Vintage_Cyclist

I have a large middle school on the next block. Years ago, kids would walk or bike to school. Now nobody does, they even removed the 'unsightly' bike racks. All the kids today get driven to school. It's like the Indy 500 twice a day around here. When I was in school, I'd be mortified to be seen with my parents driving me to school.

As for commuting, it's incredibly situational, distance, weather, infrastructure, rider age/health, etc. The average person in a suit isn't going to commute by bicycle for twenty miles in city traffic. I used to work ten miles away; it was a 10-20 minute car ride or a 30-45 minute bike ride, so I rode the bike usually. When I got transferred to another location that was 30 miles away (by car) and had a complicated route for biking, I drove. When I got transferred again, twenty miles door to door, with ridiculous bike routing, but near mass transit, I took the train.

crank_addict

You're never going to have a LEO when you need one. We have a huge problem with mental drivers. The law RARELY enforces nor even if a violator is caught, the penalty is miniscule. Rolling coal is one example.

The only way is to have higher quality front and rear cameras and record - then report both to the police and further post who the violator is online. Notify your state EPA (the Sec. of State and DOT is useless).

radroad

This conversation is all ass backwards. Without state, county and city planning designed around bicycles and mass transit, they won't be used. Trying to retro-fit and design bike lanes and trains into city designs after the fact leads to failure.

The American consumer has spoken. We don't even want cars, we want trucks and suv's and crossovers. Best for hauling 200 lbs of cat litter and 400 rolls of toilet paper from Costco. Can't do that on public transportation.

The bicycle doesn't speak to the ethos or the zeitgeist or soul of this country. This country is about massive consumption, huge beer guts and 120,000 seat football stadiums. Even vegans and tree-hugging eco-warrior communists don't wanna ride bikes, so why would the average schmuck in his lazy chair contemplating a run for beer and nachos 15 minutes before Monday Night Football kickoff?

mtbikerinpa

Still biking 15 mi each way through the hills a few days a week to both of my jobs. Bike shop day it's only fitting, plus the end game is 3 miles of city traffic and 25mph speed limit. Due to the hills, it is hard to exceed 3 days a week and recover though. Unless the boss reserves to send my somewhere with tools or cargo, I reserve the right to ride to work. The super skinny kid that works with me thinks its crazy. I laugh. 10deg F and counting. It is often frustrating how drivers interact but that only boldens my reaction between video and law enforcement activism. At least in this area they are supportive. Seems to be on the rise in a couple routes other than winter.

The Golden Boy 

I don't ride to work as often as I used to- for a variety of reasons- but even in the best of situations, I'd have to leave the house around 4AM to get to work in time to clean up for work. That's too much like work.

If I lived much closer, it would be much easier- and if I started later it would be easier- all things considered, most of my 18 mile commute is segregated bike trail. (an old rail line)

uncle uncle

I'm in agreement with my esteem colleague, Mr. Rad, here. The whole thought culture would have to change, the whole physical road systems would have to change, the laws of the land would have to change... all three, to really truly see substantial bicycle commuter numbers. Most car drivers around here are not benevolent towards sharing a roadway with bicyclists; a vast majority are indifferent at best on any given day, and a few whacks jobs are down right spiteful. I'm just not hardcore enough of a bicycle believer-ist to sacrifice my limbs and life to the noble cause.

natterberry 

clubman 

One I enjoyed for over 2 decades. More bike lanes and paths than most urban areas.

oddjob2

repechage

OldsCOOL

FlMTNdude

SamSpade1941 

Phil_gretz

Nailed it...

jeirvine 

I see the opposite trend when looking out my office window in Baltimore, which overlooks a recently installed (~2 years) cycle track. Every month there are more and more commuters on bikes and scooters. And even though my commute distance prevents me from biking, the traffic on Liberty street is no worse, despite one less lane for cars.

So it does come down to planning and installing infrastructure that supports/allows it. Build it and they will come.

JohnDThompson 

I just changed clothes when I got to work. My job as a hospital-based RN providing direct patient care meant I needed to be presentable at work, but commuting by bicycle to work for 30 years wasn't a problem for this. And I found the ride to be therapeutic. Rather than fighting through traffic, I had pre-dawn rides along the lake shore at 5AM on my way into work, and good stress relief riding home after work.

tkamd73 

sykerocker 

I'm going to give some credit to the under $1000.00 Chinese 49cc scooters (legally, mopeds, no license required). They're all over the Richmond area, and, let's be honest, the vast majority of people who, by choice or necessity, do not have or use a driver's license in their daily commute would prefer not to use their own muscles to get around. Now, how they work in the long run (I've run across very good, reliable Chinese scooters, and then there's the rest) is going to be another matter.

Chuckled at the comment regarding the newly born by virtue of a DUI cyclists. Here at the motorcycle shop, there was a time when we called Honda Metropolitans "DUI Cadillacs". Of course, that's back before scooters became hip, and the only people riding them were drunks and those mentally incapable of getting a driver's license.

crank_addict

The tougher DUI laws drastically changed drivers mindset and although not completely eliminated, its far less of a problem today.

Moving forward to today's era, the most troubling by far, are those manual texting, distracted AND malicious intent drivers.

Until respective State laws change to SEVERE as the DUI penalties, only then will peoples attitude change toward the above mentioned.

Cyclist need to ramp up the fight to survive. Hopefully cam technology will improve and become affordable as the LED lights. The best scenario if the law would be so severe, any evidence video of those malicious intent drivers would prosecute as attempted murder.

clubman 

Ontario (Canada) just started slamming texting drivers with $1K 1st offense, $2K 2nd, $3K 3rd offense etc. National radio interviewed a cop who just handed out his 5000th 'distracted driving'' charge. Stats are suggesting deaths are way up in this category. Not surprised. BTW the criteria demands one hand onthe wheel and nothing in the other. No coffee, no smokes,

lasauge 

These statistics on the US are just one more reminder of how far we are from living up to our potential as a nation that truly values liberty: Most people I know are essentially enslaved to their cars, they're not free to choose any other alternative and are required to devote a large part of the fruits of their labor to pay for fuel, maintenance, and insurance, plus car payment in many cases - and what else is slavery than being forced to work in perpetuity for someone else's benefit?

seamuis

crank_addict

^^Well I'm with you, seamuis but I have to try and bow, show respect to others ways.

To those cupcake champions, all I ask in return is the same.

Please allow me to ride my lowly bikey and don't be a belligerent, reckless, careless driver.

Personally, I should quit road bike riding on roads. Paths are golden. I don't commute but the 'law' of averages is way against me and apparently the LAW.

Though in 1992 and when I had a beautiful 50 mile or so round trip 'bike' commute, it was wonderful.

Until a belligerent school bus driver -waiting in a long line of vehicles at a 4 way stop- intentionally and fully merged into the official bike route / shoulder way and blocked me and another fellow cyclist. The SCHOOL bus driver opened the door and yelled out some mental rabid jibberish. Makes one wonder what the heck is wrong with people? Let alone a SCHOOL bus driver?! Jeezo

Later years on the same commute, I was intentional hit off the road by a maniac. The driver even turned around and revved high speed for a second attempt. Fortunately there was a nearby business park to ditch into. The following day, a county police officer was a few miles from where my incident happened. I stopped and told him about it. Really not much he could do but told me I should have immediately reported it. This was the days when no small mobile phones were convenient.

This past Sept 2018 I had another crazy play their psycho game. I was within a mile from my residence, on a very clear marked bike route, super wide berth, State signage including one about the 3 foot distance law. Absolute beautiful clear weather, no other traffic around. Driver merged over the line, skimmed inches from hitting me.

... fast forward but I was able to catch up to the driver. The story gets nutz as I thought my luck changed. There was a local police officer lady simply parked in the same neighborhood. As I caught up to this driver, at the same place as the police officer who was somewhat understandable and explaining she sees stuff like this all the time********** But I was the one reprimanded by the cop to not be confrontational! Just incredible that adult pedestrians and cyclists are tested by those so called 'entitlement' drivers.

And one more observation in the USA. Drivers have a high tendancy to brake, stop or widely drive around a squirrel in the road but NOT for a cyclist or pedestrian. Another is they tend to slow and carefully merge past a child on bike lane, but not an adult cyclist. How thoughtful :-)

rhm

By an odd combination of where I live, where I work, and the transit options between here and there, bike+train+bike really is the best way for me to get to work. Cheaper, faster, and (environmentally) more responsible. For me it's a no-brainer. Even so, I drove to the station for a year or two before it occurred to me to ride my bike to the station. I can't say why it just never occurred to me for so long.

That said, I never liked driving, and as soon as I realized I didn't have to drive, I decided to become a bike commuter. Not everyone has that attitude, and who am I to question that.

But the point I'd like to make is that, disregarding the economics and the logistics and the physical fitness that make bike commuting my best option, bike commuting is an inherently political activity. When you see someone riding a bike to work, you make certain assumptions about the rider. I am comfortable with you making those assumptions about me, rightly or wrongly; others are not.

Whatever. Urban sprawl, fossil fuel powered private vehicles, and the attitudes we're lamenting, all these things cannot last forever. Change is a gonna come.

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Chrome Molly

Commuting is not in the cards for me. I work in one suburb and need to cross a heavily travelled bridge to get to my office. That bridge does have a nice bike lane on it that is separated from the 8 lanes of traffic by a concrete wall. Unfortunately, in Minnesota, most of these bike lanes over bridges have a nice safe entrance on one side, and a roulette wheel of semi's and minivans on the other. Waste of money to only build a safe approach only on one side of a bridge. Other than that, there are narrow shoulders and a myriad of distracted drivers. My car was totaled last spring by a person who texted through a red light. Not worth the risk.

The issue of drivers (usually pickups) rolling up on bikers and other legal road users is getting completely out of control. I usually try to get the driver to turn around to "discuss the situation", they rarely do. Just this fall we had a driver run an olympic gold medalist off the road when she was training.

https://www.twincities.com/2018/11/0...essie-diggins/