mrbike27

why dont more americans bike to work. man nowonder we have the highest death rate of any nation. geez

Artkansas 

I doubt that. Just look at Sudan.

ax0n

I'll start (and I'm a clydesdale on my way out of the club)
* Suburban sprawl makes cycling a difficult method of transportation
* Obesity makes cycling a difficult method of transportation
* Not cycling makes for more obesity

specq

Well, we are tied for #1 at 100%.

ItsJustMe

I agree that we're probably the laziest nation, but there's no way our death rate (I assume you mean low average age at death) is #1. Maybe among developed nations.

old and new

NOT lazy, just dedicated to careers too much.I believe that far to many exhaust themselves indulging their children too. Instead of remaining happy healthy and sane,the dollar value of things is to high of a priority. Parents for example,ought to stay alive and well for their sake and the family,$$ and it's pursuit should be secondary. Besides us "lazy" Americans work more hours per year than Europe OR Japan.I can not accept your death rate statement and reserve comment. I DO AGREE with more riding for all !

unkchunk

Why should we expect them to? We don't expect the elites on television to rides bikes, so why whould we expect the averge American? Just because you haven't noticed the ridiculousness of some celebrity on TV telling everyone else to drive less while that very same celebrity flies home on their personal private Boeing 707 jet, doesn't mean the average American hasn't. Gandhi never went around stabbing hundreds of people claiming that, just because he was the figurehead of the passive resistance movement, he wasn't obligated to actually practice passive resistance in any way. But somehow your instinct is to immediately blame the little people and fellate the rich and powerfull. geez

deputyjones

I thought the same thing when I read that.

pj7

The simple truth is that people want to be lazy and don't want to ride a bicycle to work.
Doing less work is an instillment in the human mind and goes back thousands of years. Ever hear of the term "fat and happy"? When the Roman soldiers had finally completed their obligation to the military their idea of life-after-military was to sit and relax and become fat and happy, now that they were out of the military, they did not want to work anymore.
Advancements in society have made this easier now with communications and transportation.
The fact remains, more people don't bike to work because they simply don't want to. People can blame it on urban sprawl, weather, or whatever excuse they want. But not everyone in the suburbs lives 30 miles from work. Even the ones who live 3 miles from work and have a very upkept seperated bike path will still drive, simply because they want to.

huge

While I agree with the rest of your post, you are making a giant leap in logic with this statement. I think the OP was talking about American society in general. You're just putting words into his\her mouth. This statement probably highlights your class-based biases, not the OP's.

EDIT: After re-reading the OP, I don't see any blame being placed on anyone at all. It seems like (s)he is drawing a poorly worded comparison between low rates of activity and a high mortality rate.

PaulH

I cycle because I'm too lazy to drive my car in DC traffic.

Paul

aMull

Thats what i thought as well.

unkchunk

Okay... you got me. I'm just trying to get the dogs on the folks who are getting a complete pass on this one.

le brad

Most of societies ills are a combination of pizza rolls, spiderman 2, and beer. At least most of my ills.

chipcom 

Give the man a cigar. It's really very simple...most people perceive cycling to work as too hard, too slow, too dirty, the distances too far, the weather too unfriendly and the roadways too dangerous.
Tying lack of commuting by bike to obesity isn't a fair claim. There are many people who commute by car or public transportation who are also physically fit, they just choose other means to achieve and maintain their fitness...running, walking, gyms, sports, etc.

DataJunkie

Not really lazy as an entire society. I know many persons that would qualify as work-a-holics. That is not a sign of laziness but perhaps misplaced priorities in the rat race to acquire and consume. That and as a whole we consume way too much fatty foods and do not exercise enough to work it off. (duh)

Cycling to work is not for everyone and is not a miracle cure. However, it sure is fun if you are into it.

tcs

Like, so lazy they don't use capital letters?

Tom

Neil_B

And obesity makes for more obesity. There's a learned helplessness that develops as you get fatter and fatter. I thank God - literally and figuratively - that I broke free from it and lost 138 pounds. Now if learning to ride a bike were only that easy....

makeinu

That, sir, is an excellent point.

Bakemono

Unless you live less than 5 miles away from where you work, cycling to work isnt practical.
I work in factory 8-10 hours a day and it is 22 miles away from my home. Are you going to bust your butt all day working in a factory, sweating your you know what off and then pedal your butt 22 miles home? Not me.
Not all of us have cushy office jobs...

old and new

YES,absolutely,just do what you can, you probably do. Simply by cycling for fun rather than takin' a drive is a GOOD start ! You probably have that covered.

pj7

I work 13 hour shifts in a shop busting my 300 pound ass and pedal 25 miles a day to do it.
But I have a strong constitution and don't expect others to do as I do.
I'm just saying it *can* be done.

zonatandem

Been commuting to work by bike since the mid-1950s. Where were you?

kjmillig

Americans don't bike more in large part because our cities just aren't built for it. If we lived in a physically small country with lots of overcrowding, significantly more people would live closer to where they work, shop, and go to school. Urban sprawl would not be as likely or impossible. Houston is an excellent example. Lots of land means more spread every month, and all the ills that go with it. Riding a bike 20-30 miles one way to work on the freeway isn't real feasable. And Houston is WAY behind on mass transportation efforts like rail, bike rack on busses, etc. People can't and don't want to ride a bike for practicle transportation.

kjmillig

10 years away from entering the birth canal!