3 ms·

I live in New England and ride to work pretty much every day. I've had to make some adjustments--for instance, it factors into shopping for clothes, having all-

I live in New England and ride to work pretty much every day. I've had to make some adjustments--for instance, it factors into shopping for clothes, having all-weather gear, and so on. Fortunately my ride is only about 3 miles each way, so it's not a hard ride. In fact, traffic around here is bad enough that driving takes the same amount of time. And being on the bike so much less stressful than being in the car.

btrettel 7y ago
Yes, I've pointed out to people that cycling doesn't necessarily take longer. At my previous apartment cycling and driving were comparable mainly because cyclists can park closer than drivers. Many drivers seem to think that counting the time spent parking is cheating, but as far as I'm concerned door-to-door time is what matters.
- Noos 7y ago
  One of my old jobs was the next town over, fifteen minutes by highway. It was impossible to bicycle. If I were to work in the industrial park in my city it would take an hour or so. We have a lot of distribution centers and factories on the outskirts of town because no one wants to live next to a mushroom farm or distribution center, yet they provide a lot of jobs. A lot of you guys don't understand that not everyone is a wealthy 24 year old knowledge worker and can just live in the downtown and bicycle everywhere. People have cars because they enable you to even find work.
  - btrettel 7y ago
    I'd recommend reading this post I made elsewhere here: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=21872976 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=21872976 The easiest way to make cycling work is to pick where you live based on where you work. The default is to pick jobs or where you live that are convenient for driving. That won't lead to a good bike commute, as you've found. > A lot of you guys don't understand that not everyone is a wealthy 24 year old knowledge worker and can just live in the downtown and bicycle everywhere. People have cars because they enable you to even find work. I think most cyclists get that. For me specifically: I'm in my 30s and currently a PhD student. While I am rich from a global perspective, few people in the US would consider me wealthy. I usually live a few miles from where I work in a relatively cheap neighborhood. And, as I pointed out elsewhere here, in my case cycling definitely saves me money. In fact, that's a major reason why I'm a cyclist. https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=21874175 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=21874175

btrettel 7y ago

Yes, I've pointed out to people that cycling doesn't necessarily take longer. At my previous apartment cycling and driving were comparable mainly because cyclists can park closer than drivers. Many drivers seem to think that counting the time spent parking is cheating, but as far as I'm concerned door-to-door time is what matters.

Noos 7y ago
One of my old jobs was the next town over, fifteen minutes by highway. It was impossible to bicycle. If I were to work in the industrial park in my city it would take an hour or so. We have a lot of distribution centers and factories on the outskirts of town because no one wants to live next to a mushroom farm or distribution center, yet they provide a lot of jobs. A lot of you guys don't understand that not everyone is a wealthy 24 year old knowledge worker and can just live in the downtown and bicycle everywhere. People have cars because they enable you to even find work.
- btrettel 7y ago
  I'd recommend reading this post I made elsewhere here: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=21872976 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=21872976 The easiest way to make cycling work is to pick where you live based on where you work. The default is to pick jobs or where you live that are convenient for driving. That won't lead to a good bike commute, as you've found. > A lot of you guys don't understand that not everyone is a wealthy 24 year old knowledge worker and can just live in the downtown and bicycle everywhere. People have cars because they enable you to even find work. I think most cyclists get that. For me specifically: I'm in my 30s and currently a PhD student. While I am rich from a global perspective, few people in the US would consider me wealthy. I usually live a few miles from where I work in a relatively cheap neighborhood. And, as I pointed out elsewhere here, in my case cycling definitely saves me money. In fact, that's a major reason why I'm a cyclist. https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=21874175 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=21874175