I say this because, thinking about it the other day, I enjoy my ride. "Commuting" is seen as something you don't want to, but have to, do. When I leave work and I get on my bike, I am relaxing, it is my "me time" rather than being at work or commuting. So I have just increased my "me time" by 2 hours each day

If I were taking public transport then the commute wouldn't be "me time".

Just another benefit of cycle commuting.

A very profound and excellent point, Daven.

I agree. Granted, I live in Socal, so being outdoors is always a treat, but my commute is often the highlight of my day - and I have a job that I'm very happy with. Riding without hammering, enjoying the scenery, and not worrying about traffic is a dream - especially in LA where traffic snarls happen everywhere.

my commute time is 45 minutes because I have to ride 7 miles through a foot of fresh snow, then next week I have to ride through 7 miles of sand and salt. I will begin to really enjoy my commute in a couple of months, for now I am just getting there.

Unfortunately, my commute time really is 0, I work from home ;-) Of course I could take the stairs, but my wife would complain about tire marks on the walls.

I don't agree with your definition. Commuting is just going from one place to another for a purpose. Nobody says you can't enjoy it too.

There have been precious few times when I didn't enjoy my ride. I will grant that I love it on the occasions when it's about 80 degrees, sunny and with a nice tailwind, but I'm having fun even when it's 0*F and I'm riding into a 20 MPH headwind that's driving wet sleet into my face.

Commuting is like a job: you have to do it but if you're lucky you may enjoy it too.

Adam

I do like to use that reasoning now and then on anyone who asks (no one does). I get up in the morning and do about 40 minutes of bike riding for exercise, and suddenly I find myself at work. It's a little exercise at other ways of looking at things.

Similarly, it's more time-efficient to ride to work. If I drove, it would take around half an hour (best case) round trip. On a bike it takes around an hour and a half round trip. But, if I drove, then I would, at some point, have to change clothes and make some arrangement to exercise, like go jogging or drive to the gym to ride a stationary bike, for a total time of around an hour. So by driving I get at most an hour of exercise and have to spend half an hour in an unproductive activity. If I ride, I spend the same amount of time, but get an hour and a half of exercise. Why would anyone in his/her right mind NOT ride a bike to work, if possible.

When I was in Annapolis someone asked me how long it took me to get there and I said "No time at all." What do you mean? "Well I went to the gym before this and when I was done I was here."

You could just see the gears inside their head starting to smoke trying to defend "But cars save so much time."

Exactly. I keep telling people that this my exercise and I actually enjoy it most of the time. And those few nasty days when I don't enjoy it, well... it becomes a habit after a while, an addiction and it makes my day when people think that I'm nuts I'd sometimes make silly faces or twitch Lucky though, a lot of people ride to work here, there are lost of foreigners here from other continents and for them there is nothing weird about cycling to work.

So yeah, an hour on mass transit (or in a car) is time wasted, time not enjoyed, I gain nothing from that. The same time on a bike is not wasted. That's how I look at it.

Adam

It's not commuting to work... it's training for your next race...

Lance wanabe (like that is a bad thing to be in good shape, ya right.)

Certainly, if you include the time you would have to spend exercising after your car commute (not to mention driving to the gym) to get the same level of exercise you get commuting by bicycle, you can express the commute time in minus numbers. If you look at it financially, the cost is also negative if you consider what driving the car costs you versus the bike. So biking is a negative activity!

Funny thing is I don't commute for the exercise ... I just like to ride and I don't like to drive, but it is nice when I go to my doctor and she says: "You know, you are in better shape than 99% of my patients your age."

to quote The Weddings Crashers: "I like where your head is at"

True but another way to look at it is that for most people a commute is time wasted. For us it isn't - we get exercise, fresh air, it helps me relax, etc.

I agree... driving a car is utilitarian = not fun to me, but riding a bike is a lotta fun! I would much prefer being able to instantly teleport somewhere versus driving, but cycling is just plain fun even on challenging days...

tomorrow's commute!

Sounds like you all are allowing others to define things for you. I never thought that the word "commute" automatically meant "useless waste of time".

Usually I enjoy my commute, sometimes I just get through it. That applies whether I'm in the car or on the bike. The difference is that even if biking was more work than fun, I feel like I've accomplished something. Driving never feels that way.


I take the train once in a while too, though when I do, I always bike to the station. I don't mind public transport at all. I can check my email, read, or even catch a few z's. The only problem with the train is when it's really crowded or when I arrive at the station just after one train has left and I need to wait for the next one.