RFEngineer

I have started commuting a few times a week this summer. My route is through a big city suburban area. I want to make a video at some point, but I can't yet. There's one point where I go down a steep hill, under one of our interstate highway loops, past a busy mall, all while dodging traffic at around 25 or 30 mph. As I go through this part, I often think to myself "What the hell am I doing?"

Anyone else have these thoughts?

cnguyen0320

why are you dodging traffic? I don't mean to sound like an ass but just stay put in a lane. All the rest sounds normal

daihard 

As a newbie bike commuter, I feel it's kinda crazy that I, who used to drive to the grocery store 2 blocks away, now ride a total of 20 miles a day between home and work, much less having fun doing it.

blackhawknj

Yes, the dodging traffic doesn't sound good to me.

bragi

No, I've never thought I'm crazy while bicycle commuting, which has been almost every day for the past ten years. Sometimes I think our country's transportation infrastructure is crazy, though...

daihard 

Not to mention those drivers who use the infrastructure every day...

NABRXX

I start to feel crazy...when I'm NOT doing it!!!

rex_kramer

Only when I'm at work.

essiemyra

I do not feel crazy for going fast down hills, a little nervous when I think that I could hit a bump and fall and the outcome of that. Then I remember I have to let those thoughts go because they are not helpful. I enjoy riding to much to let the "what could happen" take over my thoughts. I arrive at work and home every time I ride my bike with a smile.

AdrianFly

Do not feel crazy at all.

Been called crazy by CoWorkers, right down to one particular Upper Management individual yelling at me in anger in regards to my commuting to work by bicycle.

Of course, this person is overweight, smokes and has several health issues that require daily medication due to his sedetary lifestyle. Maybe he felt that by threatening and intimidating me along with harassment about riding a bicycle (childs transportation) would eventually shut me down to not ever riding again. Perhaps this would have led to him feeling better about himself. My commute is 4 miles roundtrip and his is about only 1 which he obviously drives. When his vehicle was being serviced his wife drove him and picked him up.

However, most everybody at work regardless of health chooses to drive because of image. Nobody wants to be seen riding a bicycle because of it not be a proper status symbol. It was only that one particular individual that made it a mission to call me crazy and went far out of his way to make my work life as miserable as possible.

spivonious

Sometimes I do, especially if I'm out in the rain or snow. But it's still much more enjoyable than driving and has gotten my legs and heart in great shape.

I am a little worried about the "dodging traffic" statement. You are traffic, and unless you mean passing cars while in a bike lane or wide shoulder, you should start acting like traffic and waiting.

LexKing

I hope that you didn't really mean the "dodging traffic at around 25 or 30 mph".

JoeyBike

As I split the lane past fifty cars that are all inching forward catching the same red light three or four times, I breeze to the front where I squeeze through traffic at the jammed-up, overloaded intersection, then run the red light and dissappear over the horizon, i often wonder..."Are THEY crazy??!!"

RFEngineer

Well, this short section of my commute is on a 5-lane wide road (center 2-way turn lane). There is an active bus stop near the end that usually has a bus or two stopped, so I have to merge into the left lane, which usually has plenty of traffic. That lane change and bus avoidance was what I meant by dodging traffic. I usually get this feeling when I am stopped in the center lane at a traffic light waiting to turn left with cars waiting ahead of and behind me while other cars are whizzing by me on my left and right going 40 mph. Basically standing in the middle of this busy street just doesn't make me feel good.

AusTexMurf

lmao

jrickards

Like AdrianFly, I am called crazy but do not feel it. A friend constantly shakes her head at me, even at the idea of riding on the road, instead of on the sidewalk so I do not even tell her when I've been riding on the 2-lane (with 2m/6ft wide paved shoulders) highway.

ill.clyde

They looked at me a little crazy yesterday, temps in the mid 90s, high humidity ... "Good luck with that bike ride tonight."

So I took the long way and did an extra three miles.

dramiscram

It's the people that could commute by bike but don't that are crazy.

droy45

Wow, AdrianFly, that is something else. I have never had any coworkers think I'm crazy. They call me a brave man sometimes and just shake their heads and other times are just impressed by some of my commutes in very cold weather and most of the time they think I'm some sort of cycling god to be able to do this. Even at my new place of employment, my new boss is a young fellow and is questioning me on how to do it and has actually taken his MTB to a shop to have it revamped with narrow wheels and tires and will try it out too. Not sure about this image thing you mention. Around here if you commute in full kit and use good equipment and follow all traffic rules, you are considered, healthy and strong and more than likely top of your class.

fietsbob

More Depressed .. it is all a in progress.

daihard 

Seriously, now that is crazy. If you ask me, I would consider someone who rides a bike to work more highly than one who drives, other things being equal. Of course, I may be biased...

rumrunn6

yes, and it is in hindsight that we learn to modify our speed through the "kill zones". I have often reflected on certain experiences including near misses, or intersection conflicts and have concluded that those areas would be better traveled at lower speeds. sometimes I guess some folks learn it when they die. so it is best to make quicker determinations before you die, rather than relaying on hindsight. make sense?

tarwheel 

My wife and some of my coworkers think I'm crazy, but bike commuting seems very normal to me. I have been doing it for so long now (6.5 yrs), that it is just my normal routine. The only times I have my doubts is when the weather gets sketchy. Summer thunderstorms are very hard to predict, so I take my chances and ride many days when the forecasters say it might rain. Sometimes I get caught in storms, but usually I catch a ride with someone else if a bad storm kicks up before I leave work, or I just wait it out.

Many people -- including cyclists -- overly amplify the risk of riding a bike in traffic. There are risks, but the same is true for driving a car. With any potentially dangerous activity you can manage risks to make them safer. I have taken all sorts of steps to make bike commuting less risky and actually feel safer cycling than driving. I have chosen a route that avoids most roads with a lot of traffic. I run front and rear lights all the time. I wear bright fluorescent yellow jerseys or jackets. I wear a helmet and gloves. I generally obey traffic signs and lights (with some exceptions).

PatrickGSR94

Pretty much the same for me, but I've only been doing it about 3 months now. There are a couple spots in my 15-mile each way commute that I probably would feel safer in a car (huffing it up this one hill at 7 MPH with large trucks barreling past at 45+ MPH on a 2-lane road with no shoulder) but for the most part I know that statistics favor the cyclists by a LARGE margin. Unfortunately I don't have much other choice but to ride these 2-land rural roads between home and work.

squegeeboo

Yes. In life and in biking.