Yes, I'm quite aware. I lived in suburban New Jersey for many years. I visited a client's home in the evening, and it got late. I told her I was walking home, and she wouldn't hear of it. It was just under 2 miles. Walking that distance was unthinkable. Maybe she thought it was dangerous or a cruel fate. It was a safe area in a fancy suburb. Such is America.

One day in March we had a late snow during the night. It was nothing, an inch or more which melted off the roads in the morning and left a little to see on the grass. I rode to the bank where the tellers are used to seeing me on my bike. In the lobby 10 or 12 people were yammering about the weather (as if they'd never seen snow in Michigan). When I got to the teller she said, "I feel so sorry for you, having to be out in this weather on your bike!" I said, " I could always drive my car if I want."I could hear my feet on the carpet as I left. They were dumbfounded that somebody CHOSE to ride a bike.

Marc

That's hilarious. The US is such a big country that one could easily lose sight of how different things are in different places. In NYC, that would never happen because bike commuting is common. We have mass transit covering most of the City, and fewer than half the households have one car.

I lived in suburban New Jersey, and while a lot of people knew I rode my bike many places, they also knew I had a car.

So I have not encountered people who think that riding for transportation is a sign of desperation. I know they exist, though.

Or impoverished

18~20km

Do you do it every day? I had a 21 km commute, and I did it only one or two days a week. I'm in New York City. My other way of commuting is on the subway train. Cycling takes me a little longer, and it requires more preparation.

I would like to ride the 10 miles to work, but it's a dangerous enough trip in a car. People are horrible drivers here.

We're a hybrid work environment, so I only go in a couple days a week. The other days I get up and ride ~22 miles and end up back home at my office. I don't know if that counts.

It counts if you think it does.

40 miles each way. We do have showers and I leave shoes, jeans in a locker and the laptop in the office most (but not all) days I ride. Probably do it twice a week when the weather’s good.

There’s also a train line I can hop on for part of the journey if I feel like it or the weather is worse than expected. I avoid rain if I possibly can.

~25-30 km each way, depending on a specific route. (Riding the same shortest route every time is boring. And the shortest is not always the safest.)
About three days a week: Tue, Wed, Thu. Monday is for bringing a fresh load of clothes (and the laptop) to the office, Friday is for taking them back home to launder. Can be done by bike though, when I'm in the mood...

I ride in my cycling attire, i.e. bib and jersey. Nothing commuter-specific, nothing extra on the bike. Everything that I need for work is stashed at the office. I'm lucky though to have a gym with showers in our office building.

5 miles roundtrip; faster than taking the train (Chicago). Ha.

5 miles. got it easy

Mine is about 7 miles round-trip in Chicago, because I do most of the distance on a train...
1) Ride a mile to the METRA; fold the bike.
2) Relax for an hour.
3) De-train, unfold, ride 3 miles to work.
The return trip is a mile shorter.
I've done this for over 20 years, year-around. Studded tires in the winter. Now "partly" retired, I do it twice a week.
I actually have made the entire trip by bike a few times; once on the folder so I could say "I did it", and a couple times on my road bike. It's the "Bike-to-Work Century". (Not sustainable!)


"Fair Weather" Bike


Snow Bike

I have a new job and therefore a new commute. It's a little under 4 miles each way. I feel very lucky. It's also scenic, in an urban way, including the Brooklyn Bridge.