Seattle Forrest

I took my Cervelo out last night for a ride, only to notice the back tire was flat. And I just moved, so I don't know which box my spare tubes are in. So I took the bike a mile to the shop, and had them fix it. While I was there, this guy came in, walked up to the person who seemed in charge, and said "I refuse to pay $5 a day to spend two hours in traffic on the 520. I want to buy a bike."

Now I thought this was interesting, and eavesdropped a bit. The guy said he had a 27 mile commute, and people told him that means he needs a road bike. The sales guy was a bit surprised, told him that's a lot of mileage, and recommended that he ride 10 or 15 miles on a weekend, see how he feels, and, if he likes it, he should do a dry run of his actual commute over the weekend. He was also saying stuff like having fenders is more important than what material or brand a bike is.

The cyclist-to-be wasn't happy with the way things were going. I could tell he was upset about the bridge toll, and wanted to feel like he'd done something about it. He started asking about whether he needs carbon fiber or not when my bike was finished. I don't know if they made the sale, or if the guy will actually wind up using his bike to commute to work.

Carley P.

Here in Louisville we're dealing with our very first bridge tolls, and it's a really big deal. A lot of people are upset about it.

I really hope to see the same situation happen here.

We've never had tolls. so I've never experienced riding through one on a bike. Are we not obligated to pay? I'm sure if we were, we could probably ride past the tolls and I doubt they'd chase after us, but it'll be a confusing experience when I actually approach one.

Santaria

Bike shop did a bad thing in not trying to explain to him more about the type of bike he needs for his commute than "fenders are important."

gerv 

Sounds like some sage advice from the shop. I'd make a return visit if I heard that.

Still interesting to know what turns motorists over to the dark side. I wonder if we'll see more of them when gasoline prices increase and governments try to figure a way to pay for car infrastructure.

monsterpile

This is an amusing story, probably worth the trip into your local LBS. LOL

The shop gave good advice, but it seemed like he had the reaction a kid has when his parents give them good advice instead of what they wanted to hear. Hopefully he ends up commuting after all is said and done.

James1:17

looks like he went all Falling Down on the sitch...if he's in black fatigues next time you see him, hide.

jeffpoulin

Good for the bike shop for giving him sound advice. They could have made a quick sale on a high-end bike that would have probably sat unused in the guy's garage, but instead they took the question seriously and answered appropriately.

Seattle Forrest

The particular bridge they're going to start tolling this year doesn't allow bikes. It's two lanes each way, with no shoulder and a 55 mph limit, over a half mile span of water. I heard a story about a guy who tried to take a cross bike over the bridge at 3 am, broke his leg on a "seam" he didn't see, called 911, and got a huge ticket when the police showed up to get him.

But when I lived in SF, there was a side walk on each side of the Golden Gate Bridge. The eastern one was for pedestrians, and the western one for cyclists. At the time cars were paying about $5 to cross the bridge, but everyone on human power went for free. The cars have to go through a gate with a little booth and pay, but the sidewalk areas are open. You'll probably get something like that.

toddles

I ride 24 miles into work. I usually don't do it both ways -- simply because the amount of time it takes in a day -- but the 520 is not the deciding factor that led me to it. I'm afraid if this is the main reason why the guy wants to buy a bike then he probably will have it sitting in his garage or wherever most of the time. The main reason is I bought a bike is I like to ride and I get my exercise and work in during the day all in one swoop. On days i need a break, I take the bus and haul my bike. If I'm not sure or doubt it, I bring it anyway. That's the great thing about Seattle buses... they have the 3 bike rack in the front. Perhaps the salesman should have told him that. A mixed commute is a great way to go. A bus ride is cheaper than a gallon of gas each way and there will be no out of pocket expense for using the bridge. And if you ride one way (I usually ride home via the Burke-Gillman) then you save the expense on that too.

M. Rhoten

Out of curiosity, which shop was this?

I am happy that the new bridge will supposedly have a ped/bike path.

skijor

and to suggest driving to a Park n Ride part way into the commute and biking the rest to save time and money, and improve the odds of him sticking with it.

rnorris

Since cyclists can't ride on this bridge, I predict the toll will lead to a huge backlog of cyclists waiting for bus rack space on both sides of it. The only alternatives are to ride several extra miles south to I-90 and cross there, or make an even farther detour around the north end of Lake Washington. I don't think the 2 hour wait this person is expecting will materialize, as half the traffic that takes 520 will simply choose to head south to the the I-90 bridge and clog that up. I think it was really stupid not to put tolls on both bridges, and I say this as one who multimode commutes (bus/bike/car) across the lake every day. Perhaps there was a political reason, but it will have lousy practical effects.

Seattle Forrest

That's why I posted this.

The potential bike commuter struck me as a Microsoft employee, probably someone who lives in Seattle but commutes to Redmond, and is pretty well to do. Like I said, he came in with very little knowledge of bikes at all, but was asking about carbon fiber. The shop employee asked whether he meant 27 miles round trip, or one-way, but at the same time, the other guy who was fixing my tube came over and pointed out how worn my tire was, so I didn't catch the answer. But the customer seemed to have the idea that people ride their bikes to Portland, 200 miles away ( once a year ), so 27 should be easy.

Also, it's a great shop, which is why my bike came from them - I was looking as much for a good LBS as a good bike.

The sales/mechanic guy told him that most people would go with a "road touring" bike like Surley's Long Haul Trucker, which they don't sell. This part just didn't seem relevant, or it was too myopic; I was more interested in how bike commuters are born, and, sometimes, how they probably aren't. Anyway, the shop guy told the customer that he could still test ride a few different bikes and get a sense for them.

woodway

Cool story.

It's actually a good bit longer. From the Washington State Department of Transportation:

How long is the floating section of the bridge?
The floating section of the SR 520 bridge is 1.42 miles (2,285 meters) long, making it the longest floating bridge in the world.

Anybody who would take a bike across it, at anytime of the day or night, should not be given a ticket - they should be trucked off to a looney bin.

The new bridge includes a bike/ped lane that won't be tolled (at least not yet, let's not give the pols any ideas )

Seattle Forrest

Speedy Reedy, in Fremont on the Burk Gilman Trail.

caloso

Hah.

nashcommguy

The sad thing is that as more and more people begin to cycle-commute visibility of the bicycle culture will increase. That's NOT a good thing. As revenues from auto-centic urban areas begin to drop the finger will point at cyclists merrily rolling along car-free and happy. There will be licensing fee inceases, road-use taxes, parking fines, tolls, etc., etc, etc. There will be an all-out warfare to force people back into their cars and discourage cycling as the economy of petroleum depends on auto usage for it's very survival. The petroleum industry worries about 2 hour commutes and idling engines in impossible traffic all the way to the bank. Road rage is considered collateral damage.

The concern about obesity, diabetes, clogged highways, crumbing infrastructure, bike lanes, etc. is alot of retoric and typical political BS. It's far too ingrained in the American 'entitlement' mentality to change in the next 50 years. Then after the intimidation process forces people back to thinking of bicycles as 'toys' again the political machine will go after pedestrians. Sort of a 'sidewalk use' tax where those in urban areas will have a piggyback tax for NOT owning an automobile and walking eveywhere.

Not that I'm cynical or anything.

zoltani

I am constructing my tin foil hat....

ChrisO

DING! That's exactly what popped into my head the first time KOMO talked about tolling the 520.

wunderkind

The guy prolly ended up with a wally mart bike for $150. Rode 2 miles from his home and realised how stupid cycling to work is on his brand new fully suspension bike. Then made the conclusion that $5/day on the toll is not a bad idea after all.
OP should've just point him to this forum instead. Hahahaha....

Toll hwys aren't new in many parts of the world. It is a great alternative to the regular jammed up route. Gotta pay to play right? We have a toll bridge. I gladly pay it to reduce a motor vehicle commute from potentially 1hr to maybe 15mins. Of course cyclists and peds are exempted.