Dahon.Steve

+1

I will walk five miles one day but feel it the next. If I have to work during the weekend and need to use the bus, I'll take my Xootr kick scooter. I could take my bike but the trains run packed during the weekend and it's much easier to use a kick scooter. However , I must warn you the Xootr is more dangerous to ride than a bicycle because the wheels are thin and they can get caught in a crack. I think a safer scooter would be the KickPed or GoPed. I'm looking at folding scooter Mibo that uses a 16' inch front wheel like a folding bike.

One of the reasons why I like the Xootr is that you can kick much further than walking. Also, five miles will not have the same effect that walking creates. I find that a kick scooter builds up either your quads or hamstrings making it much easier to walk the next day. It does return back to normal after two days but this is something that walking does not do to a certain respect.

The beauty is that you don't have to lug a full size bike or carry a heavy lock for those very short trips. No worry about bicycle theft either.

Machka 

It's never been enough. It doesn't strengthen your bones ... in fact, there is some evidence that it weakens your bones over long distances. Cycling develops 3 of your 4 quads ... you need to walk or lift weights to develop that 4th quad. This isn't really a problem if you're only riding around the block, but if you're covering long and/or intense cycling, you may need to pay attention to this problem before you develop knee issues. Cycling doesn't do much for your upper body or core or flexibility. It's not even the best exercise for losing weight.

It is a very good idea to cross-train. Go to the gym, hike, cross-country ski, go canoeing ... mix up your exercise.

TransitBiker

I am a walking machine, but i prefer being on the bike 1000%. I think a mile and a half away (plus walking around when i get there) is about my walking limit for actual day to day errands etc. Any farther and it just starts to take forever. Recreational i've walked 5-7 miles in parks and stuff, walked from yardley to newtown once on a whim, was a beautiful summer night.

- Andy

dynodonn 

In my case, bicycling seems to be adequate, since I work stop and go traffic, do a 400 ft elevation climb every day on my I ride to home. My core and arm strength is very good since I don't spend all my riding time just sitting in the saddle.

Coluber42

I'll admit to being lazy. There are small handful of places within a 1/2 mi that I usually walk to, but otherwise I ride. And I'll admit that I've been known to ride even to some of those places if I was in a hurry or the weather was particularly crappy. I do feel sort of silly doing it, though.

My work has just moved, and is now just under 3 mi away. I keep telling myself that some of the time I should walk, at least when the weather's nice, just for the exercise. If it takes me somewhere between 45 mins and an hour, it won't even take any longer than my old commute by bike did, depending on traffic.

Roody

I'm a lot less dogmatic and disciplined about exercise than I used to be. If it isn't enjoyable and/or utilitarian, I probably won't stick with it. Luckily, riding and walking are both fun and practical.

roadandmountain

Well said. Grant Petersen has a good analogy for cycling: you're basically sitting in a chair and spinning your legs very quickly. You can build endurance that way, but certainly not upper body strength or lower body bone strength.

Reminds me of the tarahumara: they become strong because they never run the same route twice. They are constantly 'shocking' their bodies into becoming stronger with slightly and significantly different movements and loads.

A short way of saying that the more you ride, the more efficient you will become and hence the fewer calories you will burn as a road cyclist over time.

If you must stay on your bike to 'cross train' ride a mtn bike on hilly trails on occasion: it's far better for developing a little bit of upper body strength and probably promotes bone strength fractionally better than road riding.

Bicycles are nice but our bodies are designed to walk upright and we need to do this on a regular basis to maintain our health.

It's a mistake to give some sort of moral priority to cycling as it is completely undeserving. Looking at the situation objectively, cycling is a nice supplemental exercise, but it should never be the sole form of exercise.

bulevardi

Before I did everything in walking distance by foot: so around 3 miles.

Now that I'm suffering injuries in my hip since last years, I try to manage with my bicycle.
If it's more than a mile, I take the bike.

sebnukem

About 300m. Why would I walk when I can bike?

Machka 

Convenience?

Rowan

Actually, being able to see what is going on around you, peeking down some alley you would normally pass by on your bike, browsing in shop windows, running your hands along a picket fence or a hedge, saying hello and chatting to a neighbour...

wahoonc

I do all of those from my bike too...

Aaron

Rowan

It depends on the environment you are in. If you are riding along a busy street with car traffic, I wouldn't be paying attention to anything else except riding the bike.


In fact, one of the issues with bike safety is that people have this notion that they can just daydream along, their mind elsewhere. They may find that could end them up in hospital or a grave.

harshbarj

Anything more than a block away I take the bike, unless I feel the bike would be a hindrance in any way. If I have to carry anything I take the bike.

wahoonc

Sounds like an awful lot of car driver's too....

Aaron

Rowan

I don't disagree with that one!

wipekitty

I think walking is great, but for the purpose of transportation, I'll usually bike distances of 3/4 of a mile or more (if conditions permit). It's more of a habit than anything: it's easier to carry things on the bike, and it seems safer if I'm out at night or in the winter, when the streets are in better shape than the sidewalks. Once I got used to going fast, it was hard to make the extra time to commute on foot.

For a short time in my late teens, I used to run places that were several miles away. That might be an interesting alternative to biking - I might have to try it in the fall, when it's neither hot nor icy.

Astrozombie

If I'm going for leisure I have no problem with a 4-5 mile walk, if I need to be somewhere than 1mi. each way max.

hermanchauw

5 minutes.

keyven

Work to home where I've seen the same scenery for years will get me bored and annoyed within 15 minutes.

In the early morning when it's much cooler with barely any traffic I could walk the 6+ miles to my office once in a while, but after office due to the congested roads I'd be walking beside 80% of the time I couldn't imagine myself ever doing it.

OhioSam

..

JoeyBike

If I don't have to carry anything like groceries either way, I am willing to walk about one mile before grabbing a bike. But honestly, I would probably just hop on my longboard for the shorter trip since I can just carry it inside anywhere I end up. I am not much into walking. And my longboard is practical up to five miles for errands, 30 miles for exercise.

My wife loves to speed-walk on a fitness track in a local park. I can't keep up without an occasional jog. So again, I grab the longboard and just chill and chat with her through her workout. So really, my board fills in that 0 to 2 mile distance gap where I think most people would just hoof it.

findude

I walk a lot, typically between 2-4 miles a day, and I have no problem maintaining a 4 mph average even with hills. Where the bike excels, for me, is when time matters more and I need to carry stuff. I hate walking for errands that require carrying anything heavy enough to reduce arm swing or require a backpack. I'll drive if I have to go far or need to carry heavier stuff. I will bike to the grocery store if what I buy fits in my milk crate (6 gallon), otherwise I drive. If it's just distance, and I'm not carrying stuff, I'll walk up to about a 1.5 miles, ride from about 1 mile to 20 (round trip), and typically drive if it is farther. We have dramatically reduced our car dependency from about 20,000 miles a year for the whole family down to about 8,000 a year, and we're all in better shape.

But, as far as utility, for me the bike fits into the sweet spot between walking and driving.

ganchan

I can walk a couple of miles before my gimpy foot goes out on me -- but once it does, I'll be in pain until the next morning. So to minimize the risk of encountering that problem, I would probably switch to the bike for anything would take more than, say, 30 minutes one-way to walk. If my foot already hurts, I switch to the bike so i can keep getting stuff done. That said, I do walk every day, whether my foot likes it or not; riding is more of a supplemental/practical activity that I turn to on an as-needed basis.

Onyxaxe

I tried that approach. I've been a skateboarder for 16 years and I must warn you, Cruisers are way too fast for most people. I bought the Arbor Shakedown before I got my bike and it tried to leave me behind a couple times. I put some smaller wheels on it.

In regards to your question it depends on where I'm going. Walking back and forth from the skatepark was about 6 miles, I was fine with that except for the fact I couldn't make it through the crosswalks without waiting through three lights and then still being extremely cautious since there's a left turn from Campus that cars blindly turn though. I find it easier to use the roads to get there so I bike.