Why do you commute by bike?

themerlin · Postby **themerlin** » Sun Jul 24, 2011 7:28 pm

The money is more of an issue if you need to get into the city. Saved me $500 in a few months and that's only doing 3 days a week.

GingaNinja · Postby **GingaNinja** » Wed Jul 27, 2011 10:53 pm

Because my wife wrote off her car and so now is using mine.

I love it that I "have to ride" but my wife keeps on giving me options out. It's not hard to resist because I do love to ride, commuting is great because you have a set destination and a specific purpose. And it gives me an excuse to enjoy a chocolate bar during the day. Pity my wife won't approve of me heading for a regular massage. Damn the papers reporting "happy ending" shops.

tman · Postby **tman** » Tue Nov 08, 2011 11:04 pm

Simply coz I love riding my bike. Its only a 5km commute and I can only do 2 days a week, unfortunately. The other three I drop the daughter off at daycare but I have on occasion dropped her off and gone back home to get to work by bike!

gretaboy · Postby **gretaboy** » Wed Nov 09, 2011 9:59 am

I commute for a number of reasons:

1) Distance is 45k's from home to office so I am saving heaps on petrol.

2) The exercise is great for the Mental health side and physical side..slowly dropping the weight

3) Dont have time after work to get to a gym or such due to family and such

4) Am loving the challenge of cycling and trying to better my times

Downside is that due to my route, I am pretty much risking my life every day due to the roads not being designed with cyclists in mind

Postby **thomashouseman** » Wed Nov 09, 2011 1:27 pm

tman wrote:Simply coz I love riding my bike. Its only a 5km commute and I can only do 2 days a week, unfortunately. The other three I drop the daughter off at daycare but I have on occasion dropped her off and gone back home to get to work by bike!

Get one of those bike kiddie trailer thinghamies and leave it at daycare and pick up in the afternoon on the way home.

blossy84 · Postby **blossy84** » Wed Nov 09, 2011 2:44 pm

Oxford wrote:
il padrone wrote:
Oxford wrote:Seriously IP are you married? That is going to be one ugly conversation.
Well, yes. But it's my wife who is the one that pulls the bike out to do the shopping, ride to church and who goes for a regular daily walk.
Yes but you are the exception it would seem. I wish I could get my wife interested in cycling, but not to be unfortunately, she like the moto version only.

It's the opposite in our house too.. I wish I could get my husband to ride with me or even walk with me, but he prefers to keep the couch warm.

blossy84 · Postby **blossy84** » Wed Nov 09, 2011 3:01 pm

I ride because I want to, because I like to.

Hux · Postby **Hux** » Wed Nov 09, 2011 3:55 pm

Riding for me freshens my mind before and after work. Plus how can you compare the joy of riding against the mindless train commute

Postby **Mulger bill** » Wed Nov 09, 2011 6:28 pm

erin wrote:I ride because I want to, because I like to. Because I must!

Fixed that for you

jules21 · Postby **jules21** » Wed Nov 09, 2011 7:38 pm

because there's no publicly funded rehab program for bike commuting.

blossy84 · Postby **blossy84** » Wed Nov 09, 2011 7:52 pm

Mulger bill wrote:
erin wrote:I ride because I want to, because I like to. Because I must!
Fixed that for you

perfect... thanks

tman · Postby **tman** » Wed Nov 09, 2011 9:08 pm

Oxford wrote:
thomashouseman wrote:
tman wrote:Simply coz I love riding my bike. Its only a 5km commute and I can only do 2 days a week, unfortunately. The other three I drop the daughter off at daycare but I have on occasion dropped her off and gone back home to get to work by bike!
Get one of those bike kiddie trailer thinghamies and leave it at daycare and pick up in the afternoon on the way home.
yep did that myself for a few years, kids enjoy it, good workout for you and of course you get the thrill of riding everyday.

thought about it but her daycare is further out, I have extra stuff to lug and I don't know that I trust other motorists enough to ride with her in tow. Am slowly working up to it though!

teak81 · Postby **teak81** » Thu Nov 10, 2011 4:52 am

The exercise. And to keep the kilometers down on my car.

Livetoride · Postby **Livetoride** » Thu Nov 10, 2011 8:57 am

I think the the question should be, why wouldn't you commute by bike....

SCF · Postby **SCF** » Thu Nov 10, 2011 9:46 pm

teak81 wrote:The exercise. And to keep the kilometers down on my car.

me too.

dino_onabike1969 · Postby **dino_onabike1969** » Tue Nov 22, 2011 7:12 pm

a year ago my car packed up...i decided to purchase a bike and commute to work...the look of disbelief people's faces was comical![it is a 54km round trip commute and i work as a chef so the work hours are long and tiring!]i can honestly say i went through the whole denial process of "you won't catch me in lycra" etc...blah blah blah...this lasted about two weeks!!lol!
i have commuted in all weather conditions this year and there have been some tough days!however the feeling of riding and experiencing the freedom of the road etc..is incomparable!i have ridden around 13000km to date and if the gods are smiling on me i will continue on!!!love my bike!see you out there!!Black Giant TCR 2 Composite....dino...

Comedian · Postby **Comedian** » Wed Nov 23, 2011 8:41 am

dino_onabike1969 wrote:a year ago my car packed up...i decided to purchase a bike and commute to work...the look of disbelief people's faces was comical![it is a 54km round trip commute and i work as a chef so the work hours are long and tiring!]i can honestly say i went through the whole denial process of "you won't catch me in lycra" etc...blah blah blah...this lasted about two weeks!!lol!
i have commuted in all weather conditions this year and there have been some tough days!however the feeling of riding and experiencing the freedom of the road etc..is incomparable!i have ridden around 13000km to date and if the gods are smiling on me i will continue on!!!love my bike!see you out there!!Black Giant TCR 2 Composite....dino...

Great story Dino

westab · Postby **westab** » Wed Nov 23, 2011 9:33 am

This morning I was wondering why I commute - the answer today is because I must.

Usually it is because I want to - but riding to work in the rain is OK - cleaning the bike is not fun.

Livetoride · Postby **Livetoride** » Wed Nov 23, 2011 9:50 am

Comedian wrote:
dino_onabike1969 wrote:a year ago my car packed up...i decided to purchase a bike and commute to work...the look of disbelief people's faces was comical![it is a 54km round trip commute and i work as a chef so the work hours are long and tiring!]i can honestly say i went through the whole denial process of "you won't catch me in lycra" etc...blah blah blah...this lasted about two weeks!!lol!
i have commuted in all weather conditions this year and there have been some tough days!however the feeling of riding and experiencing the freedom of the road etc..is incomparable!i have ridden around 13000km to date and if the gods are smiling on me i will continue on!!!love my bike!see you out there!!Black Giant TCR 2 Composite....dino...
Great story Dino

+ 1

thats a good feel good story and yes I love the Giant TCR's too

goneriding · Postby **goneriding** » Wed Nov 23, 2011 10:21 am

westab wrote:This morning I was wondering why I commute - the answer today is because I must.

My validation this morning came from the long line of cars at every intersection that I cruised past. Herring Rd between Bridge Rd and Epping Rd was a complete car park to the point where some geniuses had blocked a couple of the roundabouts.

Last night one of the caged ones had even managed to completely miss the roundabout and was parked in the guard rail blocking traffic.

No further questioning required!

westab · Postby **westab** » Wed Nov 23, 2011 12:35 pm

goneriding wrote:
westab wrote:This morning I was wondering why I commute - the answer today is because I must.
My validation this morning came from the long line of cars at every intersection that I cruised past. Herring Rd between Bridge Rd and Epping Rd was a complete car park to the point where some geniuses had blocked a couple of the roundabouts.

Last night one of the caged ones had even managed to completely miss the roundabout and was parked in the guard rail blocking traffic.

No further questioning required!

+1 same answer different road - Sunnyholt road Blacktown

Comedian · Postby **Comedian** » Wed Nov 23, 2011 8:14 pm

When people talk to me about bike commuting I really don't think they get it. At some point in the conversation when the focus switches to how it's quicker than catching the bus (50m on the bus tonight compared to 35m on the bike - max) they usually ask what time I leave. When I say "whenever I like - traffic doesn't matter to me" the lightbulb usually goes on.

Max · Postby **Max** » Wed Nov 23, 2011 9:50 pm

Comedian wrote:When people talk to me about bike commuting I really don't think they get it. At some point in the conversation when the focus switches to how it's quicker than catching the bus (50m on the bus tonight compared to 35m on the bike - max) they usually ask what time I leave. When I say "whenever I like - traffic doesn't matter to me" the lightbulb usually goes on.

It's still a relevant question though, because it's not like you get to work instantly. It still takes X number of minutes to get there, plus time taken to get changed, organized etc. If you have a set start time for work, you need to understand the time taken to commute. If I asked someone that question, I would find the "it doesn't matter when you leave" response very frustrating. Why not just say something like "I leave at X o'clock, and that gets me sitting at my desk by Y o'clock"?

Sorry, I didn't intend that as a rant. I envy you CBD workers!

Max

Comedian · Postby **Comedian** » Wed Nov 23, 2011 10:57 pm

Max wrote:
Comedian wrote:When people talk to me about bike commuting I really don't think they get it. At some point in the conversation when the focus switches to how it's quicker than catching the bus (50m on the bus tonight compared to 35m on the bike - max) they usually ask what time I leave. When I say "whenever I like - traffic doesn't matter to me" the lightbulb usually goes on.
It's still a relevant question though, because it's not like you get to work instantly. It still takes X number of minutes to get there, plus time taken to get changed, organized etc. If you have a set start time for work, you need to understand the time taken to commute. If I asked someone that question, I would find the "it doesn't matter when you leave" response very frustrating. Why not just say something like "I leave at X o'clock, and that gets me sitting at my desk by Y o'clock"?

Sorry, I didn't intend that as a rant. I envy you CBD workers!

Max

Sorry... probably lost in the translation. The question is like if it takes you 35 minutes to get in do you have to leave at 6 am so you don't have any traffic. I then have to explain to them that it's 35 minutes anytime as traffic is not a factor for me.

dino_onabike1969 · Postby **dino_onabike1969** » Thu Nov 24, 2011 1:16 pm

Comedian wrote:When people talk to me about bike commuting I really don't think they get it. At some point in the conversation when the focus switches to how it's quicker than catching the bus (50m on the bus tonight compared to 35m on the bike - max) they usually ask what time I leave. When I say "whenever I like - traffic doesn't matter to me" the lightbulb usually goes on.

too true "Comedian"