Originally Posted by
wphamilton
That's where I'm at now. Two questions: looking at it subjectively, are you more reluctant to drive to work than to drive somewhere else? Did you go through a period where you would bike in except when it was really nasty out?
I was like this for most of my year commuting. Granted, I could count on one hand the times the weather was really nasty, but the real reason was 1. that I didn't have the right clothing, and couldn't justify buying it just for those couple of days, and 2. I needed to be someplace far away in a short amount of time. There is NO bike infrastructure here, and NO public transportation.
None.
Originally Posted by
wphamilton
So far, nobody else posting has really backed up my theory of accidental psychological conditioning except possibly yourself and plodderslusk. For it to be "aversion therapy" I think it would have to be consistently always unpleasant when we did drive, and feel a greater reluctance to commute by car than to drive somewhere else.
I am a huge classic car nut, and I love sports cars... but when I started bike commuting, I was made much more aware of the stupid things drivers do, and the impoliteness of the people in the area. It got to where I disliked driving, because I now noticed everything other drivers did. I still dislike driving if I know there will be traffic.
Fast forward a year, and I get hit by a car and put in the hospital with a shattered femur. All of a sudden, I am required to drive everywhere (after 2 months of rehab I could finally press in a clutch pedal). Now my wife refuses to entertain the thought of me commuting again, and I am stuck riding only on weekends, or (even worse) on a trainer. My car is now requiring lots of maintenance since it sat mostly unused for a year, which causes even more frustration. My diet has been completely ruined, my work is suffering because I no longer get the exercise that allowed me to control my ADD, and I just generally feel yucky because I don't get enough exercise.
So now I'm forced to try to enjoy driving again, which I don't. It scares me even more to think about cycling in traffic, because the drivers and roads are only getting worse. I'm to the point where I'd like to move somewhere to get away from cars all together, but I can't do that even in Ahmish country. Plus, I wouldn't ask my wife to ride a bike everywhere (believe me, I tried).
I am at an impasse. I love cars, but I hate driving them, and yet I have no other choice. My heart is being ripped in half, and there is no relief in sight.