Commuting - Ever feel sorry for motorists?

I do.

;)

"My name is Pete, and I'm a gasaholic."

:eek:

Solution: get out on that bike and feel what real transportation is like!

(The funny thing is, everyone these days thinks I do it because gas is topping $4 a gallon...misguided souls...
:D)

Nope.

Yes, I do. There are many people who live far away from work and school, and basically have no choice but to drive, unless they can be convinced to move closer. You can't blame them, either. They didn't know that gas prices would shoot way up in the future. They didn't realize that their dream home out in the country might become highly impractical for their jobs and/or schooling. Now many of them are either screwed, or really, really getting hurt financially by gas prices. I have a few friends that're suffering financially now that gas has gone up so much.

Additionally, some of these people actually have families to support. =(

...
(The funny thing is, everyone these days thinks I do it because gas is topping $4 a gallon...misguided souls...
:D)

I know. Whenever one of my co-workers asks me about my bike the conversation is always predicated on how much I'm saving and the health benefits...never do I mention I LOVE cycling for it's own sake. They'd all think I was crazy. I've made life choices for over 20 years on whether or not the logistics of living there are compatible w/my desire to ride my bike instead of drive.

It took my gf(now my wife) about 2 years to 'get' that cycling wasn't a recreational activity or a way to workout w/o going to the gym, but was a legitimate transportation 'choice'. We have 5 bikes between us(4 are mine:p) and all of them have dual-sided clipless and w/a minor seat adjustment either of us can ride any of them. She's looking to change her job location now, so she can cycle-commute, too. We have no arguments about whether or not I should get Ultegra or Sora or why I'm getting her Phil Wood hubs for her tourer. She's always going through my Nashbar/Performance catalogs looking for 'cool bike stuff' now. She found some aerodynamic panniers the other day and saved the web-address for me to take a look at them. Some of my female co-workers were shocked that she does weekend tours w/me.

And w/all that support I still feel like I need to be embarrassed by my love of all things bike! What a dope! I guess my cultural indoctrination of car=success, bicycle+hi-vis vest=loser is still in the process of being expelled. :rolleyes::D

But, yes I DO feel sorry for some of the people I work with who're trapped by their dependence on their cars as they live so far from work. I've got a 40 mi rt commute that takes me 2.5 hrs per day to complete, but I'd rather spend that time on a bike than in a car...it's that simple.

Sometimes because I have three sisters who are moms and "have" to drive. Besides that short time that I wave on a motorist from time to time I hate drivers. Majority of them are impatient ignorant **** wads.

There are 2 motorists I feel bad for. Those that have limited mobility and need their vehicle to get to places without suffering a heart attack or something. The other group are car enthusiasts that don't make enough money to support what they really like, such as myself. I like riding my bicycle, but it would be nice to drive around every once in awhile.

I don't think or care about how drivers feel when I'm on a bike, but when I'm occasionally stuck in a cage like all the poor souls around me I think, "Man if these people only knew what they were missing."

Yes, I do. There are many people who live far away from work and school, and basically have no choice but to drive, unless they can be convinced to move closer.
Not always so easy. If you live in a 2 income household and are even vaguely skilled, chances of finding jobs that are just located right next to each other are low.

Having said that, there are almost always options. For 6 years, I lived 45 miles from work and there was no public transit option available, but I still didn't drive myself (unless you count driving for the vanpool). Carpools are almost always a possibility, though coordination is required.

You pay your money, you make your choice.

I do sometimes wonder if some of them regret their choices though.

Like others, I feel sorry for the impared whom have no other means to travel.

Ultimately, I have no mercy for cagers that refuse to "sink to THAT level", show weakness and "be seen in the daylight" riding a bicycle....ESPECIALLY TO WORK! Why feel sorry for human beings that believe cycling past driving age is for alcoholics and the homeless?

When I lived in Washington, DC I often went for a ride straight from work that took me down the Capital Crescent Trail. At one point you take a bridge that passes over... I think it was Canal Road? It's the road that takes cars to the Chain Bridge. Around 5:30 or 6pm I'd already be well into my bike ride when I'd pass over this bridge and look down upon all the sad gridlocked cars... barely into their journey home and already at a standstill.

http://www.theretrobaby.com/store/images/MrT2.gif

Carpools are almost always a possibility, though coordination is required.

Not in rural America. I live 12 miles from work. The nearest town from where I live is 3 miles and is population 154. The next nearest is 7 miles, pop. 1150, and the next is 12 miles, pop 7,000. Who could I carpool with? If you live in/near metropolis, I would agree whole heartedly.

I don't feel sorry for their choice of transportation, but that they think they have no choices. The idea of riding a bike to work is like speaking Russian to most people, unless you live in Russia :). We are so car-centric in most of the US, that it doesn't even occur to us that bicycling is even an option. Riding more than 8 blocks is a huge feat. I can't tell you how many of my customers can't believe that I can ride 12 miles to work. "Man, that's a long ways!!! I could never do that!"

Yea I do, I felt sorry for myself when I was stuck in traffic while driving. The joys of driving a car are over in America. I try to tell everyone I know that they should consider riding a bike but their just convinced it's impractical.

I drive occasionally, keeps me watching the gas meter. Personally, the worst part about driving with bicycles is that it really does clog up the lanes, since there are very few bicycle lanes around here, and the ones that do are in the worst possible places.

On the other hand, since there's less drivers on the street & highways nowadays, I just open up to 100 on the highways and cruise. :)

Are we talking specifically gas price sympathy here? I feel sorry for the charities like meals on wheels that can't attract any drivers anymore and that kind've thing. I feel sorry for us all paying higher prices on just about everything. I don't feel sorry for people fueling though, gas (for the consumer) should be expensive. It's the only way people will consider other modes of transportation that are less polluting and less congesting.

No, I never feel sorry for motorists. When I'm not on my bike, I AM one. Some trips are better done with the bike. Some are better done with the truck. If I'm going to feel sorry for someone, it would be those who only ride a bike or drive a truck/car.

Ironically, now that I am commuting by bike, and don't drive much anymore, I enjoy driving my car more. My car is fun to drive, and since it is more optional, it is relaxing. the only traffic I deal with anymore, basically, is when I am on my bike. I do understand, however, that cars are more of a necessity to some people, though, and I do feel bad. My brother has 5 kids and they are all involved in different activities. Since the area we live in is rural, things are very spread out, but we are close to work (we work at same company) but he drives a lot for his kids' requirements. Fuel is killing him.

I do.

;)

"My name is Pete, and I'm a gasaholic."

:eek:

Solution: get out on that bike and feel what real transportation is like!

(The funny thing is, everyone these days thinks I do it because gas is topping $4 a gallon...misguided souls...
:D)

Are you married?
Got lots of kids?
I would say no and no.
Give yourself ten years and you will come to realize how foolish this post is.
"Honey, could you run one of the kids to band practice after you drop the other off for swimming lessons after you pick up the dog and a 50lb sack of dog food"?
I've been riding to work for 20 years. And yes I own vehicles.

Gas is still cheap. Feeling sorry for someone paying $4.50/gallon of gas is going to be just as silly as feeling sorry that you paid $1.00/gal ten years ago. Gas will continue to be used as a primary fuel well beyond $10.00/gal... and that day is a lot closer than people are willing to admit. People will always be complaining about the price, but they'll still use it. I don't feel sorry for them though. Sorry is the wrong word for it.

I do value purchaces for my bike in terms of gallons of gas, rather than dollars. It helps a lot if you thing of new tires as costing 10 gallons rather than $45.

Are you married?
Got lots of kids?
I would say no and no.
Give yourself ten years and you will come to realize how foolish this post is.
"Honey, could you run one of the kids to band practice after you drop the other off for swimming lessons after you pick up the dog and a 50lb sack of dog food"?
I've been riding to work for 20 years. And yes I own vehicles.

We have 4 kids ages 4,5 ,6 ,7 one of which is special needs child. this entails meds and doctor visits with alarming frequencey. we have 2 cars I use the car as little as possible, however completly doing away with them is impossible. I count myself lucky on the days i can cycle to work. since changing it is 12 miles one way so the time involved when school will make a lot of days driving days:( grocery shopping with this many little children is another impossibility. So yes i feel a bit sorry for anyone myself included who cannot cycle all the time. but as a parent you have to I think choose what is best for the kids.

My mom didn't learn to drive until she was 40! She had 4 kids and we all turned out ok. She walked to the store. Sometimes with the kids. I walked to school, we all did. Yes we lived in a big western city with much suburban sprawl(PHX). Teach your kids piano or guitar at home and skip band practice. Play ball with your kids and skip sports. THE WORLD OWES YOU NOTHING. You are 1 out of 7 billion competing for scarce resources. Reality is a hard pill to swallow. We will learn this the hard way because we refuse to learn it the easy way.

My mom didn't learn to drive until she was 40! She had 4 kids and we all turned out ok. She walked to the store. Sometimes with the kids. I walked to school, we all did. Yes we lived in a big western city with much suburban sprawl(PHX). Teach your kids piano or guitar at home and skip band practice. Play ball with your kids and skip sports. THE WORLD OWES YOU NOTHING. You are 1 out of 7 billion competing for scarce resources. Reality is a hard pill to swallow. We will learn this the hard way because we refuse to learn it the easy way.

Where I live your skin will freeze in 3 minutes of winter exposure.
Death for small kids is also measured in minutes. Adults could last a couple hours in crappy clothing.
That's my reality. And I bet its different than yours.

There's a stretch of bike trail that takes me up on a little hill/ slope that is parallel to a city street. At just about any time between 3 and 6 PM, I'm easily going faster than the cars on that street, which are often in a 1/2 mile long line at a dead stop. That's when I look down, smile, and think how I feel sorry for all those fools down there.

Once, when I explained this to a car commuter, the response was, "They probably look out their windows and feel sorry for you, having to pedal." Now, that's just funny!

Nope.
x2

I feel for them, but I'm not sure sorry is the right word. Empathetic, maybe.

However... when I'm going fishing and towing my Wike Woody Wagon canoe/kayak trailer or Burley Flatbed trailer loaded with wade fishing stuff, I do enjoy a private joke at their expense when I pass a gas station and see a big pick/up or SUV pulling a big boat and parked at the gas pumps, and know they're dropping at least a couple hundred dollars per trip.

<"There's the difference between going fishing to catch fish, and going boat riding to burn gas and waste money.":lol:>

Where I live your skin will freeze in 3 minutes of winter exposure.
Death for small kids is also measured in minutes. Adults could last a couple hours in crappy clothing.
That's my reality. And I bet its different than yours.

Reality is that you should get a balaclava and quit crying! :D :D
I`m kidding of course but as a 365 day/year cyclist from Winnipeg with a huge dog (and equally large vet bills) I think that feeling sorry for cagers is way over rated.
When I need to get my dog to the vet I call a friend (and pay a premium in beer or gas $ for the favour). When I need to go somewhere when it`s -50 and a windchill I will dress for the weather.
The people that are driving because they live too far from their work ought to seriously consider taking a bike or public transportation to someone else`s house or a meeting spot where they can share a car with a co-worker. If someone can afford a car then they can afford the bus fare or the expense of proper weather gear.
If someone who has kids drives them around, then they are essentially car-pooling anyways so, while their wallet may feel it at least the environment doesn`t as much as if everyone where driving separate vehicles.

Nope, don`t feel sorry for them at all.

Are you married?
Got lots of kids?
I would say no and no.
Give yourself ten years and you will come to realize how foolish this post is.
"Honey, could you run one of the kids to band practice after you drop the other off for swimming lessons after you pick up the dog and a 50lb sack of dog food"?
I've been riding to work for 20 years. And yes I own vehicles.

I am married with children 12, 23, 25, and 30, two dogs, a 16 year-old cat, and a bird. My daughter goes to school 22 miles from home, plays in the band, and is a cheeleader, both of which require lots of after-work driving.

How is it that you think your situation is unique?

There are so many good posts here, I feel a bit embarassed that I felt compelled to respond to this one. :(

Where I live your skin will freeze in 3 minutes of winter exposure.
Death for small kids is also measured in minutes. Adults could last a couple hours in crappy clothing.
That's my reality. And I bet its different than yours.

No doubting your reality, and I do understand that there are times when a car is good.

Here's my reality, as well as the reality of the poster you responded to. 110-115 degrees F for a couple of months each year. That's 43-45 degrees C. I once tried to explain this to a Canadian from Nova Scotia, while I did rough conversions in my head. She said, "No, it is not possible for temperatures to be in that range." I had to check myself, and I did, and it's not just possible, but probable, that a regular bicycle commuter in my area will experience this many times in the summer.

Most adults in my city wouldn't even last a couple of hours outside...or even one. People have heat strokes and heat exhaustion all the time during the summer months. And at the beginning of true summer (100 degrees F/ 37 degrees C), there's always some hiker stuck up on a hill without water, having to get a helicopter rescue.

And yet, I've seen tons of bicyles around lately, even in this inferno.

I'm not dissin' ya, cause I also use my car sometimes.

I am married with children 12, 23, 25, and 30, two dogs, a 16 year-old cat, and a bird. My daughter goes to school 22 miles from home, plays in the band, and is a cheeleader, both of which require lots of after-work driving.

How is it that you think your situation is unique?

There are so many good posts here, I feel a bit embarassed that I felt compelled to respond to this one. :(

I don't get where you are going with this?
I'm not saying my situation is unique. I'm saying that most families need to own a vehicle and the OP most likely only has to worry about himself.
But since you have 4 kids and a wife who are all riding bikes everywhere they need to go, good on you!
My commute is only 40km round trip. Your daughter's 42 mile daily ride has me beat.

Reality is that you should get a balaclava and quit crying! :D :D
I`m kidding of course but as a 365 day/year cyclist from Winnipeg with a huge dog (and equally large vet bills) I think that feeling sorry for cagers is way over rated.
When I need to get my dog to the vet I call a friend (and pay a premium in beer or gas $ for the favour). When I need to go somewhere when it`s -50 and a windchill I will dress for the weather.
The people that are driving because they live too far from their work ought to seriously consider taking a bike or public transportation to someone else`s house or a meeting spot where they can share a car with a co-worker. If someone can afford a car then they can afford the bus fare or the expense of proper weather gear.
If someone who has kids drives them around, then they are essentially car-pooling anyways so, while their wallet may feel it at least the environment doesn`t as much as if everyone where driving separate vehicles.

Nope, don`t feel sorry for them at all.

Winnipeger eh? I can hardly wait for the labour day classic!
Who do you call when your wife and kids need rides?
I am also going to assume that you have no wife or kids which leads me to my next point.
Its easy for you youngsters to hate on people who drive cars when you have no family to worry about.
But the reality is most families have cars, and they drive them. When I get home I often have a bit of driving to do in the evening with 3 kids.
I have found during my 20 years of riding to work that this "car hating" thing and the "I'm special cause I ride everywhere" attitude is really over the top lately.
It wasn't like this in 1985. We just rode everywhere and were at peace with our choice of lifestyle.
And we let everyone else be at peace with theirs.

ricohman, that is the OP

I just laugh at all of them at the gas station in the shadow of the sign with the big numbers "$4.19 - regular" on it.

I don't get where you are going with this?
I'm not saying my situation is unique. I'm saying that most families need to own a vehicle and the OP most likely only has to worry about himself.
But since you have 4 kids and a wife who are all riding bikes everywhere they need to go, good on you!
My commute is only 40km round trip. Your daughter's 42 mile daily ride has me beat.
The reason you don't get where I'm going is because you think I'm car-free, so you're barking up an empty tree, mate. ;)

I never said I'm not a motorist. Does that suprise you?

Nope

Don't feel sorry for:
- people who choose to drive
- people who choose to live in the frozen north
- people who choose to live in the desert
- people who choose to live 45+ miles from their job
- people who choose to have four kids

Winnipeger eh? I can hardly wait for the labour day classic!
Who do you call when your wife and kids need rides?
I am also going to assume that you have no wife or kids which leads me to my next point.
Its easy for you youngsters to hate on people who drive cars when you have no family to worry about.
But the reality is most families have cars, and they drive them. When I get home I often have a bit of driving to do in the evening with 3 kids.
I have found during my 20 years of riding to work that this "car hating" thing and the "I'm special cause I ride everywhere" attitude is really over the top lately.
It wasn't like this in 1985. We just rode everywhere and were at peace with our choice of lifestyle.
And we let everyone else be at peace with theirs.

Yep it`s gonna be a beautiful thing!
Point taken on not having a wife or kids who needs a ride....although wife ought to be able to ride a bike too no?
I`m not trying to put a hate on all drivers at all, in fact I said that for a family it makes perfect sense as carting around a family is similar to car pooling.
However, there are other options to driving...just saying.

I feel sorry for those who are so tied down to society's BS. I feel sorry for the people who think the only way to get anywhere is by car - I know people who live less than a mile from work yet drive every day. You say "why don't you walk?" and they look at you funny - like the thought had never occurred to them - and then say, "yeah, that sounds like it'd be nice". Yet never do. It's like an addiction.

Even people for whom it's not easy to find an alternative I feel sorry. People who think a four-year-old car is old and unreliable. They think they have to buy a brand-new car every two or three years. "Oh, I just couldn't afford to pay for it if something went wrong". Huh? You're paying $400 per month plus the extra taxes, insurance, etc.! In a few months they could afford to put an entire new drive train in the thing if it went bad and rent a car while it's down. And they "need" heated mirrors, heated seats, power seats, power windows, etc. etc. etc. It's exactly like an addiction. They're so bought in to the car industry's marketing that they can't even consider an alternative - it never even crosses their mind that their ARE alternatives.

That's sad.

Chris

My mom didn't learn to drive until she was 40! She had 4 kids and we all turned out ok. She walked to the store. Sometimes with the kids. I walked to school, we all did. Yes we lived in a big western city with much suburban sprawl(PHX). Teach your kids piano or guitar at home and skip band practice. Play ball with your kids and skip sports. THE WORLD OWES YOU NOTHING. You are 1 out of 7 billion competing for scarce resources. Reality is a hard pill to swallow. We will learn this the hard way because we refuse to learn it the easy way.

My mom used to walk to school. She'd disappear on a Saturday morning, and return Tuesday afternoon with a big backpack full of provisions, although with what she ate on the 70-mile round trip there wasn't a whole lot left for us kids.

I walked to school, too. To get there on time for Monday morning, I had to leave on Saturday morning, and leaving on Friday evening would get me home late Sunday. It was difficult to be both going to school and returning home at the same time, but all of us kids turned out OK. Didn't leave much time for piano and guitar lessons on the weekend, though - too bad the piano had a bad caster on it or I could have pushed it along on my walk.

Yeah, I suppose we could have moved closer to town, but then Dad would have had a multi-day walk to work, or more than a metric century every day to bike commute.

Why do people insist on judging others based on their own narrow experiences? Open your mind a little and you'll discover that not everybody is in the same situation as you are, and can't be judged by the exact criteria by which you judge yourself.

I do.

(The funny thing is, everyone these days thinks I do it because gas is topping $4 a gallon...misguided souls...
:D)

Last year everyone thought I was crazy for riding back and forth to work. This year everyone thinks I am doing it to save gas. The former is closer than the latter. lol

I am seeing a lot of bikers this year. Last year, I might see one person one day a week. This year I usually see multiple people every day.

Nope

Don't feel sorry for:
- people who choose to drive
- people who choose to live in the frozen north
- people who choose to live in the desert
- people who choose to live 45+ miles from their job
- people who choose to have four kids

Beautifur post.