? I think the optimal scenario would be living across the street from work. If someone then said to me "It sure is easy for you to get to work", I wouldn't be offended, I'd be feeling great about fast I could get to work.

5km is shorter than most people's commute. Unless there is something I'm missing, I don't understand what's so wrong about saying so.

I didn't expect someone to insult me for fun.

you didn't? where have you BEEN all these years? it's the primary north american reflex unless someone's had some kind of corrective surgery done.

tell him that the ride in from his mom's house is longer

This is the funniest thing I've read on these boards since I joined.

I always enjoy the look on a coworker's face when they ask and realize that it takes me the same amount of time to ride in than it does for them to drive, sometimes faster. It's like, "well shut my f**king mouth.."

I'd stick to the financial part. Tell him how much you've saved on gas, car insurance, car payments, repairs, parking, etc. http://users.telenet.be/eforum/emoticons4u/evil/710.gif

I had a coworker call me and another cycle commuter idiots as we were leaving work one night. When asked why, his response was "That's why God created the internal combustion engine". Presumably he fears for our safety.

He had a stent put into his heart in February, and he has to eat a very careful diet which really annoys him.

The last time he made a comment, I simply told him that he picked his idiotic way to die and I picked mine. At least I get to eat what I want before I go.

Az

Wulfheir, why are you taking this as a personal attack?
+1 -- I think you're reading too much into his comment.

In all honesty, 5 km really is nothing -- as far as bike rides go. That doesn't mean it's a bad idea to ride, only that it's not very far. 17 km isn't much either.

If you really feel you must respond, ask why he doesn't bike. Many people commute much farther on bikes than 17 km so if he's pooh poohing you, what's his excuse?. 17 km is a short distance that will take about 1/2 hour for an in shape cyclist on open road. Throw in a bunch of traffic controls and congestion and we're talking about 45 min.