Commuting - Can't believe how lazy some people are for coffee

So I got up extra early but the reason Im homenow is two fold. 1. to post this 2. I forgot my cellphone. I got up extra early because of a missed client meeeting yesterday which I had to make up today and whiile Iw as driving to the local coffee shop for my coffee and doughnuts this pair of ~18-19yr (would have been less a year on each as I have a hard itme telling girls fromt hier appearance to thier age) girls is chatting up in front of me in line. SO they get thier coffee and leave tothier car and I just finished up in the line and go ot my car only ot realize I forgot my cellphone.

The girls leave in thier SUV first out of the parking lot asI'm exiting my parking spot and tailing them as they're on my route home. Guess what? They're approx. less then 50yards after 2-3 turns on the road to the coffee shop. :twitchy::notamused: Gezzz... I've rode that route before many times on my bike so that SUV loked kinda familiar as I never did go into that street as it was a 'no-exit' court road. Anyways... morning to you all.

I gotta bail as I got a 100km drive to the client now. Have a safe one people.

Almost wanted to drive into the road and say to them 'hey you could have walked there instead being less then 50yrads to the coffee shop'. :crash:

Please get a good nights sleep before posting.
Thanks

Maybe they stopped there on the way home?

Anyway sorry I guess? I don't pay that much attention to strangers really.

Maybe they don't own bicycles?

Maybe they're not as able-bodied as you judge them to be?

Maybe they're devoting their energies to proofreading things they're going to post to the internet?

Or, yeah, maybe they're just products of a car culture. Who knows? It's rare that people -- and that includes you and me -- pull our heads out of our daily routine and ask ourselves if there's a better way we could be doing what we're doing (much less think critically about what "better" means). It's a lot easier to fall back on habit -- or on a habitual dismissal of other ways of doing things.

Maybe you were dreaming all of this?

Nah, i've seen this before too.

Nah, i've seen this before too.

Seen it far too often down here in Georgia also; I think Georgia may be one of the fattest cities in America. Folks drive around and around in the grocery store parking lot to get two spots closer to the door; by the time they've parked I'm inside and have my basket half full.

I know folks that live two and three miles from work and wouldn't think of hopping on their bikes and commuting to work (and they tell me they own a bike), but in the car they hop for that 2-3 mile drive. Then at lunch they eat Lean Cuisine meals with a Diet Coke and complain about their weight problem.

Their not thier.

You are clearly morally superior to them.



There. Is that what you wanted to hear?

just in case you missed this...........:D

http://img253.imageshack.us/img253/2403/hpim9641.jpg

Seen it far too often down here in Georgia also; I think Georgia may be one of the fattest cities in America.

Or states :P

Sorry, I couldn't resist, even though I agree with you. Atlanta is designed to perpetuate it too. I moved to Decatur about a year ago (from Cobb Co.) and it is nice to live in a community that was designed for walking. And it is nice to be able to bike everywhere too, I used to bike from Smyrna to downtown everyday, and it really was not fun. Outside of the city, Atlanta was designed ONLY for cars, not anything else.

Or states :P

Sorry, I couldn't resist, even though I agree with you. Atlanta is designed to perpetuate it too. I moved to Decatur about a year ago (from Cobb Co.) and it is nice to live in a community that was designed for walking. And it is nice to be able to bike everywhere too, I used to bike from Smyrna to downtown everyday, and it really was not fun. Outside of the city, Atlanta was designed ONLY for cars, not anything else.

OK ok, you got me there, I changed it from Atlanta to Georgia (I didn't want to pick on Atlanta only) and forgot to change the city to state. My bad.

I totally agree with you about Decatur, I live near downtown and love it. The folks that live in Decatur walk or ride all over downtown; I wouldn’t want to live anyplace else in Georgia. We’ve probably passed each other on a few occasions.

Some mornings I'm so lazy that I won't get up from my desk and walk the 20 paces to the lunchroom to get a cup of coffee.

Maybe they don't own bicycles?

Maybe they're not as able-bodied as you judge them to be?

Maybe they're devoting their energies to proofreading things they're going to post to the internet?

Or, yeah, maybe they're just products of a car culture. Who knows? It's rare that people -- and that includes you and me -- pull our heads out of our daily routine and ask ourselves if there's a better way we could be doing what we're doing (much less think critically about what "better" means). It's a lot easier to fall back on habit -- or on a habitual dismissal of other ways of doing things.

All good points.

Maybe they even like driving. *gasp!* :eek:

Iw as driving

Wrong forum.

Seriously. Half the b!tch threads in this forum start with "I was driving". You were right there in your car with them. Who are you to judge.

wrong forum.

Seriously. Half the b!tch threads in this forum start with "i was driving". You were right there in your car with them. Who are you to judge.

+1

50yds? It takes more effort to get in and out of car twice than walk that distance. Lazy? Nah. Stupid? Yeah.

Wow. You guys are cranky this morning. It's Friday gang! Lighten up!

50yds? It takes more effort to get in and out of car twice than walk that distance. Lazy? Nah. Stupid? Yeah.

Remember. For all we know they could have just driven 800 miles throughout the night and stopped to buy coffee before they got to their destination.

Maybe they're afraid to walk, because creepy people follow them.

aye dhink yer trunk :cheers:

I live in Detroit and when people get to fat to walk, they drive until they can't fit in and out of the car door so they just stop drinking coffee out. ew!

I watched a guy drive a similar distance for dog food, he lived about 5 houses from the shop. Dog must have been really hungry.

Did you consider that maybe they were coming from elsewhere and returning home?

Real conversation, but paraphrased:

"Wow, you live 25km from work and you ride your bike?"
"Yeah, it's not too bad. How far away do you live?"
"Oh, I'm really close. Only one block away."
"That's great. You could bike!"
"NOOOOO...! I couldn't do that. I drive."

So, you essentially followed these teenaged girls home?

I am ashamed to admit that I too drive to the nearby donut shop. Although mine is about 8 blocks away. Donuts don't do well on my back rack. I walk instead about half the time. I've noticed that transporting prepared food (as opposed to groceries/ingredients) is one the things most likely to get me back into the drivers seat. Something about beat up food bothers me, I feel like I've ruined it somehow. And since I live alone, it's kind of a recurring pain in the butt (buying prepared foods at local ethnic markets is often cheaper than cooking for 1.)

Plus, there's something about the whole culture of donuts that makes even the two teenagers driving two blocks to buy them seem weirdly appropriate. I'm vaguely recalling a Dave Barry routine about the societal implications of 24 hour drive through donut stands.

Some days it can be a time factor. You yourself were in a car and discussing how you were on your way to a client meeting. Perhaps they had to be where they were going fast as well.

I would love to have a bus schedule available where I didn't have to wait 30 minutes if I missed my particular route. I could take the extra 12 minutes on my bike to get my beloved coffee and then get to the bus stop, but that's not how things work in real life. Some days you're running late and have a clock to punch.

The scenario you're describing would only irk me if the people appeared to be portly, meaning they made this kind of drive-next-door stuff a constant habit. And even then, it's not irksome so much as sad for them that they're in that rut. Doesn't sound like the people you followed were otherwise in poor health - so they have to be un-lazy in some other aspect of life.

Sober up, chill out, and worry about the stuff only you can control - yourself.

I'm sure there are people who see me on those coffee mornings get out of my car and presume things because I'm not stick thin. But they don't see me when I'm on my bike on my commuting and grocery-hauling trips either.

As the French say - mind your own onions.

50yds? It takes more effort to get in and out of car twice than walk that distance. Lazy? Nah. Stupid? Yeah.

If it takes you more effort to get in and out of a car than it does to walk 50 yards, you might be driving one of these:

http://tbn1.google.com/images?q=tbn:Gq714Q-In31-uM:http://www.sabceducation.co.za/VCMStaticProdStage/EDUCATION/Schools/Beyond%2520The%2520Classroom/Ideas%2520Library/Theme%2520Pictures/Circus/Clown%2520car.jpg

50 yards is like 10 seconds of walking. If you seriously need to drive 50 yards, something is physically wrong with you.

frankly it seems a bit lazy that you can't brew your own coffee. i'm just sayin'...

Why stop there? Y'all are lazy for not growing your own coffee. So what if you live in the wrong part of the world.

^ no, farming coffee is hard work.

Yesterday I was 2 miles into a 4-mile ride to the public library when I realized that I had forgotten my cell phone. On one hand, if I did a 180 and retrieved my phone, I would have upped my daily miles total by 4 miles, which would normally be a good thing. On the other hand, I wanted to get to McDonalds before they stopped making breakfast. :) I figured I could go one day without the phone, and I was right.

I'm a good three miles from the nearest donut shop. If I make the round trip on my bike, I feel like I've justified the calories from my Boston Cream fix.

Hot tea in the water bottle beats joe from Dunkin', anyway.

Kevin

Witnessed regularly:

Parents driving the kid(s) to the end of the block to wait for the school bus.

Local residents stopping their car at the curb to retrieve the mail before pulling into the driveway. The funniest incident was when the driver couldn't seem to properly line her huge SUV alongside the box without going back and forth several times! It turned out to be quite the project, but at least she didn't have to walk 50 feet!

Witnessed once:

Driver traveling slowly along the curb while junior pedals on the sidewalk! Yes, honestly.

i've scrambled a few pizzas during transport, but what the heck could possibly happen to some donuts? all the powdered sugar shaken off?
my fav to ride with is chinese food cause you cant really mess it up.

Witnessed regularly:

Parents driving the kid(s) to the end of the block to wait for the school bus.

Local residents stopping their car at the curb to retrieve the mail before pulling into the driveway. The funniest incident was when the driver couldn't seem to properly line her huge SUV alongside the box without going back and forth several times! It turned out to be quite the project, but at least she didn't have to walk 50 feet!

Witnessed once:

Driver traveling slowly along the curb while junior pedals on the sidewalk! Yes, honestly.

Definite pet peeves of mine. I live in a neighborhood of three streets and about 17 total houses. The school bus comes through here for two kids. Both of these kids are shuttled twice a day via SUV/truck to basically the end of the driveway. Both driveways are long, more than 100 yards but less than 200, but still WTF. This past winter I'd be on my dog walk and go right by one of these parents sitting in her SUV idling away, do another mile or so, and on my way back she'd still be there. Funny thing is nearly everybody I've mentioned this to has basically offered up an excuse FOR the parent. The most popular is "they're probably worried their kid will get snatched by some psycho pedophile". In the 20+ years I've been here in Vermont, I can't recall one single occurrence of this happening.

I saw someone doing the mail retrieval thing on my ride today. It certainly wasn't the first time. I've actually seen 'em use the vehicle specifically to get the mail. The first thought that entered my head upon witnessing this today was 'pathetic'.

We could start a whole new thread on this behaviour but it would only succeed in bumming me out.

Knoregs, why are you stalking a child? Waiting for that time when the dutiful parent isnt doing their duty in preventing every and all harm coming upon the child? Knoregs, I think you may have to sit down and talk with this man

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/photos/uncategorized/2008/06/24/la_et_chris_hansen_st.jpg

:D

Witnessed regularly:

Parents driving the kid(s) to the end of the block to wait for the school bus.

Throughout my senior year of high school, my mom drove me. In retrospect, it was a distance I could have covered (and occasionally did) on foot in ten minutes, and on a bicycle in a third of the time. There were even a couple of bikes in the garage. However, back then, neither she nor I thought of things that way. It's very easy to fall into patterns without realizing alternative ways of doing things.

Maybe she got her daddy's car and she cruises to the coffeeshop now
Seems like forgot all about the library like she told her old man now...And she'll be having fun fun fun til her daddy takes away her SUV...

Throughout my senior year of high school, my mom drove me. In retrospect, it was a distance I could have covered (and occasionally did) on foot in ten minutes, and on a bicycle in a third of the time. There were even a couple of bikes in the garage. However, back then, neither she nor I thought of things that way. It's very easy to fall into patterns without realizing alternative ways of doing things.
Uhm you said did walk it occasionally, so you did break the pattern, but i guess the car was too comfy. I walked 20 minutes to elementary school (even during snow storms with snow up to my knees), took two buses into downtown when i was in middle school and walked 20 minutes to my high school every day. Can't believe some parents babysit their children so much.

Uhm you said did walk it occasionally, so you did break the pattern, but i guess the car was too comfy.

Nope; I walked home occasionally, e.g., when we got out of school early. I think that happened once. It never occurred to me to walk to school.

Maybe she got her daddy's car and she cruises to the coffeeshop now
Seems like forgot all about the library like she told her old man now...And she'll be having fun fun fun til her daddy takes away her SUV...

:beer: One of us must be old.


It must be you. :D

I think I'm going to drive 2 blocks for some soda and a bag of chips and wonder why i'm such a fat a$&. Be back soon.

I drive my son 3/4 of a mile to elementary school. Someone please flog me.

Maybe she got her daddy's car and she cruises to the coffeeshop now
Seems like forgot all about the library like she told her old man now...And she'll be having fun fun fun til her daddy takes the SUV away...

Fixed if for you. Say what!? I'm not old, I'm just chronologically gifted. :D

Maybe she got her daddy's car and she cruises to the coffeeshop now...
Seems like forgot all about the library like she told her old man now...And she'll be having fun fun fun til her daddy takes away her SUV...

You forgot the :
you shouldn't just drive, no. You shouldn't just drive!



You don't have to be any particular age or generation to appreciate good music. Probably half of the music I own and (more than half that I listen to regularly) is older than I am.

You don't have to be any particular age or generation to appreciate good music. Probably half of the music I own and (more than half that I listen to regularly) is older than I am.

True, but I've come to the realization that the vast majority of the songs I listen to aren't older than me.

OT, I have three co-workers who drive regularly 4 to 7 blocks between work and home, which also includes the 1/2 hour lunch time.

Funny thing is nearly everybody I've mentioned this to has basically offered up an excuse FOR the parent. The most popular is "they're probably worried their kid will get snatched by some psycho pedophile". In the 20+ years I've been here in Vermont, I can't recall one single occurrence of this happening.



Definitely not a spurious concern. The odds may be low, but the outcome is horrific. My kids go nowhere alone, even if that means I go with them. Paranoid? Not in the least. I also go inside during a lighting storm to prevent being struck. Both highly unlikely events, yet one has happened to me. Statistics don't matter much to the ONE (as in 1 in a million).