Commuting - A thought on why most people don't commute

I recently introduced myself at the intro board ( http://www.bikeforums.net/showthread.php?threadid=25704 ), but I thought I'd tell my life story here (ok, just a part of it) as an intro to the commuter board.

I got my first "real" job right out of college, and my commute by car was about 20 miles each way. After a year and a half of that, I got sick of driving that distance every day, and moved to within 5.5 miles of work. Still, I continuted to drive.

After nearly two years of driving that relatively short distance to work and back, one day I happened to have to go home during lunch. It was a nice summer day, so I figured I'd try riding my bike back for the afternoon. It worked out well, I realized there was nothing to stop me from doing it every day, and I've been bike commuting ever since (although I have now moved even closer - approx. 3.5 miles).

Probably nothing too remarkable so far. However, sometime after the fact, I looked back and realized that prior to entering the "real world", I had been bike commuting for much of my life. I started in 7th and 8th grade, when we moved too far from school for walking to be practical. Then I did the 3 miles back and forth to high school for a couple years instead of taking the bus. I rode my bike everywhere all through college, doing 5-10 miles per day. But for some reason it took me THREE YEARS to come up with the thought of commuting to work. And this is a extremely short commute to an extremely relaxed and flexible work environment. It's basically the ultimate bike commuting situation, and even with my abnormal predisposition to bike commuting, I simply never considered it.

So imagine how impossible it must be for someone who has never commuted before, who has a longer or more difficult route, or who has a more formal work environment. Breaking away from the thought that "I'm supposed to drive a car to work" (at least in the U.S.) seems incredibly difficult to do on your own.

I don't want to be all doom and gloom, so I'll mention that since I began commuting, a coworker also did it for several months, and my brother has now been doing it for quite a while. So I guess the point is that we really have to lead by example, because most people probably aren't going to come up with the idea on their own.

How did everyone here start commuting? Was it always an obvious and natural thing to do? Did you follow someone else's example? Did you see that there was a section titled "Commuting" at bikeforums.net and wonder what that was about? There has probably been a thread covering this already, so you can just point me to it if it exists in the archive.

I've always loved biking, but never really got serious about it. I won a "skilled driver" patch for my jacket at a bike rodeo in grade 5. In pre-driver's licence days I rode my bike everywhere. I bike commuted occasionally at college and at summer jobs. My first job out of college was about 15 km away and down a 300' escarpment (great ride in, tough ride home) and I rode the bike on occasion. Not sure why, I just did.
I've been at my present place of employment for 27 years (minus 1) and have ridden occasionally when I could. Some jobs I've had were construction type and I had to drive a car. As time goes by I have somehow managed to work farther and farther from home, so I have been doing a partial commute, seriously for the past year. It's been great and has really improved my outlook and health!
BikeForums has been a great source of information, especially for riding longer distances and all winter. The examples set by others on this forum have also been an inspiration for expanding horizons.

I started bike commuting for health (and economic) reasons.

I used to weigh something like 210lbs and for someone that is only 5' 7" thats a lot. I changed offices about 5 years ago to one that was only 5 miles from home. So I started getting the bus. The wife then spotted an old wreck of a bike for sale so I got it and a helmet and started cycling once a week, then twice a week until I was doing it every day.

I'm now a lot lighter (about 180 but have been as low as 163lbs) and I still enjoy commuting.

As an avid cyclists, I found and became addicted to these forums. My work is 15 miles from home, and I need a car for off-site meetings on a daily basis. Commuting just never seems appropriate. Never even thought about it.

As I spent more time on the forums, I would occasionally drop into the "Commuting" forum and do some reading. A member on one topic asked someone else why the didn't commute. The answer was as lame as my own excuse. I tried it a couple of times and really enjoyed it. I'm not a "regular" commuter, but try at least twice a week.

L8R

I have always harbored an interest for endurance sports such as running, cycling, triathlons. Naturally, I've always had a bike and rode recreationally quite a bit while in college for pseudo sport/exercise. I abandoned this for awhile so I could grow fat and lazy :)

I live in an area with many cyclists and the sleek road bikes always catch my eye. I don't know exactly why, but I guess I grew tired of being lazy and when I could resist no longer, I purchased a nice road bike and decided to start riding to work occasionally. I outfit myself with all-weather gear and panniers and set to it. It was downhill/flat the entire way in, so I figured I wouldn't have to exert myself much until after work. And I was right. . . that last hill was murder going home!

I rode when I felt like it - sometimes once a week, sometimes twice, somtimes none. I sometimes made longer rides on weekends. Then I moved residence to a place twice the distance (well, 7 miles to 12 miles - now including two hill climbs each way, from none on the way in, and one on the way back) from work and abandoned the cycle commuting.

But on the new route to work, I noticed "cycle chick" coming the opposite direction every single, flippin' day. She was tall, blond and spun like mad up the hills. I saw her at various places along my route to/from work and surmised that she was travelling at least (if not more) the distance I would have to go. I also saw her in every version of weather this region has to offer. She was relentless. She was an inspiration.

I resumed cycle-commuting one way for several times a week, then two-way trips, then every day. And I actually still see "cycle chick" from time to time. . . and she waves at me now.

Next time you see her, crash maybe she'll stop to help you!

J/k.

L8R

I started Jogging, Jogging led to getting back on the cycle (rode as primary vehicle in College and early high school). I finally did a 70 mile ride and got thinking that if I could go 70, 20 one way wasn't so bad.' So I started. My challenge now is to do it everyday. Sometimes the schedule doesn't cooperate but I find my days much better when I' get to bike ride in.

When the hospital I used to work at closed I set out looking for a new job. One of the things that I had found very difficult was the 40 minute drive to work. I tried listening to language tapes, silence, & radio; but nothing relieved the total sense of waste of time. So I limited my job search to hospitals closer to home. I found one at the perfect distance, and at the job interview I asked, "how would you feel about my commuting by bike?" The reply, "I'd positively encourage it." clinched my decision. Why did I decide I wanted to commute by bike? Probably a trip to the Netherlands, where we spent the week on typical Dutch bikes riding around small towns, which reawakened my college days' love of riding.

Since school and work is 35-45 miles away for me, riding straight there seems dangerous since there's really no straight road that gets there except for El Camino Real or US 101. I take the Caltrain most of the way and ride the last mile.

Originally posted by Neil G.
...I had been bike commuting for much of my life. I started in 7th and 8th grade...

But for some reason it took me THREE YEARS to come up with the thought of commuting to work.
Your story sounds a lot like mine.

I think it boils down to this: if you think it's normal, you'll try it. If you've done it before, like to school, you'll think it's normal.

I'm amazed at the number of people that would never ride their bike anywhere but on a path.

Originally posted by Chi
Since school and work is 35-45 miles away for me, riding straight there seems dangerous since there's really no straight road that gets there except for El Camino Real or US 101. I take the Caltrain most of the way and ride the last mile.
One less car. Regardless of how you do it that's never a bad thing.

Originally posted by Raiyn
One less car. Regardless of how you do it that's never a bad thing.

That's the way I see it. :beer:

:) Big snow storms are the only thing that stops me.

Big snow Strom's are the only thing that stops me.




Strom Thurman would stop me too. Scary old guy.

Originally posted by Raiyn
Strom Thurman would stop me too. Scary old guy. :D Sorry,Maybe I need another cup of coffee.

This thread got me thinking......

Often in this forum we measure ourselves by how many days we can commute by bicycle vs by car. I propose we measure how many people we can "help" from car only commute to at least some bicycle commute. The old is still valid but could you imagine the impact if we had only 1% less car commuters?

I started commuting to save money and get exercise. Now i commute by bike much less and when i do it is on principal.

preach commuting,

Erik

I have a high stress job and a high stress life, bike commuting keeps me sane and gives me the time I need to re-group. It wakes me up in the morning and puts me to sleep at night.

I wish my reasons were more altruistic. I've been an avid cyclist all my adult life. I simply started bike commuting to get to ride more.

I think that John Forrester (Effective Cycling) is right that many folks that bike commute (at least in the US) do so because they enjoy cycling and it lets them cycle more. While I do think that times are changing, and issues like traffic congestion, parking, health, financial and fitness are bring more folks to consider bike commuting, I still believe that most in the US do so simply because they are bike adicts.


Dave,
who is a **** for big miles, and worships at the house of the big chainring.

I'll never forget my first official commute ride. The ride, unlike any previous rides, where the sole intent was to bike to work and back as opposed to driving. It was a planned ride ... and boy did I plan. It was almost overwhelming at first having to think of the things I needed to carry, how to get there, how long it'd take, what people at the office would think, etc., etc., etc.

But even though there have been many bumps along the way, I distinctly remember the grin I had pulling out of the garage. I felt like a little kid again. It was exhilirating.

This morning I'll throw the bike in the van, go with my entire family to my daughter's high school, drop her off, and hop on my bike to go to work again. And I guarantee you I'll be grinning the whole way.

I think my education had a lot to do with it -- not because of what I learned, but how I lived. When I was in prep school, we were not allowed cars, Ditto for most of college. Most of graduate school, I had a car but lack of on-campus parking made it useless for commuting. I was over 30 when I finished school. By then I had a "bikes = trasportation, cars = recreation" mindset. Consequently, bike commuting seemed natural to me and easy to get into.

If I had been a daily "utility motorist" from age 16 on, I suspect that the whole thing would have seemed totally alien. If I lived in an area where driving was more convenient or owned a "beater" car that I did not mind exposing to road salt, body dings, etc., that would have inclined me more to driving. I think commuting choices are strongly multidetermined.

Paul

Originally posted by hayneda
I wish my reasons were more altruistic. I've been an avid cyclist all my adult life. I simply started bike commuting to get to ride more.

I think that John Forrester (Effective Cycling) is right that many folks that bike commute (at least in the US) do so because they enjoy cycling and it lets them cycle more.

That describes me exactly. I started riding to work because I was training for a triathlon and needed more saddle time. I found that I was more likely to blow off my bike session if I drove to work and then had to drive home and get my bike. This spring I've been meeting up for training rides before work. (I tell people in the office that I have a 30 mile commute even though I only live 4 miles away.)

But even though I started for less than altruistic reasons, bike commuting has made me something of a conservationist. It makes you think about all the resources that are directed the way they are because of the car. At a minimum, I know that I don't have to contribute to all that.

Plus, when I fuel my vehicle, I'm supporting local farmers and ranchers, not the House of Saud.

I'd commute to work, but Im unemployed. If I was, I don't wanna lock a $500 bike out side hoping no one will take it. Not to mention I would have to ride up hill for a half hour no matter where I went. Its just to hilly over here.

Bicycle was our way of transportation when I was a kid. I also used the bike to work for my summer jobs. Couldn't ride to my first "real" job because... we needed an airplane to get there! That's when I bought my current bike and done more recreational riding. Then I got an accident, broke my fork and moved to a not so bike-friendly place. It took a while before I replaced the fork and rode to work only once in two years. When I learned that I'd be moving here in Montreal, I looked for a place that would make riding to work easy. I found it and I bike to work every day except in winter.

I started bike commuting just over 1 year ago for a reason that most would consider quite odd, I love my car too much to drive it to and from work every day! Let me explain, my dad was always a "car guy" and he passed on the bug to me. All of my youth I dreamed of cars, when I had a few bucks I got my first fun car, a 1987 Toyota Corolla GT-S. I loved that car, but it wasn't my dream car. So I was going to university, living at home and working a great paying IT job in the summer and part time during school. I managed to save up a bunch of money and bought my dream car, a 1993 Toyota MR2 Turbo. It was (is :)) totally mint, got it with less than 30k km's on it and hardly a scratch. It's got a few more kms on it now (58, all highway, car is used mostly for trips) but still looks almost as good as the day it was made.

So anyways back to the bike commuting. My current workplace is about 5kms from home and has crappy surface lot parking, which is frequently by high school idiots at lunch. I worried too much about driving and parking my car here, so I dusted off the beater mtn bike, bought a cheapo helmet and started riding to work.

Over 1 year later I've only missed a handful of days (I wimped out on a few -30C mornings although now I have no problem with those!) and am totally adicted to biking. The commuting on the beater has lead to XC racing and trail riding on my new mtn bike, who knows where it will go from there!

BTW, it makes me feel good to not be reliant on my car for transportation, save the world and all that... plus it keeps my baby looking like new! ;)

I like bike commuting for many, many reasons, and the more I ride, the stronger those reasons seem to get.

One thing that comes to mind: cycling is "free." I mean, not only is it fun and an adventure and make me the fittest man at work,
the cost is almost nothing:

1) Fix broken transmission: $3.00, and I can do it myself in 15 minutes in my living room or on the side of the road.

2) Flat tire: $5.00, again I can do it myself.

3) Fuel: this is my biggest expense, but i have to eat anyway, so why not eat big and enjoy it???

4) Parking: I never pay for this. Why?

5) Insurance, tax, tag and title: Not required.

6) Entry fee to Stone Mountain Park: Free for me.

7) Health club fees: don't pay them.

8) Look on people's faces and comments from co-workers: priceless.

:D

I started bike commuting out of necessity. I picked up a job during college that was 10 miles away and the bus service was terrible. I began using my brothers' ten speed Record Ace and quickly discovered how much time bike commuting could save me. Back in those days, I didn't use a helmet, lights or carry an extra spare tube. It's just incredible how I survived!

Unfortunatly, that job lasted only four months and an accident (doored) during the summer made to stop cycling for the next ten years. About three years ago, my beater car was eating me alive paying huge maintanence costs. I called a tow truck to take the junker away for good and thus became car free.

One night on the net, I ran into "Paul Dorns" internet sit on bike commuting and purchased a folding bike within a week. It's totally changed my life. Now I have four bikes and looking to purchase #5 next year!

Since I live in New Jersey and have to commute in Manhattan, my monthly expenses using public transportation exceed $185.00 USD. Now that the summer is here, I intend to cut that down to $40.00 USD each month. It's incredible how much bike commuting is saving me.

About 8 yrs ago I quit smoking and decided to get on an overall "health kick". I bought an ancient trek mtn bike that had been painted flat black. it was huge!!! in spite of that it fit like a glove I could ride all day. I started to ride to and from work going about 3 miles each way with no rain gear very rudimentary tools and no lights. Amazingly I did not get killed since I got off at midnight every night. Well as time went on my son was born and I got lazy again gained 70-80 lbs and drove everywhere even a block away. well due to some things I did and some things My ex did I lost the priveledge to drive about 5 yrs ago by then of course I would not consider riding to work anymore, and besides we ,lived in western kansas about 15 miles to work. Everyone knew noone but idiots rode that far on a bike right?? Amazing how fast we forget. anyway untill we moved back to Salina and she refused to drive me anymore I bummed rides or just drove anyway. Once she stopped I bought a cheap x-mart bike and started commuting, the commute started as 5 blks and killed me for 2 weeks... then I bought a trailer and on and on it went better bike better parts longer rides. ****Hello My Name Is Don and I am an addict***** Now I even ghave terri in on the act. yesterday I was so proud she had 4 errands to run all within 4 miles of the house, instead of driving she asked her brother to babysit, and RODE HER BIKE!!!! she has a better bike for running around:( anyway the point here is we forget so fast how far we rode as kids... remember being out of the house by 8 with a backpack full of food fishing tackle and what not and riding almost all day? coming back around 10 or 11 pm? Wonder how much distance I rode every summer?

From my travels about the world, it seems the US has one of the highest percentages of obese people. Addicted to the stupid auto, and since we are one of the more obese peoples of the world, inclination to think poor health is normal?
Most of the industrial world the citizens walk a tremendous amount per day. Also smaller roads, they have come to realize cars only add to congestion and are not a logical means of commuting. Probably also we have been programmed by advertisment to think you are are poor excuse of a person, if your personality does not reflect you racing in that fast red Mustang.
That is what I think.
Plus, also, culturally- cycling is considered odd and they do not realize the joys of riding atop a crest seeing and smelling nature and being away from so-called civilization.