Phil_gretz

My work has moved successively farther from our suburban home over twenty+ years. My drive commute is >1 hour each way, and has been so for a decade, and I work long hours, making bike commuting nearly impossible.

My wife and I purposed to sell our home, locate a new one, and move to within 8 miles of my work location. This will allow for an extra hour of sleep and will permit bike commuting. We worked for 18 months thinning out our possessions, painting, repairing, remodeling and getting ready.

Our house sold on the first day. My wife walked through our target "new" neighborhood a couple of months back, and met a woman who was planting flowers in front of her home. They struck up a conversation, and in July, we will close on a private-party sale that avoids huge realitor fees. By August, I'll be bike commuting regularly.

Am I fortunate? I'm Providentially blessed, and I know it. Phil

BobbyG

I didn't plan it, but my bike commute is perfect for me; 9 miles each way with a many low-traffic options, great weather (mostly), and the kind of Rocky Mountain scenery I couldn't imagine growing up in Chicago, or later living in Iowa. I'm very, very fortunate.

rhm

I have problems with the question, "do you recognize that you are fortunate..."

I mean, of course I recognize that I'm fortunate.

I'm fortunate to be an American citizen. I'm fortunate to be male. I'm fortunate to be white. I take no credit for any of these, I just got lucky. I don't pity those who are less fortunate than I, but I am not blind to my good fortune.

I'm fortunate to have a job, and to be happily married, and that my wife is highly employable. I'm not sure I can take much credit for any of these things either; I think I got lucky.

The governor of my state would also tell me I'm fortunate to be healthy; and I agree, but feel I can actually take some credit for this.

As for where I live (60 miles from my job) this clearly was a choice, a compromise, taking into account my wife's job, public transportation, schools, and so on. I'm fortunate we were able to make a choice that works for everyone, even if it doesn't work ideally for me.

Lots of people in my town commute to NYC every day. They all have the option of riding their bicycles to the station, and many of them see me on my bike, and they see me on the train, but they don't seem to recognize that they have that option. So... yes, I recognize that I am fortunate. I'm fortunate that I recognize my options.

bovine

Ugh. I was wondering why the sweat wouldn't evaporate even at speed on my ride in this morning.

jfowler85

You're missing the OP's question. He is not asking if you understand that fortune is the cause of your commuting, he is asking whether or not you understand that you are fortunate to be able to do it at all. Implicitly, he is asking whether or not your realize that you are fortunate relative to those who do not have a biking option available to them.

If you think the notion of fortune sounds absurd, then you are lack perspective and conceptual relativity.

jfowler85

The question is specific to those commuting by bike. If you are not commuting by bike, then the question simply does not apply to you. There is no implication otherwise, and the question was not stated generally.

jfowler85

What do you mean by this?

Torker

Many of my co-workers live close to work and they all drive, the closest has a .25 mile drive around the block. My commute is only 1 mile but I generally lengthen it. Being so close to work is great for inclemate weather commutes, but I often find myself wishing the ride was longer. My office is in the burbs so everyone drives everywhere, my wife and I plan to move to a more walk-able community in the future.

rhm

I am commuting by bike. Every day. Year round. Rain or shine. I don't even own a car.

I understand your point that some people do not have the option of biking. And I'm sure you are right. My point was that there are many people who do have the option of biking, and don't even recognize it. I speak from first hand experience; I once was one of those people.

Phil_gretz

Thanks for asking. I didn't really provide all of the details about this move. My wife really wanted my quality of life to improve, as the car commute and long hours have begun to wear on me.

Here are things that more than "just worked out" in our process:
- choice of listing agent
- timing for price point in our neighborhood
- timing for very motivated "exactly right" qualified buyers the day before we were to list our house
- once-a-decade rain storm the day before inspection that revealed a foundation shrinkage crack that we could both disclose to the buyer and fix (we didn't know that it was there) with integrity
- my wife meeting the wife of the seller, finding the exact home in the exact neighborhood, with great owners who were like minded
- their timing to sell/move aligning with ours
- events in their move schedule (over which they didn't have control) that made a better fit to ours
- having four houses in motion simultaneously to make it all work
- our sense of calm throughout everything that defies explanation

These events, and a few others, leave me thinking that there is a Divine hand in all of this. Things don't "just work out" exactly like this. There are too many variables. So, that was my point...

InTheRain

I bought my house long before (1990) I ever started commuting by bicycle (2007.) My house buying decision wasn't influenced by bicycle commuting at all. I'm not sure what the infrastructure for bike commuting was in 1990 in this community, but I know it was nothing close to what it is today. In 2007, the "lights went on" and that's when I considered commuting by bicycle. I'm sure that the option was there the whole time, I just had never considered it. So, maybe I'm fortunate that the lights went on for me. Hopefully, others will have the same epiphany and find similar enjoyment.

This forum has been a huge asset in helping me with my commute... from buying bicycles and accessories to organizing things between work and home. I keep learning new things all the time.

RubeRad

That sounds lovely!

Like many here, I moved with the purpose of being able to bike-commute. Sold a house 25mi away from work, bought a smaller townhouse 5.5 mi away from work, and bike pretty much full time (the car is needed sometimes for ferrying kids when the wife can't handle everything with just her car).

I do realize that I am fortunate that I have wide, safe bike lanes all the way to work, and drivers around here seem aware and considerate of bikers. I very frequently have positive interactions with drivers who intentionally don't right-hook me etc, but in 2 1/2 years of commuting I actually can't recall a single incident where I felt endangered by an inattentive driver, or antagonized by an impatient driver. (I can recall a few however when I was in la-la land and put myself in danger...)

I am also fortunate to have safe, covered parking in a gated facility, as well as a shower and a locker.

Jim from Boston

I think you're fortunate to live in San Diego (for the nice weather at least), though you can't beat Boston for year round weather, being on diametrically opposite corners of the USA.

Jim from Boston

"As it happened...(as it was meant to happen)."

(Cat's Cradle by Kurt Vonnegut)

CliffordK

A lot is planning.

Just get a house or apartment near where one needs it.
It is pretty simple.

Even if one drives a car, it is a lot easier & cheaper to have a 5 mile commute than a 60 mile commute.

RubeRad

Yup, I forgot to include that as well. I get wet maybe twice/year, and in "extreme" cold (like 30F at dawn) I still wear shorts, with an extra cotton midlayer up top and full-finger gloves.

tarwheel 

I recognize that I am fortunate being able to bike commute, but also made choices that enable it. Some people are able to make such choices, others are not.

My job is within a rideable distance for me and I was able to devise a route that is reasonably safe. We have showers at work, and I can adjust my work hours within reason to make bike commuting possible. I've also had to make choices to enable my bike commuting -- like getting up a 5 am on work days, getting comfortable riding on certain heavily traveled roads, spending money on the equipment I need to ride safely in traffic, rain and dark conditions.

However, it is absurd to contend that anyone can bike commute and that it's simply a matter of choice. Some people have health or physical limitations that prevent them from bike commuting. Some people live too far from work or do not have a safe commute route. It's not possible for everyone to simply pick up and move to a location closer to their work. Many families have spouses who both work and must make compromises about where they live to accommodate both of them. Likewise, many families have children that need to be carted around. Many people have very specialized job skills that enable them to only work in a limited number of places. I could go on, but it should be clear that choices are often limited by factors outside our control.

mstateglfr 

While commuting to work on a regular basis isn't possible due to family and distance, I am able to do it every once in a while and I appreciate the infrastructure that allows it.

Along these lines, my wife and I did a 11mi ride last night starting at 830 and with the exception of a mile to start and to end, we were on bike trails/MUPs the whole way in a large loop. And there are lots of loops like this all around me that vary from 5mi to 100mi. Get creative and the loop could be even larger than that.
One of the things we mentioned to one another while riding was how impressive the infrastructure is- it was actually when we were able to use part of a path that had just reopened after being closed for 1.5 years.

I absolutely recognize how fortunate I am to be in an area that allows for relatively easy cycling for errands, commuting, fitness, and adventure.

KenshiBiker

One of my coworkers recently bought a house about a mile and a half from me; it's on my way to the MUP I use for 10 miles of my 15 mile one-way commute. I've gotten her to join me once or twice a week for the commute, and just last week we were talking about how fortunate we were to have the commute we have.
- To me, 10 o 15 miles is an ideal length (45 minutes to an hour) for a bicycle commute.
- We get our workouts in without having to go anywhere else or do anything else.
- Both the community we live in and the MUP are relatively lightly travelled; OK, the MUP gets busy in the afternoons and weekends, but not as busy as the freeway I would otherwise take (where someone was just killed during the morning commute - right at my exit to get to work, when his car was rear-ended, pushing him into the car in front).
- The MUP, which meanders along a river, has lots of scenery and greenery to enjoy.
- And late last year the city improved the freeway offramp near my office and while they were at it, they extended the bike path all the way to the MUP, so now, other than crossing an onramp and an offramp, I don't have to even get on the street between the MUP and my office (full disclosure - I do end up riding on the sidewalk for about 25 yards before getting to a parking lot that I can cut across).

Yes, I do recognize that I am fortunate that I have the bike commute option, and more importantly, that I began exercising that option a few years ago.

GovernorSilver

Stop it. You're making me homesick.





I grew up in Paradise Hills

RubeRad

Well there are downsides, there's a reason they call the cost of living (especially property) "The Sunshine Tax".

Paradise Hills, I don't know it. I'm pretty unfamiliar with basically anything south of the 94, as I'm a Inland North County boy (Poway/PQ/RB etc)

jfowler85

Ah, thank you.

jfowler85

I see, then I misunderstood your post.

kickstart

I'm thankful circumstances allow me to do so. I'm also disappointed in the smugness of some, not everybody has the option to have an acceptable residence located close to both their and their partners suitable employment.

GovernorSilver

Yeah, when you mentioned wide, safe bike lanes I figured you weren't talking about south of the 94, but I'm still a bit homesick. I visited this past Christmas and it looks like they did a bit of lane dieting in my 'hood for bikes, but no dramatic changes for bike-friendliness.

Apparently even houses in Encanto and Lemon Grove go for $400K minimum now. Paradise Hills is just east of "Nasty City".