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One year of cycling to work

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Re: One year of cycling to work

#391

Post by [deleted] »

majewsky wrote: post #200
ilovecars2 wrote: post #113

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It is NOT OK to go through red lights, whether in a car, on a bike or on foot. The rules are the rules and we should all abide them. It happens all the time in London where bikes go through red lights and weave through pedestrians (sometimes at speed) who are crossing the road. Pedestrians are even worse - and often walk or run across red lights and almost get hit from a bus, car or bike. It’s madness!

> It is NOT OK to go through red lights, whether in a car, on a bike or on foot. Actually, it depends. Just last week, I learned that it is perfectly legal to jaywalk in Germany, IF it does not interrupt flowing traffic or endanger anyone. Also, you must take the shortest path (orthogonal to the lanes) when crossing a road. (§25 Abs. 3 StVO) I jaywalk all the time. It's just ridiculous to wait at a red light when the…

[deleted]

Re: One year of cycling to work

#393

Post by todd8 »

I met a nice person once that worked at an IBM location. He was in fantastic shape, he commuted to work 5 miles away—on foot! He ran both ways.

I barely qualified to run the Boston Marathon and had a good time running the race through my old college neighborhoods. This guy, who was a runner friend of a runner friend, was in a very different category, very fast. He trained on top of the weekly 50 miles of commuting.

Re: One year of cycling to work

#394

Post by thinkMOAR »

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?

i don't know, i know i have a bad one, as after 15+ mins of cycling, when i get off the bicycle... can't describe it differently.. my balls sleep... and i can describe that that is not a pleasant feeling. e.g. 10 fold worse then a sleeping foot or leg.

Re: One year of cycling to work

#395

Post by Retric »

harg wrote: post #389
Retric wrote: post #204

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Just be aware that heavy exercise near significant car exhaust is fairly bad for your lungs. If you go a moderate pace it's not that bad, but if you like going all out a face mask is a good investment.

The benefits of exercise actually usually outweigh harm from pollution in many developed cities, e.g. London: https://ig.ft.com/sites/urban-cycling/assets/pollution-londo... Of course if you live in a very polluted city the harm is much more pronounced: https://ig.ft.com/sites/urban-cycling/assets/pollution-world... Source: https://ig.ft.com/sites/urban-cycling/

Fine particulate pollution is the easiest to filter, but not the only harm from urban air. Many chemicals like NOx compounds, CO, etc are not healthy.

Including increased accident risks, particulate, and chemical pollution together is a very different risk profile vs comparing all benefits vs a subset of downsides.

That said, you can filter out most particulates and there is little reason not to take this precaution.

Re: One year of cycling to work

#396

Post by pertymcpert »

Retric wrote: post #395
harg wrote: post #389

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The benefits of exercise actually usually outweigh harm from pollution in many developed cities, e.g. London: https://ig.ft.com/sites/urban-cycling/assets/pollution-londo... Of course if you live in a very polluted city the harm is much more pronounced: https://ig.ft.com/sites/urban-cycling/assets/pollution-world... Source: https://ig.ft.com/sites/urban-cycling/

Fine particulate pollution is the easiest to filter, but not the only harm from urban air. Many chemicals like NOx compounds, CO, etc are not healthy. Including increased accident risks, particulate, and chemical pollution together is a very different risk profile vs comparing all benefits vs a subset of downsides. That said, you can filter out most particulates and there is little reason not to take this precaution.

I read somewhere that being in a car doesn’t protect against it either, so if it’s a choice between driving and biking then biking is still better.

Re: One year of cycling to work

#397

Post by Retric »

pertymcpert wrote: post #396
Retric wrote: post #395

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Fine particulate pollution is the easiest to filter, but not the only harm from urban air. Many chemicals like NOx compounds, CO, etc are not healthy. Including increased accident risks, particulate, and chemical pollution together is a very different risk profile vs comparing all benefits vs a subset of downsides. That said, you can filter out most particulates and there is little reason not to take this precaution.

I read somewhere that being in a car doesn’t protect against it either, so if it’s a choice between driving and biking then biking is still better.

Exercise increases the body's need for oxygen > which increases the rate you breath in air > which increases exposure over the same time frame.

Also, many cars include high quality air filtration which really does help.

But again, just buy a mask and deal with the actual problem.

Re: One year of cycling to work

#398

Post by rikkus »

Retric wrote: post #378
jakecopp wrote: post #363

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I wonder how the health trade off between breathing emissions while cycling vs. lack of exercise while driving and obesity risk works.

I suspect it's age dependent as cycling before 35 is unlikely to extend your life significantly, but adds risks. Some bike heavy countries don't have unusually long lifespans which IMO supports that line of thinking. With age exercise becomes increasingly important, so it probably flips at some point. However, like a bike helmet an air filter is at most a minor inconvenience.

What’s breathing through one like when working hard? I’m imagining I would feel suffocated.

Re: One year of cycling to work

#399

Post by Retric »

rikkus wrote: post #398
Retric wrote: post #378

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I suspect it's age dependent as cycling before 35 is unlikely to extend your life significantly, but adds risks. Some bike heavy countries don't have unusually long lifespans which IMO supports that line of thinking. With age exercise becomes increasingly important, so it probably flips at some point. However, like a bike helmet an air filter is at most a minor inconvenience.

What’s breathing through one like when working hard? I’m imagining I would feel suffocated.

Depends on the mask. A good one is only really noticeable as something on your face. I find it easier to breath as the air feels cleaner and my chest feels less tight.

PS: I suspect re-breathing a tiny amount of CO2 probably has a measurable impact over a longer race. (Don't have data on this though.)

Re: One year of cycling to work

#400

Post by lflux »

jteppinette wrote: post #187
lflux wrote: post #169

I've been biking to work every day for over 6 months now, though mine is considerably shorter - 2 miles in SF. I got tired of being stuck on cramped muni trains not going anywhere and figured I could use a little exercise every day.

What is your opinion on cycling in the city. I live in SOMA and haven’t started riding yet. I used to ride all the time in GA, but it definitely seems more dangerous out here.

Only other city I've ridden is Stockholm, and I commute on Folsom which has a striped lane but basically:

a) Make sure you're visible. I always have lights and reflectors, and wear hi-vis jacket if it's dark out

b) Always assume there's an Uber about to do something dumb and dangerous - ride defensively, don't assume that drivers see you, seek eye contact, don't be afraid to take the lane

c) Relax, take it easy, it's a wonderful city to ride in.

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