When I started bike commuting about a dozen years ago, I never gave much thought to what it would be like now, many years later. Now, because I've had this bike commuting habit for so long, it's the normal thing for me to do.

Not only is it my preferred way to get around, it makes trips fun. Going somewhere on my bike, like to work, to the store, or to other commitments gives me an excuse to get out on my bike. In fact, I put in enough miles that way that it actually feels funny just to go out riding without any specific destination, other than back home again.

Not only that, but when I see other cyclists who are out riding together, I realize I've been riding alone all this time. I didn't choose it that way, but that's just the way it worked out day after cycling day. Am I in a "rut?" If I am, it's a comfortable one, but I admit I wonder if there are very many others in the same boat.

Are you, or is anyone else you know, primarily a solitary bicycle commuter of many years? Are you so hopelessly addicted that you can't imagine your life without bicycle commuting? Do you plan activities so that you can include a bike ride? Are you ever late somewhere because you wanted to ride, even though you could have driven? Have you ever gotten off early from work to get in a bike ride before an appointment? Been to the doctor's in sweaty clothes? Suffered uncomfortable weather so that you could ride, and you'd do it again in a hearbeat? Give people a confused look when they ask you, "Are you going to ride today?" Ridden a junk bike because that's all you had at the moment? Built a "Frankenbike" when your preferred ride was broken down and you didn't have the cash to fix it, just to feed your addiction? Stayed up way too late at night fixing your bike so you could ride tomorrow, or to put on a new part that took longer than you thought it would take?

To what lengths have you gone to ride when obstacles got in your way?

I'm in your club, so I guess we're not that solitary. I used to ride with my stepson but he's...ahem... away right now. Also, I locked his bike to the clothesline pole and lost the key. (oops)

One thing that's different about me is that I live less than 4 miles from work, and most stores and stuff are also close. My commuting and utility riding is usually less than an hour a day. So, in order to get in enough riding, I get to do a lot of fun rides. I even get in some mountain biking in the warm weather, and ice biking at this time of year. I highly recommend that you try to get out on some more fun rides also!

I've only ridden for a couple of years now (well, since I was a kid), and I always ride alone. I don't have any friends who ride, and "real life" doesn't leave time for clubs and such. That and I've never been much into joining clubs anyway.

Alone time on the bike gives me a chance to clear my head and burn off any aggravation after work which is a great thing. I'm pretty sure it works out better for the wife that way, than me bringing a bad attitude home. I set personal speed records after my worst days at work, and after I get home I'm worn out but feeling a lot better.

I think so. I probably only see 4 or 5 other cyclists that are doing it to get to work in a YEAR. I see a half dozen roadies out for a joy ride a week.
It drives me nuts to take the car anymore. All I can think about when I'm driving is "TOMORROW I'm riding."

I'm in the club too. Do we get secret decoder rings? Solitary Cycle Commuters of the world unite!

There have been times I've been late to work, even though I knew I could have made it on time without riding.

Or those "mornings after" that I had already said to myself the day before, "There's no way I'm riding tomorrow after all the riding I've already done this week," (and the next morning I felt like I was sculpted completely out of a huge granite block,) but after some coffee, I'm like, "Hey, I think I feel like riding this morning..."

Or after staying up half the night (for whatever reason, usually bike-related,) I get up feeling half-dead, only to get on my bike anyway because (and I quote,) "If I don't ride today, I won't have the energy to work."



Does anyone else ever think of food in terms of, "This will really help my ride," not, "Mmmm, this is really delicious?"



What about when your wife wants you to do something for her after work, and all you can think about is, "How will this affect my ride?"



"My name is [insert name] and I'm a bicycle commuter-aholic."

You guys are thoroughly core, and I mean that. I've definitely experienced the sentiments, though not the actual events!

I can't stand riding in cars and am constantly looking for excuses to run errands on my bike. I hate the days I am forced to drive with a passion, and feel a severe loss of energy after those. Once I get going, nothing can stop me, not a late night or sickness...I just have to keep riding.

Love my bike...but I admit I would give it up for my wife

Ah, love...

I don't commute on ice so I usually miss most of January and part of February (although I did get 4 or 5 January rides in this month when we had a thaw). I've ridden alone to and from work 150 or so days a year for 15+ years, and I don't have any riding friends, or belong to any clubs, but one of my kids goes out with me for a couple of hours at a time several times per year, and we do the 50k or 75k Ride for Heart together every year. I've also done the mass ride downtown during Bike Week lots of times. I ride to the dentist, and to the grocery store for small lists, although my wife does most of the bulk buying with the car. A couple of years ago when my wife was helping her disabled sister move, she was away with the car for 2 weeks, and I did all the shopping and errands for me and the kids by bike. I really enjoyed it.

...or dependency

Nice post, Cooker.

Although I belong to at least two bike clubs I do the majority of my riding alone. I look for reasons to ride my bike and will clean the bike off (after riding in the rain, snow) before I shower. My kids threw away my trailer when I announced to them I was using the bike to take the clothes to the laundry. Fortunately, I brought another trailer. Unfortunately, the bad weather has kept me off the bike. The few times I have driven my car I felt ashamed when I see my fellow cyclists riding to work or to the store. I have to return to cycling.

Gas, .69 cents the price of a can of beans

Yeah, I think I absolutely fit into this club. It's at the point now that I completely forget there are other ways to go where I'm going. On Monday, it didn't occur to me that a major subway station near my apartment could have got me to work when crazy drivers on ice made me give up the bike commute 1km out (I worked from home instead).

It's a problem in another way: many of my closest friends live in Hong Kong, the least cycling-friendly city I know. I'd love to move back there, but the possibility of not being able to bike commute is depressing.

Another sign: I was riding to work this morning, and the thought occurred to me that my commute, while longer than it used to be, is still too short.

As for the rest:

Do you plan activities so that you can include a bike ride?
Yes

Are you ever late somewhere because you wanted to ride, even though you could have driven?
Yes (don't have a car, but I'll substitute taking a cab)

Have you ever gotten off early from work to get in a bike ride before an appointment?
Great idea!

Been to the doctor's in sweaty clothes?
Yes

Suffered uncomfortable weather so that you could ride, and you'd do it again in a hearbeat?
Yes: -25C-45C (-13F-113F) without windchill or heat index factored in. Rain and snow, too!

Give people a confused look when they ask you, "Are you going to ride today?"
People don't seem to question it anymore

Ridden a junk bike because that's all you had at the moment?
Yes

Built a "Frankenbike" when your preferred ride was broken down and you didn't have the cash to fix it, just to feed your addiction?
Again, good idea!

Stayed up way too late at night fixing your bike so you could ride tomorrow, or to put on a new part that took longer than you thought it would take?
Absolutely


So, can I join?

I'm definitely in this club. I had to leave my bike at the LBS last night because my BB is being overhauled and the shop owner and I couldn't get the drive side off due to corrosion from all my winter riding. I'll be there bright and early to get back to work on it just to make sure I don't miss another commute this week. I missed my Tuesday commute because of the mixture of icy roads, snow and insane winds and temps. Somewhere around -40 F windchills when I left work with a co-worker whose vehicle didn't start without the aid of a jump. We nearly froze just getting her car started. Although the whole time I was thinking, "you know this wouldn't be so bad on the bike since it's mostly a tailwind." I'm still glad I didn't attempt it, even though it was tempting...of course the wife definitely had a say in it

Been to the doctor's in sweaty clothes?

Yes.

Have you ever been to the lab for a blood test when you've been fasting for 12 hours, wondering if you're going to bonk before you get there?

Been thankful when you got the lab results and your cholesterol was great, and you know that the good results were partly a result of all the bike riding you do?

I don't know. I've been riding, commuting, car-free and car-lite all my life. It just seems natural. I was pretty solitary most of my life because there were few with a similar lifestyle. Bike Forums is great because I'm no longer alone.

I've pretty much done all you said. Held a bicycle frame together with baling wire to get me through the last weeks before getting my degree, ridden in 120 degree heat and sleet, vacationed by bike, fended off attacks and been run over.

But I've been bicycling so long that it seems the only natural way to travel. However, I make it a point to be on time or early.

I'll top that! I rode 11 miles to get a scheduled Flexible Sigmoidoscopy after drinking all the evil tasting prep medicine and other unholy preparations. I wasn't worried about bonking on the way! Rode home afterwards too.

I agree that getting good results/prognosis makes the ride doubly enjoyable.

I can relate to the solitary riding aspect of your rides.

I started riding back in the early 80's, and I have rarely ridden with another person along. If you look at the times that I actually planned an organized "meet-up-and-ride" with another person, I can count those occasions on one hand in those 25 years. It's kind of strange... because I'm a very extroverted person... the kind who chats with strangers in the grocery checkout line. But when it comes to riding, I simply feel more relaxed when I ride alone.

Besides... I think the time/space continuum would warp and my head would implode if I ever saw another bike commuter out there with me!

There are drawbacks to riding with others....

I`m on the edge of this group. I`ve bike commuted in nice weather for several years and this is my first Winter of daily pedalling. I bike to the supermarket sometimes, sometimes drive and once in a while bike to see my folks or my sister in law (about 15 miles in either case) but that`s more the exception than the rule.

There`s one guy at work who is definitely a bike man. He`s in his fifties and says he never learned to drive, which makes a lot of people around here think he`s strange. His commute is about twelve miles each way with a BIG climb from town out to the plant and I`ve always been impressed by his stubbornness. It also impresses me that, while his bike is pretty nice (a Safari), it isn`t nearly as expensive as the "toy bikes" that a lot of us use for weekend mtb rides even though it`s his principle transportation and he could easilly justify just about any set of wheels. I`ve even seen him riding his bike in other towns and I know dang well that he pedalled for 40 or 50 miles to get there. But I notice that this year he`s started taking the bus, apparently waiting for warmer weather. Maybe his years are starting to show, I don`t know. Anyway, it kind of bums me out to not see his bike at the bike rack now. Sort of like findiing out that Superman had to call the cops to settle a domestic dispute or something. So there`s my post- more about "some guy" than about me, but that`s who I thought of when I read the OP. The rest of you guys keep it up- you might be somebody`s hero and not even know it.

Kind of my feeling, since most cyclists who want to do group rides tend to ride faster than I do.

Hello, my name is Map Tester and I am a bicycle commuter-aholic.
I enjoy the challenge of dealing with the weather. I hardly ever do fun rides because the daily commute gives me enough mileage. And I have to be careful about the time I spend fixing the bike so it doesn't impinge on the time my wife sees as 'together time'. I often take the long way home just to enjoy the ride.

The Red Cross nurses gave me a hard time the first few times I rode in to give blood. "How far do you have to go to get home?" "Just 5 miles, no problem." "FIVE MILES!!!???!" You know the story. To most people, five miles on a bike is an inconceivable physical endurance test.

I've probably ridden in to the drive 8 times now, so they don't worry about it any more.

I've been approached a couple of times, once while changing a tire, once while saddling up at the LBS, and invited to join a regular group ride on Saturdays. I declined, saying "No thanks. I ride my bike to get away from people." I can't imagine a better way to spoil a nice bike ride than by having a bunch of people with me. It's nice to have a family member or three along, or one or two good friends, but even then, I'd prefer we were spaced out a bit.

Please accept this reply as my application to join the "SBC Club"

"Are you, or is anyone else you know, primarily a solitary bicycle commuter of many years?"
Well, perhaps not "many", but I'm getting there. Started back riding in '02 at age 50, after not being on a bike since my mid-twenties. Needed to find a way to 'exercise' to control heart/cholesterol/weight; have never been able to "work out" for the sake of health/working out, so had to find something I loved doing which incidentally had the desired results: cycling are it!! Never been a 'joiner' (not anti-social, just don't like oxymoronic 'organized fun'), and love to/prefer to ride alone because the rest of my life (family, work) is inherently social.

"Are you so hopelessly addicted that you can't imagine your life without bicycle commuting?"
Yep! Like another poster above, I get off the bike during ice-time (typically January/February), but otherwise use it for everything I can -- commute, coffee run, etc etc. Hate the car save when necessary, so use public transport during ice-time (or hitch ride with wife).

"Do you plan activities so that you can include a bike ride?" Absolutely.

"Are you ever late somewhere because you wanted to ride, even though you could have driven?"
Been there/done that; getting better (as cycling experience increases) at judging timing.

"Have you ever gotten off early from work to get in a bike ride before an appointment?"
Frequently! I'm really fortunate, as a university lecturer, to have minimal fixed hours, so I'm able to pile up a lot of miles 'extending' my commute/other rides when possible.

"Been to the doctor's in sweaty clothes?" Absolutely, though I do usually ride in decent quality, and clean (i.e. I rotate shorts/jerseys) cycling-specific clothing, so (I hope) I'm never too rank on any one day! Dentist appts. too.

"Suffered uncomfortable weather so that you could ride, and you'd do it again in a hearbeat?" Yep, apart from 'ice-time' as above.

"Give people a confused look when they ask you, "Are you going to ride today?" As someone said above, they've given up on me!

"Ridden a junk bike because that's all you had at the moment? Built a "Frankenbike" when your preferred ride was broken down and you didn't have the cash to fix it, just to feed your addiction?" Nope; have just the one, pretty good and constantly-being-upgraded bike; hence, yes to "Stayed up way too late at night fixing your bike so you could ride tomorrow, or to put on a new part that took longer than you thought it would take?"

To what lengths have you gone to ride when obstacles got in your way?
Whatever it takes, short of outright lies

I want to really thank everyone who's responded to this thread so far. I'm really enjoying reading the responses.

This is the one place I can come and feel at home. You don't know how you've inspired me.

Commuting forum was the place I first came when I found BikeForums. Thanks.

Ooh, how about this one: I visited a city for a week once, and actually bought a bike just for the week so I wouldn't have to rely on taxis to get around (public transit wasn't a viable option). Sold it at the end of the week for a slight loss, but I still paid less than if I had taken taxis!