Not saying I see much of that here. In fact, this place seems to be relatively free of what I hear in R/L. And, that is a lot of people crying about why they don't ride or why they stopped riding.

I probably get more of these excuses and complaints than most because I ride to work a lot. And, for some reason, whenever people see me in my bike clothes or standing by my bike, they decide telling me why they do not ride one too is a good idea.

Here's a general list of the complaints, excuses or just plain odd comments I've heard here at work in just the past month or so.

1. I live too far away to commute
2. I used to ride a lot but then I ran out of free time
3. I could never get past the sore bottom, wrists, legs, etc.
4. It's a lot harder than it looks, especially riding up hills or into the wind (refreshingly honest and accurate)
5. I need to buy a bike
6. My wife and I go to the gym, but I think riding a bike would be fun

I only whine when I don't get time to ride due to work/family/weather/other commitments, etc. But when I do have time, I'm out there putting miles behind me.

I want to get my wife on a bike, and want to find the right bike for her, and she really wants to ride with me, but she wants to start out practicing on an exercise bike her dad has first.

not sure why their comments are causing you any personal grief...

I hear this all the time as well, here's my two cents:

1. I live too far away to commute
I only ride 7 miles if I go straight to work, and people always seem amazed at that distance. You should see their faces when I tell them that on Friday I go out of my way to ride 20 miles before work :-)

2. I used to ride a lot but then I ran out of free time
I have a 1yo at home and work full time, and literally have almost no free time to ride, which is EXACTLY WHY I ride to work, which allows me to get 20-50 miles EVERY DAY while relieving me of the stress of sitting in traffic in my car.

3. I could never get past the sore bottom, wrists, legs, etc.
Bike fit, bike fit, bike fit. Get a better saddle.

4. It's a lot harder than it looks, especially riding up hills or into the wind (refreshingly honest and accurate)
Well, yeah, that's why it's a good workout. Have you noticed most people don't like doing hard things? That's how I put on the weight in the first place . . .

5. I need to buy a bike
Well it's a good thing there are so many readily available to you.

6. My wife and I go to the gym, but I think riding a bike would be fun
So try it. The gym has it's place, but it sucks.

I think that the folks are approaching you with these comments because they envy the fact that you have made bike commuting work for you. The comments are probably more for themselves than they are for you.

I don't worry about people making their personal choices for general commuting. And many of those points can be valid. Time certainly does add up. Even having to take off an extra half hour or hour earlier in the day to get anything done.

But, I do find it odd the excuses people make for not riding their bikes to bicycle events.

The "too far" excuse doesn't work for me when I'm also coming from the opposite side of town. And, people who know me, know that I do some very long "commutes". It is hard to say 5 miles it too far to someone that has ridden in excess of 150 miles.

I suppose the reality is, though, that cyclists often make life choices that make cycling possible. For example finding a house within 5 to 10 mile from a job, whereas the drivers typically have much longer commutes.

It is easy to put 10,000 annual miles on a car.
It takes a hardcore cyclist to put 5000 miles on a bike.

I commute to work daily and the most common reason voiced to me by coworkers for not cycling is the weather, usually "its too hot for cycling home after work". I usually just agree with the comment and say something like .... "Yea it was a little warm."

Obviously get the opposite reason in the Winter.

I live about 7 miles from my office, and there is a really good MUP that runs almost door to door. I truly wish I could ride to work, but I'm in sales, and that phone could ring and I'd have to be out the door heading anywhere in SoCal.

But now that you mention it, I do get those comments too. I guess I just never stopped to think about how many I get. And I agree with eastbay71 - I think they're trying to make themselves feel better about their choices.

So leave a car at the office, rich guy.

I used to commute to work when I was in my 20s... not every day, but a few times a week. 16 miles one way (seemed far at the time). I'd drive in, ride home, ride in the next day, drive home. It was a pretty manageable way of breaking up the riding for me.

We had secure parking, showers at work & I left clothes in a locker, so it was easy.

Most folks I encounter usually ask or comment about what kind of bike I'm riding, what did it cost, how far did I ride today and wow, those are flashy shoes.

I answer as best as possible and mention they should become a member of my bike club. Riding with others who ride better than you is what will make you stronger and faster on the bike.

Some people haven't a clue how or where to start (I didn't and learned by trial and error - not a good way). A whiner is just someone needing some genuine encouragement.

I wouldn't call it causing me grief. I just find it amusing because it seems like a pathology of some sort. It's not just one or two people doing this. It's darn near everybody.

I like those responses.

Yeah. I think it's like confessing to a priest. I am the Reverend of Biking and they are spilling their guilty guts at my feet.

My #7 is that bike riding is just flat out boring. I mix my riding up with other exercise/activities, and still enjoy a couple of 30m r/t each week. Riding to the store, happy hour, gym..that's good fun. But at the three hour mark, I am done...margarita please. If I had to ride for a few hours every day, like commuting...I'd be pretty grumpy. Maybe that explains our A&S, P&R boards.

I have been riding to work for so long no one bats an eye anymore.

The odd thing for me is that my current commute is only 1.75 miles. Sometimes I don't even bother riding and instead enjoy a nice morning walk to work. Eliminates the need to find bike parking. The bike doesn't get wet if I cannot find dry parking there is a mid-day shower. But I will ride if I intend to use the bike for other reasons after work. Like today, I am planning to ride a couple of miles from the office to a fish monger to pick up some littleneck clams for dinner. Then I will stop at a couple of other places for stuff to go with them. And when the weather is pleasant I will often take a 10 mile ride around the river after work.

people, just embrace #4 then get on with it.

sometimes this is my problem. I grew up racing track and i cannot replicate the frenetic excitement of a track race or short course mtb race while i am riding around in a zone 2 LSD ride

although intravel a lot, my work is based out of my home - so no excuses there. But living on a small acreage just outside a metro area, the roads can be nice between 10am or so until 230pm, but outside that time window, the 2 lane roads here are fairly treacherous with other gentlemen farmer types rushing to and from their office jobs, plus the scourge of teenage drivers going to and from school

i have to truck my bike to a small lake 10 miles away to get in miles in a safe environment--- it truly was not this bad 20 years ago

There's a nice wind building up today. By the time I commute home this afternoon, she should kick up to about a 15 mph pure headwind. I relish the opportunity. Definitely will not be bored pedaling into it for 30 miles.

Literally LOL'd at that

My only complaint on that list is #3 . I ride less distance because of gallstones and need gallbladder removed. Other than that I enjoy the time on my bike I would rather decompress riding a bike after work than let stress get to me.

It's definitely nice to burn stress by riding after work. Definitely.

What's kind of cool is that when you ride 50 miles at 10 mph, biking gets boring and time drags. But, ride 100 at 20 mph and you're all in. Nothing boring about doing that. Of course, you might find yourself shaking when you get off the bike...if not puking.

There is a Meme about running, where the two parts of a person are arguing back and forth about whether they hate to run, or love to run. Usually the "lets not" thing can be killed before the left foot clips in, def by the time I hit the end of the driveway :-).



I have never "hated" riding.....but yes it does hurt sometimes, sometimes it is a real MOFO when it is windy, and SNOW in May (Just last Sunday, enough to say I saw it).

But then I love it too :-).

Took 4 MONTHS off this winter, never again......the sit bone area needs to stay in shape year round from now on....:-).

A 15 mph wind when it is 38F and pouring rain is "fun"....or at 15F even with no precipitation.

I had one of those nice head winds facing me for 30 miles again today. Added challenge was the rains were coming. So, I humped ass the whole way trying to beat it. By the time I got home, it began to sprinkle. Race won.

#1 for me is not being able to commute. and that is me saying it. My current commute is 30 miles by shortest freeway route. Bikeable route is more. I work a 9.5 HR day.

If I were to average 15 mph I'd need 2+ hours each way MINIMUM factoring for traffic light stoppage and extra miles...so there is 5 hours of my day making it 14.5.

I sleep maybe 7-8 hrs.

I'd need at MIN half hour to clean up once arrived at work and get dressed ***note there is no shower at my work to do a decent job of getting presentable to work and deal with clients.

14.5+7+.5 = 22 hrs.

Now add .5 hrs getting ready in AM and out door...

Then there is ... get home and shower/cook/eat dinner/clean up 1.5 hour...

22+.5+1.5 = Total 24.

nope not gonna happen