8 ms·

I commute about 6 miles each way between Brooklyn (home) and Manhattan (work). I've been raving about it to everyone I know because it's legitimately changed my

• scosman 9y ago
  Agreed. Most people really underestimate the benefits. - I save $1700/yr on transit (Toronto TTC Pass). Savings would be even higher if I drove (parking costs, maintenance) - Massive health benefit from of turning 3hr/week of commute from sitting into cardio: https://theconversation.com/cycling-to-work-major-new-study-suggests-health-benefits-are-staggering-76292 https://theconversation.com/cycling-to-work-major-new-study-... - Others: Time savings, commute consistency, happiness
• dietrichepp 9y ago
  This is similar to my experience—6 miles between Brooklyn and Manhattan. The protected lanes are surprisingly dangerous when there’s no separate turn signal for cars. Compare 1st Ave to 8th Ave for an example. That said, it still feels way safer than biking in the suburbs, where cars will go 40 mph around a blind corner because there’s not much traffic.
• tomca32 9y ago
  Yeah, subway being "wonky" lately is putting it lightly. I'd love to bike to work. When I lived back in Europe, I used to bike every day to work and back. However, biking in NYC is just insanely dangerous in comparison. I'm really surprised how people do it at all. There aren't real bike paths, and you're supposed to bike on the road right next to all the cars. That's constantly being just one small mistake away from injury/death. I just don't want that risk.
  • magic_beans 9y ago
    I feel the same way. I would LOVE to bike to work in NYC, but I'm just too terrified that one wrong move will end my life. Several of my friends have been in close-call bike accidents. It's not something I want to risk every single day.
    • rconti 9y ago
      The closest I've been to death was in a car, but I still drive. And I bike commute.
  • gnarcoregrizz 9y ago
    There are a few different types of paths - some main avenues have separated, dedicated paths - meaning a row of parked cars separates you from the traffic. There are also dedicated paths on the west side and central park. The bridges are also dedicated paths. You will likely need to spend some time on the "fake" paths to use them, but accessibility to the dedicated paths is pretty good and due to the layout of the manhattan (narrow) - if you're traveling north/south, you can probably spend the majority of your commute on the dedicated ones.
• nirajshr 9y ago
  I have been commuting from Queens to Midtown manhattan for over 2 years now. In the beginning, I was super scared of all the cars and pedestrians. However, now the situation is a lot better compared to few years back. More bicycling on the road mean the pedestrians, cabs and cars know how to behave. To a lot of people who think it is dangerous, it can be remarkably non-dramatic affair. With better bike lane markings, traffic that is moving very slow, and more bicyclist on the road, it has never been a better time to start riding in NYC. With experience, you develop almost telepathic sense about the people and cars around you and how to anticipate their moves. If you were scared before, try now and take it easy the first few months while you get used to it.
• deleted 9y ago
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• gnarcoregrizz 9y ago
  NYC bike commuting is great. In manhattan, the west side and central park paths are the best - I could do 90% of my commute on them and basically avoided cars except for the side streets. I commuted 5 miles and would often beat the subway time-wise. It's a great way to wake up too, you start the day off feeling good
  • subpixel 9y ago
    I think 'it's great' is quite an overstatement. For example, there's a bike lane all the way down 2nd Ave from the 59th Street bridge, but it's largely ignored by cars and parked trucks. To the degree that it might make cyclists feel confident and less hyper-vigilant b/c there are lines on the pavement, I think it's actually more dangerous than no bike lane.
    • dasil003 9y ago
      Counterpoint: when there isn't a bike lane, some drivers feel righteous anger against cyclists and engage in extremely dangerous driving tactics.
      • subpixel 9y ago
        Accepted. I think the solution involves better delineation and real legal consequences, based on cyclist-friendly laws, when drivers are found at fault in collisions with cyclists.
        • skookumchuck 9y ago
          In Seattle I watch cyclists randomly weave from the bike lane into the car lane and back again. These are adults, not kids. It blows my mind.
          • akgerber 9y ago
            There is no such thing as a 'car lane'— just general traffic lanes. Cyclists usually leave the bike lane because it's blocked by lawbreaking drivers or because they need to make a turn, not for funsies.
• Retric 9y ago
  Just be aware that heavy exercise near significant car exhaust is fairly bad for your lungs. If you go a moderate pace it's not that bad, but if you like going all out a face mask is a good investment.
  • HIPisTheAnswer 9y ago
    Thus burning fuel around others is a very obvious criminal offense.
    • Retric 9y ago
      It's not just fuel, you get particulate from break pads and tires etc. Remember when car pars get worn down that stuff ends up in the air.
  • jakecopp 9y ago
    I wonder how the health trade off between breathing emissions while cycling vs. lack of exercise while driving and obesity risk works.
    • Retric 9y ago
      I suspect it's age dependent as cycling before 35 is unlikely to extend your life significantly, but adds risks. Some bike heavy countries don't have unusually long lifespans which IMO supports that line of thinking. With age exercise becomes increasingly important, so it probably flips at some point. However, like a bike helmet an air filter is at most a minor inconvenience.
      • rikkus 9y ago
        What’s breathing through one like when working hard? I’m imagining I would feel suffocated.
        • Retric 9y ago
          Depends on the mask. A good one is only really noticeable as something on your face. I find it easier to breath as the air feels cleaner and my chest feels less tight. PS: I suspect re-breathing a tiny amount of CO2 probably has a measurable impact over a longer race. (Don't have data on this though.)
• agumonkey 9y ago
  Weather aside, if I had a clear way to secure my bike I'd use that everyday. Robbers are just too damn motivated.
  • icc97 9y ago
    I found that typically as long as the lock cost 10% the value of the bike then the lock was good enough
  • markstos 9y ago
    Use a cheaper, junker bike for commuting, or a folding bike that you bring inside.
    • agumonkey 9y ago
      Sadly junker bike gets stolen as much if not better, because it's easy to scrap. I know, my beloved piece of shit mountain bike has been stolen, it had zero value (had no seat, one pedal missing, cheapest ruined part everywhere, ugly) except for sentimental one. Yet it's gone.
  • akgerber 9y ago
    NYC tech employers generally allow bringing your bike into the office. The city requires buildings to allow bicycles in if tenants want it: https://nyc.streetsblog.org/2016/09/14/three-bills-enhancing-bike-access-to-buildings-get-council-approval/ https://nyc.streetsblog.org/2016/09/14/three-bills-enhancing... You can also consider buying a folding bicycle like a Brompton, which tidily fits under a desk and can be fitted with a cover to disguise its bicycle-ness, bicycles being mysterious anathema to many office buildings: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9ic6cssX_50 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9ic6cssX_50
    • agumonkey 9y ago
      Maybe offices are secure enough, but I've read many report of bike stolen in private yards, buildings. Secured or not.
• dte22 9y ago
  If you don't mind me asking, how do you deal with the sweat? Do you shower on arrival? I would love to bike, but no showers at my current workplace :/
  • stefan_ 9y ago
    Shower beforehand, keep an easy pace and when you arrive, do a quick clean with wet wipes if necessary. Depending on the distance and temperatures where you live, you might want to keep a change of clothes at work. Use panniers instead if you have a backpack to keep the back from sweating up.
  • icc97 9y ago
    I found a gym near my work. You can always cycle slowly from the gym to work. You can also get an electric bicycle and use less effort so that you don't sweat.
  • markstos 9y ago
    Keep your effort below the sweat threshold on the way there. Think walking-effort, not running-effort. Bikes are about 4x more efficient, so for short and moderate distances, even walking-effort will get you there in reasonable time. If you sweat at a walking-effort, try dressing lighter or as others have suggested, use wet wipes and spare clothes at work. You can also consider an e-bike to avoid sweating on the way to work. On the commute home, use less assist if you want more exercise.
  • criddell 9y ago
    My office has showers. I wouldn't bike to work otherwise. I'm in Austin, so for a few months of the year, just standing outside is enough to start sweating.
  • jsdalton 9y ago
    I wear a T-shirt (under my jacket in winter) and bring a shirt to change into in my backpack. My T-shirt is usually pretty sweaty but once I change into a fresh shirt it’s fine.
  • rpearl 9y ago
• rconti 9y ago
  The consistency is a vastly underrated quality of bike commuting. One amazing thing I've found is I'm more likely to do social events after work, even ones that are a great distance, if I don't have to worry about traffic. For example, sometimes after I work I bicycle 90 minutes to San Jose and don't think twice about it. If I had my car it would PROBABLY take 45 minutes, but I honestly have no idea. Or I could go home, and drive to the train station, and catch the train, then walk. But the bike gives me the freedom to not worry about schedules and also not stress about delays. It sounds so silly to prefer to ride for twice as long as I'd drive and consider that a "win", but there's some kind of psychological block to dealing with traffic and the fact that a 15 minute drive instead takes 45 or 30 or 50 or 60 minutes.. but when the bicycle ride takes 90 minutes with or without traffic, it's so much more appealing.
  • ghostbrainalpha 9y ago
    Sorry for the basic question, but how do you bike for 90 minutes without being covered in sweat and needing a shower when you arrive at your destination?
    • jvkersch 9y ago
      I'm not the original poster, and I'm about to write something gross, but I commute for long times too and I find the sweat less of an issue than I originally expected (I do live in a climate that is not overly hot and humid, though). I avoid using a backpack (in favor using panniers) so that my back isn't all sweaty, and for the rest I find that the sweat dries up quickly and doesn't leave a trace. In the worst case I take a spare t-shirt and a deodorant stick.
      • Piskvorrr 9y ago
        You don't. I would be worried whether the cow-orkers share this view (simply because everybody is habituated to their own smell, not noticing it as much). Good point with the backpack though - with it, I was sweating like a racehorse, even after coming out of the shower; without, I was only sweating.
    • 9y ago
• closeparen 9y ago
  Bikes have few problems with traffic because entire rights-of-way are dedicated to a tiny constituency. As bicycling gains popularity, I fully expect bike lanes to exhibit the same traffic problems as car lanes. You’ll still get more throughout from the space, but with a density of bikes meeting or exceeding the density of cars, traffic will certainly become a thing. Now, as always, it’s a good idea to arbitrage and take advantage of underutilized infrastructure, but I wouldn’t expect the underutilization to last.
  • danieldk 9y ago
    In the Netherlands, a significant part of the population uses bikes. I lived in Groningen, where a large chunk of the students and people who work in the city travel by by bike. I lived there for many years, and the only problem I ever had was bicycle parking. Never had an accident (well, except the one time I tried to drive from a road onto a pavement with an angle of attach of 10 degrees, which resulted in some scratches ;)). I can't recall any of my friend having a serious accident.
  • akgerber 9y ago
    Bicycles are inherently more space-efficient than cars— the space-inefficiency of which is the root cause of urban automobile congestion: http://urbanist.typepad.com/.a/6a00d83454714d69e2017d3c37d8ac970c-800wi http://urbanist.typepad.com/.a/6a00d83454714d69e2017d3c37d8a... As cycling becomes more popular, the larger cycling constituency will be able to demand more road space— but congestion will much less of a problem, because it simply requires less space to move a large number of people on bicycles (or in trains or on busses). NYC definitely has 'bicycle traffic' these days, especially around choke points like the bridges. But it essentially never has traffic jams, except during the 5 Boro Bike Tour.
    • closeparen 9y ago
      We have learned from freeway expansion projects that constant-factor improvements in capacity induce growth in utilization until we return to an equilibrium level of congestion. We're in the early stages of this process for bicycles, so the pain is low for now, as it was when early adopters had the brand-new interstate highways all to themselves. As it was, more recently, when hybrids were allowed in the Bay Bridge flyover lane. What happened? Everybody got a Prius. For environmental, health, and inclusivity reasons (constant factor improvements in transportation capacity do, after all, mean constant factor improvements in access to cities) it may be preferable to have gridlock in bicycles rather than gridlock in private cars. But don't think for a second that we can grow sprawling mega-regions indefinitely without gridlock.