Commuting - How many cyclists did you pass?

Today on my commute in, I saw 17 other cyclists in 13 miles. The weather is definately getting better

I've been cycling to work every day for the last month without a weather caused break.

Chewa. When commuting to work, usually see only 3 or four others, during week days. Commuting to work on bike not too popular in this semi-rural area with other cities relatively far away.
Wondered Chewa. Was it not you, who were going to buy a Total Gym. Do you like it?

yeah, summer is here...

throughout the winter i still saw lots of cyclists around the university, but then on the roads i would see an average of 2-3 in my 25 minutes ride...

the last few weeks we have had great sunny warm weather (26C today! 79F) and i was surprised how many cyclists i saw (i ride a short section on a trail through the park and i'm used to being totally a lone in the morning) - i didn't count, but probably about 15-20 or more - i passed at least 8 people going in my direction!

Strangely enough, now that we're coming into cooler weather, I'm seeing a similar increase in the number of commuters on my route.

Originally posted by cyclezealot
Wondered Chewa. Was it not you, who were going to buy a Total Gym. Do you like it?

I did and I do like it. Still dont look like Chuck Norris or Christie Brinkley tho' :D

Originally posted by chewa
Still dont look like Chuck Norris or Christie Brinkley tho' :D
When you start looking like Christie Brinkley you'll have to post a few pix. :D

I see 1 or 2 cyclists a week. It may be because I live in town and work in the suburbs. So I'm headed in the opposite direction of most cyclists. And my hours are 9am to 6pm. Most people I know work 8-4:30 or 8-5. They leave for work earlier than me (I leave home about 7:20am) and they leave work earlier than me (I leave about 6:10pm).

It would be nice to see some more cyclists, or better yet, have a commuting partner. :beer:
I get tired of talking to myself all of the time. :eek:

During the first 10 of my 13 miles I rarely see othe cyclists, no matter what time of year it is. I used to pass my bike shop mechanic who rode out from the city as I rode in, but he just got married and bought a house in the suburbs.

Once I near University City and Center City, of course, cyclists become very thick on the ground.

I think more people commute longer distances in my area when they have access to the bike paths and routes that come into town from the west and north. From my direction, it's all street riding.


RichC

I commute from a inner-ring suburb near a large midwestern US city. My ride is about 5-8 miles depending on the time of year, weather, etc. I rarely see ANYONE on a bike nevermind commuting to work. Last summer I did see one guy with backpack, no helmet, mountain bke with knobbies and headphones (All wrong in my opinion) a couple of times and that is it. Too bad really, since I have pleasant side streets and quiet roads for the most part. I do know that there are some areas in the city that do have more bike commuters, but not around here.

I was leaving work the other day and a pizza delivery guy was in the building dropping off to a customer. He did comment that "Boy you don't see that very often!" in reference to the bike, packs, clothes, etc. I agreed but let him know how much I enjoyed it. He thought it was cool nonetheless.

I have seen guys riding on the sidewalk with their sack lunch and jeans on, riding what appears to be a child's bike (way too small). I think I can assume they aren't doing it out of love of cyclng, but that they lost their right to drive because of traffic laws or Drinking Under the Influence and need to get to work. I sometimes wonder if people think the same thing about me when they see a man on a bike. "Gee, poor slob, lost his license from DUI I guess". they think. Well too bad for them. They don't know what they are missing. I belong to a cycling club and out of the 200 members I'd guess a very small percentage commute to work. Most ride for fitness, not transportation. I do both.

Like RichC, I seldom see any cyclists on the first few suburban miles of my commute. I usually see anywhere from 3 to 6 in the last 4 miles as I get into the city. Though having said that, just this morning I did pass one guy out in the 'burbs, going the other way, ie, on the wrong side of the street.

With my speed it's more a case of how many passed me :)

Certainly a slight increase, particularly on the homeward run.

Richard

I see about 3 or 4 a week, but I too go from suburb to suburb. Seems like I should see more though because I ride on a ‘connector’ path between two major bike paths for about 3 miles.
BikeMan mentioned his local cycling club and few commuters. I live in Dayton and our local club (Dayton Cycling Club) competes with the Cincinnati Cycling Club for most commuter miles each year. We’ve smoked ‘em the last 8 years. Not bad considering Cincinnati is at least twice the size of Dayton. According to the DCC web site (http://www.daytoncyclingclub.org) in 2000 (last year on site) the DCC compiled 89,203 commuter miles (Preventing release of 9 tons of pollution into air of SW Ohio). Unfortunately I only had about 400 miles that year due to cracked ribs, concussion and broken collarbone (due to a bike crash of course).

I kind of lost track of how many today, but it was Bike to Work Day here in Monterey. My girlfriend, my neighbor, and I rode out together and hit a few of the free breakfast spots. So I was out longer and in different places than I normally am on my commutes, so I saw more people. Usually I pass about 7-10 people on the way in and on the way back.

Monterey is a great place for bike commuting because the weather is always fairly nice, the traffic isn't bad, and there's a bike path that basically works as a bike highway, at least for me.

andy

I see about 7- 8 a day, usually after work, when they are going home, they ride on the rode and just watching them scare the **** out of me, they are within inches of being killed, and they're are wide sidewalks with no one on them, and that is the route that I take.:beer:

Originally posted by Crazy Cyclist
and they're are wide sidewalks with no one on them, and that is the route that I take.

I guess the traffic laws up there in Canada must be more different from most of the US than I thought. Generally, here, sidewalks are for pedestrians while roads are for vehicles, and traffic law identifies bicycles as vehicles.

I stay away from sidewalks. They're FAR more dangerous for bikes than roads are.

RichC

Here sidewalks are illegal for bikes with wheels >20" dia. However I have never heard of it being enforced. On the way home there is a stretch of about 150 yds that is so pot-holed that I take the sidewalk - I have never seen a pedestrian on it until yesterday. I called "excuse" when I was about 30 yds away, he turned and moved to the side, I said "merci" as I passed.

I left work at about 7pm yesterday and saw very few bikes on the way home, but there were roller-bladers on the Lachine canal path.

Let the battle begin!
Most States in the US (and I) say bikes belong on the road and not the sidewalk. I cringe when I see bikes on the sidewalk or even worse riding down the wrong side of the road.

Personally I class cyclists as 'Wheeled Pedestrians'. Therefore within reason I have no problem with cyclists on the pavements (sidewalks).

Therefore in the same catogory as mothers pushing buggies, skaters, wheelchair users, scooters and inviled carrages

Here is London it is simply too dangerous to to be on main roads, I have a policy that I will not ride red routes, and whilst od all i can to avoid them, if forced to go along them then I'll use the pavement.

I also try and avid any road that has busses on it, not because of the busses, it's just that the roads tend to be to busy for cyclists

How many cyclists do I see in a day ? Dozens.

I use the Greenwich foot tunnel to cross the Thames, the lift goes up and down about every 2-3 mins in the rush hour, and there are often 7 bikes per trip.

So basis 30 trips an hour, and say 3 bikes on average, means that during the rush hours in the morning maybe 100 bikes per hour us that one route, so maybe 600 bikes a day.

Originally posted by Brains
Personally I class cyclists as 'Wheeled Pedestrians'.

How do your local laws class them?

RichC

I commute from suburb to far suburb. The most adult cyclists I have seen in 1 day was 6. There are 3 other commuters that I see with some regularity in the summer, I'm the only winter nut. Today I only saw 2.

Perhaps I am more fortunate than others; in my jurisdiction (Boise, Idaho, USA), bicycles are classified as vehicles, and it states right in the books that bicycles are allowed on ANY road designed for traffic. (Best of both worlds, because they can also be used on the sidewalks, though I avoid most sidewalk situations, and roads that are closed to traffic if you're willing to portage your bike around the obstacle.) Heck - I'll get out on I-84 now and then. But the truck wind-blast is a little unnerving, and the road debris is HUGE out there!

I bike-commute year-round, excepting the really nasty, slippery days. (I think I missed 2 days this last winter - took the bus.)

I'm starting to see a few more cyclists during my 4-miles-each-way commute. The fair-weather cyclists. (Beats not being a cyclist at all!) I'll probably see a half-dozen each day. Maybe more, if you include the idiots-on-BMX-bikes-riding-against-traffic. I really don't count them as cyclists but rather as... what was it?... bike-mounted pedestrians.

You know, I never thought to count them, but I think that is an interesting thing to consider.

Sometimes I see about 10. Sometimes only 2. It varies a lot, especially from season to season.

I notice them come out during the spring, and they tend to be more numerous later in the day. I discovered that when I left work late one day.

(It sounds like bird watching :) )

I switched tires this week. Knobby to slicks. It also changed pressures from 65 to 80 psi. It has made such a difference in my speed.

I was really looking forward to passing someone, but it was rainy so nobody was on the trails or roadways. It is also finals week, so there is a lack of students at the University.

So, it was a quiet but fast ride, with nobody to pass.

About 2-3 other cyclist each way here.

Yesterday, I passed 3 people commuting on thier bikes. That's 3 more than I usually see!

Today I didn't see anybody else commuting on a bike.