The usual – people expect a ride to be exhausting before they have experienced it.
IMHO once we get used to the daily commute ride, we start to enjoy it.
Some of the negative feelings may come from not having conditioned our bodies to the work involved – bums and saddles etc….
When is the last time someone described walking as “too much work”? People cycling for transportation should not be putting out more effort than a brisk walk.
Travelling to the office is not a race. What it can be is a social experience. Chatting with someone, riding side-by-side; that’s a great way to travel. See:
Most days! I walk 2.5km (1.5miles) to work most days unless I get the bike out to go the long way. I get so much amazement and “good on you” from everyone else who drives in.
Kevin, you said: “Travelling to the office is not a race.”
Ever hear of Category 6 racers? Seems like the majority of the clowns riding to work on my bike commute fall into this type. Of course, it is a suburban setting and my commute includes the American River Bicycle Path, which seems to attract those who are intent on staring a few feet in front of their wheel while going for the Strava record on their way to work, Cat 6 riders on Cat 1 bikes wearing huge backpacks. Pity, as the path runs along a beautiful river in state and county parkland just begging to be viewed and enjoyed.
Hi Bokchoi. I ride into Sac from Davis, and honestly, there isn’t really anything much to see–the causeway is sort of miserable, and West Sac is just dangerous. I envy you your bike trail ride!
She’s interpreting a commute as “play”. Her only intent for riding is just that, “play”. As long as she rides the thing, who cares about the semantics? Butts on Bikes. Sell her one. It’ll either end up gathering dust or she’ll love it so much she’ll be back for more down the road.
I commute 3 to 4 days a week. 14 miles into work 12 miles back home. Mondays are rest days generally. I am in a better mood when I ride in. I certainly do not feel exhausted. I do tend to go to sleep easier at the end of the day.
My health, happiness, and overall energy has increased enormously due to commuting to work. On the other hand, when I see comments like “People cycling for transportation should not be putting out more effort than a brisk walk. Travelling to the office is not a race. What it can be is a social experience. Chatting with someone, riding side-by-side; that’s a great way to travel.” I have to groan. What cycling for transportation really is, is transportation. Not blocking the roads and paths chatting with your friends, not goofing around drifting all over the place like you are a child playing in the streets. It is precisely like operating any other vehicle on the public byways – hopefully responsibly and efficiently and not like an entitled, self-indulgent clown.
True enough, Heffe, but that doesn’t mean that you have to have a laser-like focus on what you’re doing with absolutely no time for looking around and enjoying the ride. Otherwise you’re little better than the “cat 6” riders that BokChoi Cowboy talks about.
Bicycle Bill, your comment is a bit of a non-sequitur. I don’t think I implied in any way that I didn’t enjoy the ride and in fact it is one of the great pleasures of my life. But, exactly as if I were driving a car, when I get off work I need to get home by a certain time in order to help prepare my family’s dinner and I don’t relish the potential obstacle or danger of childish people randomly cavorting about the streets. I have found that the person who looks at bicycling as their special escape from the responsibilities of transportation, as referenced in my first post, is the type that most endangers others. I’ve seen them drifting blithely across lanes in busy traffic, going the wrong way down one way streets, completely blocking a very busy bike path while chatting and looking at their smart phones, and blowing off red lights at busy intersections. I’ve also seen them hit by cars while blithely drifting across lanes in heavy traffic and then seen them having seizures on the pavement as emergency vehicles arrive. Now that really made me not enjoy the ride. Also, since you mention them – as long as ‘Category 6 racers’ don’t violate any ordinances, I don’t care what they do and neither would any reasonable person who is, to put it bluntly, minding their own business.
The usual – people expect a ride to be exhausting before they have experienced it.
IMHO once we get used to the daily commute ride, we start to enjoy it.
Some of the negative feelings may come from not having conditioned our bodies to the work involved – bums and saddles etc….
When is the last time someone described walking as “too much work”? People cycling for transportation should not be putting out more effort than a brisk walk.
Travelling to the office is not a race. What it can be is a social experience. Chatting with someone, riding side-by-side; that’s a great way to travel. See:
http://www.aviewfromthecyclepath.com/2016/08/mass-cycling-requires-sociable-side-by.html
Most days! I walk 2.5km (1.5miles) to work most days unless I get the bike out to go the long way. I get so much amazement and “good on you” from everyone else who drives in.
Kevin, you said: “Travelling to the office is not a race.”
Ever hear of Category 6 racers? Seems like the majority of the clowns riding to work on my bike commute fall into this type. Of course, it is a suburban setting and my commute includes the American River Bicycle Path, which seems to attract those who are intent on staring a few feet in front of their wheel while going for the Strava record on their way to work, Cat 6 riders on Cat 1 bikes wearing huge backpacks. Pity, as the path runs along a beautiful river in state and county parkland just begging to be viewed and enjoyed.
Hi Bokchoi. I ride into Sac from Davis, and honestly, there isn’t really anything much to see–the causeway is sort of miserable, and West Sac is just dangerous. I envy you your bike trail ride!
She’s interpreting a commute as “play”. Her only intent for riding is just that, “play”. As long as she rides the thing, who cares about the semantics? Butts on Bikes. Sell her one. It’ll either end up gathering dust or she’ll love it so much she’ll be back for more down the road.
I commute 3 to 4 days a week. 14 miles into work 12 miles back home. Mondays are rest days generally. I am in a better mood when I ride in. I certainly do not feel exhausted. I do tend to go to sleep easier at the end of the day.
My health, happiness, and overall energy has increased enormously due to commuting to work. On the other hand, when I see comments like “People cycling for transportation should not be putting out more effort than a brisk walk. Travelling to the office is not a race. What it can be is a social experience. Chatting with someone, riding side-by-side; that’s a great way to travel.” I have to groan. What cycling for transportation really is, is transportation. Not blocking the roads and paths chatting with your friends, not goofing around drifting all over the place like you are a child playing in the streets. It is precisely like operating any other vehicle on the public byways – hopefully responsibly and efficiently and not like an entitled, self-indulgent clown.
True enough, Heffe, but that doesn’t mean that you have to have a laser-like focus on what you’re doing with absolutely no time for looking around and enjoying the ride. Otherwise you’re little better than the “cat 6” riders that BokChoi Cowboy talks about.
Bicycle Bill, your comment is a bit of a non-sequitur. I don’t think I implied in any way that I didn’t enjoy the ride and in fact it is one of the great pleasures of my life. But, exactly as if I were driving a car, when I get off work I need to get home by a certain time in order to help prepare my family’s dinner and I don’t relish the potential obstacle or danger of childish people randomly cavorting about the streets. I have found that the person who looks at bicycling as their special escape from the responsibilities of transportation, as referenced in my first post, is the type that most endangers others. I’ve seen them drifting blithely across lanes in busy traffic, going the wrong way down one way streets, completely blocking a very busy bike path while chatting and looking at their smart phones, and blowing off red lights at busy intersections. I’ve also seen them hit by cars while blithely drifting across lanes in heavy traffic and then seen them having seizures on the pavement as emergency vehicles arrive. Now that really made me not enjoy the ride. Also, since you mention them – as long as ‘Category 6 racers’ don’t violate any ordinances, I don’t care what they do and neither would any reasonable person who is, to put it bluntly, minding their own business.