Go Back  Bike Forums > Bike Forums > Commuting
Reload this Page >

Do you care that bike commuting is good for the environment?

Notices
Commuting Bicycle commuting is easier than you think, before you know it, you'll be hooked. Learn the tips, hints, equipment, safety requirements for safely riding your bike to work.

Do you care that bike commuting is good for the environment?

Old 09-21-20, 07:40 AM
  #26  
cabledawg
Full Member
 
Join Date: Oct 2010
Posts: 212
Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 19 Post(s)
Liked 33 Times in 20 Posts
I started bike commuting because I could. I enjoyed biking before I had kids, then slowed down for a bit. I discovered cargo bikes and began using bikes for more stuff. Now I commute by bike as much as possible for health reasons. When you're looking down the barrel of a stroke or heart attack, you tend to start looking for ways to improve your life. I already ate pretty well, but I found ways to eat better. I already exercised occasionally, now I exercise almost every day. I moved closer to work so I have even fewer excuses not to ride. I added e-assist so even if the bike is loaded down with groceries, I can still zip around in a timely way. I have better clothes for all-season riding. I'll even plan daily trips for biking and utilize my cargo bike and up-close parking to my advantage.

Help the environment? Cool. Not die in my late thirties/early forties? That's where it's at and the biggest reason I started bike commuting
cabledawg is offline  
Likes For cabledawg:
Old 09-22-20, 11:50 AM
  #27  
Notso_fastLane
Senior Member
 
Notso_fastLane's Avatar
 
Join Date: Dec 2011
Location: Layton, UT
Posts: 1,606

Bikes: 2011 Bent TW Elegance 2014 Carbon Strada Velomobile

Mentioned: 6 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 626 Post(s)
Liked 701 Times in 418 Posts
Originally Posted by wphamilton
Absolutely I care that it's good for the environment. It's not why I started bike commuting, and not the main reason I kept it up for the first few years. But it's important to me to put my principals into action, even with small effect.

I went for years without ever driving into work, and when on some day I found myself on the edge of deciding to drive I would think "why not just save another day of destruction?"
Pretty much the same for me. I've always been a bit of an environmentalist, but wouldn't call that my main reason for bike commuting. I've always considered the exercise the biggest and most important reason for me (because otherwise, I just don't go to the gym enough....).
Notso_fastLane is offline  
Old 09-22-20, 05:31 PM
  #28  
Digger Goreman
Quidam Bike Super Hero
 
Digger Goreman's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jan 2019
Location: Stone Mountain, GA (Metro Atlanta, East)
Posts: 1,150

Bikes: 1995 Trek 800 Sport, aka, "CamelTrek"

Mentioned: 2 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 331 Post(s)
Liked 415 Times in 282 Posts
As equally important as any other reason, for me.

Wish cagers could appreciate and respect the contributions....
Digger Goreman is offline  
Old 09-22-20, 06:39 PM
  #29  
Daniel4
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Jul 2013
Location: Toronto
Posts: 3,497

Bikes: Sekine 1979 ten speed racer

Mentioned: 15 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 1477 Post(s)
Liked 637 Times in 436 Posts
If I didn't care about the environment, I would have gotten my motorcycle licence and be riding a vespa.
Daniel4 is offline  
Old 09-22-20, 10:08 PM
  #30  
alan s 
Senior Member
 
alan s's Avatar
 
Join Date: Oct 2007
Location: Washington, DC
Posts: 6,977
Mentioned: 16 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 1496 Post(s)
Liked 189 Times in 128 Posts
My vote barely counts. I barely count in the grand scope of things. Whether or not I ride a bike to work has so little impact on the environment that for all intents and purposes, it is completely irrelevant. In a hundred years, no one will remember me or have heard of me or know anything about me. Maybe sooner.
alan s is offline  
Old 09-23-20, 07:47 AM
  #31  
wphamilton
Senior Member
 
wphamilton's Avatar
 
Join Date: Apr 2011
Location: Alpharetta, GA
Posts: 15,280

Bikes: Nashbar Road

Mentioned: 71 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 2934 Post(s)
Liked 341 Times in 228 Posts
Originally Posted by alan s
My vote barely counts. I barely count in the grand scope of things.
Do you vote? No judgement here, just curious.
wphamilton is offline  
Old 09-23-20, 08:35 AM
  #32  
alan s 
Senior Member
 
alan s's Avatar
 
Join Date: Oct 2007
Location: Washington, DC
Posts: 6,977
Mentioned: 16 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 1496 Post(s)
Liked 189 Times in 128 Posts
Originally Posted by wphamilton
Do you vote? No judgement here, just curious.
Yes, always
alan s is offline  
Old 09-24-20, 12:28 AM
  #33  
Bassmanbob
Senior Member
 
Join Date: May 2014
Location: Treasure Coast, FL
Posts: 981

Bikes: 2014 Cannondale Supersix EVO 3, 2015 Trek 520, 2017 Bike Friday Pocket Rocket, 2022 Moots Vamoots Disc RSL

Mentioned: 8 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 282 Post(s)
Liked 267 Times in 140 Posts
Yes, I care. For me, it's part of the overall experience of bicycle commuting. I really love being on my bike and moving myself from point A to point B using my energy. I have a free last line on my Road ID, so I wrote: "I am my own engine." I love that. I also love the idea that I'm getting a 50 minute workout twice a day for only 25 minutes each way. It takes me 25 minutes to drive to work, so it makes the workout very efficient.

This leads me to the green factor with bike commuting. I dislike waste in general, so I try to use things only when needed and possibly beyond their original intended use. As a result, I love the efficiency that bike commuting provides for me (time efficient workouts) and to the environment. I purchased a touring bike for bike commuting and figured I could use the bike for both purposes. But to justify this to my wife, I analyzed how long it would take for the bike and other gear to pay for itself instead of the costs of using my car. Between the bike, tires/tubes, panniers, racks, fenders and bike clothing, commuting three times a week would pay for itself in two years and commuting twice a week would pay for itself in about three years.

Perhaps I've gone off on a tangent on this sleepless night, but I love the whole aspect of bike commuting. Eventually I'll start bike commuting three times a week and perhaps even four days a week. Due to my schedule and various locations, I can't bike commute on Thursdays; I need to drive
Bassmanbob is offline  
Likes For Bassmanbob:
Old 09-24-20, 11:29 AM
  #34  
Korina
Happy banana slug
 
Korina's Avatar
 
Join Date: Sep 2015
Location: Arcata, California, U.S., North America, Earth, Saggitarius Arm, Milky Way
Posts: 3,753

Bikes: 1984 Araya MB 261, 1992 Specialized Rockhopper Sport, 1993 Hard Rock Ultra, 1994 Trek Multitrack 750, 1995 Trek Singletrack 930

Mentioned: 31 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 1524 Post(s)
Liked 1,513 Times in 906 Posts
Originally Posted by alan s
My vote barely counts. I barely count in the grand scope of things. Whether or not I ride a bike to work has so little impact on the environment that for all intents and purposes, it is completely irrelevant. In a hundred years, no one will remember me or have heard of me or know anything about me. Maybe sooner.
The thing is, you don't know how much impact your bike riding has; you don't know how many people sitting in their cars waiting for the light to change saw you blast by them and thought, "That looks like fun. I think I'll try it." Probably not a lot, but the ones who do get out of their cars are going to blast by other cars. Ripples.

I care that riding my bike is good for the environment, but since my other option was the bus, it didn't actually make much difference, except to me and my health.
Korina is offline  
Old 09-24-20, 11:58 AM
  #35  
burritos
Full Member
Thread Starter
 
Join Date: Apr 2020
Location: Ventura County
Posts: 248

Bikes: 2021 Polygon Siskiu D7, 2008 Lemond Tourmalet

Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 178 Post(s)
Liked 88 Times in 56 Posts
Well does it really matter what the intent is so long as the effect is beneficial?
burritos is offline  
Likes For burritos:
Old 09-24-20, 01:40 PM
  #36  
Archwhorides 
Senior Member
 
Archwhorides's Avatar
 
Join Date: Sep 2014
Location: Boston
Posts: 927

Bikes: Death machines all

Mentioned: 13 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 297 Post(s)
Liked 85 Times in 63 Posts
Originally Posted by Korina
I care that riding my bike is good for the environment, but since my other option was the bus, it didn't actually make much difference, except to me and my health.
It's true that the bus commuter is nominally as healthy for the environment as the bike commuter. Nonetheless, the possibility mentioned that the sight of a comfortable and competent cyclist might inspire a driver to try bike commuting cannot be underestimated. I think that there are a lot of people who perceive cycling as risky business and who need to see examples of it being done safely to inspire them to try it. The steady rise in cycle commuters in my area is can be attributed partly to normal bike commuters convincing others with their examples.

On mornings when I'm hung over from late night hockey, the illusion that getting on the bike might save the world can be handy.
__________________
Work is the curse of the drinking classes - Oscar Wilde
Archwhorides is offline  
Likes For Archwhorides:
Old 09-24-20, 05:36 PM
  #37  
RoadKill
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Apr 2002
Location: Tempe, AZ
Posts: 219

Bikes: Specialized AWOL, Specialized Roubaix, Niner Air9, Turner Sultan

Mentioned: 4 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 67 Post(s)
Liked 41 Times in 24 Posts
I don't really care too much, mostly I care when I hear somebody tell me they drive an electric car to work to save the environment.


Originally Posted by cyccommute
Before getting out the scourges, take a step back and look at scale. There has been about 1 billion bicycles made up to now. At an average of 30 lb of metal apiece, that would be 15,000,000 tons of metal. That’s a lot but it pales in comparison to that used in cars. Just GM has made 500 million cars at an average of about 2000 lbs each. Let’s say 80% of that is metal or about 1600 lb. That’s 400,000,000 tons of metal mined and refined. Ford and Chrysler have similar counts so that 1.5 billion cars or 1.2 billion tons of metal.

Bicycles have used 1.25% of the metal used for cars. Or, to put it another way, the total output of bicycles in history is equal to fewer than 18,000,000 cars or about a quarter of the number of cars made in one year. It took about 120 years to make a billion bicycles. We bicyclists don’t contribute a lot to the issues of the day.
It's even worse, most cars are well over 3000lbs now and most trucks are over 5000lbs.
RoadKill is offline  

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off


Thread Tools
Search this Thread

Contact Us - Archive - Advertising - Cookie Policy - Privacy Statement - Terms of Service -

Copyright © 2024 MH Sub I, LLC dba Internet Brands. All rights reserved. Use of this site indicates your consent to the Terms of Use.