spidercyclist

What kind of commuter are you? Are you a utility commuter, a fitness commuter or a sanity commuter? I commute to stay in shape, blow off steam and up my yearly mileage. So what kind of commuter are you?
Thanks.

slvoid

All of the above, of course, plus I save time over car and mass transportation.

late

Fitness. What's a utility commuter? Does he ride the infield? ..nt

CdCf

I'm not really a commuter just yet.
I plan to begin commuting the week after this coming one.
Have to get a new stem first, to reduce the strain on my arms and back.

Once I do, I'll do it for several reasons.

I live in a rural area, with few buses in a day.
To get to my 13:00 class, I need to get on the bus at either 11:10, and be there by 11:30, or leave home at 12:45 to catch the 12:55 bus and arrive 13:30, a half hour late.
With the bike, it's a 40-minute trip (13 km) from door to door.
So, I can leave home at 12:15, and still make it to class in time, with 5-10 minutes to spare.
So, the bike will save me time.
It'll also save me money (unless you factor in what I paid for the bike... ), as the bus fare is US$5.50 per day.
AND, I'll benefit from it health-wise, both physically and mentally.

I think that places me nicely in all three categories...

BenyBen

I fit in all those. Plus I enjoy being low pollution, and to stay off traffic and packed busses.

Hammerlane

All three, and as i am considering commuting the los angeles end of my commute again, i question the sanity one. I need to get from wilshire blvd and the 110 freeway, to Union Station, about a 2 mile commute in 12 minutes, in 5 pm traffic.

Chris L

Utility first and foremost, with the others following. My main reason for riding to work is that it's simply the best option. If you saw the gridlock I blasted through on the Sundale Bridge last Friday -- well, let's just say it was quite clear who was going to get home first. I like the reliability of being able to fix most things and still get to work on time (or 10 minutes late at the very worst). Not to mention saving in the region of $10,000 per annum, and thus being able to afford to live in an apartment I couldn't dream of affording otherwise.

Of course, there are other benefits, but to be truthful, my commute probably isn't among my most pleasant rides. Surfers Paradise is the moron capital of the known universe.

pmseattle

All of the above. Mostly I just like the sensation of sailing along at 15-20 mph under my own power much more than sitting in a tin box in the middle of a vast field of concrete, surrounded by thousand of other (angry) people sitting in their tin boxes.

zoogirl

Mostly utility. I don't drive and around the zoo household we don't waste gas when I can get there by bike. Mr. zoogirl will sometimes give me a ride if it's utterly pouring though. It only takes me about ten minutes to ride to work and perhaps twenty/twenty-five to walk it.

The last couple of months I've been riding to church on Sunday and taking the Skytrain back, but my day off has been changed to Sunday so I don't need to hurry on the return trip anymore. I rode both trips today, about forty-five minutes each way. (My jerk boss decided that instead of letting me take a couple hours off on Sunday, plus my usual Monday, he'd "give" me Sunday off instead. The one day weekend is just one more reason I'm halfway gone.)

latortilla

i don't really need my bike to commute to work
there is a convenient bus that swings right by the hospital
that also stops about 1 block from my place
but it takes about the same amount of time as walking the distance
(30-45 mins)

biking it only takes me 10-12 mins
allowing me to get outside
for some fresh air
and a little exercise
(a great waker-upper in the AM and de-stressor in the PM)

however
what usually causes me to drive rather than bike
is usually the clothing factor
i hate having to bring my work clothes with me
(they don't give med students lockers at the hospital)
and it takes a bit of time to cool off
and put on a shirt and tie
it's a drag
and added weight in my messenger bag

i guess you can't always get what you want
but i *do* love riding in the early AM or late PM
through the deserted streets
sweetness

serpico317

I tend to be all three, but like the fittness benefits.
Above all else I just love to ride.

Lufty

I commute the 16.5 miles every day that my old buddy can leave me the key to his flat to de-stinkify in the shower...however there are reprocussions....
His wife thought my hair gel bottle was a LUBE....(like I would spank it at someone elses pad)....I eat luch with the GF, but ride by the secretaries window, who's a horn dog and eats up my hairy ass in bike shorts every day, to the point that I worry about my my testicels, and when I actually get to work, I'm a road bike *** and should marry Richard Simmons(who BTW is pretty hot in my book).

n'uf said,
Lufty

slvoid

Richard Simmons is not hot. As a guy, I'd think pierce brosnan or brad pitt would be hot, but not richard simmons.

My GF's sister once found her gel flask and thought that was lube.

John Ridley

I'm a combination of fitness and environmental commuter. I'm enjoying getting in shape, I find the commute a lot of fun, I enjoy the thought that every day that goes by, I'm NOT burning a gallon of gasoline that I otherwise would be. I have to admit, I'm a bit of an iconoclast, and I like that I'm doing something that not many people do; I have yet to talk to anyone at work (there are 600 here) or in the neighborhood or church who even knows anyone else who commutes. This is pretty sad, considering that I'm sure that at least a few hundred people at work live within 5 miles. One, who I know is in really pretty good shape, lives less than 2 miles away and thinks the thought of cycling even occasionally to work is laughable.

DanFromDetroit

Utility commuter. I run and lift for fitness. I gave up on sanity years ago.

I rid myself of the car just over a year ago. Now I walk, run, bike or take the bus. These days I am running more than biking as a commute activity.

Most of my bike trips are 5-10 miles each way and have multiple stops. On an ordinary day, it is just how I get around.

Dan

iamdoingthat

It's just faster than anything else in Manhattan.

Kind of gives me a rush in the morning too.

Could care less about fitness, but I only ride about 1 mile each way.

tacomee

I grew up poor in a little town in Montana, so bikes were really my ownly means of transportation most of the time.

Later I moved to Seattle and rode bikes to save money.... so I could spend more of my meager income on beer.

Now that gotten married to a wonderful women and joined the great unwashed lower-middle class, I still basicly ride becuase I can't really afford to drive. Well, I could afford to drive, but I wouldn't be saving any money for retirement or vacations.

So I basicly ride to save money..... but the mental and physical benefits are really outstanding.

Cycling as transportation is one of the greatest things a person can do to improve their life. I'd say only gardening and walking are really in the same class. I'm shocked when people spend big money and diets and gym memberships that have little chance of working when they could start biking AND saving money. It's really a great deal.

walterk46

I bike to work about once a week for fitness and fun. From a common sense point of view, the train I take is faster and more convienient, even including the walk on each end. I buy a monthly pass, and don't drive a car to the station, so I don't save any money by riding the bike. But I feel great sitting down to my desk in the morning when I cycle in, and twice as good when I get home by bike.

Walter

madhouse

I still haven’t figured that one out yet. I started with the purpose of picking up a vehicle that I had parked in town with a for-sale sign on it that wasn’t moving… That was two months ago! Prior to filling the madhouse with kids I biked 3 times a week for the fun of it. Now I’m lucky to ride once every 3 weeks for the fun of it.

I guess I primarily do it for the fun of it plus the exercise factor. Now that I bought a new bike for commuting purposes I use the motivation of needing to pay for that bike. At $0.30/mile, 26 mile round trip = $8/ commute; 106 more trips and it’s mine!

obscenesimian

I started for fitness, but then had my car stolen, so it became necessity for a week or 2. Then I decided that the best course of action was to donate the new crappy car to charity and skip the car altogether. I've been doing it for a year and a half now, and I can actually say that my life is much better for it.

thechrisproject

I started biking because driving in rush hour traffic was making me insane. I like to go fast, and faster when I'm angrier. So driving just got worse and worse. Biking has that built in feedback mechanism -- if I get angry for some reason, I go faster. Then I exert energy and calm down. It's great. I'm so much happier, fitter, and fatter in the wallet now.

BenyBen

I always love to read that ppl give ip their cars for biking... I'd be interested in knowing just how fast this kind of thing happens. Are we heading for a slow conversion to bikes here? Many of my friends are starting to find thier cars too expensive, and they actually see, and acknowledge the stress that is create in their lives.

erraticrider

to sweat.

phillybill

A little of each. I need the excersise, I need to blow off steam, and there is no better way to get around center city phila at rush hour than on a bike

jeff williams

I put my kid on the bus and then ride 2 miles home- she is going to the same house.
I arrive 2-4 min before her, the ride is 30% uphill. Basically, i'm faster than motor transport excluding highway routes.

( ummm, that's on a mtb, )