Darth Lefty 

It's definitely a different equation for ladies who are supposed to clock in with hair and makeup that they did on their own time.

Anyone visiting this thread who's not familiar with the Commuting subforum, you are invited to share your daily stories (or excuses) here
https://www.bikeforums.net/commuting...-new-post.html

I-Like-To-Bike

You may be thinking of people who don't think they need to provide an acceptable (to you) excuse to not ride a bike to work or anywhere else.

tFUnK

My excuse is that my 4 mile ride into work would take me on busy commercial roads with a lot of debris and shrapnel and a couple of undesirable left turns. One requires me to cross 2 lanes (45mph limit) to get to the left turn lane, and the other involves a light rail crossing with unfavorable traffic light patterns.

Pugs2xLove

Hardest part is getting started and be in a routine. The rest is easy.

Gear_Admiral 

Infrastructure and zoning are 99% of the answer to your question.

Safe, segregated bike lanes that go to destinations and connect. A painted shoulder on the road next to a park that ends (the road has zero shoulder suddenly) after 500 feet does not cut it. We all know or should know how autocentric our traffic patterns are, too.

Zoning. Parking minimums and highway-style planning for everything and putting all houses and offices and stores on opposite ends of town and only having sprawling single-family houses along "stroads" will make a typical commute to work or trip to the grocery store be 10 to 40 miles instead of 0.1 to 10 miles.

If a typical commute is 15 miles one way alongside 45 mph traffic on a 4 or 5-lane road, then only daredevils in great physical shape will do this commute on bike.

Pretty much everything Chuck Marohn of Strong Towns says is dead on. Check him out for an engineer's perspective. He doesn't aim ridiculously high (you have to give up somewhat if you want to stay in Anerica) in fixing America, but he sticks to the basics and knows them well. Two great YouTube channels on this topic are CityNerd and NotJustBikes.

NJB has gone from Canadian expat to straight up calling himself an immigrant. He gave up and left. He is blunter, if more abrasive, but does some great comparisons of international environments in his videos. Just skip the ones where he drools over everything Dutch. (The occasional video is just obsessing over cargo bikes or Dutch sanitation, but that's only 1 out of 10 videos).

If a healthy 40-year-old male is stressed and terrified by North Anerican road design, then there is no hope for expecting teenage girls to ride alone in these settings or for children and the elderly to navigate these paths safely or in a reasonable time frame.

zandoval 

I think around Central Texas, that is San Antonio and Austin, its the duration of the ride. Most cyclists live quite a far distance from work and doing more than a 40 minute ride becomes a chore. The other two things are of course lack of a place to clean up when you get to work, and having a place to secure your bicycle during work.

I know that's only three things but they are hard to overcome. Certainly its not because they don't want to ride...

Gear_Admiral 

And that is a problem almost everywhere in North America. The planning and layout are so different from how they are in much of Europe or Asia or even in the USA before 1950. That travel is a big time suck, impractical for anyone not in great shape (a 60-year-old will not pedal as fast as a 20-year-old), and a huge safety concern for many people.

The lack of safety is a bigger problem than any epidemic of sloth. Walking around the streets near your town hall and being on the side of a relatively high speed roadway are different in terms of vehicle speeds and safety from crime.

very business is set back behind a parking lot, which itself is massive and then set back 20 feet from the road. There is little foot traffic. Anyone in a car is going too fast to really understand what one sees for a brief flash of time, let alone to stop and intervene if something happens. Then there is the issue of the night.

On some trips, I have had drug addicts try to stop me on the road and try to block me. If I had been a slower cyclist or a more "attractive target," things could have been different. Bike commuting in Taiwan and Florida are radically different experiences despite having very similar climates. Enough said.

There is a reason that cycling for commutes and for touring skew heavily towards certain demographics and away from others.

Instead of scratching our heads, we can just compare things. Coldness makes biking impossible -- no ... look at Finland; you just need plowing of bike paths and shoulders. Mountains make it too hard -
to bike -- no, look at Switzerland.

Watch Hajimete no Otsukai (called "Old Enough [to do an errand] on Netflix). It is the Japanese show where secretly monitored 4-year-olds run errands around town. Imagine an adult doing these tasks in almost any town in America on foot: going to the seaport to get fish, going to a watch store to pick up a repaired watch, the laundromat for dry cleaning, and then back home. You could not walk all the miles needed.

Many Americans saw this and were also horrified at how dangerous it was for children to walk without their parents or to cross a street because they cannot conceive that crime is far lower and streets are much safer outside of America.

Then, after being scared into crawling in their metal boxes permanently in adolescence, Americans become unable to guess distances in their head, forget the relative speed of a bike, get out of shape, then get lazy, sure, and see no issue with living 15 versus 30 miles away from a grocery store because they drive everywhere anyway.

Every working-age person in America in 2022 came of age *after* the damage was done, so to speak. This is all normal to them. Then we wonder why people don't spontaneously try to buck the norm and cycle 15 miles to work in the sun (no trees in the "clear zone"!) on the shoulder of 4 or 5-lane roads with cars going 52 mph in a 45 mph zone. Those of us who brave the conditions had some bit if luck or privilege or spark to try bike commuting, were abke to enjoy the benefits, and kept on with it, but it isn't a typical story for most people.

rvman

I wouldn't even think of commuting on the road I live on (East TN). No shoulder and cage drivers are pretty bad. I almost got hit today after tuning up and cleaning 3 bikes, by a lady who didn't expect to see a crazy cyclist on her road.

Harhir

There are lots of factors such as:
- Education: Here in the US many folks still don't consider a bike being a utility vehicle. Bikes are either for kids, to go road biking, mountain biking or for the Sunday afternoon stroll through the park. But for many it is a novelty to use it to commute, go shopping or run other errands such as doctors visit,... Even on short distance. This also explains why bikes here in the US are normally not sold with racks, fenders or lights contrary to countries like Germany. Many stores here in the US don't even have a good selection of bike accessories for commuting such as panniers, fenders, racks... Or I have never seen cargo bikes being sold in bikes stores in my area.
- Distance: I live in a big metropolitan area where many folks have long commutes. 50 miles ore more one way is not uncommon. Plus it can get hot here in Texas.
- Infrastructure: There is still a lack of safe infrastructure for cyclists. Hardly any bike lanes and trails. And the existing ones are more tailored to weekend warriors. Meaning trails are often not connected with each other and don't lead to business areas, shopping areas, schools, ... Many trails are just for riding in or along a park.
- Public transport: Many cities here in the US don't have a good public transport network which you can use in combination with your bike. Meaning for example take you bike on a train for the long distance and ride your bike for the last mile work.
- Bike storage and change options at work: Not many work places do cater for the needs of employees coming by bike. I have the privilege working at an office with bike racks in the parking garage and a gym with showers and locker rooms. And we even have bike trail in front of the building. But I am the only one out of 200+ employees who commutes bike regularly. There are two other co-workers who occasionally ride their bikes to work.
To get more people to use bikes as a utility and commuter vehicle we need to do a lot more advocacy work. Education, creating better and safer cycling infrastructure. The US might eventually get there but it is still a long way.

cyccommute 

Another “Big but…” San Jose, like many US cities has a grid system. I’ll bet that there is some kind of parallel road to those “busy commercial roads” that has less traffic and/or easier left turns. Maybe the routes aren’t the most direct but that’s part of the fun. I don’t commute anymore…retired…but for 40 years I would tell people that I knew 433 routes between my house and my work. Yes, that’s a silly boast (and 433 is a prime number) but only by a little. I rode between 9 and 11 miles most of the time (depending on route) and crossed 4 major arterials. There is an arterial just to the south of my house that I could have used but if I rode 3 blocks further south, I could follow a quiet neighborhood road for much of my ride.

Quit looking at roads with car eyes.

Sorcerer

It's already been said, but I'll add this to the rant.

The cost of housing literally drives people away from places of employment. To find comfortable affordable housing they must locate further and further away. This is the obvious cause for much of the traffic congestion we suffer.

I've often speculated that some (a minority) corporations could solve some labor issues if they had some form of employee housing. But that's taboo.

I ride to work, and I like it. For reasons beyond their influence most of my peers can't even conceive of it.

It is so good to be able to ride and spare the fuel and costs, feel better, and even save time that life is a joy. I'' be sad when I retire.

cyccommute 

I’ll have to disagree. For some people, the cost of housing can drive them out from the core city but employment and employment centers aren’t always in the core city. My personal situation when we went looking to buy a home, was that we decided to stay within 10 miles of my work. We actually ended up closer to the core city because it was cheaper. I actually drew a circle around my work that with a 12 mile radius. We lucked into a neighborhood that became a hot market but when we bought almost 40 years ago, it was certainly not a hot market.

Most of my co-workers over the years I worked at the same place actually lived a lot closer…some as close as 1/2 mile…than I did. Very, very, very few of them ever rode bikes to work. We had showers, locker rooms, secure parking, and little traffic around the facility.

Of course those same co-workers (not to mention my family) thought I was crazy for living in the city! To the point of never coming and visiting me. I got the last laugh on them since my water bill is cheaper and I’ve never paid a monthly bill for trash pickup.

Sorcerer

​​​​​​You're right, different parts of the world do have different circumstances. I agree with your circumstance. My statements aren't valid as a gross generalization.

My comment is based upon the California Bay Area situation where I reside.

Something else I observe is that some wealthier people seek residence in mountain and hill areas on the wildland interface which necessitate motorized travel.

I even know some cyclists who live on top of hills whose driveways are so steep and long that when they do local rides ( and they ride frequently) they drive down to the edge of the flat land and then start riding. I don't say anything to them about it, but I think that's weird.

My wife used to ride to work at least a couple of times a week to work.

Since the pandemic began, she worked from home. Now that things are getting back to normal she will continue to work from home. She only goes in for hardware exchanges, and even that could be done by FedEx or something. And her meetings are virtual with people all over the nation and world.

This has enabled her to take the time she used to ride to work and actually do recreational mountain bike rides daily! I'm so happy for her, and envious too!

The work from home movement has reduced traffic a bit. It's back to bad now though.

tFUnK

On the contrary, I always look at roads with cyclist eyes. My excuse isn't much of an excuse, just enough to make me not want to commute. I've been a bike commuter for almost 15 years in various cities, so I am familiar with route making. Within the past 6 years or so (coincides with when I moved to my current place of residence), the benefits of commuting no longer outweighed the simplicity of driving. This is a function of an eroded enthusiasm for bike commuting overall, a lessened tolerance for suboptimal bike commuting conditions, and just an easier car commute.

My current commute really isn't bad on a bike, and while there are a number of different ways I can take to make the trip, the one referenced in my earlier post would be my preferred route if I were to bike. Lots of other comments have already made the point (infrastructure, design, safety, etc) but I blame the city zoning and the segregating impact of our highways. I live in a residential area that not too long ago was predominately commercial. I work in an office park that is purely commercial. The bird flies across two highways and two rail road tracks to get to one from the other. The nicest bike route among the various options is the one I complained about. And really it's not that bad it's just I don't want to get a flat tire, get hit by a car, and routinely deal with left turn lights that aren't optimized for bikes on my way to work.

It's really hard going against the design intent, when most of the city I live in is designed for cars. They've put in more bike lanes and safety features in the downtown core, but the design (which zoning is related to) is lacking for a lifestyle cyclist. Every year we get these surveys "tell us where you want bike lanes" they really should be asking "what amenities and services do you want to have within a 5 mile radius of your home".

StarBiker

Or where the job is. Try being a Fed Employee living in northern central Baltimore County and driving over to Woodlawn. Ha, ha.....yeah, live in Woodlawn. Northern central Baltimore County is one of the nicest parts of the entire metro (There is a commercial zone so that is not what the entire area looks like for the uninitiated). You are not living in Woodlawn.

My parents would laugh, so would my neighbor about cycling to work. I even mentioned it to my neighbor recently.

It's just not possible to commute by bike for many.

I am celebrating the fact that summer is ending abruptly this year....I despise summer......

I did commute to work on a bike for 18 months. The job was one mile from where I lived and I was on my feet all day.
A few times I managed to get off early, and would bike to a couple local thrifts and score some good things but was exhausted from a ride that I had no problem with when I was not on my feet all day.

All the variables have been mentioned, just my sixpence worth......

Daniel4

Every once in a while, I run across the statistics that say x% of comuters who drive live within y% miles of their work.

I forgot the numbers x% and y% but that implies there may be a lot of people who really don't need to drive. Before I had retired, I personally knew someone who lived in an apartment located at the opposite corner of a major intersection from work AND he drove to work.

I used to live 4km from work but for 14 years drove. Then I found a safe way to cycle commute so I did that for three years until I retired. Since then, the office had move 10km so my commute would have been 14km. Still I visited my friends by bicycle for lunch even in the winter. But that for me was just once a week. No telling what I would have done if I had to go there everyday.

So if someone lived ten km or less from work, did not require dropping young children to school or daycare, did not need to look after elderly parents, did not need his car for his job I don't think there aren't any reason he can't cycle to work. All he needs is safe infrastructure.


In this new economy, we find that a lot of employees aren't returning to the office. And that includes the people drive. So if people didn't have to drive to work, they won't.

StarBiker

^
The average commute is 27 Minutes. A lot of folks do need to drive.

pdlamb

Does not follow.

I'm about a 25 minute drive from my office, or a 45 minute bike ride. So I spend 40 extra minutes to exercise every day I cycle to work.

Funny thing is, there's this phenomena called traffic. On a bad traffic day it takes me 50 minutes to ride home. On that same bad traffic day the time it takes to cycle is ... 45 minutes.

So cycle to work, or don't, but please don't waste time making silly excuses.

Daniel4

I think my original 4km commute was 20 minutes by car. Over time, that did turn into 27 minutes or longer. Meanwhile my commute time by bike stayed the same between 20 and 30 minutes depending if the trail is full of snow or dry.

StarBiker

Talking about silly.....driving for a half an hour on a highway is a whole lot different then riding on secondary roads. And yeah, traffic on I 70, or 695, yeah, ride your bike.

Most folks live in metros and could potentially work all kinds of hours like my neighbor who is nurse.. Just because this works for some folks does not mean it works for most. Nobody around here rides a bike to work. There's only 9 million people in the Balto DC metro.

Cycling infrastructure is a joke. It's non existent. And Maryland ranks high for cycling infrastructure mainly because of the DC metro.

This is almost a ridiculous as reading about people pulling trailers with their bike. good luck with that.

It's area, and situation dependant and for most it's not remotely possible. Or makes little sense.

StarBiker

Puzzled, anyway what some folks are describing is the type of riding I do in the suburbs. Difference is road condition, and distance. Not much traffic, underground infrastructure which causes road surface problems is great, but doesn't exist up here.

Smooth rides and flying on them to work is great, but it ain't workin' for most.

flangehead

Huh?

cyccommute 

My comments were based on 4 decades of experience with trying to convince people to ride to work. There are no new excuses. All of the excuses used now…every single one…are exactly the same that have been said to me 40 years ago. That includes arguments about sprawl (which was much less 40 years ago), traffic (also less than 40 years ago), showers, etc. It’s the same old, same old.

cyccommute 

So its less of a case of not “wanting” to bicycle commute than “not being able to” bicycle commute. That’s two very different things. It’s okay if you don’t want to but please don’t say you can’t.

Again, most cities weren’t really “designed” for cars. Most of them…at least a substantial proportion of the city…existed before cars came into being. Yes, there are towns that were designed and built after cars came into being but, for the most cities, cars were added in after the city was built. Denver, for example, has about a 10 to 15 mile diameter (that’s 175 square miles) that existed prior to cars. Even the suburbs that Denver grew to meet existed prior to cars and have their own areas designed for other traffic than cars.

A “lifestyle cyclist” will make even those places that were designed for cars someplace they can, and will, ride.

cyccommute 

Thanks for making my point. There are always reasons why you can’t ride a bike to work. They may not be good reasons, but they are “reasons”. By the way, there are likely around 54,000 people (0.6% of that 9 million) who have come up with good reasons to ride a bike to work in your area.