Secret Benefit of Commuting?
 

Thursday morning it was 5 degrees with a nice north wind of 23 (gusting to 32) with a few inches of fresh snow fallen overnight (with the attendant drifts and the attendant 6 times for me to almost biff). Since it was my designated commute day, I layered up and rolled out on the stud-equipped GT and rode in to work. When I got there I was greeted by a number of comments ranging from, "you have to be the baddest-a@@ out there today" to "you rode your bike? Are you a #$%$ nut?" The comments questioning my intelligence I didn't like so much, but I gotta be honest, it felt good to be viewed as a bad-a@@" Is it just me or does anyone else get a secret kick out of co-worker's reactions when you ride to work in miserable conditions?

after six years, I still get comments from folks at work as to "if I rode in". Particularly if the weather is bad. This week we've had morning temps in the single digits with negative wind chill. And a few co-workers are astonished that I'd be out in this weather. They always ask if I'm cold. And I tell them "Heck no, I wouldn't do it if I got cold". I've had a few tell me what a tough sonofagun I am for doing it. I think of myself more as being a true snow warrior, out there taking the worst (for my area) that Mother Nature can throw at me. Looking her in the eye and saying FY. But yea, I like to think of myself as being a bad ass on those really rotten days when I know that not many people would be out riding in some really rotten/and or bitterly cold weather. Plus the satisfaction that I'm 56 and there aren't too many 56 year olds out there doing what I'm doing.

I get the same types of comments (admirable and off color) from coworkers about commuting in cold weather. The funny thing is that quite a few of these people are skiers and snowboarders yet they apparently think that cycling in cold temperatures is altogether different. I guess it all boils to one's frame of mind and whether or not they enjoy what they're doing in the cold.

I get that all the time. That's where I got that little nickname moniker under my forum name. They just shake their head and say "you're tougher than a ......"

Not really. I applaud your devotion but I don't think your joy comes from them. If you're like me, it comes from the enjoyment you get from almost silently passing through your environment regardless of the conditions. Look inside, I think that even if they didn't say anything you would still be perfectly content with the experience you had while commuting even in the worst of weather. When someone says something like that to me on a "bad" weather day, I think, "You just missed a beautiful moment because you were hemmed up in a inpenetrable cage. Sorry you missed it. It was beautiful."

Not any more. Now they seem disappointed if I drive, as if something is wrong somehow.

Windchills were -30F (actual temp -8F) here the last couple mornings and yes, people were asking if I rode.

If only they knew that I rode not because I'm bad a$$ or impervious to the cold. Rather I ride because it's pretty neat to move almost silently through the environment, so I don't have to sit in traffic in a cage, and so I can eat a little more without it going to my waist.

Don't get me wrong BiketoFeel and labrat (nice to see a fellow SD rider on BF by the way): after 33 years of cycling in all its varied forms and sometimes attendant abuses, the truly deep rewards I get from the activity most definitely aren't dependent on outside feedback. For me, the comments that I mentioned are like buttered popcorn for the soul; completely empty calories, but mighty good to snack on!

it kind of annoys me to be honest, "youre crazy!" "You rode your BIKE?!" gets really old after you hear it every single morning

my secret joy is being able to get to work early and do one of my favorite things before and after work, guaranteed.

Yep. Except I get the comments in any kind of weather because cyclists in my town are very rare. I enjoy it very much

My company is populated by fairly young and mostly active folks that define the culture. About 10% of us ride all winter and 30% commute by bike at least part of the year. Others run marathons, nordic ski, do mud races and all manner of outdoor activities. The attitude is more jealous than incredulous about winter or bad weather commuting. Most of the comments, if there are any, because it's so common place are more along the lines of "dang dude, as crazy as that is, I wish I had could have done that today, good on ya!". The culture encourages it which is a great fringe benefit.

All my co-workers are cyclists, so nothing I do could make them think I'm a bad-(you know). I might get the occasional "kind of sketchy out there today, eh" comment, with the implied context that they've endured much worse, and don't whine about your commute or we'll call you a girl baby. I love my co-workers.

not really, most people commute here, unless there's ice.

I get that reaction when I ride in on a beautiful spring day. Some people just don't realize how easy it really is. But I'm not one to ride in the cold, rain, or snow so kudos to you.

I got a "You're crazy!" this year when I rode in with about half an inch of snow on the ground. The funny thing is, it took me 50 minutes while the drivers from my area were stuck in their cars for 2 hours. Which is crazier? :thumb:

Ya it would be nice if it was like that for all of us, but the comments still come out as jealous for some since they feel they are chained to a car or it takes too much time, or it's so cold (even if said person works in a freezer, I get a kick out of this.). Most of the people around here ride in summer. I see a bunch of bikes in the heart of the city just last week when I went to register my car. Wasn't surprising since its a high density area with apartments, libraries, and stores, all within a mile or two of each other.

There's one lady at work who's amazed that I ride in anything but warm sunny weather. But my boss rides cyclocross, so he's more jealous than incredulous when I ride in the cold or some light snow. I won't ride in heavy rain because it's just not fun to get wet in the winter.

A friend of mine who teaches math at a local college got quite the kick when the student newspaper published a picture of his bike, buried in about 8 inches of fresh snow, on the front page with the headline "Snow Day! How will [friend's name here] get home?"

The answer, of course, was that he'd bike home.

Myself, I really can't compete. One of the partners at my company has dependably ridden his bike in every day for 20 odd years, and he lives a lot further from the office than I do. Plus, I'm only an occasional rider in winter.

I just say, "There is no bad weather, only bad clothing".

i'm the only bike commuter at work. my coworkers already think i'm nuts because i do full contact martial arts.

the bike thing just confirms that. but i do find that people look to see if my bike is out there every day and have to comment. "can't be too bad out there if i see your bike."

I have had many wonder in amazement of what I do andmsomemthink imma bad ass, hey bicycle commuters are bad ass,!!

Yeah. I don't mind having a reputation for being tough. I'm pretty honest with them about it, though. I'll often tell them, "It's not as bad as you think" or "Until the temp gets below zero, keeping cool is a bigger problem than keeping warm." (and many of you already know that only the face, hands and feet are a problem even when it's that cold. Our cores are still plenty warm.)

A related benefit: Because we carry the right clothing for being outside in the winter we can step outside and say, "Well, this is no big deal". On those icy/snowy/blizzard days the ladies will come out to their cars, dressed in office clothes with nothing more than a coat thrown over --and they think we're crazy-- and start cleaning off their cars. I walk up and tell them to get in and warm up and I'll take care of the brushing/scraping. They almost never say, "No, thanks". Maybe if they're nearly done before I get there.

This does a whole lot to strengthen my reputation as one of the good guys around there. Does it cost me anything? If I'm wearing my 'arctic exploration' gear, then scraping a handful of windshields is no big deal at all. But I really don't think they realize this.

The fact that we are as foreign to the auto-addicted as we'd be if we'd come from Mars sometimes does work to our benefit.