Commuting Via Bicycle

[cycl...@gmail.com]

It's raining outside and has been more or less for the last month. That triggered the thought that many people in San Francisco cannot afford to keep autos in the city and therefore commute by bicycle or public transit.

Well the public transit has gotten to the point where it is overloaded over the entire commute periods.

Will this bring out commuters on bicycles in the London-esque atmosphere?

What say you commuters?

[Stephen Harding]

Hard to say. I see routes, the number and state-of-mind of motor vehicle operators,
distance to work, weather and work requirements as key factors that will have major
effects on bicycle commuting.

Of course one needs to be "within range" of work to make bike commuting feasible. No
one wants to be getting up at 4 in the morning to make the 50 mile ride to work!

Furthermore, most people really don't want cars zooming by them [closely] as they
ride. Alternate, more peaceful routes can really encourage someone out of their car.

If traffic is very heavy, some people may very well decide to try the bike to get to
work, sometimes, because they see the people on bicycles passing them on the road as
they're stuck in traffic.

However, if motor vehicle operators are somewhat hostile towards bikes on roads, it
may rein in any proclivities to try to bike commute.

What sort of environment do you work? I can come in to work in sweaty t-shirt and
cutoffs, hauling my bike into my office without any problem whatsoever.

But someone making a sales presentation to an important client probably can't be in
that state of dress. That means a change of clothes, some storage for spare
clothing, a towel and perhaps access to a shower will be required. You'll also need
to secure the bike somewhere safe.

Finally, lots of people like riding a bike on a fine spring morning, but not so much
so in the rain. If you live in a spot with common rain or overcast and cold or very
hot temperatures, you'll probably not forsake your automobile.

I've bike commuted for 20+ years, even through winter up until two winters ago, and I
am seeing more people on bikes these days doing work commutes. But I'm fortunate to
live in a very bike friendly area with some pretty good bicycling infrastructure.

But who knows, I do recall being quite impressed during a visit to London several
years back and seeing the bicyclists, many in very nice suits and skirts, pedaling
ahead of our two-decker tour bus, speedily transiting through a round-about!


SMH

[cycl...@gmail.com]

I don't know where you live Stephen but let me give you an example of San Francisco bay area traffic: Palo Also is about 22 miles from my doorway on the most direct route. The route with the least traffic is 30 miles. The last time I went to my doctor in Palo Alto Medical Center it took me two hours and twenty minutes. There was NO special traffic jams - only normal traffic. If I were to ride my bicycle I often do the ride in under 2 hours.

The weather this winter wouldn't allow this but probably the next appointment I have in the spring I'll take the bike as a test.

[Stephen Harding]

Wow, over 2 hours for 20/30 miles in a car!!!

I live in Western Massachusetts and commute between my home in Northampton to my work
in Amherst. A direct route via state route 9 takes me about 35-45 minutes (in
non-winter conditions) for a 10-12 mile each way ride. I'm fortunate in that a bike
path pretty closely parallels the road route and is only a little slower (and a much
prettier) ride. It's one of those rare occasions where a bike path actually
functions well as a commute/errands route.

Don't know what the drivers are like there, but of course here in Massachusetts, our
drivers are known as being extremely rude ones ("MassHoles") and deservedly so IMHO.

However, the main road is still generally very ridable and the area a real budding
bicycling mecca (MTB and road bikes alike), so I consider myself very fortunate.

If you feel comfortable on the route you need to use, and the time is as good (or
even just a little longer), I'd definitely give the bike commute a try. As you said,
start out trying it once and see how it goes. As you pass by stalled cars in
traffic, perhaps you'll cause someone inside one of them to think "maybe I should try
that"!


SMH

[cycl...@gmail.com]

Typically California drivers are pretty polite around bicycles. But there are Asian women drivers who seem to be asleep at the wheel and Hispanic punks in newish pickup trucks who think that it is their honor to try to frighten bicyclists before the practice of cycling gets too common.

The police observing these dangerous activities do absolutely nothing. But then again they also do not even try to ticket speeders on the freeways. No matter HOW dangerous they drive.

[Joerg]

Old Eastern-Frisian saying: There is no bad weather, only wrong clothing.

One of my most fun rides was on singletrack. It rained for almost the
whole four hours. The bike was going partly sideways most of the time
while on dirt. I felt as happy as back as a kid when I snuck out and
headed for the motocross track on my little 20" children's bike.

--
Regards, Joerg

http://www.analogconsultants.com/