Lamplight

Something else I've just noticed recently, if I go for a short but spirited bike ride and then later in the day walk for any fairly long distance, my knees are less likely to ache during the walk. I guess the bike ride sort of warms them up without being too hard on them. Pretty handy to know when I can plan it to take advantage of that!

ReptilesBlade 

I have a friend in Canada who does not own a car or bicycle. He says much longer than 4 miles is tough so he tries to keep every trip no longer than that. I can do about 2 miles myself with my disability but anything longer is definitely by bicycle or car. That is why I bought the bike in the first place.

Roody

I was carfree and walked for 20 years. Then it suddenly hit me when I was halfway to my destination on a long walk: "If I was riding a bike I would already be there...and back."

I don't know why it took me so long to figure this out, but the bike has extended my motor-free range by at least a factor of four. And that's while riding at an exertion level that's similar to easy walking.

robbyrocks12345

If I have the chocie ,and it's under 1/2 mile, I'll ride my bike. I also do some hiking on weekends which can end up being 10 miles round trip, but thats in areas where my road bike will not be able to go.

no motor?

I'm going to walk the 4+ miles home from the gfs tonight, I think it's going to be interesting by doable. I've been thinking about this for a while, and tonight's the night I'll see how easy/hard it is.

mustang1

If I don't have to do it often then walking up to 20 mins is fine. Walking 2.5 miles 5 days a week for work is too much but only in terms of saving time. I have kids so I want to spend more time with them therefore would use the bike.

You have a great commute length tho!

Roody

I've noticed something funny. the first time I walk (or ride) somewhere, it seems like it takes a long time. But the more times I do it, the shorter it seems. My walk to work takes the same 30 minutes it did the first time, but it really seems like only a few minutes pass while I'm walking.

no motor?

I've noticed that too, after it becomes a routine walk/ride I'm less aware of the passage of time.

Llamero

I would say around 2-3 miles. We live 1.5 miles from work and prefer to walk rather than ride. That way, we can talk, enjoy the day, and finish waking up before arriving. Any more than that, and the inconvenience of tralling at a slower pace begins to outweigh the inconvenience of needing to tune up the bike, get al geared up, ride over, and find a place to lock the bike and stow the gear.

Machka 

I would probably walk that distance rather than cycle.




When I was car-free, my commute was 6.7 km one way. Usually I cycled it, but when the weather turned bad and the road was covered in snow and ice, I preferred to walk.

Where we live now, I've walked home (4 km) several times, but have never cycled to and from work. I find walking the 1.75 km bridge easier than cycling it.

Just recently, we arrived home from another trip away, and thought we might like to get some exercise after being in the car most of the day. We thought about cycling, but DST has ended and it was dark and getting cold. Cycling would involve finding lights and rugging up etc. So we opted for a brisk 6.4 km walk instead which just required walking shoes and tossing on a jacket.

And if I go shopping, I generally prefer to walk rather than having to deal with parking my bicycle somewhere securely.


So in answer to the question ... for me, right now, 4-5 miles is a comfortable walking distance. I enjoy walking ... it's relaxing and I get to look around more and see stuff. It's also easier to stop and take a closer look at something if I want.

dynodonn 

In my locale, I'll try to walk as short a distance as possible, since the time factor really starts adding up quickly as the distances get longer. Usually, I start looking at riding a bike at the .5 to .75 mile mark.

daihard 

My choice is affected by the weather as well as the distance, but in general, I'd walk for up to a mile or so. Longer than that, I'd ride a bike or take the bus.

roadandmountain

The either/or mentality of some posters in this thread is quite unfortunate.

You NEED to engage in weight bearing exercise to maintain proper health. Sitting, whether in a chair, or on a bicycle, is not weight bearing exercise.

Everyone should be doing some amount of walking and standing every day. That's just a given. I feel sorry for people who rarely stand or walk and spend most of their day sitting or driving.

The human body is designed to walk. Walk every day. Cycling is optional. Good exercise, but optional.

daihard 

Provided that this is a car-free forum, I'd assume most if not all posters here do a fair amount of walking, if not much at once.

Roody

How much walking do you feel is required? And do you do any thing for the upper body?

Machka 

Personally, I walk at least 30 minutes a day (15+ km/week) ... and have done for years. Often with a fairly heavy backpack.

And I row and/or lift weights.


Just got in from the gym now.

Rowan

I walk a lot at work, especially in the season for pruning the cherry trees or checking irrigation lines, or picking. The rows are long when dealing with over 37 acres of orchard, and a LOT of those rows are on the sides of steep hills.

When I was free of car ownership, I would mix up my everyday shopping, sometimes walking, but if it was required to be done quickly, I would jump on a bike. Much does depend on how much effort is required to get a bike on to the road. If it requires getting it out through several internal doors and then the front door and down some stairs (and all that has to be repeated on return), walking becomes much easier.

A bike that lives outside under cover might make the decision to take it rather than walk much easier. But then it would have to be equipped with platform pedals and a basket front or rear so I would not have to worry about a backpack or panniers.

roadandmountain

Based on the articles I've seen, even 15 minutes a day of moderate to brisk paced walking is beneficial. 30 minutes a day is even better.

Note that walking costs absolutely nothing. Cycling can be good exercise, but it can also be an expensive, even very expensive hobby.

I have a gym membership: I use the machines sometimes, along with doing push ups. For those who are starting out, or starting again, I recommend taking a PE course with a trainer, or taking a class at the gym to learn or to reinforce proper exercise technique.

Or, you can do half push ups or full push ups at home. Maybe watch a few youtube videos first, before you get started.

dynodonn 

A slap in the face for us cyclists that use bicycles as transportation.

So the mere act of riding a bike is not good enough anymore, now one has to join a gym, and get a personal trainer.

roadandmountain

I've been a school/work commuter for 20 years. Get over it.


As I stated, you can walk for free and do push ups at home. Reading comprehension is your friend.

dynodonn 

...and yet you still consider bicycling as a hobby?


But you started off with joining the gym and getting a personal trainer as your first option.

roadandmountain

Yes, because that's what it is.

lol, calm down, bro, it's not that serious.

If you can't figure out that joining a gym with dozens of weight machines, several hundred square feet of free weights, a few dozen more aerobics machines, which is open early and late, with hundreds of other patrons, a number of whom are friends, free and/or low cost classes, at least a dozen instructors, etc etc etc etc etc etc etc doesn't have it's advantages, your problems extend far beyond your rather limited and disjointed reading comprehension.

Relax, bro. You're giving yourself a heart attack, lol.

Roody

Why such a nasty tone bro? Nothing's more annoying than somebody who deliberately irritates people, then tells them to relax.

roadandmountain

lol, read again. Dynodonn was the one trolling. Bro.

Dahon.Steve

+1

If you haven't walked in years, your body in particular feet and knees are not ready. I found that walking 5 miles or more in one session to be quite hard on the body and you'll feel it the next day once you get older. You also need a good pair of walking shoes or after a while, you'll be in pain and that will be the end of your walking experiment.