Anyone heard of bike commuting?
 

First thought I had when I heard this story on the news today is why didn't the guy ride a bike. I ride 30 miles a day, and no one has offered me a free car. I don't get it.

https://gma.yahoo.com/flood-donation...193422110.html

Detroit needs a (several) hero(es).

Be nice and let them enjoy the spotlight.

Do they running water yet? The last I heard was that the Water Municipality was dissolved?

That's a long time walking. But yeah, bike?

Can he afford the insurance/gas/maintenance? Well, I suppose those donations+a free car will cover operating expenses for a long while.

To get serious, getting into cycling at 42 miles per day every day in Michigan as a complete newbie making $10/hour is asking this guy to do a lot. And just how much spare time does he have to get acquainted with bike shops, hang out on forums, etc.? Now one of us could have done what this college student did to get this guy a bike, a shop to assist him and others to be "coaches". But we didn't. This college student did what he knew.

I don't live where the Free Press is to be had. Our local paper has been going downhill and I no longer subscribe so I would have missed it even if it were local news. Yes, I would like to see bikes being used, but I used to ride year 'round 40 miles from that story. (A measly 6 mile round trip as a student.) Asking a newbie to do that to the tune of 21 miles one way is asking a LOT!! Especially in winter!

Ben

True, but this has been going on for 10 years. After a couple days of walking that distance, I'd have to start thinking about faster ways to get to work. Riding a bike just isn't on the radar, I guess. Seems like such a simple solution.

I don't know about Detroit, but in Florida, you can operate a Scooter without insurance. I would think a $300-$500 scooter would be attainable at some point for almost anyone who works. But yeah, I'd have come up with an alternative to walking a long time ago if I was this guy. Not to take away from what he does do to keep working, which is definitely a feat.

IMO is a great story to show others they can't hide behind saying there's no jobs in the area.

I'm not sure if having to travel 20 miles to a minimum wage job is evidence of anything other than an impoverished area with a lack of jobs.

It's 21 miles round trip. 11 miles each way isn't too bad. Get a hand me down comfort hybrid and have your commute time be three times faster. It's still "a lot" to most people *who drive a car*. Biking 11 miles each way would seem like paradise on an old person's joints compared to walking that much.

Whew...
$134,000 donated to keep him from walking.
Perhaps that is why Detroit is known as the motoring city.

I agree, with a little work, it doesn't take much to get a $20 bike on the road. Pick up 2 or 3 of them as spares if one wants. Ok, a $20 MTB isn't the most fun thing to commute on, but it does work.

Something just doesn't add up. The Yahoo article links to this article:

Heart and sole: Detroiter walks 21 miles in work commute

A couple of slides mention 21 or 22 hr days. I don't know many people who can do that for 10 yrs. Me I would have quit that routine after the first week. I'm having difficulty believing this.

OTOH: 20 mi, figure ~7hrs walking each day at ~3mph, 8 1/2 hrs at work, that's 15-16 hrs and don't count the bus, breakfast, dinner etc. Maybe 20-21 hr days is right.

Even a slow bike would cut the walking time in half. More like a third if you can average even 10mph.

Yeah, but it's uphill both ways. Wonder if they get the guy a car built in Detroit. They do still build cars in Detroit, don't they?

His best option is to pack a bag and walk away from that poverty. People have left Detroit by the tens of thousands... and for darn good reasons. As long as government programs and funding supports failed communities we will have people who choose to "shelter-in-place" and spent lifetimes in poverty. I wish him the best.

A bike would be so much more convenient than walking. Driving would be so much more convenient than biking. I think that the guy likes to walk.

Forrest Gump.

I can sympathize with that guy. When I was in college, I took a year off and worked at a job in northern New Hampshire that winter. I lived 10 miles outside town (Franconia), and had to hitch hike to work and back every day. It was seriously cold up there with a lot of snow. On the coldest day of that winter, I had difficulty getting a ride and walked almost the entire way to work. The low temperature that morning was -35 F and it was -10 when I finally got to work.

At the time, it never dawned on me to ride my bike to work, and I'm not sure it would have even been possible with the snow, cold temperatures and gear we had back then. Mountain bikes hadn't even been invented yet, and we didn't have the kind of cold-weather clothing available now.

I'm with you.

I just flat out don't believe the story. The article says it's a 21 mile walk to work, which is 42 miles a day.

Walking takes too long. What happens when it's icy? Deep snow? Heavy headwind?

Even if he ran, though it would cut his travel time considerably, I don't believe he would hold up. How many runners do you know that can maintain that kind of mileage?

I'm 250 lbs. and walked for 2.5 hours each way on my route. I'm not sure if I could do 21 - but if it was the difference between me meeting my goals and feeding my family, or not - I'd suck it up buttercup and walk til I dropped.

I walked 14 miles round trip to work at the university for 7 months this year because I sold my bike to pay for my last semester of graduate school and my wife needed my truck for her job. I feel for him and, while I can relate, I'm glad to be back on a bike making real money finally. I couldn't imagine doing what I did for 10 years knowing that there was no light at the end of the tunnel.

It must be a 21-mile round trip to work. There aren't enough hours in the day to walk 42 miles and work 8 hours. Even 21 miles is pushing it.

No, the article claims it is a 21 mile walk to work. Then it says he takes the bus part way but at night he can't take the bus and it is farther.

I walked 7 miles home a couple of times from a job. That's doable. And I've run a marathon, which is also doable. But this guy walks 42 miles a day, 5 days a week, for 10 years? Just. Plain. Silly.

When do you sleep or eat if you're walking 42mi a day and working? even if he walks at 4mph, which is optimistic, that is 10 hours a day of walking.

Are you saying the news media and donors have been scammed?

"21 mile walk" is Journalese for round trip.
He walks 8 miles + bus into work and 12 miles return (no bus)
Detroit SMART bus can take bicycles, so the ride is either 2x12 or 8+12.

I used to ride 2x12 miles in London and it was quicker than transit (Tube).
Detroit has a good not-for-profit bike hub.

Put me squarely in the "something doesn't add up" camp here. Even if someone is off by a factor of 2 and he's actually walking 21mi, that's still 5-7 hours of walking a day at an above-average pace.

I saw that article - it's just crazy. What he needs is a bike, not money to buy a car that he cannot afford to keep running. Of course if he really receives $135000, he can probably afford to move closer to work now.

Edited to add: the article says "He rides buses part-way but walks about 21 miles in round trips to a factory, unless his banker pal offers a lift."
So it is 10.5 miles one way.

That's a lot of walking, and a lot of dedication to keep walking that far on a regular basis. I'm not sure if what the story says is correct or not, but it's impressive if it's only close to being true.

I'd take a vacation first if I were him and figure out my options while relaxing somewhere.

And should we not also presume that he is on his feet all day at his factory job?

135 grand and a detroit car dealership just offered him any car off their lot.