4 ms·

> Don't even get me started about the time it takes to find parking in this city... I am guessing that that time consideration is not in this study. For a whil

> Don't even get me started about the time it takes to find parking in this city... I am guessing that that time consideration is not in this study. For a while when I lived in Austin, cycling to work from where I lived would be comparable to driving in terms of time. That's despite the fact that I was only going roughly 15 mph when in motion. I'd often catch up to drivers at stop lights, and I could park directly in front of my building. No time spent finding parking and walking to the building. Some drivers are quite arrogant about the advantages of driving and are quick to dismiss the time spent parking, but time spent parking is a significant factor in many places.

duncan-donuts 4y ago
I’ve had a similar experience in Minneapolis. Biking to work was the fastest way to go for me. An additional factor was very little walking once I got there. With the bus or driving I may need to walk several blocks to get to my office and if I bike I can lock up at the building. The actual time door to door wasn’t much different for all three modes but biking was the simplest and as a result fastest.
briandear 4y ago
And being covered in sweat in a 100 degree day? Cars have air conditioning.
- btrettel 4y ago
  I regularly rode when it was over 100 degrees. It honestly was not a problem. I know a lot of drivers find this hard to believe, but it's true. - Being in good shape reduced how much I sweat in the first place. If an average driver started cycling, they'd see a reduction in how much they sweat from getting in better shape alone. - I would wear lightweight clothes for my commute and change when I got to work. - On hotter days, I would wet down my shirt and a stocking I wore on my head. That water would evaporate, making sweating unnecessary. If the water evaporated prematurely, I found that a small spray bottle would work great to add back water and avoid sweating. (If it's too humid, this won't work, obviously, but I didn't find the humidity in Austin to be a problem.) - Don't ride too fast. - My ride wasn't longer than 15 minutes. Obviously, the longer the ride, the more sweat. I found that even on 100+ degree days, I would only slightly sweat given the other things I did. - If I did sweat, I'd wipe the sweat off with a bandana or rag and then splash water on myself to freshen up. If you do splash water on yourself, dry yourself off before going to see coworkers as some assumed that I was sweating profusely when I wasn't. - A bike commute naturally places going to work at a cooler part of the day, the morning. I don't care if I'm sweaty when I get back home. - Also, getting a little sweaty isn't that bad. A lot of people seem to think that sweating automatically makes you smell terrible. But that hasn't been my experience. Yes, getting extremely sweaty can smell terrible and feel grimy too, but mild sweat is pretty normal and happens to people who are walking outside for a few minutes when it's hot.
  - btrettel 4y ago
    Also: Don't wear a backpack as you will sweat on your back when it's hot. I imagine messenger bags would have similar problems. I recommend using something like a milk crate or panniers to hold anything you're taking with you.
  - merely-unlikely 4y ago
    Diet has a lot to do with how your sweat smells too, especially if you eat too much sugar. Btw sweat itself doesn't smell. It's the bacteria on your skin that makes it smell.

duncan-donuts 4y ago

I’ve had a similar experience in Minneapolis. Biking to work was the fastest way to go for me. An additional factor was very little walking once I got there. With the bus or driving I may need to walk several blocks to get to my office and if I bike I can lock up at the building. The actual time door to door wasn’t much different for all three modes but biking was the simplest and as a result fastest.

briandear 4y ago

And being covered in sweat in a 100 degree day? Cars have air conditioning.

btrettel 4y ago
I regularly rode when it was over 100 degrees. It honestly was not a problem. I know a lot of drivers find this hard to believe, but it's true. - Being in good shape reduced how much I sweat in the first place. If an average driver started cycling, they'd see a reduction in how much they sweat from getting in better shape alone. - I would wear lightweight clothes for my commute and change when I got to work. - On hotter days, I would wet down my shirt and a stocking I wore on my head. That water would evaporate, making sweating unnecessary. If the water evaporated prematurely, I found that a small spray bottle would work great to add back water and avoid sweating. (If it's too humid, this won't work, obviously, but I didn't find the humidity in Austin to be a problem.) - Don't ride too fast. - My ride wasn't longer than 15 minutes. Obviously, the longer the ride, the more sweat. I found that even on 100+ degree days, I would only slightly sweat given the other things I did. - If I did sweat, I'd wipe the sweat off with a bandana or rag and then splash water on myself to freshen up. If you do splash water on yourself, dry yourself off before going to see coworkers as some assumed that I was sweating profusely when I wasn't. - A bike commute naturally places going to work at a cooler part of the day, the morning. I don't care if I'm sweaty when I get back home. - Also, getting a little sweaty isn't that bad. A lot of people seem to think that sweating automatically makes you smell terrible. But that hasn't been my experience. Yes, getting extremely sweaty can smell terrible and feel grimy too, but mild sweat is pretty normal and happens to people who are walking outside for a few minutes when it's hot.
- btrettel 4y ago
  Also: Don't wear a backpack as you will sweat on your back when it's hot. I imagine messenger bags would have similar problems. I recommend using something like a milk crate or panniers to hold anything you're taking with you.
- merely-unlikely 4y ago
  Diet has a lot to do with how your sweat smells too, especially if you eat too much sugar. Btw sweat itself doesn't smell. It's the bacteria on your skin that makes it smell.