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Do you share your interest in cycling at work.

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Do you share your interest in cycling at work.

Old 06-14-19, 04:37 AM
  #26  
downhillmaster
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Originally Posted by Barrettscv
I'm a Sales Engineer and most of my co-workers are golfers, a few might also be joggers but almost no one is a cyclist. I'm certain that the majority of my colleagues think that only children ride a bike.

I almost never discuss my passion for cycling at work. Do you freely share your cycling hobby with coworkers? What is their response?
Yes.
If it happens to come up, I let other human beings know that I like to cycle.
Whether at work, a family gathering, a bar, or anywhere else for that matter.
And yes, I freely share this information. Nobody has to torture me to get it.
Not sure why this is or isn’t a thing...
But I guess we all have different reasons/motivations for frequenting an online forum
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Old 06-14-19, 05:29 AM
  #27  
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yes. i have let it drop at work that i am an active cyclist and i like to get around town/regionally to keep tabs on what's happening. coworkers see my crazy farmer tan and will ask me if i've ridden anywhere
awesome/fun lately or ask for easy rides/cruising recommendations. always happy to oblige. i get the "where do you recommend buying?" for an entry level road bike question about every 2-3 months.
again, always happy to oblige. haven't "converted" anyone into a hard-core roadie over the years but pleased to note that i have gotten a few people into gravel/mtb and just doing
errands/getting exercise around the neighborhood/biking vs driving on an occasional level..
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Old 06-14-19, 05:37 AM
  #28  
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Originally Posted by caloso
A few of my co-workers know that I race, but if it comes up the conversation usually goes "Oh, my friend/neighbor/cousin races! He does the Whatever Century every year! Do you do that race?" And then I have to explain that centuries aren't races but yes that's a long way to ride and it's quite an achievement, yadda yadda yadda.

Or, "Are you excited to do the Amgen tour?" And then I have to explain that although I would love to race the Tour of California, it's not open to 45+ Cat 3's.
this. multiple people at work had difficulty imagining i wasn't racing the amgen toc (i have zero illusions personally) and it was difficult to explain that i rode 20+ miles up to
catch the race. but then again, i've had people similarly disbelieving me when i've said i took the train to los angeles and rode back to the san diego area. "what do you mean..?"
some people have difficulty thinking outside the automobile. the bicycle is freedom...unless goathead thorns are present.
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Old 06-14-19, 06:03 AM
  #29  
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Sure. Everyone tends to talk about their outside activities. It would be pretty boring if we talked about nothing but work.
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Old 06-14-19, 07:40 AM
  #30  
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When I get up in the morning and go to my "office", my dog usually isn't in a talkative mood. Especially, if I left him alone the prior day, for a long bike ride.
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Old 06-14-19, 05:39 PM
  #31  
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I haven't mentioned bicycling at work much. I work for a very small company with only 11 employees. They do tend to know when I have a package with bicycle parts delivered to the office. Same goes for anything else I have shipped there.

I've been working there for 24 years. The strange thing is that back when I was a motorcyclist no one told me to be safe. One of them heard that I was bicycling and they told me how dangerous it can be. But none of them have been motorcyclists and all but one haven't ridden a bicycle since they were a kid.
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Old 06-14-19, 06:16 PM
  #32  
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Originally Posted by ooga-booga
yes. i have let it drop at work that i am an active cyclist and i like to get around town/regionally to keep tabs on what's happening. coworkers see my crazy farmer tan and will ask me if i've ridden anywhere

awesome/fun lately or ask for easy rides/cruising recommendations. always happy to oblige. i get the "where do you recommend buying?" for an entry level road bike question about every 2-3 months.
again, always happy to oblige.

haven't "converted" anyone into a hard-core roadie over the years but pleased to note that i have gotten a few people into gravel/mtb and just doing errands/getting exercise around the neighborhood/biking vs driving on an occasional level
My further enounters at work:
Originally Posted by Jim from Boston
Whenever I’m asked about buying a bike my questions are what do you want it for, and how much to spend? IMO bikes of similar quality by brand names stratify in groups of about approximately $US 200 intervals. .
Originally Posted by Jim from Boston
Frankly, I have posted that I would not be inclined to encourage, unless by example (nor discourage) someone to cycle-commute, but if they so chose, I would freely and gladly give any advice...

Public exhortations to cycle-commute, or utility cycle are well and good with no individual responsibility for bad outcomes, but I would not want the recriminations of a personal endorsement if something bad happened
...

FWW, I’m not advocatin’ against, just sayin’
BTW
Originally Posted by Jim from Boston
A good piece of adavice I read on Bike Forums (for commuters at least) is that as you get closer to work, contain your rage, in case it’s a co-worker, or even your boss.

Last edited by Jim from Boston; 06-14-19 at 06:29 PM. Reason: added BTW
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Old 06-14-19, 08:27 PM
  #33  
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Originally Posted by Jim from Boston
A good piece of advice I read on Bike Forums (for commuters at least) is that as you get closer to work, contain your rage, in case it’s a co-worker, or even your boss.
Yep. Same if traveling to see customers every day. My customer's think I'm a nice guy. Gotta keep it that way so they keep calling me back.
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Old 06-14-19, 11:24 PM
  #34  
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I recently posted:
Originally Posted by Jim from Boston
My cycling reputation, mundane as my cycling might be to the hard-core cyclists, is always a source of amusement and conversation with my friends and acquaintances; e.g. in bad weather, “You didn’t ride your bike today, did you?.”…
I have described my strategy for dressing in layers year round for the ride as on a scale of 1 (above 70° F) to 6 (less than about 20° F). I have explained this system to a couple of colleagues at work, so when they ask how was the ride, they understand my numerical reply.

Last edited by Jim from Boston; 06-15-19 at 06:05 AM.
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Old 06-15-19, 04:49 AM
  #35  
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Before I retired, I talked about cycling all the time with my co-workers; they never seemed to mind

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Old 06-15-19, 06:47 AM
  #36  
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In passing like 'What did you do this weekend?'. I'm in a very small office. One guy used to ride a fair amount, but rarely in recent years. The others I don't think have been on bikes since childhood.

Once in a while they would ask me about it when I was commuting, but my route had a sketchy mile and after a few close calls I abandoned the commute. The commercial/industrial area my office is in has an insanely small number of options to get from one side of a suburban 'highway' to the other and they all suck. Every small secondary road ends at a creek crossing, or business. Even considered riding up some railroad spurs, but would likely involve some fence jumping at the end. Another option or two added significant miles to a trip that was already well beyond practical time wise. I was just doing it for the love of cycling.

Last edited by gear64; 06-15-19 at 06:58 AM.
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Old 06-15-19, 11:14 AM
  #37  
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Originally Posted by nomadmax
before i retired, i talked about cycling all the time with my co-workers; they never seemed to mind

+1,000!!!
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Old 06-15-19, 11:39 AM
  #38  
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I don't cycle at work.
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Old 06-16-19, 12:19 AM
  #39  
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Everybody in my department knew that I cycled because they saw me wheeling my bike into my office every day. Comments were consistently along the lines of "Hey wow that's great, I wish I could do that" but none of them ever tried.

The only time I ever mentioned it myself was during the annual reassignment of parking slots. There were never enough to go around, competition was intense and so was the sense of righteous indignation among the losers. At which point I'd simply note that parking wars meant nothing to me, because... End of subject, until the following year.

Last edited by Pobble.808; 06-18-19 at 11:45 AM. Reason: fix typo
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Old 06-17-19, 02:05 PM
  #40  
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I don't. If anyone asks, I'll tell them that I commuted by bike, but otherwise it's greeted with vast indifference; my coworkers love their cars. The only other cyclist in the entire company, that I know of, is our executive director, a car-free recumbent cyclist, and he works at the other end of town so we don't speak much.
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Old 06-17-19, 04:50 PM
  #41  
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Quite a bit. I kind of inspired several co-workers to ride to work, and we've done some events together as well.

I don't think it's because I am particularly persuasive ... it's just that they see me getting to work happy, and want the same thing.

I do ramble on a bit too much about it, though. I look for that glaze in their eyes, and if I start to see it, shut all the cycling comments down.
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Old 06-17-19, 05:22 PM
  #42  
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Let's see.


More mornings than not, I show up at my office on the 28th floor in cycling kit (20 miles each way, fast commute, benefits from the right gear), with one of the gorgeous, one hand adapted bikes Trek built for me.


The pictures on my credenza are of me with my wife and each of our kids at various cycling events.


I have a picture book on my conference table of a bike tour my wife and I did in Ireland, and framed pictures on the wall from the same trip.


My firm's social media and website links to stories written about my cycling, and stories I have written about various rides.


Several of my colleagues email or text me with stories of their cycling adventures, crediting me with getting them started in the sport, even though I just pointed them toward the road and offered some tips.


Unfortunately, the topic of my riding never comes up
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Old 06-17-19, 06:29 PM
  #43  
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Many of my colleagues at school know I ride a bike. I am not shy about talking about my love of cycling. There are a few other cyclists on the campus, and I have encouraged many to give it a try.
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Old 06-17-19, 07:34 PM
  #44  
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In very blue collar, right wing, Nascar lov'in, crew cab long box turbo smoker driv'in, NRA membered, Trump world northwest Iowa, my riding bicycles usually stop the folks at work cold. The response is either; have you got a death wish? Or, so, you're one of those tree hugg'in Democrats I spose? After the laughter dies down though, some of the bravado scales back and I find out that their doctor has told them that maybe getting a bike and riding it might help them loose that extra 100 pounds and stretch their lives by a few years. Usually that's about as far as it gets, but every once in a while the craziness is catching!
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Old 06-19-19, 02:17 PM
  #45  
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Originally Posted by iowa mark
In very blue collar, right wing, Nascar lov'in, crew cab long box turbo smoker driv'in, NRA membered, Trump world northwest Iowa, my riding bicycles usually stop the folks at work cold. The response is either; have you got a death wish? Or, so, you're one of those tree hugg'in Democrats I spose? After the laughter dies down though, some of the bravado scales back and I find out that their doctor has told them that maybe getting a bike and riding it might help them loose that extra 100 pounds and stretch their lives by a few years. Usually that's about as far as it gets, but every once in a while the craziness is catching!
Lol this almost sounds like Texas.
We moved in a brand new office building last year which has covered bike parking in the parking garage, a gym with locker rooms and showers and is connected to a bike trail. It is just perfect for riding the bike to work. But out of around 500 employees there are only about 3 or 4 of us commuting by bike. I don't have to emphasize that I ride my bike to work. Many people know. Some think I am crazy, some are jealous because they live too far away and many others are too afraid of riding because of the ignorance of vehicle drivers here. Commuting by bike is still a foreign concept for many folks here. But hopefully this will slowly change over the next years.
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Old 06-19-19, 05:05 PM
  #46  
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Originally Posted by iowa mark
In very blue collar, right wing, Nascar lov'in, crew cab long box turbo smoker driv'in, NRA membered, Trump world northwest Iowa, my riding bicycles usually stop the folks at work cold. The response is either; have you got a death wish? Or, so, you're one of those tree hugg'in Democrats I spose? After the laughter dies down though, some of the bravado scales back and I find out that their doctor has told them that maybe getting a bike and riding it might help them loose that extra 100 pounds and stretch their lives by a few years. Usually that's about as far as it gets, but every once in a while the craziness is catching!

I'm one of the type of people you mention above. I ride my bike while I'm at work being I'm self employed. Stereotypes aren't always what they seem.
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Old 06-19-19, 05:11 PM
  #47  
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I try not to.

When the subject comes up it usually turns into everyone telling me their stories about why cyclists are jerks.

Today I had to explain to a few of them that yes we can ride right down the middle of the road if we want to, whether they like it or not.
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Old 06-19-19, 06:48 PM
  #48  
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Only one job outside of working the a bike shop, did I have a co-worker that rode a bike. He took up riding after seeing me, 10 years older than him, ride into work every day, and his wife telling him he needs to do something about his weight! Today, Rob is a riding fool!
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Old 06-19-19, 07:54 PM
  #49  
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One more reason to never mention how I get to work every day. There is a shutdown of part of the Metro (subway) and everyone is complaining about the extra hour it takes to commute each way.
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Old 06-19-19, 08:36 PM
  #50  
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Originally Posted by iowa mark
In very blue collar, right wing, Nascar lov'in, crew cab long box turbo smoker driv'in, NRA membered, Trump world northwest Iowa, my riding bicycles usually stop the folks at work cold. The response is either; have you got a death wish? Or, so, you're one of those tree hugg'in Democrats I spose? After the laughter dies down though, some of the bravado scales back and I find out that their doctor has told them that maybe getting a bike and riding it might help them loose that extra 100 pounds and stretch their lives by a few years. Usually that's about as far as it gets, but every once in a while the craziness is catching!
People from northwest Iowa make fun of co-workers and challenge their environmental and political beliefs for no other reason then they ride a bike?
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