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-   -   Co-worker Reactions (https://www.bikeforums.net/commuting/895558-co-worker-reactions.html)

calyth 06-14-13 07:49 AM

People don't bat an eye here, and the bike rack fills up pretty quickly.
I'm real fortunate, the rides here can be real scenic (it's mostly MUPs til the last km in)

Rick@OCRR 06-14-13 07:56 AM

I'm the only one here at work that rides at all but no one says anything about it or gives me trouble about it. They know I'm addicted to cycling so it's kind of "whatever."

Rick / OCRR

PatrickGSR94 06-14-13 07:59 AM

I work in a small office in a small town. I live in the next town north. When I started commuting people thought I was a little crazy, but they know I've been nuts about bikes for over a year now. And since we're a LEED Gold certified office building (architecture firm), and we put a bike rack outside (which I don't use) and a shower in one bathroom (which I do use), my boss now brags to clients that one of his employees is biking to work a couple times a week. :)

The boss lives literally 100 yards from the office so he has no need to drive OR bike.

jloco 06-14-13 08:51 AM


Originally Posted by 1nterceptor (Post 15739814)
Bike lanes and now bikeshare in New York City,
I'm not as unique as I was bike commuting 6 years ago.


https://sphotos-b.xx.fbcdn.net/hphot...58690460_n.jpg

+1 lol I love Chuck Norris jokes.

fietsbob 06-14-13 08:53 AM

Jeez you can afford to live in S F at all . let alone have money to drive a car too?

must be a Googlaire.

spivonious 06-14-13 10:42 AM

I get mild surprise when I pull up on rainy days, but most of my coworkers have accepted it.

I have gotten the occasional question from co-workers interested in riding. "What do you do in the cold?", "What do you do when it rains?", "What do you do when you're really sweaty?", "What route do you take?". I've answered but so far no one has joined me. I do think they are genuinely interested, but it's not a high priority for them.

modernjess 06-14-13 11:04 AM

My business has been encouraging bike commuting since the day we launched the company. At this point not one person ever mentions it or asks about it or points it out. There is nothing at all unusal about biking or not biking to work. Some do, some don't, just another day.

T Slinger 06-14-13 11:21 PM

I work on a F500 campus with over 500 people. Including me, I've seen 3-4 people bike to work in 5 years.

Most don't even realize it's possible. That was me 8 months ago.

rms13 06-15-13 01:10 AM


Originally Posted by rms13 (Post 15739784)
I'm proud to say that living in one of the most car-centric areas of the country that there are about 20 regular bike commuters in my office so nobody asks me any strange questions

I probably should point out that we have a $1/day commuter reimbursement if you ride your bike to work so that helps motivate people. $20/month before taxes isn't much but I'll gladly take along with the money I'm not spending on gas.

Snowman219 06-15-13 01:55 AM


Originally Posted by parkersdad (Post 15741440)
I commute 14 miles per day. My coworkers give me a little grief but when I tell them that I have only bought one tank of gas in the last month they do think that is cool. The only problem I have is some smart ass thinks its funny to turn my head light on and leave it until I discover that it is on. When I find out who is doing it he will be buying me a pack of batteries. By the way I drive a RAM truck with the Hemi and I was buying $80.00 of gas every 10 days so only putting in $30.00 a month is very nice.

I hate jerks : (. I leave my lights on my bike too cause the rubber seal that holds the light on would wear out if I kept removing it and putting it on. And during winter if I don't leave things on my bike, then it won't go on after a huge snowstorm cause the ice gets inside the light snapper thingy doohickie thingamabob, and lets face it I'm lazy enough. So why not be lazier!

[h=3]lazier comparative of la·zy (Adjective)[/h]Adjective
  1. Unwilling to work or use energy: "he was too lazy to do anything".
  2. Characterized by lack of effort or activity.
  3. Snowman219

Snowman219 06-15-13 01:57 AM


Originally Posted by rumrunn6 (Post 15741672)
whatever is said ... Remember this ... Chics dig man legs

fify! : D

irwin7638 06-15-13 07:17 AM


Originally Posted by ThermionicScott (Post 15739680)
I just tell them it's more fun than driving -- it's harder to argue with that. ;)

That's the part they don't get. It's fun just looking at the empty stares when you tell them. Here in the USA it's acceptable to dress like an acrobat and ride around the country side a couple times a week with friends like a herd of spandex hamsters, but using your bike for transportation is looked upon as an act of desperation. It never occurs to them that transportation and recreation can be mixed.

Marc

Bluish Green 06-15-13 12:54 PM


Originally Posted by Astrozombie (Post 15741360)
You have to move your cars every 2 hours?? Ta hell? All the more reason to take the BART! I can't wait to ride the BART!

That was my first reaction to the OP too... man, that is a crazy system that requires workers to leave their offices every two hours, cold start a gas engine, move a vehicle a few hundred feet, and repeat. That whole thing could use some reconsideration.

Regarding coworkers reactions, mine are mostly supportive. A few think I'm crazy, but they probably did before anyways. I work in an office with ample free parking and "rush hour" that is very light compared to major cities like SF. And still, bicycle commuting is such a better deal overall for me. I can only guess how much additionally better it would be for folks in big congested cities like SF. Ride on!

1242Vintage 06-15-13 01:45 PM

Thanks to the great weather and mild winters in No. CA, I've been commuting year round for a few years. My co-workers are used to seeing me walk through the lobby daily with my backback and wearing cycling gear on my way down to the basement locker room to clean up. The only reaction I get from co-workers is on the rare occasion when I don't cycle in to work.

rtwilli4 06-15-13 02:28 PM

It's pretty normal here in London. It's often hard to find a place on the bike rack during summer. When winter comes there are definitely less cyclists, but still a lot.

A lot of companies participate in the bike to work scheme. I don't know the details because I already owned my bike, but the basics are that the employee gets a 20% discount on a new bike of their choice, and they can pay monthly over a year with 0% financing. I think the payments just come out of their pay every week, but I'm not sure.

Some people I know even use the "Boris bikes" that we have locked up all around the city. I think less than 45 min is free, but not really sure. Anyways, there are enough stands that people can use them to commute to work.

Out of the 10 of us at work, one person walks and two people cycle (including me). I keep my bike in my office. The only question I ever get is "how much did that cost?" Also, sometimes they laugh at me because my helmet makes a funny mark on my forehead.

the sci guy 06-15-13 02:50 PM

most of my co-workers were impressed, and some were completely surprised (in the "wtf you ride a bike to work?" way), like many of us have said. but I have some who have said "i don't ride bikes," which is weird to me.
some said they wished they could do it, but "have to get the kids ready and off to school" (or drive them to school) and can't. some live too far away, some would just never even think about riding a bike in a road.

however, as a teacher, mostly i work with middle-to-older aged women, so, the bike rider pool is pretty limited. when i sent out an email about bike to work week and day, i didn't get a single reply - not even to say "i wish i could!" etc.

oh well. jokes on them. i'm fit, and enjoy the outdoors, and aren't putting miles on a gas guzzling SUV.

tylrh 06-15-13 02:52 PM

I'm called a hippie/hipster I've been commuting irregularly for a few years now, but for the past 6 months doing it 4-5 times a week depending on the weather. My coworkers think because I don't drive or take a train or subway that makes me a hipster.. If I had a single speed, they would have an arguement.. Lol

rms13 06-15-13 03:29 PM


Originally Posted by tylrh (Post 15746329)
I'm called a hippie/hipster I've been commuting irregularly for a few years now, but for the past 6 months doing it 4-5 times a week depending on the weather. My coworkers think because I don't drive or take a train or subway that makes me a hipster.. If I had a single speed, they would have an arguement.. Lol

Occasionally I get hipster remarks from my boss when I ride my single speed and wear my chuck taylors with my jeans rolled up/cuffed. Hipsters run rampant in my office so I guess it's warranted but annoying cause I hate hipsters!

ajmstilt 06-15-13 06:44 PM

When I first started heavily bike commuting about 4 years ago. Co-worker reactions were mostly: "wow cool, no way I could do that... wait *that* many miles... yeah you're crazy, but way to go." At the time I was the only one who really "commuted". Sure there were co-workers who brought their bikes in to "train" during lunch, and they thought I was crazy too.

Since then (started about 2 years ago really), lot's of people in my office bike commute now. Bike lockers full and have a waiting list, bike racks full daily in the summer, bikes int he stairwells, empty cubicles... it's an amazing turn-around from 4 years ago really.

Something about software engineers and bicycles *happened* like 2 years ago... /shrug

I get more questions and comments these days I *don't* ride then when I do.

kookaburra1701 06-15-13 11:45 PM


Originally Posted by xuwol7 (Post 15739846)
Co-workers--"I'm too fat to ride my bike every where, and I am out of shape."
Me--"Indeed."

I'm a fat-arse, I love it when co-workers who are skinnier/more athletic than me tell me they could never ride a bicycle all over town because they're to out of shape.


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