I run to work 4 days/week (work from home the other day). It's about 6 miles from my place in Brooklyn to the office in Manhattan. Took me a while to work up to 6 miles as a daily routine but can do it easily now. Combining my commute with my daily exercise has been fantastic, I'd recommend it to anyone who is able for a couple reasons: it's efficient (you have to take time out of your day getting to work anyway), and it makes it easy to stick to the routine (I try to put the option of taking the subway out of my mind).
One year of cycling to work
121–130 of 411 posts
Re: One year of cycling to work
#122Earlier quoted context omitted.
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 ?
I don't whatsoever. I live 4 miles from the office, and I take about 14 back roads to get to it. I still have to cross 3 major roads without a light or anything to help me. San Jose is not bike friendly at all.
Re: One year of cycling to work
#123I cycle around 3 times the distance he does daily to and from work in London. I've been doing this for 5 years. It's probably fair to say I take more days off than he does though (I leave the bike at home if going for a drink). I suppose the same could be said for any form of regular exercise, but it makes such an improvement to how I feel when I get to work, and my general well-being. The pollution in London has alw…
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.
Absolutely true. Once you're confident, you realise how to get good infrastructure anywhere: share the road with motor vehicles if the dedicated infrastructure sucks.
Sure, some people will hate you for that, but I prefer disliked over smeared onto pavement any time of the day.
Re: One year of cycling to work
#124I commute about 6 miles each way between Brooklyn (home) and Manhattan (work). I've been raving about it to everyone I know because it's legitimately changed my life. It feels amazing, saves money, keeps me in much better shape, gives me more energy at work. It's slightly faster than the subway, and significantly faster than driving/cabbing at rush hour.
I also love that transit time is very consistent (even relative to the subway, which has lately been wonky). It's great to arrive for our morning standup exactly 7 minutes early, rather than having to pad in 30 minutes of unproductive dead space in case the subway has some problem.
NYC bike paths have gotten pretty good over the years, such that I can use protected lanes for ~70% of the trip, and dedicated lanes for >90%. No accidents yet but several close calls, mostly with pedestrians. New York streets are crowded and aggressive, but the speeds are low and drivers are relatively vigilant.
Re: One year of cycling to work
#125Earlier quoted context omitted.
I've fallen thrice (that I can remember). Two of these times was when I was stupid enough to ride on ice with slicks. The third time I tried to pull some fancy trick up a curb (just stupid). So, I've scratched my jeans. Other than that: nothing ( touch wood ). Nowadays I run studded tyres in the winter and they're crazy effective. I don't recommend riding without a helmet or hövding, but this article gives you some i…
How hostile are the drivers in Stockholm? Bay Area drivers aren’t super friendly to cyclists (to be fair, plenty of cyclists also behave like assholes, cutting in front of cars and crossing intersections when they shouldn’t.) My biggest concern during a year of using my bike to commute was making sure I didn’t get ran over by a car taking a turn, because signaling is not always their forte.
I don't find them to be very hostile. A lot of drivers are extremely stressed (particularly in the morning) and unfocused though. I always try to expect them not to see me at all and I pick safer roads over marginally shorter roads.
Some cyclists get very worked up by ill behavior from motorists, getting into dangerous situations to prove their point. Motorists are protected by a >1000 kg shield of metal, so I try just get on with my day.
Re: One year of cycling to work
#126I've been cycling to work in downtown LA for nearly 8 years, 4 miles each way. I'm faster than a car over that commute. The weather is fantastic, and I am physically in great shape. Mental benefits are huge.
I've gone about 15,000 miles in dense urban environments without any accidents of any kind. There are a number of keys to this:
- Think like a driver -- it helps to be a good driver first
- Think, period. Don't listen to music, pay attention.
- Don't ride in the door zone. Don't let drivers make you ride in the door zone. If you need the lane, take the lane. It's your right.
- Use flashing lights on front and back, at all times of day. Nobody else except emergency vehicles is allowed to have flashing lights. There's a good reason: they are unmissable and very distracting.
- Wear brightly colored shirts and a bright colored helmet.
- If you don't wear a helmet, don't worry about it, it doesn't mitigate that much risk. The exercise benefits of biking do way more to increase your life expectancy than skipping a helmet does to reduce it.
Re: One year of cycling to work
#127I'm at my 12 year of every day bike commuting. Before I commuted 10 km each direction, now I'm at 6 km. If I have activities after work, I ride to them too. So my total ride length is a fair bit longer than what my commute is. The public transportation network here in Stockholm is good, but wouldn't even consider cramming myself into a packed subway train or bus. Even at this time of the year when it's -5 degrees cel…
I commuted by bike for years in NYC and frankly I do not recommend it. The traffic has always been bad but it’s now significantly worse, and the bike lanes that exist make riding even more dangerous. You are always within reach of parked cars doors, and the lack of a physical barrier on most lanes means they are often driven over by cars. Perhaps worst of all, even faulty bike lanes give cyclists a sense of entitleme…
I have never looked at the data for NYC but for many cities cycling is about as dangerous as walking. The data might surprise you.
Re: One year of cycling to work
#128I also have been cycling for 2 years now everyday. 100kms average every week. Never have felt more enthusiastic and energetic at workplace. Helps concentrate on the work, beats bad traffic and gives a very good exercise overall
Re: One year of cycling to work
#129I'm at my 12 year of every day bike commuting. Before I commuted 10 km each direction, now I'm at 6 km. If I have activities after work, I ride to them too. So my total ride length is a fair bit longer than what my commute is. The public transportation network here in Stockholm is good, but wouldn't even consider cramming myself into a packed subway train or bus. Even at this time of the year when it's -5 degrees cel…
I commuted by bike for years in NYC and frankly I do not recommend it. The traffic has always been bad but it’s now significantly worse, and the bike lanes that exist make riding even more dangerous. You are always within reach of parked cars doors, and the lack of a physical barrier on most lanes means they are often driven over by cars. Perhaps worst of all, even faulty bike lanes give cyclists a sense of entitleme…
Don't ride in the door zone. Don't let cars make you ride in the door zone. Take the car lane instead.
I've gone 15,000 miles safely in dense urban environments because I am heads-up about the 2 main threats: intersections, and the door zone.
Re: One year of cycling to work
#130Earlier quoted context omitted.
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…
You do it just like a car. Merge from the lane to the turn lane. Signal your move. Stop in the intersection if you need to yield. Take your time waiting for an appropriate gap, then turn left. Don’t worry about cars behind you, they would have to wait for their own gap anyway. Behaving like a car as much as possible makes you more predictable, and keeps everyone out of trouble. I stop at red lights too.
This.
If traffic is light and not too fast, I just signal, merge into the turn lane, and turn as if I were a car. If it's a multi-lane road, that means "taking the lane" for a bit. I try to minimize that, but it happens.
If traffic is heavy or fast, I will signal, pull off to the side, and cross like a pedestrian.
Generally speaking, I try to be as "car-like" and predictable as possible.