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The 4 mile trip in the article would be about 12 minutes by bicycle (once you get fit). It would be less than an hour simply walking briskly. It's difficult to

The 4 mile trip in the article would be about 12 minutes by bicycle (once you get fit). It would be less than an hour simply walking briskly. It's difficult to understand why people drive such tiny distances. I ride close to 20 miles each way to work and it's still much faster than driving and slightly faster than the train. I also get less sweaty than people using the trains due to sensible clothing. It also means I don't need to use the gym and can eat what I want (I burn about 3500 kcal/day)

vacri 12y ago
An hour's walk each way = 2 hours out of your day commuting. For a workaholic billionaire with a prediliction for charity, that's quite a waste of time. Similarly with riding, it's not just the ride. A car is easy if you've got a parking spot at both ends. Hop in, hop out. Commuting by biking (usually) requires you to change clothing, which really should be included in your commute time. And some people just enjoy driving, like some people enjoy walking or riding. I haven't met the person who likes being crammed into a sweaty train-crowd yet, though :)
twic 12y ago
4 miles is 12 minutes if you can sustain 20 mph door-to-door. If Bill's commute brings him into contact with traffic lights or urban traffic, he won't be able to do that. I commute about five miles by bike in London, and it takes me about 25 minutes. There are maybe 5 minutes of full-speed travel in that time, and about 20 of filtering and waiting. It's still a lot faster than driving, though!
hackuser 12y ago
> It's difficult to understand why people drive such tiny distances. I agree with a general point about benefits of non-carbon-producing transportation. I don't want to judge any particular person, however; I simply don't know and it's not my business. Maybe Gates has a lot to carry; maybe he has bad knees; maybe his personal security is an issue; maybe he has allergies this season. Maybe he's simply uncoordinated. Also (and I doubt this applies to Gates), I've lived in places where cars are too dangerous to bicyclers to ride regularly, either because of the drivers, the rules, the lack of bike lanes, etc.
cstross 12y ago
Bill Gates is 58 years old. "Once you get fit" takes on a whole new meaning once you pass 40 -- it gets a lot harder and you run into musculoskeletal and joint problems that seldom affect folks who haven't hit middle age yet. Cycling's probably not a big deal if the area you live is flat as a pancake, like the Netherlands, but Seattle is anything but flat. (I speak from 49 years of life experience. Exercise means swimming for me: getting myself run over or requiring titanium knees are not on my to-do list for the next decade.)

vacri 12y ago

An hour's walk each way = 2 hours out of your day commuting. For a workaholic billionaire with a prediliction for charity, that's quite a waste of time. Similarly with riding, it's not just the ride. A car is easy if you've got a parking spot at both ends. Hop in, hop out. Commuting by biking (usually) requires you to change clothing, which really should be included in your commute time. And some people just enjoy driving, like some people enjoy walking or riding. I haven't met the person who likes being crammed into a sweaty train-crowd yet, though :)

twic 12y ago

4 miles is 12 minutes if you can sustain 20 mph door-to-door. If Bill's commute brings him into contact with traffic lights or urban traffic, he won't be able to do that. I commute about five miles by bike in London, and it takes me about 25 minutes. There are maybe 5 minutes of full-speed travel in that time, and about 20 of filtering and waiting. It's still a lot faster than driving, though!

hackuser 12y ago

> It's difficult to understand why people drive such tiny distances. I agree with a general point about benefits of non-carbon-producing transportation. I don't want to judge any particular person, however; I simply don't know and it's not my business. Maybe Gates has a lot to carry; maybe he has bad knees; maybe his personal security is an issue; maybe he has allergies this season. Maybe he's simply uncoordinated. Also (and I doubt this applies to Gates), I've lived in places where cars are too dangerous to bicyclers to ride regularly, either because of the drivers, the rules, the lack of bike lanes, etc.

cstross 12y ago

Bill Gates is 58 years old. "Once you get fit" takes on a whole new meaning once you pass 40 -- it gets a lot harder and you run into musculoskeletal and joint problems that seldom affect folks who haven't hit middle age yet. Cycling's probably not a big deal if the area you live is flat as a pancake, like the Netherlands, but Seattle is anything but flat. (I speak from 49 years of life experience. Exercise means swimming for me: getting myself run over or requiring titanium knees are not on my to-do list for the next decade.)