5 ms·

> Sure, you're never going to get people who live 15 or 20 miles out biking the whole way to work That's what I do every day in London. Why wouldn't you? Myse

by buro9 11y ago

> Sure, you're never going to get people who live 15 or 20 miles out biking the whole way to work That's what I do every day in London. Why wouldn't you? Myself and a lot of my friends choose our housing approx' 45 minutes to an hour away from the centre of London just to ensure we've got a good ride every day. At a commuter average of 16mph, and an experienced cyclist average of 18/19mph means that 15 to 20 miles is precisely the distance I'd want to cycle. All I'd want is a good shower, secure bike parking and a safe route to ride by.

TulliusCicero 11y ago
> That's what I do every day in London. Why wouldn't you? Well, I personally might be willing to if the infrastructure was good enough (I'd probably get an eBike to speed things up), and other confident riders might. I just mean most people wouldn't, it's too far.
- roflchoppa 11y ago
  dude those eBikes are sick, i was going like 22 mph down the street cruising. i would get one if i biked everywhere.
  - dzhiurgis 11y ago
    People are underestimating ebikes a lot. They solve problems like hills, distance. They are quiet and a pleasure to ride, just like regular bikes. A lot of people are also purists saying you should stick to pedaling only, but then keep commuting using cars. To me, ebikes are the most obvious solution to commute problme.
stdbrouw 11y ago
You do realize that most people are not like you, though?
sliverstorm 11y ago
Many, many people: - do not have showers at work - do not have safe routes to ride - are not experienced cyclists - average more like 10mph The discussion is not "how do we get hardcore bike nuts to ride to work". That's not hard.
- gangstead 11y ago
  With the exception of showers and possibly safe routes these problems are addressed by experience. Cycling is not something it takes years to be an expert at or gain fitness in. Biking to work once or twice a week for a month and you'll no longer be going 10 mph and you know what to look for in a route and you'll notice more route options as you get a chance to explore. Experience can even over come the shower issue. As your fitness level increases you won't have to exert yourself so much and you can also figure out creative to freshen up to an acceptable smell level (i.e. a "sinker")
  - ptaipale 11y ago
    > and you'll no longer be going 10 mph If we go back to talk about Copenhagen, that's about the speed the bikes there ride: 16 km/h.
- tmalsburg2 11y ago
  I find it hilarious that Americans made it to the moon but think that commuting to work by bike is practically impossible. Meanwhile millions of people all over the rest of the world, from school children to seniors, are doing just that every single day. I moved to southern California last year (from the UK) and of course I ride my bike to work. My colleagues think that this is a really strange thing to do and some regularly lecture me about how dangerous that is. Never mind that there are dedicated bike routes that are super safe and even safer than most bike lanes in European cities (because hardly anyone else is using them).
  - InclinedPlane 11y ago
    Biking really is dangerous though. Per-mile you are more likely to get injured in an accident on a bike than in a car. Though there are problems with that statistic since cars are also used for long-distance highway driving which inflates the total number of miles. That said, it's absolutely true that biking can be a fairly dangerous activity, though driving itself is also fairly dangerous (one of the most dangerous things people do regularly). I'm still a huge proponent of biking regularly, but safety is an unfortunate problem, and a lot of people are stuck in situations where there isn't a safe bike route to and from work for them. And you are absolutely right, there are plenty of cases where there are safe bike routes.
Thlom 11y ago
Most people don't want their daily commute to be a workout.
- kaonashi 11y ago
  They'd rather be stuck in traffic feeling dead inside.
  - JBlue42 11y ago
    And some folks don't want to sit in their chair with a sweaty arse all day. What comes first, the bike commuters or a reasonable way to get clean at the end of a ride? I think the latter is pretty low on the list of priorities for a lot of companies, unfortunately.
    - ZeroGravitas 11y ago
      You can ask about shower-only memberships if there's a gym nearby.
sien 11y ago
It's what I've done in Melbourne AU and Canberra AU. I've also ridden to work in Stockholm and Washington DC. It's kind of remarkable that people say lots of these cities don't have cycling infrastructure. They all do. The only place I've lived where I would have wanted to ride is Houston. People just don't want to ride. I work in Canberra AU now that has great paths and many people don't have big differences to ride to work. I work with so many people who drive 5-10 minutes instead of riding. People who don't have kids to drop off.
adrianN 11y ago
I commute in Berlin by bike. I'm reasonably fit and on an open road I can average about 28km/h for a couple of hours. In the city though my average speed is about 18km/h because of traffic lights. There are very few people who overtake me on my commute. I don't see how you would manage 20 miles (32km) in less than 90 minutes without running all the red lights and riding like these madmen here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jhaGzAnEOd8 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jhaGzAnEOd8

by buro9 11y ago

TulliusCicero 11y ago

> That's what I do every day in London. Why wouldn't you? Well, I personally might be willing to if the infrastructure was good enough (I'd probably get an eBike to speed things up), and other confident riders might. I just mean most people wouldn't, it's too far.

roflchoppa 11y ago
dude those eBikes are sick, i was going like 22 mph down the street cruising. i would get one if i biked everywhere.
- dzhiurgis 11y ago
  People are underestimating ebikes a lot. They solve problems like hills, distance. They are quiet and a pleasure to ride, just like regular bikes. A lot of people are also purists saying you should stick to pedaling only, but then keep commuting using cars. To me, ebikes are the most obvious solution to commute problme.

stdbrouw 11y ago

You do realize that most people are not like you, though?

sliverstorm 11y ago

Many, many people: - do not have showers at work - do not have safe routes to ride - are not experienced cyclists - average more like 10mph The discussion is not "how do we get hardcore bike nuts to ride to work". That's not hard.

gangstead 11y ago
With the exception of showers and possibly safe routes these problems are addressed by experience. Cycling is not something it takes years to be an expert at or gain fitness in. Biking to work once or twice a week for a month and you'll no longer be going 10 mph and you know what to look for in a route and you'll notice more route options as you get a chance to explore. Experience can even over come the shower issue. As your fitness level increases you won't have to exert yourself so much and you can also figure out creative to freshen up to an acceptable smell level (i.e. a "sinker")
- ptaipale 11y ago
  > and you'll no longer be going 10 mph If we go back to talk about Copenhagen, that's about the speed the bikes there ride: 16 km/h.
tmalsburg2 11y ago
I find it hilarious that Americans made it to the moon but think that commuting to work by bike is practically impossible. Meanwhile millions of people all over the rest of the world, from school children to seniors, are doing just that every single day. I moved to southern California last year (from the UK) and of course I ride my bike to work. My colleagues think that this is a really strange thing to do and some regularly lecture me about how dangerous that is. Never mind that there are dedicated bike routes that are super safe and even safer than most bike lanes in European cities (because hardly anyone else is using them).
- InclinedPlane 11y ago
  Biking really is dangerous though. Per-mile you are more likely to get injured in an accident on a bike than in a car. Though there are problems with that statistic since cars are also used for long-distance highway driving which inflates the total number of miles. That said, it's absolutely true that biking can be a fairly dangerous activity, though driving itself is also fairly dangerous (one of the most dangerous things people do regularly). I'm still a huge proponent of biking regularly, but safety is an unfortunate problem, and a lot of people are stuck in situations where there isn't a safe bike route to and from work for them. And you are absolutely right, there are plenty of cases where there are safe bike routes.

Thlom 11y ago

Most people don't want their daily commute to be a workout.

kaonashi 11y ago
They'd rather be stuck in traffic feeling dead inside.
- JBlue42 11y ago
  And some folks don't want to sit in their chair with a sweaty arse all day. What comes first, the bike commuters or a reasonable way to get clean at the end of a ride? I think the latter is pretty low on the list of priorities for a lot of companies, unfortunately.
  - ZeroGravitas 11y ago
    You can ask about shower-only memberships if there's a gym nearby.

sien 11y ago

It's what I've done in Melbourne AU and Canberra AU. I've also ridden to work in Stockholm and Washington DC. It's kind of remarkable that people say lots of these cities don't have cycling infrastructure. They all do. The only place I've lived where I would have wanted to ride is Houston. People just don't want to ride. I work in Canberra AU now that has great paths and many people don't have big differences to ride to work. I work with so many people who drive 5-10 minutes instead of riding. People who don't have kids to drop off.

adrianN 11y ago

I commute in Berlin by bike. I'm reasonably fit and on an open road I can average about 28km/h for a couple of hours. In the city though my average speed is about 18km/h because of traffic lights. There are very few people who overtake me on my commute. I don't see how you would manage 20 miles (32km) in less than 90 minutes without running all the red lights and riding like these madmen here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jhaGzAnEOd8 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jhaGzAnEOd8