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What is your biggest concern in commuting by bike?

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View Poll Results: Your #1 biggest concern in bike commuting?
bad weather
33
23.57%
road safety
62
44.29%
flats or other mechanical failures
10
7.14%
violent crimes
5
3.57%
thefts
5
3.57%
hassles to dress up upon arriving for work
9
6.43%
being late to work
4
2.86%
other
12
8.57%
Voters: 140. You may not vote on this poll

What is your biggest concern in commuting by bike?

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Old 03-24-13, 01:19 PM
  #1  
vol
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What is your biggest concern in commuting by bike?

I'm sure everyone has more than one concern, but making multiple-choice answers may result in some checking too many answers... Please don't abuse the "other" choice . Thanks .
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Old 03-24-13, 02:44 PM
  #2  
merkong
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Biggest concerns - getting in too good of shape, saving too much money on gasoline, coming in to work in too good of a mood, looking too forward to the ride home... I'm sort of a worry wart so I'm sure there is more.
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Old 03-24-13, 02:45 PM
  #3  
caloso
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To be perfectly honest, riding to and from work is probably the least concerning thing of my day.
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Old 03-24-13, 02:58 PM
  #4  
tsl
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Originally Posted by caloso
To be perfectly honest, riding to and from work is probably the least concerning thing of my day.
+1

My biggest concern is generally, "Which route shall I take today?"
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Old 03-24-13, 03:13 PM
  #5  
Vlaam4ever
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My biggest concern is making sure I have the correct colthes for work. I generally keep 3 pants/ 3 shirts at the gym at work. I rotate them over the week or 2. Sometime I bring them home when the need ironing/cleaning. Getting them back is not a given... wearing an Tshirt a the office is not acceptable.

Also hairgel is a must.....
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Old 03-24-13, 03:42 PM
  #6  
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About the only thing I have to pay attention to is safety. Everything else is just plain fun and comes natural. I always want to arrive at my destination in one piece. So far so good. Being in a bike friendly place has helped alot too.
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Old 03-24-13, 04:19 PM
  #7  
RGNY
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safety 1st, but even then....
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Old 03-24-13, 04:45 PM
  #8  
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I have a relatively easy commute and don't have to ride on really busy, multiple lane streets, or narrow, higher speed roads. There is, however, rarely a day I ride to work that I do not see some idiot pull a stunt that under the right set of circumstances, would get you hurt.
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Old 03-24-13, 05:19 PM
  #9  
Atvar
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Basically, avoiding to get killed by a car.
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Old 03-24-13, 05:23 PM
  #10  
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rain and snow
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Old 03-24-13, 05:28 PM
  #11  
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Magpies!

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Old 03-24-13, 05:51 PM
  #12  
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Honestly, if I had a huge concern, then I probably wouldn't do it.

Having said that, the weather is probably my biggest concern. And by that, I mean, Austin in August is brutal. 100+ with 90-100% humidity pretty much the entire month. It's simply brutal, and quite honestly, dangerous.
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Old 03-24-13, 06:21 PM
  #13  
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Getting hit by a pedestrian, taxi, bus, or car. Commuting in Manhattan is a lot of fun but you have to stay on your game all the time.
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Old 03-24-13, 06:25 PM
  #14  
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If by "concern" you mean "thing that you worry about," then it is safety, as I would rather not get hit by a car. However, I don't let my concern deter me from commuting.

If by "concern"" you mean "thing that affects your commuting the most," then it is weather. Case in point, It's snowing right now and they're calling for 4-6 by the time I plan on going to work tomorrow. Unless they are way off, I'm not saddling up in the morning.
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Old 03-24-13, 06:39 PM
  #15  
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bad weather, because Ireland!
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Old 03-24-13, 06:47 PM
  #16  
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My biggest concern is that I will find some excuse to wimp out and not attack those hills.
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Old 03-24-13, 07:25 PM
  #17  
vol
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Originally Posted by cdonges
Magpies!
Oh, yeah, I forgot that choice: Animals on the road! Birds, dogs, deers, raccoons, squirrels, bears(?),...
although I don't have that luck in NYC---it would make my commute so much more fun
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Old 03-24-13, 07:30 PM
  #18  
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I chose weather. Here in Colorado you have the cold and snow in the winter and the threat of heavy thunderstorms in the spring and summer. The storms are not enough to stop a commute but are unpredictable and can be a concern.
Of course safety is always a concern but I am lucky enough to have the majority of my commute on side streets, bike paths or Bike lanes.
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Old 03-24-13, 07:35 PM
  #19  
modernjess
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None of the above. In fact none period. Not to be smug but frankly I've been doing it too long for concerns.
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Old 03-24-13, 07:44 PM
  #20  
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bad weather - Neah, I just drive when it rains
road safety - Pretty good infrastruture where I commute
flats or other mechanical failures - PITA more than a concern.
violent crimes - My commute is a low crime area, but Sharon Tate lived in a low crime area too. I don't worry about what I cannot control.
thefts - No
hassles to dress up upon arriving for work - I can slide on the bike clothes sometimes.
being late to work - I'm salaried, and can make it up staying late

Pretty lucky that I pretty much have no worries other than forgetting my winter gloves on one of those mornings.
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Old 03-24-13, 08:16 PM
  #21  
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I chose being late to work, but really the concern is waking up late!
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Old 03-24-13, 08:20 PM
  #22  
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Weather. And by weather I mean ice and snow.

Last winter I didn't miss a day of commuting due to winter weather. So far in the last month we have had three snow storms of between 9" and 12". Streets will be snow packed tomorrow morning so it will be a car ride.
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Old 03-25-13, 01:23 AM
  #23  
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I chose Violent crimes. But its more accurate to say animal attacke. I have come upon the rogue straggler on the bike path just standing on the side half cloaked on trees. They caal out to you some times & for what I do not know & have no intention of finding out. But the large dogs that get loose are a big consern for me

In short; my biggest fear is having to use my 6" survival knife to kill someone or something.
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Old 03-25-13, 01:33 AM
  #24  
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none, biking is the easiest/best part of my day.
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Old 03-25-13, 03:08 AM
  #25  
azesty
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Not being able to commute
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