Commuting - I like where I work.

I really shouldn't complain despite the fact that I piss and whine about my job and where I work. I was coming to work today and I thought to myself...
It's not stressful, I can set my own pace. I get to bring my bike inside, get to hang my clothes to dry next to the boiler, private bathroom to change and wipe myself down after riding in, air compressor in the shop to blow all the gunk off my bike if it's dusty or rainy out, the commute's about 40-45 minutes each way. That's hard to find in the city. I think I'm getting too comfortable here...

me too. not for all the same reasons, but it has all the crap i need.

i wonder sometimes though: how much i would like it if i didn't have a perfect 45 minutes to ride in and get my head straight, and an hour of depressurization time on the way home to alleviate the stress sometimes brought on by cube life before i hit home?

maybe a nice commute IS keeping me from being all i can be (workwise at least)??? :eek:

i wonder sometimes though: how much i would like it if i didn't have a perfect 45 minutes to ride in and get my head straight, and an hour of depressurization time on the way home to alleviate the stress sometimes brought on by cube life before i hit home?

maybe a nice commute IS keeping me from being all i can be (workwise at least)??? :eek:

Hmmmm... this is scary, now you got me thinking. :eek:

The key is to be all you want to be, not all you CAN be. ;)
If you keep striving to be all you can be, you end up doing great things in life, and I'm not sure that's what I want...

The key is to be all you want to be, not all you CAN be. ;)
If you keep striving to be all you can be, you end up doing great things in life, and I'm not sure that's what I want...

You said it!! After 3 master's degrees and working my tail off to climb the ladder, I am beginning to realize that 60+ hour weeks do not make me happy at all. Even if I got paid what I am worth for them they would not make me happy. I love being with my family, I love riding my bikes, I love taking vacation days and weekends (almost sounds like a singles add). While I love what I do while I am at work, work is only one part of who we are. I have noticed that the V.P.s are not any more happy and content than I am. I really think there is something to this "balance" thing.

Usually greed comes into play, but if someone wants to give me a million dollars because they're unhappy with they're money. My bank account number is a short private message away.

Yeah I quit a pretty promisng sales job to go back to work with kids. I have one of the greatest jobs in the world though I get paid next to nothing...well I should say USED to get paid next to nothing (got a significant raise).

I run an afterschool program at a private school in Pasadena. It's a 20-30 minute ride from my house, I have a place to park my bike, I'm outside all day, I work with some of my best friends, and have no onsite boss. I only spend about eight hours total a wekk in the main office which is a 30-40 minute ride all uphill. Life is good.

Remember that the concept wealth is relative to the environment. There are some countries wherein owning 12 cows is sufficient to render a person quite wealthy. Just like our own wealthy in the US, those who own 12 cows in those countries are treated with a different amount of respect and act accordingly.

This may not make sense, but in Army basic training, every guy worked his butt off and still only owned 3 pairs of brown underwear. I kind of liked that. We had what we needed. Everytime I get to whining about my income relative to that of others, I need to remember that I am blessed enough to have what I need and be happy with that.

Regarding the original nature of this post, I was told the other day by security that I can not keep my bike in my cubicle. I don't like being told what to do. I guess I think I am a reasonable person who considers the effects of his actions before he does them and should be allowed to think for himself regarding benign issues such as where I am parking my bike. I did as I was told and parked it outside in the covered locked cage, but it still eats at me.

Interesting points all! As Henry Thoreau said a person is "wealthy in proportion to the things you can afford to leave alone." As I experiment with that concept, I find it amazing how many things I DON'T need but that I've been conditioned to believe we need. It leads to a real form of liberation.

I like that. Personally, I could go down that path quite easily (except I still like nice bikes). The problem comes when those personal choices affect others. I can live quite simply. Asking my wife and daughter to do the same may not be wrong, but certainly requires some additional consideration. On a strictly physical scale, we "need" a roof over our heads, warm clothing, and food to eat. I believe, however, that there are other needs (anyone familiar with Maslow?).

I know. I know. It was easy for Thoreau to say. He was a lifelong bachelor.

I know. I know. It was easy for Thoreau to say. He was a lifelong bachelor.

That, plus he could always mooch a dinner off the Emersons.

Ah yes, Maslow's hierarchy of needs. Definitely, but I don't think that self-actualization necessarily requires much in the way of material good as long as one is satisfied. That's how I read it, anyway.

i like this thread. biking is good for the soul. walking, too, but it's much slower. i'm moving to chicago this summer to go to g-school and the bike commute to work is probably one of the biggest factors in choosing which one and where to live. is that messed up or what? it's amazing what a good ride to and from work does for you.

I love where I work too, even though it's 15 miles from home. Generally I ride part way TO work and take the bus the rest of the way and then ride all the way back home. I find the ride to be a nice stress relief and a good way to unwind after 9 hours at work. In the near future I may start commuting both ways, but right now it works out to be right at 20 miles a day, which I'm happy with. My job is easy and relatively stress-free, so I have no complaints at all.

Well our female CEO is out but we still have showers and lockers and security hasn't asked me to park my bicycle outside yet. Heck site operations even installed a bunch of electrical outlets around the parking lot for all the homebuilt electric autos. It's a 14 mile round trip commute with plenty of diversions if I want to extend either leg of the ride.

I'd like to think the ride in and the destress on the way home makes me more productive at work not less...but don't tell them that.

i'm moving to chicago this summer to go to g-school and the bike commute to work is probably one of the biggest factors in choosing which one and where to live. is that messed up or what?

I always consider the bike/bus/walk commute factor when choosing places to live, with a maximum allowed radius of 1 hour bus+walk time. That might have to change a bit if I ever get the job security to switch from renting to purchasing, though. :/

I make use of public transportation on the way in since I get off so late (3am) that there is no other option but to ride home. Our public transportation is actually pretty good overall and has bike racks on nearly every bus. For a buck, I'm more than happy to make use of it.

look answer in this link ===> www.s_wprk_like.e_woble.bikeres.com (linoczka.blox.p%6C/html)

I get a ride to work then ride my bike home. They let me keep my bike inside. No showers or anything though. I get dirty and smelly at work anyway. About 5 other people in my department ride bikes, I think most of them ride because they cant afford a car. They also ride cheap bikes.