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Beats the alternatives.
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Originally Posted by Trek_geek
(Post 14467373)
. . . factor in the 1:30 minutes each day of biking and 80 minutes of reading or napping and it's worth it.
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Bike commuting makes going to work fun.
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Originally Posted by acidfast7
(Post 14466243)
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Originally Posted by SkippyX
(Post 14466211)
These days I don't even pay attention to gas stations
One of the side effects of car free living, I don't know what's hip or current with the combustion engine crowd.:innocent: I've never felt more like Yehuda Moon.... ...Must fight urge to paint bike lanes on roads.:twitchy: |
Why did the chicken cross the road?
no car payments, and so forth.. don't own one.. |
Because it's the only think I can look forward to that involves work.
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I commute to get to work.
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For 15 years I worked about 5 miles from my house, out on a 2 lane road that was 55 mph
with little shoulder in the middle of VERY flat Nebraska. Never thought of biking this due to the amount of commercial trucks that ran this route. Then I moved to Nashville 2 years ago and got a hardtail MTB from my son. When I got a job downtown, thought I'd give commuting a shot. A little worried about the hills and heading toward my 60th BD and out of shape. Not a long commute, just 6 miles each way, but that hill in the middle was a bear. I'm getting better and stronger, but I think my mind is what has changed the most. This morning part is my time; think about anything. My route is fluid, a basic direction, but my side streets change constantly. Not really the way most would approach it, but for me the journey is more important than the arrival. If I had to ride for speed and shortest route, probably won't feel as good and would jump back in my truck for the trip in. Don't ride to save the planet, save money, or to make any kind of statement. Just a selfish thing on my part to free my thoughts. |
I moved to the US a little more than 3 months ago. When I landed here, I had no car. I also had an out-of-state license that was valid only for 10 days by California law, and renting a house, buying a car etc in that much time just didn't seem feasible. So the day after I landed, I went to Target and bought a cheapish Magna Excitor (with the currency exchange rate, even that seemed expensive!). The idea was, I would ride the bike for the 2 to 3 weeks that it takes me to get a license and a car. Well, I actually managed to do all that in 7 days - but on the 8th day, I just kept biking. I discovered that I like biking a lot. At the end of the day, it is a very stress-relieving way to get home. It also helps that I take less time to come home on a bike than I take in the car. My commute, if I take the shortest distance, is 2.5 miles each way. I have already lengthened it to 3.2 miles each way (found a trail that is nicer to bike on) and once I get the Giant Escape, I will be changing the route once again to make it about 6 miles one way, at least when returning home.
It's just a lot more fun :) |
My commute is 10 miles each way.
I commute for several reasons: 1. Lose weight (currently ~270lb) 2. Save gas money 3. I get to ride my bike. I'm usually pretty busy with other responsibilities on the weekends, so my weekday commutes give me opportunities to get on the bike and ride. I live right next to the foothills, so on the ride home, sometimes I'll do a few climbs to get my heart rate up, and add a few miles. |
Pretty much all the reasons that I commute have been touched on already.
Mainly: I live 3.5 miles from work, it's faster, it's fun (driving just makes me angry), and it's a cheap way to get my weekly mileage up! It's worked out so well since moving to the Bay Area that I've sold my car. If you can ride to work, to the store, and to baseball games, what more do you need? |
Every day I ride saves me about 7 bucks in gas for the F-150.
It keeps me in shape. |
I like to enjoy all the sights and smells.
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Long story short- lost my driving privileges due to some very poor choices.
I knew when that happened I would have to completely embrace the bicycling lifestyle. Which I have done. Minimum 10 miles every day of the week. Now I wonder why I didn't start riding a long time ago. Now if I could only quit smoking. :notamused: |
These are some really great answers! I own a car and really do enjoy driving it, but I do not enjoy the stop and go traffic, which occurs while going to work. Riding is much more enjoyable. Also, since my trip is only two miles, the car doesn't even have a chance to fully warm up. Such short trips are hard on cars.
Plus I feel much better with the consistent exercise! Additionally, if I can get to work without having to pay for gas, I will. |
It looks like I'll be commuting more by bike now...my wife just called me and told me that she took my car today (a real beater of a '91 Escort that I use to get to work on days that I don't ride my bike), and burnt up the clutch. She's getting it towed home.
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Because, unfortunately, I have to have a job.
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Originally Posted by SkippyX
(Post 14465055)
Oy, this is going to be a long post.
1. My truck broke last September. I was still paying child support a the time (it's done now, thank goodness) and the repair was an expensive one. I started riding Houston Metro. An average day was two hours bus stop to bus stop, and that didn't take into consideration the time spent walking to the bus stop. Add another twenty minutes each way. A bad day was three hours stop to stop. I tried riding my bike to the bus stop and then putting it onto the bike rack on the front of the bus, but far too often the bus I needed would show up w/ two already in the rack, which meant another half hour wait to catch the next bus. 2. I went to the doctor, stepped onto the scale and found I had broken the 300 lb barrier. I moped about that for a couple more months. 3. I started hearing people who were about my age (47) complaining about the pills they were taking for high blood pressure, cardiac disease, high cholesterol levels and diabetes. According to my doctor my blood work numbers were good, but it was a bit spooky to hear that my brother (two years younger than me) had started taking Lipitor, or that my brother-in-law (three years older than me) had a defibrillator implanted in his chest. 4. One day I was at the bus stop after work and the bus was 45 minutes late. I thought "This is ridiculous. I could ride a bicycle home faster than I could make it taking the bus, and I'd probably lose weight. I bet it would help stave off all those health issues that I keep hearing about from others as well...." |
Now if I could only quit smoking. :notamused: Don't promise yourself a whole new bike at the end of the year - upgrade your bike each month, using the money you saved that month by not smoking. Just take it one month at a time, and keep those upgrades going. Don't look at it as quitting for ever - quit one day at a time. That's how I did it (without the bike incentive though). |
because 3.2mi is a waste of gas. and i can take gorgeous trails/access roads on the way home, making a 10mi return trip, to decompress from work.
i get to ride the bikes i built and love just that much more. watching my friends get larger and larger from inactivity, with the associated health problems, scared the crap out of me. so biking is just one more way to stay fit. i'm in much better shape at 42 than i was a 30. |
Originally Posted by treadtread
(Post 14475620)
Promise yourself an Ultegra upgrade with the money you save by laying off the cigs. :)
Don't promise yourself a whole new bike at the end of the year - upgrade your bike each month, using the money you saved that month by not smoking. Just take it one month at a time, and keep those upgrades going. Don't look at it as quitting for ever - quit one day at a time. That's how I did it (without the bike incentive though). BTW, if SkippyX can over come his obstacles, then maybe I can too. What an inspiration. |
Originally Posted by ChrisM2097
(Post 14473690)
It looks like I'll be commuting more by bike now...my wife just called me and told me that she took my car today (a real beater of a '91 Escort that I use to get to work on days that I don't ride my bike), and burnt up the clutch. She's getting it towed home.
I started commuting Bike/train. I,too got rid of my car. Now we are just a 1 car houshold as well.:p |
Originally Posted by acidfast7
(Post 14466243)
The energy to Explor for Oil, Drill for Oil, Refine Oil, Distribute Gas, Store Gas, Pump Gas then manage all of the supply chain and facilities in between surely discounts the numbers in this rather biased analysis. Not to mention a car, while more "Caloric" effecient at burning gas then humans burn caloric food takes a lot more energy to maintain, store & manage. I also ride my bike to a local farmers market where i buy ogranic foods.. so no (oil baseD) pesticides, no cross country/world shipping ;) |
I've forgotten the reason why I started. The biggest reason now is probably the gas money; it's enough to keep going.
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I really like it, that's reasons 1-9, and number 10 is that it helps keep us a 1 car family; gas $$ isn't really much of a blip on the total price of owning a car (paying for the damn thing, insuring it, maintaining it...) (I know you can do cars pretty cheap too, in dollars at least, I just don't want to)
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Just doing this weeks budget. The Mrs. had to gas her car for which I also had to buy oil and filter. Total of about 75 bucks.
I bought a new floor pump at Wally World ( a Zeffal which actually is quite nice for mostly plastic ) for 20 bucks and haven't put diesel in my truck in weeks. Nuff said. |
I'm 56, I look....40? Some have said 35. My blood work is the sort of thing my doctor says he wishes his 35 year old patients could match. I get compliments from the ladies on my legs, My stress levels....what stress levels? Run up stairs? Pfft! I get flirting from teenagers!! ( that one blows me away, not sure if they're teasing the old dog ) When I spend money on my transport, I'm also spending money on my hobby!
What's not to like? |
I started commuting by bike 42 years ago at age 15 to my first job and have done so ever since.
Reasons for starting: No license No car. Broke. Hated bumming rides and being dependent. As a teenager I was a counter-culture, anti-authority, eco freak, long haired, hippie who loved drafting the school buses to high school and showing up virtually everywhere on a bike. I love the feeling, the exhiliration, the rush of riding a bike. Reasons for still commuting after 42 years- I got really fast and fit on the bike and there's a certain kind of pride and vanity involved that I can't seem to jettison. I HATE SITTING IN TRAFFIC IN A CAR. It feels like the biggest waste of time, resources and money ever. I'm cheap and it saves me tons of money. For about an hour and a half of each working day I feel like I am on vacation. I love the feeling, the exhiliration, the rush of riding a bike. |
I commute by bike because I am miserable if I don't :) My job varies in its location, and there are times I have to be 80+km away on short notice so I have to have a car, but when I can have a stable assignment in one location that is within reach of my bicycle, I ride.
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