I don't think you're overanalyzing - you've made a salient point. It doesn't say whether or not she actually tried other bikes, or just took the first one she liked, or was just given a bike. She didn't have the right tool, and/or wasn't willing to make it work. This article may get some people to pop out and buy a "cute" cruiser bike, or whatever else they consider trendy, but if the perseverance isn't there, it'll go in the garage next to the rowing machine and rollerblades. Naturally we're all madly biased and outraged, because this is Bike Forums, but without a little outrage, we're not going to get any good articles.

At least this article didn't start off with a "oooooh, this is so haaaard" attitude, but I still find it kind of terrible. I don't know that any of the "cute little points" she mentioned are true.

And biking in 3 inch heels? Seriously? Look - one could write an article on how difficult it is to walk between the car and the office, and how hard it to press the accelerator and brakes wearing 3 inch heels, so one shouldn't drive to the office with 3 inch heels either.

If she had mentioned that she had to wear tennis shoes and carry her shoes in a bag, and that was a total fashion faux pa (yeah I probably didn't spell that right) at least it would have been informative.

These articles really annoy me because in reality there are a number of drawbacks to bike commuting to work. I would love to see a discussion that's based on the real pro/cons of that stuff - like not being able to meet people across town for lunch or run errands because it takes to long to bike there. Or being unable to pick up kids after work. But this stuff where someone barely even tries and gives up after the slightest obstacle...they suck.

Seeking expert commetary from a person whose principle qualification is they're a neighbor wouldn't have flown in my high school journalism class.

tcs

That's the approach I've taken for a while.

I thought she dove in the deep end to get started, and we'd all recommend a trial run or two for anyone looking to get started commuting. As well as changing shoes.

In my case fancy cycling attire would add nothing to my commuting experience. I could dress up, dash to work as fast as possible, get there in need of a shower and a change of clothes, or I could do what I actually do, pedal a little slower in normal business attire, get there a little later, walk in the door and go right to work. Lycra would save me little, if any, time when you consider the clothes changes and showers. Changing in and out of sensible shoes on the other hand is something many commuters already do. It takes almost no time or effort and it makes walking or pedaling so much easier. Lycra/Spandex/etc really does nothing for me, I don't even own any to use during off hours. I have nothing at all against those who do choose to use it though.

The article isn't lame and I doubt it does a disservice to its intended audience. It shows that an ordinary businesswoman can successfully commute to work on a bike. A lot of wannabe bike commuters will read it and think a) I'd at least be smart enough to wear sensible shoes, and b) I bet I can do better than she did, I could make it up that hill! One of the most critical factors in getting someone to bike to work is to show them that people just like them are biking to work. A reporter is reasonably close to being an everywoman and her experience is more inspiring than an article by, say, Lance Armstrong because no one doubts that he could make it to work. No one doubts that any randomly chosen, Lycra clad, amateur super-cyclist can do it either. People need to see someone who is a reasonable facsimile of themselves biking to work to get inspired, and this article gives a broad variety of people just that.

Think about it. You are evidently a Lycra clad, amateur super-cyclist and back before you started bike commuting you undoubtedly saw examples of people just like you biking during rush hour and probably heading for work every day. There was your inspirational example. If you had been a recent immigrant struggling to get yourself established in a new country and perhaps unable to afford the half dozen automobiles that any proper American household needs at the moment you would likewise see plenty of inspirational examples on the streets during rush hour and you might choose that option so that your family members could have the use of your car. But if you are somewhere in the middle of those extremes you have far fewer examples and this reporter supplies one. Once people start commuting on a bike they can quickly figure out on their own if Lycra would be an asset or not in their own circumstances. Before they start commuting Lycra is a barrier that just makes the notion seem like something only a cycling extremist would consider. They need to see people like this reporter, and me, before they would seriously consider becoming like you. I'd love to see them start biking and it would not bother me at all if they joined Team Spandex. It should not bother you if they choose to stay business casual instead.

Ken

I'll just assume this is do to regional differences. I'd say maybe 20 - 25% of the people I see that look like they're commuting wear any lycra. Probably less but it's sometimes hard to tell who's commuting and who's just out for a ride.

Anyway, the majority of people commuting round here don't wear lycra. When I first started commuting over 20 years ago, I wore a tie. It actually never occurred to me to wear my bike shorts until I decided to turn my commute into training.

So in my mind there are all sorts of inspirational examples already out there, except for perhaps the older and highly affluent, and I see a number of people in that category too.

If I were going slow enough to keep from breaking a sweat, I might as well walk..

This is phoenix. I sweat no matter HOW fast I'm going.

Yeah, I'm in Austin, and I can honestly say I can't imagine riding more than a mile without sweating, no matter what the clothing. I wear lycra because I would have to change clothes when I get to work no matter what, so I might as well wear bike clothes on my bike.

As for the article: wtf? It'd be like saying, "Oh, I'm gonna drive to work in a car that picked out because I liked the color. I'm also gonna drive with my work bag on me, because I don't want to have to change anything when I get out of the car. Then if I have a problem with the car, I will quit."

quite right, the video I linked to was from a Bike Shop in Seattle and Chicago, so they're talking about the more northern climates.

I think close to half the riders I see during rush hour in the morning are in Lycra. Most of the non-Lycra contingent are indistinctly dressed. They could be going to work, they could just be riding. Of course the Lycra riders are indeterminate too and I think I see fewer of them in a typical evening than in the morning so some must just be out for a ride. There are typically a couple dozen bikes parked in the racks around my building. The riders I talk to tend to wear Lycra if they are going over about 10 miles and tend to wear ordinary clothes if under about that distance, a very unscientific survey on my part. I have a friend who sometimes rides the 5 miles from the train station on a folder like me and sometimes rides about 30 miles each way from his home. He follows the pattern, work clothes on the folder, Lycra on the road bike. But as I ride to and from work and on days when I drive it is relatively rare to see cyclists dressed as if they worked at places like my job and seem to be on their way to/from the job. Not every area has enough examples of such people to be sufficient inspiration.

Chicago summers can be as brutal as Chicago winters. The heat and humidity season is not as big a part of the year as it is in more southern climes but when it hits there is little difference in either parameter between Chicago and Austin. Phoenix can get 10-15 degrees warmer. It's not nearly as humid though. I can bike at 2-3 times the speed I can walk and generally get no sweatier than my friends and I do during our after lunch walk because of the self generated breeze. If I push for all I am worth I can hit 4 or 5 times my walking speed but I will be completely soaked. So I can avoid the need to shower and change by restricting my speed.

Ken

Now this is a lousy article: https://www.chicagonow.com/blogs/pace...s-machine.html

At least she's honest about the hills in the end. That'll quickly become a primary consideration for anyone who's on a heavy bike and has to face them daily. I train in mountain territory for racing routinely, and I still balk at any significant hills in the midst of a commute, even when I'm hammering it. There are enough obstacles to bike commuting in the form of cars and fighting for visibility and space - putting a painful hill in the middle will really end most folks' day.