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One year of cycling to work

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Re: One year of cycling to work

#91

Post by HarryHirsch »

dguaraglia wrote: post #84
unicornporn wrote: post #56

Earlier 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.

cutting in front of cars and crossing intersections when they shouldn’t

What drivers who have never used a bicycle don't even consider is that as a cyclist you are extremely mobile and have a much better overview of the road. A cyclist can cross an intersection on red with little danger, a car attempting the same would be murderous.

In countries like the Netherlands most everyone has biked to school from the age of 6 before they are turned loose in a car at 18, there is much better mutual understanding between car drivers and bike riders over there.

Re: One year of cycling to work

#92

Post by NegativeLatency »

thinkMOAR wrote: post #22
lj3 wrote: post #14

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Short distances on a bicycle are actually healthier than longer distances. Long distance cyclists tend to have issues with losing bone and muscle density.

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

You could always get a recumbent

Re: One year of cycling to work

#93

Post by CalRobert »

avitzurel wrote: post #86
kurthr wrote: post #82

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Which freeways do you cross under/over? How do you do it safely? I'd happily ride on trails or small streets (and have) , but most of the regular commute riders I know do ~30mi rt a day... most of them doing it more than 5 yearrs have been in an injury accident. Maybe cyclists talk about accidents more than divers, but the percentage certainly seems higher.

I live in SJ and work in Menlo Park. My direct door-to-door commute is 19mi. Takes me about 50-55 minutes. None of it is on bike paths. I take Foothill from the cupertino border all the way to menlo Park. I can also go into cupertino and take the bike path to the edge of the 101 (close to the PA airport). If you want to make it longer, you can take Stevens Canyon to Foothill. This makes the commute 30mi but also less…

The bay area was a weird dichotomy to me. I used to live in Berkeley and work in Newark. I'd bart to Fremont, then cycle the last five miles. I got screamed at and swerved at by jerks in brodozers on a routine basis.

Once I was able to avoid the south bay life became far more pleasant.

Re: One year of cycling to work

#94

Post by csytan »

When I was living in NYC, cycling to work in the summer was the best part of my day. It took me ~30 mins to get from the Upper West Side to the office in Alphabet city. Commuting by subway would take ~50 mins.

Re: One year of cycling to work

#95

Post by edotrajan »

Cycling to Work in India, since this new year. No gears. Basic cycle + 3 locks + Air pump = $90USD. 15Kilometers.

Already saved $20USD/ month.

Never going back to Automobiles again. My friends are also trying to start biking to commute after I've made it. Many thought I'd go back to MotorBike after 1 week but I persevered and it's a joy riding the bike.

Highly recommend to people in Indian Metro, just add 10 minutes to average 7km commute. Happy riding !

Re: One year of cycling to work

#96

Post by unicornporn »

SquirrelOnFire wrote: post #85
unicornporn wrote: post #56

Earlier 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…

What tires do you use to ride on ice? I've wiped out on ice myself, and it has scared me off from riding when it is icy.

Schwalbe Winter (30-622): https://www.schwalbe.com/en/spike-reader/winter.html

I rode a couple of kilometers on an iced lake some weeks ago without trouble.

There's also the more expensive Marathon Winter: https://www.schwalbe.com/en/spike-reader/marathon-winter.htm...

Marathon Winter has more studs. They're placed closer to the edge of the tyre and it's debatable how much difference if it makes if you don't lean into the curves. I try to lean less on frozen ground, so I suspect they would be pointless for me.

Studded tyres actually works best on ice. Theoretically, if snow covers the ice they could be ineffective. I myself have not found this to be a problem.

Re: One year of cycling to work

#97

Post by jakobegger »

SquirrelOnFire wrote: post #85
unicornporn wrote: post #56

Earlier 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…

What tires do you use to ride on ice? I've wiped out on ice myself, and it has scared me off from riding when it is icy.

I use the same tires in winter as in summer (normal city bike tires). But I ride them at much lower pressure (under 2bar vs 3.5bar in summer). Then they don’t slip at all.

Re: One year of cycling to work

#98

Post by lmm »

Aaargh20318 wrote: post #73
lmm wrote: post #13

Earlier 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 ?

Most of my commute is along more cycle-friendly routes (not separate paths, but quiet roads) but I've got a "last mile" at both ends (from home onto the route and from the route to work) that runs across quite busy main roads, since ultimately I live on one of those.

Re: One year of cycling to work

#99

Post by CalRobert »

w0utert wrote: post #80
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 particul…

This is a huge plus -"basically eliminates the need to allocate any extra time for additional exercise."

I live too close to work for the ride to be any sort of exercise now (1 km). I certainly like the speed, but sometimes I miss when I had a 40km round trip commute (down the beach for 90% of it no less!). I could eat whatever I wanted and still be in great shape.

Of course, that was when I got hit by a car, and my ribs still ache some mornings 8 years later.

Re: One year of cycling to work

#100

Post by dashundchen »

dominotw wrote: post #78
deathanatos wrote: post #52

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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…

Bright flashers even in the day time. Slowing and waiting for an opening to get over in the center or turn lane, and obviously signalling. It's best to get over when everyone is slowing or stopping for a red so you have more time and space to maneuver into the turn lane. If you make it obvious you're turning to a slow car behind you they serve as decent protection from any cars arriving at an intersection that might otherwise not see you. It feels dangerous at first but you get skilled at it the more you ride.

Personally, for bike lanes I love the protected turns I saw in Germany. A separated bike lane will cross an intersection with a dedicated light. On the far side of the intersection, there will be a fork in the path with another dedicated bike signal to cross the road you were parallel with. I'll see if I can find an example.

https://bikeeastbay.org/protectedintersection

https://bikeeastbay.org/sites/default/files/images/Alta%27s%...

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