Living Car Free - Bicycle wins in biker vs. car errand race

http://www.gainesville.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070426/LOCAL/704260356/-1/news


Brent Christensen was stopped at a light at rush hour on NW 13th Street and NW 5th Avenue when he saw him.

Ed Poppell, vice president of business affairs at the University of Florida, was leaving Mr. Goodbike on his Kona mountain bike, meaning he was ahead of Christensen, president of the Gainesville Area Chamber of Commerce.

The two were involved in an "errand" race that pitted car against bike.

The car took 20 minutes to run a set of prescribed errands, while the bike took 10 minutes.

The race began at Tigert Hall on the UF campus and involved stops at Mr. Goodbike, Deja Brew, FIA Clothing and the Wine & Cheese Gallery.

Christensen said he wanted the light to change, but it didn't.

"It was maddening watching him leave," he said.

The errand race was part of "Walking the Talk/Closing the Gap: Transforming Environmental Values into Sustainable Practices," a series of events held by the UF office of sustainability, department of religion and department of political science.

Dedee DeLongpré, director of the office of sustainability, said the goal is to make people with environmental values begin acting environmentally. DeLongpré said the errand race tied together three important ideas: alternative transportation, shopping locally and supporting local agriculture.

DeLongpré said the importance of shopping locally and supporting local agriculture is helping reduce the amount of shipping in the United States.

"Everything is interconnected," she said.

Poppell said he was helped in the race because he didn't have to worry about parking, like Christensen did, and he was able to use more roads that didn't have traffic lights or stop signs.

Christensen said the little things hurt. The time it takes to leave the car, lock the car, put on the seat belt, they all added up, he said.

Christensen, who used a Flexcar Civic hybrid, said he knew it would be a challenge trying to beat a bicycle during rush hour.

"It was fun to try anyway," he said.

I bet he didnt wait his turn and stop at all the stop lights. :D

Traffic is pretty bad around here. I don't have a hard time keeping up with traffic during rush hour and I never run red lights.

I love passing cars stuck in a traffic jam on my bike, I laugh almost everytime. :D

It's awesome how much faster an experienced cyclist on a beater is... Not only can they usually skirt laws with relative safety, they can filter np, and just drop the bike at entrance of the stores. Once things spread out, it's cars hands down... But until then...

Traffic is pretty bad around here. I don't have a hard time keeping up with traffic during rush hour and I never run red lights.
These mentions of Gainesville bring back many fond memories of biking around that part of Florida on my old Raleigh Grand Prix. A biker from Gainesville could make easy multi-day circuit rides from state park to state park, O'Leno, Gold Head Branch, Manatee Springs are a few of the places I remember bike/camping. There were others. I forgot the name of one spring where you had to pay but if you knew where to stash your bike in the woods you could swim up the creek to the swimming hole. That was the cool part of bike trips in the Florida heat- get up early and do your miles and spend the afternoon relaxing at a beautiful swimming hole. It was easy to be car free in Gainesville.

I know I've beaten friends who use the bus by more than 10 minutes. And that's when I wait with them until the bus arrives, and I don't knock myself out riding.

For most of my commuting and errands, I think the car would be faster than bike. The bus takes a little longer. The big factor for me is that the bike trip is usually the most fun. However, lately we've had heavy rain and flooding, so it was more fun on the bus.

I know I've beaten friends who use the bus by more than 10 minutes. And that's when I wait with them until the bus arrives, and I don't knock myself out riding.
Gainesville FL is a smaller place than DC so the errands must have been around the University, unless the place has grown in the last 20 years. Here it is rare that the car people beat the bike or public transit people when the people from the office have to go to a remote site for training or a seminar. The funny thing is that the car people always act surprised that the traffic was so bad that the guy who took the subway or the woman on the bike returned first. No that I think about it it is strange how they're so programmed that cars are better that after these several years they are still surprised the conversation
is like this
They:" How'd you get her so fast you left after I did and beat me?"
Me: "I always beat you."
They: "Oh." (with blank stare)

At rush hour, I can get home from my bank in seven to nine minutes by bike without going terribly fast. In a car at rush hour it takes at least seven minutes but usually more than ten. Even if it's not during rush hour, going by car takes about 5 minutes (assuming one drives the speed limit). All hail the efficient automobile! :p

a coworker and I who live nearby would race to work when we shared a shift (6.5 miles away) He hopped on the highway thinking he would school me, but the time it took for him to get through the traffic lights after the offramp and find a parking space in the downtown location, I was able to clock in 8 minutes before him

I bet he didnt wait his turn and stop at all the stop lights. :D

I'm willing to bet that he did. I can bike to work in the same amount of time that I used to drive. In addition, I, again, recently raced some friends to a restaurant several miles away, and I beat them badly enough to drink an entire beer before they arrived, while obeying all traffic laws. Within a radius of 10 miles in an urban area, bikes are simply the best way to get frm point A to point B.

I'm willing to bet that he did. I can bike to work in the same amount of time that I used to drive.

Me too. 16 miles, just under an hour whether it's by bike or by car.

Guess which one has me feeling better at the end?

Az

I just started commuting on my bike and the four mile ride takes me 20 minutes, in contrast the drive car to shuttle lot (major university with NO parking), wait for shuttle, wait while shuttle stops every block, walk from bus stop to work = 45 minutes. My SO and I getting ready to seel one car and share the remaining one for now, I look forward to it sitting parked most of the time.

I, again, recently raced some friends to a restaurant several miles away, and I beat them badly enough to drink an entire beer before they arrived, while obeying all traffic laws.

Of course you didn't say how fast you chugged that beer! :beer:

Here in Phoenix, when I used to work at Arrowhead mall, about 11.5 miles from me (around Metrocenter) as the cars' roads go, I could bike there on the canal trail that goes diagonally there, which no motor vehicle is allowed to use. That's about maybe 8.5-9 miles (I never actually measured it), with at the time only three traffic lights I had to cross between my home and my work. I have a friend that sometimes would pick me up at my house on his way to the same workplace, and we'd be stuck at lights for sometimes 3 or 4 lights, if we had to turn left, at certain intersections on Dunlap (Olive) or Peoria, especially coming back at rush "hour".

One of those is unfortunately one of the most dangerous intersections for any non-car traffic of the entire area, where the canal crosses (I think) 51st avenue (it's been months since I was there, and I have swiss cheese for brains sometimes). However, even at the time, they were already building another underpass for both bikes and maintenance vehicles, and it's probably completed by now, so there's now only two lights between here and there. This light took about 7 minutes to cross, because there was almost always so much traffic turning right or left across the crosswalk anytime during the entire walk-signal time that no one can cross unless there are enough to simply be a large enough crowd drivers don't dare mow thru (they will fairly often simply drive around you in the crosswalk, or turn without even looking and you must dodge them even though you are already quite far in the crosswalk--a number of people have been killed there because of that kind of thing, and there were at least 3 roadside memorials maintained there the last time I was there).


Anyway, we did a race once, and I beat him there by 20-something minutes, and I'm certainly no athletic pedaller. That's the advantage of a path allotted for a bike, that a car cannot legally take.

Of course, there are places where it's so dangerous on the primary roads that I must wander around in back residential streets for as much as several miles out of my way total trip length (in short segments of a few small streets at a time), or else risk getting killed by often inattentive (or very occasionally belligerent) drivers. (Even our Valley Metro buses often don't pay attention to my existence, and I have more than a handful of times had to jump off the bike and pull it onto the sidewalk with me to get out of the way of some large vehicles that simply do not even try to avoid me). So all that more than eliminates the advantages of time/distance the bike might otherwise have, for some of my trips.

In an ideal world where drivers were trained properly in road ettiquette, and bicyclists were as well (because some significant portion of the confrontational attitudes going on have to do with cyclists that don't pay attention to safety or rules or laws themselves), then that particular problem would be minimized to the situations that arise suddenly or accidentally, and would not be an everyday, constant threat to the safety of everyone on the road.

Cool to see this thread back alive, I too am in Gainesville and for a week or so I tried to take my scooter to school to avoid the cooling down and showering in the sink once at school. It took me 45 minutes to go 5 miles on the scooter where as I was making it in 15-20 minutes by bike. Need less to say, I am back to taking "showers" in the sink at school.

Of course, this was at 4:45 in the afternoon going through the most trafficed part of town.

Anyone ever see the Neistat Brothers' Yogurt vs. Gasoline (http://www.neistat.com/movies/yogurtvsgasoline/index.htm)? :D

I was going to post Y vs. G but you beat me to it. A nice film

cool video donna, thanks for the link

Go on Youtube and find the Top Gear episode where they race a Giant Reign against a Renault Clio. Cool stuff.

Go on Youtube and find the Top Gear episode where they race a Giant Reign against a Renault Clio. Cool stuff.

You mean the video with the downhill mountain biking champion against the Clio? That was rad :D

http://youtube.com/results?search_query=clio+bicycle&search=Search

The top 6 results.

actually my mom took me to pick my bike up from a friends house a few days back
, we walked out of her front door at the same town I took my bike and mom took her car. i stopped in the park for a moment to hear amazing grace on the bag pipes and i still walked in the door right behind my mom. i obeyed all red lights and left turns. we just took different routes

You mean the video with the downhill mountain biking champion against the Clio? That was rad :D

http://youtube.com/results?search_query=clio+bicycle&search=Search

The top 6 results.

That's it. Thanks for the link:D

Tell you what guys- not so long ago I had a race with a guy in a black Lamborghini, on my way home from work. I work in central London (UK) and live in the suburbs, 25k away. I stayed ahead of him for 3/4 of the way. Pissed him off in the beginning (screaming tires at traffic lights, overtaking me but then finding himself being overtaken every time in traffic), but in the end he honked and waved at me (presumably because he was impressed with the performance) when the roads finally cleared and he screamed away. Must admit it felt good, being faster than a Lambo on my (admittedly very fast) carbon racer!!!

Hello

At rush hour I ride from home to office in 20 minutes at goog pace and 25 min. at easy pace. Same trip lasts 45 min. in bus, in car. From my girlfriend house to office: 40 min biking, 50 min in bus and 40 min in car. Distances are 5.7 km (3.5 mi) and 9.0 km (5.6 mi). I think that for longer distances I will lost the bike advantage, but attaining an average speed of 13 km/hour at easy pace in city streets, versus 18 or less kph in car or bus, difference will be not as big in trip times.

Regards

HUgo

This discussion almost always leads to the absurd assertion that biking somehow requires great physical exertion which leaves the rider "out of breath" and exhausted. I hear this when I explain to my driving friends how much quicker it is to get around on a bike.

"Yeah, but you'll be out of breath and tired!"

or

"Yeah, but I'd have a heart-attack if I did what YOU do!"

"Yeah, but I'd have a heart-attack if I did what YOU do!"

Reply: "Dude, just last year, I was doing what YOU'RE doing right now!"

;)

"Yeah, but I'd have a heart-attack if I did what YOU do!"

I HAD a heart attack. That's one reason I ride so much now.