chewybrian 

I'm just wondering how often and how far do you walk? Why do you walk instead of riding, taking the bus, etc.? Do you enjoy it, and do you have any issues when you walk?

----------------------------------------

I walk about 5 or 6 miles a day, mostly walking my dog. She needs the workout, or she has too much energy around the house. I enjoy walking around here. The weather makes it easy, and it's safe.

The only issue is at crosswalks, where the right turning drivers rarely yield. One nearly runs you down, and more follow when you stop in self-defense. When someone finally does yield, they get the horn from behind for doing the right thing! Except for those crosswalks at a couple choice intersections, walking is easy and enjoyable here most days.

zeppinger

I walk a lot. I generally will walk up to about 1.5-2 miles rather than ride assuming I am not in a rush for some reason. I like walking better than riding in some ways because its simpler. I walk a lot more when their is a lot of ice on the roads. Unfortunately, here in Lansing MI they make walking very hard. Gross dirty water pools around the crosswalks because of poor drainage and most of the stop lights are designed to favor the movement of cars rather than people. If it were not for cars, both walking and cycling would be entirely more safe and enjoyable.

wolfchild

I've always enjoyed walking. Sometimes when I ride along mup's I get off my bike and walk pushing my bike... Few times per year I will walk to a grocery store ( 3 miles roundtrip ) instead of riding my bike.

wahoonc

I walk for exercise 2 miles or so a day. I try to walk to some places but the pedestrian facilities in most places aren't there so you are forced to walk along high speed highways with no sidewalks or shoulders, or you walk behind the guard rails and risk falling down the embankments into the brambles. Sometimes I will luck up and be somewhere there are good facilities and I am a happy camper then. As far as the RTOR it is the worst thing they could have ever done for pedestrian safety. I have had more than a few run ins with motorists rolling red lights when I was crossing with a walk light in a legally marked cross walk. Last one that comes to mind, the guy ended up with a large boot print in the right side door of his Escalade...

Aaron

bjjoondo 

We walk a lot, anytime it's within 3 miles as it's a bit of a PIA to get into all the "bike gear" for that short of distance. I can't seem to ride a bike in reg. clothes, I've tried padded underware and sweats, etc. but I just SWEAT like a pig, in bike gear the, wicking material really helps me. I don't buy expensive bike gear, mostly by Performance and usually their "bottom line" and mostly when I can get it ON SALE!! So for us we prefer to walk unless it's like today, 45-55 mph WINDS with light snow, damn near blizzard conditions, we took the bus to have lunch out and buy "on sale" bike clothes,

Mobile 155

Every day, 1 to 2 miles rain or shine. Quiet neighborhood, no traffic. I have walked to the store and to the LBS now and then but normally if it is more than a mile I ride.

chewybrian 

My old neighborhood had a lot of that--one foot off the edge of the curb, then a steep hill down to the canal. Those roads were not safe to walk, but sometimes that's just where you need to go. Where I live now, there is a multi-use path for pedestrians, bicycles, and golf carts. You couldn't expect much better access for walking or riding.

If they cut me off when I'm walking the dog, they get a "hand signal". It's pretty pathetic that they'll risk a life to save a few seconds, but if you can't yield for a dog, you're just evil.

Artkansas 

I walk in the neighborhood when I feel like it. The library is 1/4 mile up a hill. Sometimes I take the long way around the block which boosts the distance to 1 mile. Most frequently, I walk to the Post Office. It's about 3 blocks away, and allows me to stop and watch the life in the creeks that flow through the neighborhood. I also walk to KMart and Kroger and the LBS which are about a mile away.

Smallwheels

I will walk to the convenience store or the post office a few blocks away. The other stores I use are four to six miles away. That is too far to walk for me. I'm considering taking up barefoot running when the weather is warmer, just so I can see if I like it.

lasauge 

Anything within a half mile radius, I'll walk instead of ride because at that distance it makes more sense than pulling the bike out, carrying my bag with pump and tools, and having to lock up at the destination. And once in a while I'll go for a hike for fun.

gerv 

Not too much walking here. Destination < 1 miles aren't many around here. I normally don't walk the 1 km to the grocery story 'cause it's too much work to schlep food far.

That's why I have a bike

Roody

I walk to work now, because the distance is so short that it's quicker than riding. I walked exclusively for a long time because of knee then hand injuries and I really got to like it. At that time I would often walk 10 or even 15 miles a day. Sometimes when I'm on a recreational bike ride I park the bike and take a side trip on foot.

Roody

have you ever walked on the Lansing Rivertrail? It's quite nice, and also the most direct route between MSU and downtown Lansing as well as other locations.

I'll be glad when the weather gets a little warmer, since most of the drainage problems are caused by ice blocking the sewers. It doesn't help that some parts of the city were built on a swamp!

Another problem you didn't mention is that people and businesses don't clear snow off their sidewalks. The politicians are trying to figure this out right now, since the last law they passed didn't help much. I fall on ice almost every year. One solution is to ride your bike in the icy weather.

Roody

I can't imagine carrying pump and tools on a short ride like that.

zeppinger

I live near Sparrow Hospital so the river trail is way out of my way. I thought about living closer to the trail but the bus option to get to class down that way are terrible.

Smallwheels

Does using a Xootr count as pedestrian locomotion? Though it has wheels it requires the feet touching and pushing on the ground for locomotion.

I-Like-To-Bike

Me neither for such a short distance, if carrying pump and tools was some sort of hassle. If bike became inoperable enroute, I'd lock it up and walk back home for pump and tools.

Personally, I always have the pump and tools, cell phone, shopping bag, etc. in a small gym bag which is always sitting in the bike basket at home and is no hassle to carry with me at a destination.

As far as walking, never unless I have to. I like biking, not walking.

B. Carfree

Most of the trips that are under four miles one-way I'll walk. One exception to that is a grocery store that is three miles down the bike path. I ride that because the bike paths are too narrow to comfortably accommodate both cyclists and pedestrians and have way too many piles of dog feces near the edges. In a typical week, I'll walk anywhere from twenty to fifty miles.

Roody

I would just roll the bike home and fix it there. That would save a lot of walking. And I wouldn't have to carry my tools, even though, like yours, they're conveniently packaged.

gerv 

Holy cow.... that's a lot of miles. With my typical walking speed that would mean up to 17 hours on the road.

gerv 

This is pretty much my attitude too. In the US most local destinations are relatively major bike expeditions.

However, when I visit Canada (Newfoundland), things are greatly compressed. Grocery store is about 1/2 km. Hardware, banking, drug store, some clothing... all less than 1/2 km, so I rarely do anything other than walk. It's just too much trouble to get the bike out and lock up 1/4 km down the road.

I'm gonna say something that probably goes against the majority here, but transportational cycling is a good solution for US urban sprawl.

I-Like-To-Bike

I do make exception to my aversion to walking when on travel.

Two years ago my wife and I took a trip through Western U.S. National parks and walked extensively through Bryce Canyon, Zion, and the Grand Canyon. And then visited Las Vegas and walked the Strip as well as through and around Hoover Dam.

Last year we walked a lot around Keukenhof Gardens and Amsterdam in NL, Paris, and Köln in DE; used the train to get from point to point.

wolfchild

I am sure that if more people adopted cycling as a means of transportation, it would greatly reduce traffic congestion on our roads. The question is, how many people are willing to sacrifice a convinience and comfort of their cars to reduce traffic gridlock ?? How many people are willing to make personal lifestyle changes that would reduce their dependence on cars ??..Not too many.

Dahon.Steve

LOL! I was using my Xootr for the first time in months. It's finally warm enough to use them!

As for walking, I used a pedimeter to measure how much walking I'm doing every day. It usually come out to 2200-2400 steps or about 2 miles and that's just working and doing ordinary activty. If you want to lose weight, than Weight Watchers and 10,000 stops a day will work. I was losing a ton of weight doing both but stopped and gained it all back. Long distance walking is a lifestyle change.

I found out real fast, my feet, knees and ankle were not ready for 10K steps a day. For those who just ride bikes, you'll discovery that your body is no longer conditioned for long distance walking. I really can't tell you if that is good or bad. However, if you walk five miles in a fast pace, you'll end up drenched in sweat.

plustax

I try to walk every now and then. Sometime the bike is FUBAR and then I'm walking a lot. When that happens it's usually 4-7 miles a day. I don't really have any issues with anyone while walking. Might be because I'm 200#'s and 6'2" and look closer to a bum than I do a normal person.