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Be happy Bike to work.
- SideburnsOfDoom 14y ago> "Be happy Bike to work" You're not a Londoner, I see.
- jgrahamc 14y agoI used to bike to work in central London. It requires being alert, but it was far better than driving, taking the tube or taking a bus. I never wore headphones though. I would have considered that suicide.
- revorad 14y agoI'm a Londoner and I loved biking to work. I've really missed it since I've started working from home.
- jawr 14y agoIt sure beats getting any form of public transport, being stuck in such a confined space, especially in the morning is horrific. the time difference is also huge; I can cycle the 7miles quicker than the tube or bus.
- kieranyo 14y agoI bike ~40km per day in London, from near Richmond to Tower Hill. It takes slightly less time than the tube, and it's a lot of fun.
- harscoat 14y agoPost added to our action wiki https://didthis.com/bikecommute https://didthis.com/bikecommute Thanks for inspiring us to "redo" & spread this lifestyle meme!
- taylorfausak 14y agoThis matches my experiences. I ride most mornings before work since I telecommute, but it's the same idea. The positive effect on my mood surprised me — it only takes a little bit of exercise! As an aside, please be careful wearing headphones when you ride. There are plenty of flame wars over that (and helmets, and brakes) over in /r/bicycling.
- ikailan 14y agoI agree with almost everything said here. When I was living in San Francisco, though, my bike commute was only slightly longer than my bus commute (not because I am that fit, only because buses in San Francisco are terrible). SO MUCH less stressful! I did notice one thing, though: I wasn't reading as much or listening to podcasts as much anymore. I live in NYC now and fortunately I'm a very short walk to work. I can't wait to buy a bike and start riding again, though I'll need to figure out how to fit one into my tiny apartment ...
- nlh 14y agoDo it! I'm a NYC'er as well and getting a bike was one of the best decisions I've made recently. The city has gone wild with bike lanes, etc. and you'll be in good company. And as for storage, a friend suggested something like this to me: http://www.shelterness.com/diy-bike-wall-storage-racks/ http://www.shelterness.com/diy-bike-wall-storage-racks/ Solves two problems - storage and wall art! ;)
- wffurr 14y agoThe reading and podcasts are one of the things I miss when I ride. I love the exercise, fresh air, etc., but I also like sitting and reading on the train. It's nice to be able to mix it up.
- nicholassmith 14y agoPlease anyone reading this don't wear headphones, you've removed one of the most useful senses for knowing where there's a potential problem. I'd love to cycle to work, the only problem is it's a 160 mile round trip, so it's not too sustainable. I've thought about cycling the journey from my house to the train station but then I've got the additional problem of dealing with a bike on a busy train (two trains really), storing it at the office (small elevator) so I keep getting the bus. If I ever work closer to home I think I will, everyone I know that does is in much better shape than me and generally a bit more awake at 9am.
- kungfooey 14y agoI want to second this. The benefits of riding are not quite as apparent if your are seriously injured or dead. Ride safely. Leave the headphones in your pocket and pull them out when you're safely at your desk hacking some code.
- jules 14y agoIf you want to try taking a bike on the train or in the office, do yourself a huge favor and get a foldable bike.
- taude 14y agoI ride with a single headphone on the curb-side ear. I can causally listen to pod casts, etc...and still keep all my senses of anything around me. Then again, I know plenty of drivers who shouldn't listen to things while driving because it's distracting for them. Keep sharp and pay attention. I commute about 40 miles/day. The bigger danger than not wearing headphones is those hybrid cars sneaking up on you, or a bunch of others....like day dreaming and hashing out answers to problems you're working out at work.
- nicholassmith 14y agoIn the UK as far as I'm aware you're not allowed to wear headphones whilst driving a car as you lose a sense. I think the single ear phone thing is a sensible idea, and you're right inattention is the bigger risk but that's a bit more tricky to change than no headphones.
- crazypyro 14y agoThe problem I have with this is I tend to uhh sweat more than a normal person. (Not because I'm out of shape, just because I sweat a lot...) I don't think I would feel comfortable biking to work simply because I would then smell all day and that's not exactly something I want to happen.
- taude 14y agoShower at work? Once every couple of weeks, I load a work drawer up with fresh clothes, hand towels, etc. Guess I'm lucky that we have a gym in the facility, but I know others that just shower at the sports club down the street from their job.
- wffurr 14y agoIf there's no facilities, you can duck in a bathroom stall to towel off and change. Wash your hands and face, add some deodorant and cologne. My dad calls it the "Sigma Nu" shower.
- lean 14y agoThe major problem is the lack of any kind of bike lanes/infrastructure in most major cities. This makes cycling to city centers difficult, if not dangerous. Another is showering and changing once you get to work. A 10-20 mile ride will leave me sweating, without a shower I can't be presentable for the office.
- taude 14y agoOne thing that I love about my bike commute is that it takes 50 minutes by car, in good traffic...up to 90 minutes if traffic is bad. When I ride by bike, it's always 65 - 70 minutes. I might lose 30 minutes of my day, but the 2.5 hours of total fitness more than makes up for it, not to mention the boredom of sitting in a car idling on the highway...which has obvious environmental impacts.
- oinkgrr 14y agoI concur, commuting by bike always seems to take the same amount of time, no matter what the traffic is like.
- wffurr 14y agoLong ride! I love that my bike ride is much more consistent in time than driving or taking the train. Heavy traffic just doesn't slow me down much. Conversely, open roads don't let me speed up much either.
- tdfx 14y agoAs someone who will be commuting by bike soon, I have to ask: what do you do when it rains/snows?
- wffurr 14y agoYou have a couple of choices: 1) Wear rain jacket and pants. Breathable waterproof gear is best; doesn't have to be gore-tex. Expect to spend at least $150 on a set, though. This is what I do. Bonus, keeps you warmer in the snow. Minus, makes you sweat if it's a warm rain. 2) Ride and just get wet. Change when you get home/to work. 3) Take the bus. As the Bike Snob NYC says, IIRTTB is the hipster way.
- kieranyo 14y agoRain makes it more fun. Just stop caring about getting wet clothes and buy a backpack with a waterproof cover.
- jib 14y agoWear the right clothes and bring a set of clothes to change into. :) I bike to work in Ireland (150+ rain days a year - yay). Rain clothes takes care of that - just make sure they aren't too heavy. When I was younger I worked as a mailman in Sweden for three winters, using a bike for 2-3h a day, every day. You don't even need a lot of clothes for that - a fleece over a set of thermal underwear will do you down to minus 10 C or so, after that you want a thicker jacket on top. Heat from the exercise keep you warm enough anyways. For both rain and snow - get a good pair of gloves (hands are the only part that really sucks when wet/cold). For the cold, get a decent set of thermal underwear.
- bmj 14y agoI've found a good, British-style rain cape is light years better than waterproof jackets and pants. Better airflow means you sweat less. Another trick for the cold: unless it's Sweden-cold, you should be a bit chilly when you get on the bike, otherwise you will overheat rather quickly.
- iharris 14y ago
- jorma75 14y agoYou should really wear a helmet 24/7!! Also body armor. Listening to music on a bike is clearly suicide. Please do not take ANY risks. At all, ever. Also, become an entrepreneur. Take the plunge. Live your dream.
- ikailan 14y agoWhat's the benefit of not wearing a helmet when biking?
- rheide 14y agoThe same benefit as not wearing a seatbelt in the car. You feel more free, less restrained. I've cycled across half of Japan without a helmet and I did not feel in danger even for a single moment. Then I did one trip in Central London and vowed never to cycle without a helmet again.
- ikailan 14y agoOh, okay, I can buy that. Guess I'm thinking like a city rider. I used to read a lot of bike blogs in SF and in almost every case where the biker was seriously injured, they were not wearing a helmet.
- wasabinerd 14y agoI have problems with the general tendency of always minimizing risk. When did risk become something to avoid at all cost? Follow that path and you end up avoiding everything that makes life worth living. It's not about whether you should wear a helmet on a bike. It's about accepting the fact that you are going to die and stop worrying about it and start living. I don't want to die but I'm not going to let the risk of dying get in the way of living. BTW I wear helmets when skydiving and riding my motorcycle :)
- ikailan 14y agoI think it's one thing to overly minimize risk, it's another entirely to take stupid risks where the payoff doesn't match the risk. I play sports and get injured from time to time (I am still healing from an ankle injury sustained months ago), but it's worth it given how much fun I have - but I still bought shin guards because getting taken out for a week because of a bad kick just isn't worth it (that's more time I could be playing soccer, for instance). It's the same thinking with bike helmets. I want to be around to bike more.
- derleth 14y agoWhat about walking? Why the focus on biking?
- LargeWu 14y agoBecause presumably most people do not live within reasonable walking distance of work.
- nswanberg 14y agoWalking is a fantastic commute. It would be nice if people would structure their lives to walk. My ideal commute would be a five to ten minute walk to a nice office down a street with apartments and shops(it's currently ten feet, which has good parts and bad). But for many people, including the author, bike commuting is the most practical for the distance covered. And for some, talking about bikes and bike gear is much more rewarding than talking about shoes.
- justincormack 14y ago5-10m is too short. You need a good half hour to do some productive thinking. My current walk is about 45m which is fine too. The bus saves maybe 15m so I usually walk.
- JosephRedfern 14y agoNice Hotlinking.
- epsylon 14y agoI also happen to bike to work and it's indeed a refreshing experience. For me, the hard part is on the morning where the ride is 10km of climbing only — it starts in somewhat traffic heavy streets and ends in a peaceful quiet forest. The good thing is that the evening ride requires almost no effort, and it's a real pleasure to feel the wind on the hot days. I wouldn't do it if I couldn't take a shower at work, though. (Also, piece of advice : take your breakfast AFTER the ride. Your guts will thank you for not doing it before and you will enjoy the taste of food even more)
- ikailan 14y agoFood is so delicious after a long ride. This is true in general of strenuous exercise. You've earned it!
- tibbon 14y agoI work from coffeeshops and such, which is inheriently flexible. I've started trying to walk or bike as much as humanly possible. It helps to have a terrible car that is frankly embarrassing to drive. I definitely feel better the days I walk a few miles.
- andere 14y agoDon't be embarrassed by a cheap or low-quality car. All that means is that you're more likely to not be paying monthly bills to pay off your car. That's a good thing to be proud of.
- UnFleshedOne 14y agoAs long as it doesn't spew clouds of blue smoke every time you slightly press on the gas pedal. Those cars should be violently scrapped with prejudice! (and all diesel trucks too actually...)
- gunmetal 14y agoNever wear headphones while biking in a city. Unless you want to die.
- jcdavison 14y agoi've been an avid cyclist all my life, you have just hit the beginning of what cycling is such an amazing activity, that an i think endurance sports go hand in hand with the entrepreneurial life. congrats on this!
- donretag 14y agoRegarding the helmet: they truly are a no-brainer. Even the cheap 30 buck ones the OP talks about must meet the minimum federal guidelines for safety (in the US). No need for a more expensive helmet, which mainly provide less weight (avoid neck strain over long rides) and better ventilation. Helmets save lives and do not have to look dorky. But you do get a bad case of hat hair.
- reinout 14y agoWhat do you do more often? Fall exactly on the top of your head or on your side? In the latter case, the helmet makes your head bigger and can cause your head to rotate. And swift rotation is worse for your brains than a head-on hit. So only use a helmet when roadracing or mountainbiking, not for a simple city ride.
- rlpb 14y agoYou seem to be assuming that the only thing you're going to hit with your head is the ground.
- gst 14y agoI don't want to discuss if helmets actually have any safety advantage (there are studies claiming both things). But I don't think that biking is a particularly dangerous activity. I don't wear a helmet while walking on the street or while driving a car, so why should I wear a helmet when biking?
- andreasvc 14y agoWhile I agree with you, the answer is that you are more likely to come in contact with moving cars when you're on a bike. It's mostly dangerous because drivers are not used to dealing with cyclists (assuming the cyclist follows traffic rules of course). In my country (Holland) we have completely separate bike lines in lots of places and I suppose that also makes a big difference.
- pge 14y agoIt's my observation that blows to the head are more likely on a bike than in either of those situations for two reasons - the speed and the position. When you're biking, you're going much faster than you would walk (I commute every day and often hit 40 mph). Second, in an accident, you often to go straight over the handlebars - the bike stops but you don't. That means head impacts are common. Cars have the same issues, but they have seatbelts that keep you from flying through the windshield or slamming into the steering column. As for whether it's dangerous - in general I agree with you. I've been commuting by bike 2000 miles a year for 10 years, and have had only a couple of incidents, but when things happen, I'm glad I have a helmet. Similarly, I wear a seatbelt when driving, even though I've never had an accident that necessitated one.
- mattlong 14y agoOthers have mentioned it, but it's worth saying again: please don't wear headphones while biking in a busy city. It only takes the one time when you need swerve around that parked car's open door and but can't quite hear the car that is about to pass you...
- koenigdavidmj 14y agoWhilst your statement (don't wear headphones when riding on the road) is correct, you should probably be looking over your shoulder before entering the car lane.
- justsomedood 14y agoDon't depend on your ears to find out where another vehicle is located, use your eyes.
- freiheit 14y agoDon't ever swerve around a parked car's open door. If there's parked cars, merge into the lane well ahead of them and stay out of the zone doors could open into.
- jonotime 14y agoMy ride to work is over an hour each way. Been doing it every day for years here in the northeast U.S. A mostly residential route. Funny thing is if I take the bus, it takes the same amount of time. I started doing this out of a distaste for cars and statistics show that driving is actually much more dangerous then biking. Weather-wise, I far prefer snow to rain. The hardest part is cold feet in the winter - never found a great solution. My advice is, if questionable weather is a deterrent, dont bike those days. But dont let it stop you from biking at least when it is nice out. I do a single ear headphone with audiobooks (note I am not in a city). Gotta have something to listen to or I would be bored to death. Music can drown out important road dangers. Spoken audio has enough space and quiet that emergencies easily get my attention.
- youngian 14y agoHave you tried neoprene booties? They worked great for me in the midwest. My feet stayed plenty warm, and I didn't even bother to wear thick socks. The hands were always my biggest problem.
- jonotime 14y agoYup. I used to wear booties when I wore clipping shoes. But then I switched to heavy boots without clips and it was warmer. Never had a problem with hands. I got some down ski mittens. In fact they are too hot - but the key is 'mittens'. Once I discovered that, there was no looking back.
- r080 14y agoOld newspaper in the boots works for me. You take two or more sheets and wrap your feet in it.
- kenamarit 14y agoYes! I used to live in Bernal Heights in San Francisco and commute to SOMA everyday, and this is how my commute options broke down, time and money-wise: Bike to BART, BART to Powell - 30 min, $1.75 Bike straight to work - 30 min, free Bus to BART, BART to Powell - 30 minutes, $3.50 (I think?) Bus to work - 45-60 minutes, $1.75 Bum a ride to work - 30-45 minutes, free AND biking adds many non-quantifiable benefits, as the OP states. It's the best way to clear your mind, other than maybe a long walk or hike. [edit for formatting]
- nraynaud 14y agoSorry, I live next door to work, the time to get the bike out I would already be there by foot :)
- jgfoot 14y agoI have been bike commuting for nine years. The biggest things that change since the initial rush of delight? First, as time goes on, you care a lot more about safety. Newbies may write about how they can meditate or listen to music while riding, but experienced riders know they must always stay alert. You shouldn't be meditating, you should be focused on potential dangers. Second, the weight loss? Not as big a deal as time goes on. Don't ask me the medical reason why, maybe it's the same phenomenon as when people who haven't worked out for years start a program and quickly lose 10 pounds of water weight but then find the rest is harder to lose. Commuting usually doesn't involve the intense aerobic activity associated with road racing. The 300 dollar bike you are satisfied with? I didn't stay satisfied after a few months. After trying many options (too many) I took Sheldon Brown's advice and ride a touring bike, with disc brakes, fenders, rack, and panniers.
- ImprovedSilence 14y agoPlus one million for the Sheldon Brown reference. Volumes of bike wisdom. I do all my maintenance myself thanks to that website.
- grecy 14y ago> Don't ask me the medical reason why, maybe it's the same phenomenon as when people who haven't worked out for years start a program and quickly lose 10 pounds of water weight but then find the rest is harder to lose It's because the body is extremely good at adapting to whatever you do to it. Even if you were riding for a hundred hours a week at maximum aerobic output, your body would slowly adapt and you would stop making gains (getting faster, losing weight). Over a long period of exercise, you have to constantly vary what you are doing to your body so it won't adapt and plateau. Keep throwing different challenges at your body, and it will keep adapting in an attempt to deal with these new challenges. Try sprinting home from work at max output a couple of days a week, then intentionally go for an extremely long ride on the weekend at a sustainable pace. Don't do the same thing day-in, day-out Also, eat less calories if you want to lose weight.
- lelele 14y ago
- eli 14y agoI know this is an uncool thing to say, but I hated biking to work in downtown DC. DC has done a great job adding bike lanes, but they aren't everywhere. I found it to be quite the opposite of meditative and I arrived at work sweaty and uncomfortable.
- ImprovedSilence 14y agoYeah, DC is a SWAMP in the summertime too, I have a hard enough time walking from my front door to my car without breaking into a sweat in that town.
- syassami 14y agoI alleviated my sweat problem when I biked to work by taking almost miniature bird baths in the sink, or using baby wipes.
- eli 14y agoI'm pretty sure I would need a change of clothes to be comfortable again.
- pge 14y agodefinitely - I've been riding to work in DC for 10+ years, but a shower is definitely a requirement to do it year round. I'm fortunate to work in a building now with a shower, but before that, I just got a membership at a nearby gym. The gym membership was cheaper than parking or metroing every day.
- P4tr3ck 14y agoI am bike commuting to work for more than 6 years now. I do this through the whole year, summer and winter, everyday. Always have a set of water proof clothes in your backpack. My experience is, if it rains it usually starts 10 minutes after you left home. I had chronic pain in my knees probably from sitting before monitors the whole day. After one week of bike commuting to work the pain was gone.
- 001sky 14y agoPlease don't ride with headphones in both ears. You cannot hear other cylists, for one, who may be passing you. In urban environments, this is particulalry problematic. Why? Because their is (1) already very limited space (crosswalks, jawalkers, doors opening, busses, etc); and (2) there is a huge range in speeds of cyclists (lycra-guys, delivery-men, hipsters, commuters). One ear is plenty (look at pro-cyclists). In CA it is also ILLEGAL, apparently. The Law: Riding with Tunes Only five states regulate the use of headphones by cyclists, and generally the limitations are directed at all vehicle operators. Two of those states–Florida and Rhode Island–prohibit any use of headsets. The intent is to ensure that vehicle operators won’t inhibit their ability to hear sirens and vehicle horns. The other three states that regulate the use of headsets–California, Delaware and Maryland–prohibit their use in both ears; in these states, one ear must be left uncovered. Maryland makes an exception to this law for riders on bike paths. http://www.bicyclelaw.com/road-rights/a.cfm/road-rights-listen-up1 http://www.bicyclelaw.com/road-rights/a.cfm/road-rights-list...
- pav3l 14y agoMy work is about 4 miles from where I live and I usually run back home and it takes exactly the same amount of time as public transportation. I would jog to work as well but we don't have showers at work. I might just start experimenting with wet naps/towels, etc soon. I think that running truly is the greatest and safest way of commuting if the distances are reasonable.
- somethingnew 14y agoA fellow Madisonian! I happen to cross Old Sauk Rd. on my bike to work as well! I also run, and use MapMyRun for that.
- deleted 14y ago[deleted]