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Has anyone else stopped commuting?

Old 03-25-03, 02:48 PM
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Spire
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Has anyone else stopped commuting?

Last year I was commuting 18 miles each way to work and loving it. I would ride the bike 3 or 4 times a week and on the rainy days take in changes of clothes. Now my commute has gone from 18 miles to .5 miles as I moved downtown to be next to school. So I walk.

Boy do I missed the commute! Does anyone else have these fond memories of a commute they once had?
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Old 03-25-03, 02:58 PM
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My commute has been 14 miles each way but since my company is closing the Atlanta office at the end of this week I won't have any place to commute to.

Guess my only commuting (at least for a while) will be to the grocery store, hardware store, unemployment office, etc.
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Old 03-25-03, 03:04 PM
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I won't have any place to commute to.


Hey RonH don't cry, now you have more time on your hands to go cycling, maybe even a short tour. Look on the brightside of un-employment!
 
Old 03-25-03, 03:20 PM
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Originally posted by Gordon P


Hey RonH don't cry, now you have more time on your hands to go cycling, maybe even a short tour. Look on the brightside of un-employment!
I AM!! Believe me, I AM!! :thumbup:
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Old 03-25-03, 03:38 PM
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Originally posted by Gordon P
Hey RonH don't cry, now you have more time on your hands to go cycling, maybe even a short tour.
Not true. I was made redundant about a month or so ago. If anything, I've put in more hours trying to find a new job than the old one ever demanded. Then, of course, there is the financial side of it. Believe me, I would have loved to have spend the last four weeks in Tasmania, but I just didn't have the $ to do so.
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Old 03-25-03, 03:40 PM
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P.S. I do miss my old 47.5km round-trip seaside commute. However, that same section of coastline is also the finishing stretch of many other rides, so it's not all bad.
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Old 03-25-03, 06:23 PM
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I commuted for over 12 years to three different jobs that were all in the same general direction and distance from home (10-15 mile roundtrip).

I got layed off last September, had two months off looking for jobs during the mornings and part of the afternoons and then went riding to burn off stress (at least the weather was awesome that time of year).

Lo and behold I was very fortunate to land a tremendous job after the two month job search. Now my new job is 15 miles from home (one way by freeway) and no decent bike commuting routes. The area is not one bit bike-friendly. All parallel routes are also clogged with traffic feeding to the freeways and no margin for error) I'm still searching and may find a longer back route that at least I could do occasionally. I really, really miss those morning rides. What a great way to wake up and appreciate life. I hate driving on the freeways to work with all of the other clones, but at least my car gets decent mileage and it is only 22 minutes of driving in traffic. The really tough part is the new job has two sets of men's showers and locker rooms, bike parking and good security. I've asked around and only a couple of brave souls have taken on the commute in the past and one of them got fired last year (not as a result of the commuting, just a cutback in his department). Kind of frustratiing that for the first time in all those years of riding to work, I could finally get cleaned up decently and now I can't ride. Arggghhh!!
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Old 03-25-03, 06:28 PM
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bikeman, keep looking. You'll find a suitable path even if it's clogged with traffic. I've learned to live with traffic full-time. I have no choice.
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Old 03-25-03, 06:36 PM
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After I dropped out of art school, I got a terrible job at a record store. I believe the store was owned by Satan, or at least one of his minions. It was a wretched place to work, but I had this wonderful ten mile plus (each way) commute I rode nearly every day for five years. I'd go in one of a dozen ways, and really got to know every back street and nock and cranny in the west end of Richmond. Fond memories include:

1) Being blown up a hill by strong tailwind. I'm not kidding, I didn't even have to pedal.

2) Shearing off a crank while pedaling. I had no idea I was so powerfull, but the more I think about it, I think it was just a cheap crank.

3) Co-workers who would attempt the same ride in, and always wind up cadging a ride home.

Low points:

1) Having a little flea catcher run in front of me, swerving to avoid it, and crashing into a parked car, bending the fork of my PFN10E in the process. I should have just run over the dog.

2) Being fired. I had worked my way up to buyer, and they automated the system. I helped get everything running, and the day it came up, I was canned. Rode my bike in, and rode back fifteen minutes later. No, wait, this last was a high point.

I still make this ride now and again, though the store went out of business last year. Heh-heh.
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Old 03-25-03, 10:25 PM
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Last summer I rode into Glacier NP almost nightly to ride home with the Mrs. I'd sit down by Lake McDonald lodge, sip a cold Black Star dark, and stare at the mountains. This year I'll still commute right next to Glacier... but alas not INTO Glacier.
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Old 03-26-03, 01:57 AM
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Got a flat as I pulled in the driveway last Thursday. First flat in almost a year. Got a call that evening that our dept was being let go, and we'd be cleaning out our desks on Friday. Needed to drive in on Friday. Been looking for work this week and the tire is still flat
As I look for work I'll need to consider the bike commute possibilities and weight that amongst all the job offers, or take any job I can get.
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Old 03-26-03, 07:42 AM
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Well, now that the glaciation of 2003 is starting to recede, I'm finally able to get out and ride. Unfortunately, I'm still unemployed and recently went bankrupt as well. We had a beautiful stretch of warm weather 2 weeks ago, but my mother went into the hospital that week, then the weather turned bad again. I finally managed to go riding this week, and even retraced my old commute, just for the h3ll of it. The building is now vacant.
I sure hope none of my bikes break anytime soon. I don't have the money to fix anything.
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Old 03-26-03, 10:55 AM
  #13  
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I use to commute by bike year round in my hometown for 7 years) 10km round trip.

Then I moved to a new city and my commute by bike was 22km round trip (for one year).

Then I moved out of that #%@# city to the country. My commute by CAR is 70km. It is just too far to ride everyday, even 1 day is too much. I would have to get up at 4am, on the road 5am (which means 530 am), arrive at work 6:30am to 6:45 shower etc and start work at 7am. Leave at 4pm, get home between 5:30pm to 6pm. Just too late, as I have other things I wanna do. In winter it would be even worse.

Just too damn early. So I drive to work now. But I live in a 1 acre treed lot with a trail right out my back door (mtbing and snowshoeing) and the roads here are quiet for riding my road bike.

Do I miss commutting? Yes and no.

Yes - We (wife and I) now own 2 cars, which means twice the gas, maintenance, insurance, etc. I really feel the pinch. Cycling sure was a helluva lot cheaper. I also am sad that I am now one of THEM, THEM that I disliked so much when I was bike commutting (you know who I mean).

No - I am glad I don't have to get up on cold, wet, windy mornings and put all that s--t on to get to work anymore. Carry clothes back and forth, change a flat to work, shower at work, forgetting my towel or clean underwear.

It's an even split. I am toying with driving so far and cycling the rest. Gonna try it this June when the Canadian Commutter Challenge is on. See how it goes.

However, I have adjusted my work hours to match my wifes so that we now take one car to work. Every now and then I'll take my truck for errands I need a trruck for. But the damn insurance companies don't give a discount for a lesser used vehicle, toying with the idea of getting rid of the truck too........damn vehicles I hate em.

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Old 03-26-03, 04:42 PM
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Bikeman, do they bike racks on buses where you live?
If so, have you looked into doing a combination bus-bike commute?
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Old 03-26-03, 06:56 PM
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Originally posted by RonH
Bikeman, do they bike racks on buses where you live?
If so, have you looked into doing a combination bus-bike commute?
They do have bike racks on some of the bus lines around here. I'll have to check on availability. Thanks for reminding me.
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Old 03-26-03, 07:02 PM
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I live one mile from work but in the summer my commute sometimes ends up being 5 or 6 miles. One mile just isnt' much fun.

Spire, why did you stop riding your bike? Just take the "scenic route" to work.
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Old 03-27-03, 01:25 AM
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I was off my bike for over four years as I did the driving commute from hell. 30 miles each way. I was doing this six days a week and putting in more hours than I care to remember. I finally traded in that job about five months ago. I have been riding in three or four days a week for the last three months. My boss even let me clean out a storage closet so I would have a place indoors to keep my bike.

Last edited by Garlic; 03-27-03 at 09:09 PM.
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Old 04-03-03, 12:57 AM
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I've stopped commuting by bike for a few days until I get my bike fixed or get my new one. Whichever comes first. And then when I get back in town. I'll be in Charleston, SC from Sunday till Thursday. And no riding. I really don't like going on these roadtrips.
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Old 04-03-03, 07:54 AM
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I'm a fair weather commuter not very hardcore. I drive in the morning (only 3 mi) and then commute back to work in the afternoon when the weathers nice. This allows me to spend a few minutes with the dogs at lunch.

One year I didn't have a car just a motorcycle, and it was cold, wet, and miserable all year.
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Old 04-03-03, 08:03 PM
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I sympathize with all the people who are being hit by cutbacks. Don't give up, folks!

(Part of my job is printing unemployment checks. I have seen the ups and downs over the years. I remember when my girlfriend was laid off. She was denied unemployment compensation. I told her to appeal the decision. She won. She has had two jobs since then. She married me too, but hey, that's still two out of three!)

I haven't ridden my bike to work for over two weeks. I have been walking/riding the bus/train (about 3 - 5 miles walking) and gotten a couple of Saturday 22 mile rides in.

A change of pace is not always a bad thing.

"Never give up." (Winston Churchill)
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Old 04-05-03, 10:07 PM
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Originally posted by Poguemahone
After I dropped out of art school, I got a terrible job at a record store. I believe the store was owned by Satan, or at least one of his minions...
Impossible. Lucifer is the HR Rep at the Company From Hell that I work for. Underemployment sux.

Originally posted by Pete Clark
... (Part of my job is printing unemployment checks...
Ironically, that profession probably has the most job security of anything these days.
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