3 ms·

Disclosure here - I'm a racer, own some 10 odd bikes for various disciplines, but realize my 4 mile commute to the loop every day does nothing to further that.

by bbarn 12y ago

Disclosure here - I'm a racer, own some 10 odd bikes for various disciplines, but realize my 4 mile commute to the loop every day does nothing to further that. It's essentially the "garbage miles" your typical racer talks about. As a result, I typically ride at a pace into work that is focused on not sweating as much as possible, but there are 4 months out of the year that it's so cold out that I've got to put on enough clothes that unless I get it JUST right (almost impossible in chicago) I have to err on the side of being too hot, and 2-3 other months where no matter if I'm wearing my fancy near-mesh high tech Assos jersey or not, barely going at a pace to beat walking, I'm going to be soaking wet from the heat. As far as "Separated" I guess it becomes important to define separated. If there were physical curbs between, I could see it - but where I have seen that those tend to become even more pedestrian travelled, but even the flexible post at interval type ones, I've seen most of those destroyed in the first year they'd been put in by plows, UPS drivers, you name it. It's a bit of a tall ask to put in full on curbs, as much as I think it could work. Most of our major downtown streets aren't much wider than SF's smaller streets, with parking on both sides.

dohertyjf 12y ago
Interesting points for sure. At some point I just say that sweating after a commute is something we have to deal with (same as getting fat by driving a car :-)). I'd rather bike and be sweaty than fat and driving a car (yes, I know not all car commuters are fat, but in generalities...). The separated thing is super interesting to me. Obviously we couldn't do it on all streets, like the very skinny SF ones you talk about (I live near many of them in the Lower Haight). On those, which are not major thoroughfares, mixing bikes and cars is fine. But when it comes to a 4-6 lane street like Market St (or some in Chicago), separated makes sense. The traffic will go around if the street is less amenable to them. It's the same argument as taking down a freeway through a city. SF did it both at the Embarcardero (well, that one was by natural causes aka an earthquake), but then also at Octavia. Traffic slowed, neighborhoods revitalized. Studies have been done showing that taking these down doesn't greatly increase driving times, and often the traffic driving them doesn't actually stop in the city that they pass through. Instead they pollute the air and leave. Strong argument for taking them down, IMO. But I've digressed. I agree there are challenges and never a one-size-fits-all solution. But there are solutions that are not currently being put into place that benefit the vast majority. </rant>
- hueving 12y ago
  Your association with being fat and driving is idiotic. A commute to work on a bike is not an intense activity so it's still very easy for overweight people to do. About 1/5 of the bikers I see (South Bay) are overweight. 95% of them I see commuting are not exerting themselves so they aren't getting meaningful exercise.

by bbarn 12y ago

dohertyjf 12y ago

Interesting points for sure. At some point I just say that sweating after a commute is something we have to deal with (same as getting fat by driving a car :-)). I'd rather bike and be sweaty than fat and driving a car (yes, I know not all car commuters are fat, but in generalities...). The separated thing is super interesting to me. Obviously we couldn't do it on all streets, like the very skinny SF ones you talk about (I live near many of them in the Lower Haight). On those, which are not major thoroughfares, mixing bikes and cars is fine. But when it comes to a 4-6 lane street like Market St (or some in Chicago), separated makes sense. The traffic will go around if the street is less amenable to them. It's the same argument as taking down a freeway through a city. SF did it both at the Embarcardero (well, that one was by natural causes aka an earthquake), but then also at Octavia. Traffic slowed, neighborhoods revitalized. Studies have been done showing that taking these down doesn't greatly increase driving times, and often the traffic driving them doesn't actually stop in the city that they pass through. Instead they pollute the air and leave. Strong argument for taking them down, IMO. But I've digressed. I agree there are challenges and never a one-size-fits-all solution. But there are solutions that are not currently being put into place that benefit the vast majority. </rant>

hueving 12y ago
Your association with being fat and driving is idiotic. A commute to work on a bike is not an intense activity so it's still very easy for overweight people to do. About 1/5 of the bikers I see (South Bay) are overweight. 95% of them I see commuting are not exerting themselves so they aren't getting meaningful exercise.