RobbiRobbi

Not about commuting per se, but about cycling as transportation.

There's this bike blogger I've been reading again recently, I'm not even going to say who but you might be able to figure out who I'm talking about. She owns ten bikes and lives in rural Ireland where it's all cloudy skies and green fields and rolling hills. When she's got to "post a letter" she gets on her bike and doesn't think twice. I was totally seduce by this picture of someone else's life to the point of being discouraged. But then I realized "hey, I can have that," or my version at least.
Today I was sitting on the couch working on something and I got a sudden craving for chicken nuggets. So I rode up the hill to McDonalds, locked my bike to a railing and sat there on the edge of the parking lot with my chicken nuggets, looking out over the town.

I need to remember this about transport biking. It's not just about "bus or bike to work today," it's about freedom. It's about widening my reach, it's about going wherever I want, on no one else's schedule. When I was a kid it was all "no you can't bike there there's no sidewalks" and the last couple of years I've been thinking "no I can't bike there it's too hilly," but I can. I can and the more I do it the more I can handle. I'm not going to let the fantasy of some else's live stop me from living my own, because we have our own hills here and our own gorgeous cloudy days.

noglider 

I agree and I know that blog. I don't keep up with it regularly by I like it. I know some folks who don't buy different strokes, right?

I get a ton of satisfaction from getting somewhere useful under my own power, even if the ride (or walk) is short. It gives meaning to my day.

Gresp15C

Oddly enough I think of driving the car as more "work" even though it's obviously a lot less physical work. Hopping on the bike just seems so simple and easy.

andyprough

Wait till you start working out how many pounds worth of paint or dogfood your panniers or rack can handle just so you can justify another 10 mile round trip to Costco or Home Depot. (2 gallons of paint, 2 quarts, 4 paint brushes, a roller, a pan, and 3 rolls of painter tape is my limit for one pannier. 25 pounds of dogfood is a good stopping point for my rack - mainly due to the need to somehow balance it).

AlmostTrick

Recreational rides can be fun, but using a bike for actual transportation is most satisfying for me. Then there's the fact that I recently installed a mileage tracking device on my car in order to receive a discount on my insurance premium...

BobbyG

I would suspect that in rural Ireland, as in other rural areas, there are few alternate routes available, because there are fewer roads. In cities like your Pittsburgh, there are almost infinite route choices available using parallel streets, and alternate avenues. In that way a simple ride to post a letter, or visit the grocers can be a different adventure every time. I have 4 main alternatives routes to work and back, and for each, there are countless side roads to explore which don't add any time to my commute.

RubeRad

lol "cloudy skies and green fields and rolling hills" vs riding to McD for nuggets. Different strokes indeed!

I do like using my bike for local errands, every time I get in the car, alone, and drive only a few miles, and don't carry a significant load, I feel like "I lose".

PatrickGSR94

Curious, why would you not mention who the blogger is or link to it? Some of us not familiar might want to read it!

Unfortunately it's not so easy to choose "bike" in suburbia. I use my utility bike and trailer for grocery shopping, but it takes real EFFORT to make it happen. I have to get the trailer out, set it up, hook it up, make sure I have everything like lock, keys, water, shopping bags, lights etc. and not to mention getting super sweaty on the trip there and back, and the fact that the whole ordeal takes no less than 2 hours total. Conversely I can just hop in the car in air conditioned comfort and be totally done with a week's worth of shopping and back home again in 1 hour flat.

I enjoy riding my bike, especially when I can replace car trips. But man, in suburban America it's HARD to make that choice when there are other choices available.

I've been wanting to do an e-bike conversion on my utility bike for awhile now. I don't want to do cheap Chinese junk, and I think BionX would be the best solution. I keep saying that it would make bike transport trips so much easier in my hilly area, but man the PRICE! $1,700 minimum for a decent setup. I don't know if I'll ever be able to justify that over building another complete bike (which I want to do, also).

RubeRad

My guess is lovelybike.blogspot.com. I agree, no reason not to link, if you like it, why not throw them some traffic? I'm not a regular reader, but I've run across it a few times, it always has great photography, lots of nice bike p0rn, for the townie/comfy set.

SpikedLemon

I love the ride to the brewery myself. I've one just slightly off my normal weekend route.

A nice 15km ride, sit at the bar for a beer (enduring funny looks from bike kit), and then take the long way home.

wilfried

Could someone please share the address of this mysterious blog? I'd be interested to have a look.

noglider 

@wilfried, @RubeRad is right:

Lovely Bicycle!

jade408

This should be shipping very very soon! The Copenhagen Wheel:
https://www.superpedestrian.com/

Replacing a wheel for an ebike conversion sounds quite logical to me!*

*I didn't realize they were so behind and there were shipping alternatives like Flykly. And the price went up a lot.
But here is a good overview on the space: Next-gen bike technology still pedaling uphill - Next-gen bike technology still pedaling uphill

canklecat

Yup, Velouria's blog in part motivated me to resume cycling last year after a three-decade break. I knew I wasn't going to race again or do tricks or anything competitive. Just ride for enjoyment and transportation.

And I decided to give up the expense of vehicle maintenance, insurance, etc. I waited several months after getting back into cycling but finally gave up the truck this spring. Hoping I won't regret that, but so far, so good.

Only problem now is I "need" at least two, possibly three different types of bikes. It's slightly inconvenient to have to reconfigure the one bike for whatever I'm doing that day: errands, faster day rides on pavement for exercise, leisurely trips to town for visits.

Not a bad problem to have.

PatrickGSR94

Nope, I don't want a wheel controlled through a smartphone app.

And.... NOPE! It's rim brake only, and my utility bike is disc brake only. Wow, that seems like a massive oversight on their part.

Eric S.

On a bicycle there's no such thing as bad traffic. When I drive I'm quickly reminded how miserable it actually is!

RubeRad

With the battery&motor all packed into that giant hub, there probably isn't room width-wise for discs.

Creakyknees

"What a bike is... what a bike really is... is freedom"

amen to that

resting

Go freedom! I am not limited to a bus\train\car break down if I have my bike with me. A river is not stopping me either; I can swim with my bike across small river, carry over ditch, monkey bridge.

No gas is no problem. A flat, I can repair myself. I can repair or restore many mechanical problem on my bike. I can walk 40km or 25 miles a day; with bike I get 3x or 4x. Almost unlimited freedom.

Cheers

Joe Minton

resting

+1

Joe

Clamms

Well said. I live in a suburb of Philadelphia and I agree 100%. It's worth it when you use the bike to do stuff that 99% of the population would do in a car, but man, it's tough.

PatrickGSR94

Yep. I want to outfit my big, heavy utility bike with e-assist, like really, really badly. It would make those utilitarian, transportational trips MUCH easier, I think, especially with a heavy trailer full of groceries attached.

lostarchitect 

There is this weird tendency around here to not "name names" even when you're talking about something positive. It is really bizarre to me.

lostarchitect 

She lives in Ireland? Didn't she used to be in or near Boston?

noglider 

Yes, I think she was in Somerville, near Boston. And now I think she is in or near Belfast.