TuckertonRR

there is a pannier designed to carry suits. Do a search on the commutting forum, I know I've seen references to it there. I don't own it (when I have to wear a suit I take the bus that day). But there's someone in downtown Philly with it cause I've seen it on their bike.

Also, don't think you *have to* bike everywhere. Use the bike as an option. Another option is taking the local train/bus/trolley to your destination. Or walking. Or a combonation of all three. Or even renting a car. Many cities have "flexcar" options. in Philly here it's phillycarshare.org. If only they had a car available in my neighborhood, I'd lose the car.

Roody

If I had to wear a suit every day I wouldn't drive a car. I would throw myself in front of a car!

Seriously, you might very well be able to pack a suit in a back pack, though a large messenger bag sould probably be much better. As Tuckerton said, garment bag panniers would be even better. And the suggestion to search the Commuter forum was excellent. If your search is negative, start a thread there with your question. Those people are great with the technical advice.

TuckertonRR

Roody, I wouldn't put a suit in a messenger bag, or roll it up. I would assume one needs to look "professional" (ie; suit w/no wrinkles, etc etc). What better way to prove to the cagers that you can bike, bus, walk, etc and still look as good as the guy (or girl) who drives into work every day. Which furthers the point that carfree isn't just for "low wage" workers or "unemployed" or whatever other stereotypes there are. Let's OPEN doors, not close them!!!

Roody

Oh great. Now, to go along with the car apologists, we have us a motorcycle fanatic.

Platy

Yeah, but that's still technically carfree, isn't it?

dauphin

I totally agree about the wage thing. I like to ride to work and other places for many selfish reasons, but I also am mindful of the other beneficial effects of doing so that are totally unrelated to my economic status.

KrisPistofferson

In Lauren's defense, she probably gets better mileage than a lot of hybrid owners. Also, I'm not completely "anti-car," some people need them, the way our civilization is built around motor vehicles. A crotch-rocket is preferable over a Hummer, as far as I'm concerned.

bragi

What about range? I find that anything over 20 miles just isn't practical; it takes too long, and you're all sweaty when you get there. More than 20 miles, I take the bus, or sail there, or just use the phone. (No motors for me at all, thank you.) How far do the rest of you venture on a bicycle?

PaulH

It helps to have a bike with a vertical riding position and chainguard -- European commuter or cruiser. I take offf my jacket, roll it, and put it on the rack on hot days. Look at it this way. People walk in suits all the time. Cycling requires less energy than walking, and there is a breeze to cool you off. Obviously, if work is fifteen miles away, this wou't apply.

Paul

cerewa

Out of curiosity, what kind of health problems?

Roody

YAWN

patc

Celiac's Disease? My partner was diagnosed with that last winter, after bouncing around from doctor to doctor for most of a year. Eventually it was a GP at a local clinic who told him, "You know, it could till be celiac even if the blood test doesn't show it. Why don't you go on a gluten-free diet for a few months?" WTF didn't anyone else say that?!?


Hey, we're car-free. Your story just illustrates the problems of a car-centric culture and the resulting problems.

chicbicyclist

Car-free != no motor, hey! I'm glad Lauren is opting to at least use a motorcycle/scooter instead of using a car considering her circumstances! There are ALOT of perfectly healthy people who couldnt even be bothered to walk three blocks to the supermarket, let alone, bike everywhere.

locky63red

The barrier I had to going car free was the distance to work a 100 mile round trip. I have made a commitment to change this by buying in the town and in a position that should be bike friendly(hoping to get the wife into car free as well.The only hiccup is that I live in a regional centre 500 miles away from our state capital city and it is just not feasable to take the bus there for a holiday( as I usually take 4 or 5 bikes to ride around on while I am there). I plan and will use the bike for everything that I need . I have even bought a older cheap mountain bike to use as the grocery bike with my BoB trailer.Something that wont give me a heart attack if it gets stolen.

!!Comatoa$ted

Two wheels good, four wheels bad.

patc

In Rob's case it was either misdiagnosed as IBS since childhood, or he has IBS on top of Celiac's. Oh what fun....

nelson249

I went on a research trip from Kitchener to Toronto (about 100km) last week and out of curiousity I watched all the cars that passed the bus I was on. The posted 90% figure of the number of single-occupant vehicles on the way to TO was, if anything, a conservative estimate.

carless

It requires a social, philosophical, and physical challenge to a society that values: status, instant gratification and cable TV.

krazygluon

I've seen quoted that the average occupancy of a car in the US is 1.3 (public transit NOT factored into that)

Since no car drives itself...thats a LOT of single occupancies to drag the average down that far.

I always thought an interesting number to see would be the miles per gallon per occupant of any given vehicle and the ratio of this to the miles per gallon per filled occupancy actually observed on the road.

SUV's do utterly suck as single-occupancy vehicles, but I wonder if all that engine power would give them an advantage over a minivan if both were seating the full number of people available.

maddyfish

When I need to take my kids out of our little town, I drive. When it is raining, and the kids are going I drive. The kids do ride with me around town most of the time.

cerewa

what kind of advantage? In cars, the more horsepower, the worse the gas mileage, other things being equal--- up until the point where you're running the engine at nearly full throttle the whole time just to maintain a normal speed, e.g. an economy car with an 8HP engine.

Basically the only relevant difference between an SUV and a Minivan is that, in exchange for whatever offroad capability an SUV has, it needs to be larger (more air drag) and heavier (also bad for gas mileage) in order to have the same passenger capacity as a minivan or car. If an SUV is designed for towing (might have more horsepower) that will give the SUV even more of a disadvantage in terms of miles-per-gallon-per-passenger. (but also an advantage in miles-per-gallon-per-pound-of-cargo at full carrying/towing capacity)

Icycle

I don't think disability is necessarily as limiting as you seem to think. I'm having trouble thinking of any disabilities that prevent one from cycling that don't also disqualify one from driving a motor vehicle. If someone with a physical disability wants to ride a bicycle, there are often options. Someone without the use of their legs can use a handcycle. Someone with balance problems or limited cardiovacular capacity can use an adult tricycle. Even a blind person can ride as the stoker on a tandem bicycle.