4 ms·

This is a lot easier in a locale which has public transportation. When my wife's car got totaled, I let her have mine, and rather than drive my truck every day

This is a lot easier in a locale which has public transportation. When my wife's car got totaled, I let her have mine, and rather than drive my truck every day, got out my daughter's bicycle for my 7 mile (one-way) commute. Big improvement in quality-of-life, but with some caveats: - Weather Underground's reports are quite accurate, but I had to check 3 of them each morning to be certain of avoiding a wetting (I'd drive the truck when it rained) - maintenance was a concern, but not a big deal --- just did an "ABC" check: https://bikeleague.org/videos/basic-bike-check/ https://bikeleague.org/videos/basic-bike-check/ and at need, pumped up tires at a gas station along the way --- eventually got a patch kit and small pump, which was fortuitous, since shortly after had my first (and only) flat - at 40 degrees F gloves become a necessity, but I managed to ride with the temperature as low as 17 F in pretty much normal (old) street clothes, added a heavy pair of pants, scarf, and knit cap It was a big win health-wise --- when I had to get an annual check-up to get a reduction in my insurance rates the doctor's comment was quite flattering, "I have patients who are half your age, twice your weight, and not one-quarter as healthy as you are.". Started commuting w/ my wife when I changed jobs and rather miss the bike.

ourmandave 3y ago
"I have patients who are half your age, twice your weight, and not one-quarter as healthy as you are." Sounds like a lead-in to a whiteboard interview question. =)
jcims 3y ago
>Started commuting w/ my wife when I changed jobs and rather miss the bike. I did this for a while when I was first married and I missed it for a very long time after we stopped. It was a 30 minute commute each way and gave us an hour a day to catch up and just be together.
piva00 3y ago
> but I managed to ride with the temperature as low as 17 F in pretty much normal (old) street clothes, added a heavy pair of pants, scarf, and knit cap > but I had to check 3 of them each morning to be certain of avoiding a wetting (I'd drive the truck when it rained) You were just 1 step away of discovering the magic of weatherproof clothes for biking, feeling impervious to the elements just because you got the right set of clothes is quasi magical, you simply don't care if it's raining or not, you can bike and not get wet. Completely recommend if you ever get the chance to go back to biking as a day-to-day commute activity :)
- WillAdams 3y ago
  If I could justify a belt-drive commuter bike which was mostly weatherproof I certainly would.
  - sudobash1 3y ago
    I commuted on my bike in the Portland area for quite some time. The rain-gear kept me dry (except my feet as I lacked anything for my shoes. Always brought a dry pair of socks). And the bike never minded the rain, even though it was often left outside during the day. I wouldn't do that with a really nice bike (more because of the likelihood of theft than rain), but there is nothing wrong with letting your bike get a bit wet.
  - piva00 3y ago
    My daily beater here in Stockholm is a fixed gear bike with a common chain, clean the chain and slap some all-weather chain oil on it every 3-6 months and it's good to go. During mid-fall/winters I swap to my wheels with gravel tyres for better traction. There's no need to go for a belt-drive just for weatherproofing sake, a good chain oil is enough to keep your chain going pretty well. I bike around 8-10k km per year on this bike for the past 7-8 years, mostly just doing the basics of maintenance: change brake cables and tubing, change brake pads, clean and oil the chain. The only times I needed to do more than that was after forgetting the bike outside when a snowstorm came, that can fuck you up: tyres cracking, chain rusting quickly, don't recommend it.
VyseofArcadia 3y ago
My US-centric issue is that while I do in fact live close enough to work to bike there, doing so is risking getting murdered by any number two ton death machines filled with impatient, irrational, distracted apes. Apes who are actively resisting a separated bike infrastructure because it will "make traffic worse" or "raise taxes". I would love to make an active, healthy commute part of my day, but I'm worried I would only reap the benefits temporarily until I am pancaked by an Audi driven by a moron trying to catch up in Facebook.
- WillAdams 3y ago
  Statistically, the gain in lifespan due to the health benefits out-weighs the risk of death by car (says the guy who was hit by a car while returning from a 52-mile round trip to buy comic books on the first day of summer vacation when he was 14, breaking jaw, elbow, a tooth, and knocking out several more teeth, as well as various other injuries the scars of which are mostly faded). It's like driving --- ride defensively, assume you're invisible to everyone, and plan accordingly. One notable option is that at need, one can dismount and walk the bike across tricky intersections.
_dain_ 3y ago
>It was a big win health-wise --- when I had to get an annual check-up to get a reduction in my insurance rates the doctor's comment was quite flattering, "I have patients who are half your age, twice your weight, and not one-quarter as healthy as you are.". Not related to cars/bikes -- how common is it for people to get "annual checkup" from doctor? Does everyone do it or does it only start in middle age? Being young and healthy I'm ambivalent about it because if there's nothing obviously wrong with you, you risk getting mis-diagnosed with something and suffering iatrogenic harm.
- WillAdams 3y ago
  I keep telling my son that he needs to go see a doctor (also a dentist) --- the likelihood of overall health benefit is way more likely than an unlikely wrong diagnosis which will probably only result in some expensive (to the insurance company) tests.
JimtheCoder 3y ago
"...got out my daughter's bicycle for my 7 mile (one-way) commute" I can't be the only one here who imagined a grown man riding one of those small, pink bikes for little children with training wheels and streamers on the end of the handlebars... Sorry, I just had to say it...
- taylodl 3y ago
  Yeah, that was my first image, had a cackle, and quickly realized his daughter is either an older teen or young adult. But it was funny for a moment!
- WillAdams 3y ago
  While a funny visual image, my self-image is too fragile for that and my knees not quite that flexible (and even my daughter didn't ride the frilly pink bike we bought for her long --- it was eventually donated to a daycare center).
globular-toast 3y ago
I hope you eventually got a nice bike that fit you properly. People will casually spend tens of thousands on a car (that is completely reliant on fossil fuel) but baulk at the thought of spending a mere one thousand credits on a bicycle (that never requires any fuel).
- WillAdams 3y ago
  My daughter's bike was a quite nice Trek which I was able to make fit by adjusting the seat up a bit. Since then I went quite overboard with: https://www.pedalroom.com/bike/montague-swissbike-x50-blacked-out-30784 https://www.pedalroom.com/bike/montague-swissbike-x50-blacke... I'm currently regretting not getting a Twicycle https://twicycle.com https://twicycle.com and am debating on whether I'm willing to save up for a Helix: https://helix.ca https://helix.ca

ourmandave 3y ago

"I have patients who are half your age, twice your weight, and not one-quarter as healthy as you are." Sounds like a lead-in to a whiteboard interview question. =)

jcims 3y ago

>Started commuting w/ my wife when I changed jobs and rather miss the bike. I did this for a while when I was first married and I missed it for a very long time after we stopped. It was a 30 minute commute each way and gave us an hour a day to catch up and just be together.

piva00 3y ago

> but I managed to ride with the temperature as low as 17 F in pretty much normal (old) street clothes, added a heavy pair of pants, scarf, and knit cap > but I had to check 3 of them each morning to be certain of avoiding a wetting (I'd drive the truck when it rained) You were just 1 step away of discovering the magic of weatherproof clothes for biking, feeling impervious to the elements just because you got the right set of clothes is quasi magical, you simply don't care if it's raining or not, you can bike and not get wet. Completely recommend if you ever get the chance to go back to biking as a day-to-day commute activity :)

WillAdams 3y ago
If I could justify a belt-drive commuter bike which was mostly weatherproof I certainly would.
- sudobash1 3y ago
  I commuted on my bike in the Portland area for quite some time. The rain-gear kept me dry (except my feet as I lacked anything for my shoes. Always brought a dry pair of socks). And the bike never minded the rain, even though it was often left outside during the day. I wouldn't do that with a really nice bike (more because of the likelihood of theft than rain), but there is nothing wrong with letting your bike get a bit wet.
- piva00 3y ago
  My daily beater here in Stockholm is a fixed gear bike with a common chain, clean the chain and slap some all-weather chain oil on it every 3-6 months and it's good to go. During mid-fall/winters I swap to my wheels with gravel tyres for better traction. There's no need to go for a belt-drive just for weatherproofing sake, a good chain oil is enough to keep your chain going pretty well. I bike around 8-10k km per year on this bike for the past 7-8 years, mostly just doing the basics of maintenance: change brake cables and tubing, change brake pads, clean and oil the chain. The only times I needed to do more than that was after forgetting the bike outside when a snowstorm came, that can fuck you up: tyres cracking, chain rusting quickly, don't recommend it.

VyseofArcadia 3y ago

My US-centric issue is that while I do in fact live close enough to work to bike there, doing so is risking getting murdered by any number two ton death machines filled with impatient, irrational, distracted apes. Apes who are actively resisting a separated bike infrastructure because it will "make traffic worse" or "raise taxes". I would love to make an active, healthy commute part of my day, but I'm worried I would only reap the benefits temporarily until I am pancaked by an Audi driven by a moron trying to catch up in Facebook.

WillAdams 3y ago
Statistically, the gain in lifespan due to the health benefits out-weighs the risk of death by car (says the guy who was hit by a car while returning from a 52-mile round trip to buy comic books on the first day of summer vacation when he was 14, breaking jaw, elbow, a tooth, and knocking out several more teeth, as well as various other injuries the scars of which are mostly faded). It's like driving --- ride defensively, assume you're invisible to everyone, and plan accordingly. One notable option is that at need, one can dismount and walk the bike across tricky intersections.

_dain_ 3y ago

>It was a big win health-wise --- when I had to get an annual check-up to get a reduction in my insurance rates the doctor's comment was quite flattering, "I have patients who are half your age, twice your weight, and not one-quarter as healthy as you are.". Not related to cars/bikes -- how common is it for people to get "annual checkup" from doctor? Does everyone do it or does it only start in middle age? Being young and healthy I'm ambivalent about it because if there's nothing obviously wrong with you, you risk getting mis-diagnosed with something and suffering iatrogenic harm.

WillAdams 3y ago
I keep telling my son that he needs to go see a doctor (also a dentist) --- the likelihood of overall health benefit is way more likely than an unlikely wrong diagnosis which will probably only result in some expensive (to the insurance company) tests.

JimtheCoder 3y ago

"...got out my daughter's bicycle for my 7 mile (one-way) commute" I can't be the only one here who imagined a grown man riding one of those small, pink bikes for little children with training wheels and streamers on the end of the handlebars... Sorry, I just had to say it...

taylodl 3y ago
Yeah, that was my first image, had a cackle, and quickly realized his daughter is either an older teen or young adult. But it was funny for a moment!
WillAdams 3y ago
While a funny visual image, my self-image is too fragile for that and my knees not quite that flexible (and even my daughter didn't ride the frilly pink bike we bought for her long --- it was eventually donated to a daycare center).

globular-toast 3y ago

I hope you eventually got a nice bike that fit you properly. People will casually spend tens of thousands on a car (that is completely reliant on fossil fuel) but baulk at the thought of spending a mere one thousand credits on a bicycle (that never requires any fuel).

WillAdams 3y ago
My daughter's bike was a quite nice Trek which I was able to make fit by adjusting the seat up a bit. Since then I went quite overboard with: https://www.pedalroom.com/bike/montague-swissbike-x50-blacked-out-30784 https://www.pedalroom.com/bike/montague-swissbike-x50-blacke... I'm currently regretting not getting a Twicycle https://twicycle.com https://twicycle.com and am debating on whether I'm willing to save up for a Helix: https://helix.ca https://helix.ca