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One year of cycling to work

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Re: One year of cycling to work

#71

Post by jandrese »

zawerf wrote: post #3

Getting hit by a car within a year is an anomaly right? He brushed it off as his "only accident" like it's supposed to be more commonplace.

Been biking to work for 4 years now and never had a close call with a car, but I try to avoid roads as much as possible. Luckily there is a bike trail that goes roughly in the direction I need. That said, there is one section where riding with the traffic is unavoidable and I hate it. I especially hate one particular stoplight that is on a sensor and the sensor is not strong enough to pick up my bike.

I should point out that I ride in the suburbs and road traffic goes much faster than what I can sustain on a bike. Most roads are 35 or 45mph and hilly/curvy, so they are terrifying to cycle on.

Re: One year of cycling to work

#72

Post by comprev »

Cycling to work is normal here in the Netherlands, especially in the cities.

Given a few times when I've been sick, I've ridden almost every day to work and back (8km), regardless of the weather (and the Dutch weather is famous for being rubbish).

I'm a cyclist at heart so really enjoy the daily commute along the canals, back streets and cycle paths of the city.

To be fair, even the nightclubs have cycle parking - and an attendant present too for security.

Re: One year of cycling to work

#73

Post by Aaargh20318 »

lmm wrote: post #13
cesis wrote: post #4

Another bonus for bicycling/walking is very predictable arrival time as no traffic jams, public transportation issues etc impact them.

Agreed but only up to a point. I can easily spend 5 minutes in the queue for the lights near my flat (a lot of buses and lorries on that road so I can't always lane split safely), and I was delayed much longer once because police had closed the road after a collision.

You don't have separate bicycle paths (and traffic lights) where you are ?

Re: One year of cycling to work

#74

Post by two2two »

neves wrote: post #42
thinkMOAR wrote: post #22

Earlier quoted context omitted.

and don't forget, sitting for long periods are known to lead to prostatitis; specially if you have a poor saddle on your bicycle

What is a good/bad saddle?

Custom ones can be made after they scan your pelvic region. Essentially, there's a depressed, or cutout section in the middle with two pads in parallel which should support your bones as the other poster mentioned.

Re: One year of cycling to work

#75

Post by Aaargh20318 »

jacknews wrote: post #11

conclusion: what a lovely route, choosing to cycle it isn't even a decision, especially as the other options seems to take longer. The author is super lucky and I'm jealous. I cycle to work too, but in a busy city.

I cycle to work in a busy city too, but fortunately the city I live in has a lot of parks and my route goes straight through one. It's really nice, especially on summer mornings. Would highly recommend.

Re: One year of cycling to work

#76

Post by monaghanboy »

I bike everyday to work in the South Bay, Silicon Valley area. Everyone I talk to here can't imagine life without a car, but I haven't had any issues; lots of bike paths here, and all groceries and the gym are just minutes away.

Sometimes when it rains I carpool, and I see how annoyed and irate most drivers get when commuting. So I don't regret not owning a car.

The downside is not being easily able to take day trips, so I still might buy one some day.

Re: One year of cycling to work

#77

Post by [deleted] »

77pt77 wrote: post #67
darklajid wrote: post #60

I commuted by bike (6km one way) in Tel Aviv, Israel and it was awesome. Great route, bike lanes/parks and a (tiny, but who cares) shower in the office. Did that for one year straight, just like the person in the article. Now I'm living in Singapore, a city that has a traffic problem and tries to reduce the cars on the streets. You'd think they would welcome bikes, but riding a bike here sucks. Big time. It's basical…

Biking in Singapore's humid heat does not sound pleasant at all.

[deleted]

Re: One year of cycling to work

#78

Post by dominotw »

deathanatos wrote: post #52
dominotw wrote: post #23

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> And I was one of those guys who rode in the middle of the car lane even when a bicycle lane was available. to avoid getting doored? Wouldn't this slow the traffic.

I do this to "take the lane"; essentially, if I'm in the middle of a lane, there is some reason why I want that lane — usually my own safety due to some other hazard, or perhaps I'm going to make an upcoming left — and I want/need drivers near me to essentially give me the same respect they'd give a car. Typically, the idea is that I would like drivers behind me to not pass me in the same lane that I'm in — that is,…

Yea I never understood how cyclists are expected to make left turns. If there is a bike lane is in the right corner, how and when are they supposed to get into left turn on only lane. I can't even imagine cyclist making yeild left on red, thats absurd amount of risk to take. Left on arrow are not very common, imagine trying to make a fast turn on your bike while a speeding car is coming right at you.

Only safe way to make a left turn is to get off the bike and do it like pedestrians.

Re: One year of cycling to work

#79

Post by ZeroGravitas »

lmm wrote: post #41
vivan wrote: post #24

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I live in London and I'd love to cycle to work, but the infrastructure (for my route) just isn't there. And for people who aren't experienced cyclists, it is even worse as lack of confidence actually leads to more accidents.

I was pleasantly surprised by how nice the route to work a cycling route planner gave me in London was. There are less nice parts at the beginning and end (as I get onto and off the cycle-friendly streets), but the majority of the route (some on Q2, some on quiet 20mph roads with no specific cycling provision) is not bad.

https://www.cyclestreets.net/ is one such planner that may have bike only shorcuts that aren't marked on other map sources (it's based on OpenStreetMap and feeds cycle specific data back I believe).

Re: One year of cycling to work

#80

Post by w0utert »

comprev wrote: post #72

Cycling to work is normal here in the Netherlands, especially in the cities. Given a few times when I've been sick, I've ridden almost every day to work and back (8km), regardless of the weather (and the Dutch weather is famous for being rubbish). I'm a cyclist at heart so really enjoy the daily commute along the canals, back streets and cycle paths of the city. To be fair, even the nightclubs have cycle parking - an…

6km one-way isn't very remarkable here indeed, in terms of distance I would consider it a short bike ride. I'm cycling ~8km each day myself now, but I have colleagues who do ~15km one-way each day, which I would consider on the high end for a bike commute.

I agree with the sentiment of the article though, which is that cycling to work basically has only advantages if the weather is good. When it's raining or particularly windy I still take the car, but on all other days I greatly prefer cycling. No traffic, no problems finding a parking spot, it wakes you up in the morning, makes you hungry (in a good way), saves money, and for me it basically eliminates the need to allocate any extra time for additional exercise.

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