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Bike commute to and from work. It is the best "energy creator" at the beginning of the day and the best "unwinder" at the end. I get home and am in such a bette

Bike commute to and from work. It is the best "energy creator" at the beginning of the day and the best "unwinder" at the end. I get home and am in such a better mood when I walk in the door (albeit perhaps a bit stinky). I'm pretty sure I solve some of my biggest problems while I let my mind wander on my ride home. It can be intimidating at first so I don't recommend immediately hopping on a bike and riding in traffic, but take a few weekends to get a feel for the bike of your choosing (lots of great commuter bikes out there) and then slowly get used to riding with cars zooming by you. I've been doing this for a few years now and have never had more energy at work.

millermp12 12y ago
Seconding this since it's getting short shrift here among all the talk about Rippentoe and Getting Big. Took a substantial pay cut in large part to avoid the soul killing commute and to be able to bicycle to work (~9 mi one way). Probably the single biggest life event in the last five years (after having kids). Used to do it daily but recently stopped after having to sort out logistics with school drop-offs, so I'm shopping for an ExtraCycle to address that, then back on the wagon!
Eric_WVGG 12y ago
As a fellow bike commuter, it blows my mind that other people pay money (in the form of fuel+payments+insurance) to get in worse shape, while we get healthier for effectively “free”.
- 0x5f3759df-i 12y ago
  You are ignoring the amount of time saved from motorized travel
  - Eric_WVGG 12y ago
    In Portland, Austin, and New York City, I have found it exceptionally rare when friends in a car would arrive at destinations before I would on a bicycle. That only gets flipped when the trips go suburban.
    - lkbm 12y ago
      I bike twelve miles a day in Austin (from UT area to Ben White, and back in the afternoon, going along Congress most of the way). 30-40 minutes. Currently I'm borrowing my friend's motorcycle, and when I ride that instead, it's more like 15-20 minutes, taking I-35. Judging by traffic on the other side of the highway, I'm guess it's because I'm commuting the opposite direction of most people. If you have parking, and traffic isn't terrible where/when you're going, the bicycle is usually slower. But, on the other hand, riding a bicycle is so much more _fun_ than driving a car. Riding a motorcycle can also be fun, but still always doesn't beat a bicycle for me.
  - kaitai 12y ago
    Not if you only have to bike six miles and you have to park 15 minutes from your office.
  - malandrew 12y ago
    Is it really time saved if you still need to find some other activity during the day to perform to stay in shape?
- emmanueloga_ 12y ago
  Thinking on getting an e-bike. Sounds like a good compromise between getting to the office soaked in sweat and doing some exercise on my way back and forth.
Jacqued 12y ago
I second this greatly. I have only taken it up recently and am left wondering why I did not do it MUCH earlier. The most astonishing thing for me was the amount of energy I got from it. I used to be quite apathetic during the day, with intense sleepiness in the early afternoons, and now I feel awake during the day. I cannot overstate how beneficial this is

millermp12 12y ago

Seconding this since it's getting short shrift here among all the talk about Rippentoe and Getting Big. Took a substantial pay cut in large part to avoid the soul killing commute and to be able to bicycle to work (~9 mi one way). Probably the single biggest life event in the last five years (after having kids). Used to do it daily but recently stopped after having to sort out logistics with school drop-offs, so I'm shopping for an ExtraCycle to address that, then back on the wagon!

Eric_WVGG 12y ago

As a fellow bike commuter, it blows my mind that other people pay money (in the form of fuel+payments+insurance) to get in worse shape, while we get healthier for effectively “free”.

0x5f3759df-i 12y ago
You are ignoring the amount of time saved from motorized travel
- Eric_WVGG 12y ago
  In Portland, Austin, and New York City, I have found it exceptionally rare when friends in a car would arrive at destinations before I would on a bicycle. That only gets flipped when the trips go suburban.
  - lkbm 12y ago
    I bike twelve miles a day in Austin (from UT area to Ben White, and back in the afternoon, going along Congress most of the way). 30-40 minutes. Currently I'm borrowing my friend's motorcycle, and when I ride that instead, it's more like 15-20 minutes, taking I-35. Judging by traffic on the other side of the highway, I'm guess it's because I'm commuting the opposite direction of most people. If you have parking, and traffic isn't terrible where/when you're going, the bicycle is usually slower. But, on the other hand, riding a bicycle is so much more _fun_ than driving a car. Riding a motorcycle can also be fun, but still always doesn't beat a bicycle for me.
- kaitai 12y ago
  Not if you only have to bike six miles and you have to park 15 minutes from your office.
- malandrew 12y ago
  Is it really time saved if you still need to find some other activity during the day to perform to stay in shape?
emmanueloga_ 12y ago
Thinking on getting an e-bike. Sounds like a good compromise between getting to the office soaked in sweat and doing some exercise on my way back and forth.

Jacqued 12y ago

I second this greatly. I have only taken it up recently and am left wondering why I did not do it MUCH earlier. The most astonishing thing for me was the amount of energy I got from it. I used to be quite apathetic during the day, with intense sleepiness in the early afternoons, and now I feel awake during the day. I cannot overstate how beneficial this is