NYT: The Entitled Cyclist

[Ozz]

I used to commute from Bellevue to Seattle occasionally by bike. It was about 13 or so miles door to door and would take about 45 minutes. My club was right next door to my building so I would drop off my bike in my office, and head over to shower. I kept clothes in my office.

The only real traffic I encountered was in downtown Seattle. Wasn't bad in the mornings (6:00 AM along 4th Ave) but the evenings could be bad (5:00 along 5th Ave). I just stay in the middle of my lane, didn't split lanes and it was OK. Once I got to the international district, there is a bike lane/trail across I-90.

A couple times I headed north and got on the Burke-Gilman....ended up being about a 90 minute ride, but that was the point.

All in, it was a very enjoyable way to start and end the day...basically, stay alert and don't be obnoxious or an idiot (or both) and commuting in traffic is fine. I was fortunate that I had a shower handy, and an office to store my bike and clothes. I was also close to the freight elevator for getting up to my office.

Now days I work from home, and my commute is 5 steps down the hall....sometimes I get up earlier and take a lap around Mercer Island to start my day.....

[jimcav]

but you do get used to it. I commuted by bike from 2001 until I retired from active duty in 2016.

6 of those years the commute was 25-27 miles one way depending on the route. It kept me in good shape, but it was too much hard but not great training doing those miles/hills--not the best structure for peak cycling fitness.

I had 3 years of riding into the DC area--Walter Reed, OSHA, Headquarters Marine Corps. Crossing the GW Parkway was no joke. Riding down Constitution Ave and such in DC is quite different than suburban roads and MUTs.

I will say, while I worried more about the congested urban areas, my closest calls with injury were actually on the Capital Crescent Trail (a MUT) and the C&O Canal towpath, just clueless walkers/dog walkers who'd abruptly move into my path or create a leash-clothesline etc.

I was run off the road near the National Zoo by a guy in an SUV screaming to me to get off the road-just into the grass, no fall.
And I did a slow-mo sideways/over the bars to avoid hitting the rear of another SUV that abruptly stopped in a roundabout (I think on MacArthur Blvd) in a way that cut off my right-side access, and I just lacked the skill to deal with that at my slowing speed, the rear of the SUV, and large curb to my right.

I miss those long rides to work, especially the dark early am rides. I miss 4 hour weekend rides. I don't miss the erratic drivers, and if not for my Varia, I'd likely not even be trying to get some road cycling fitness back

[slowpoke]

Originally Posted by AngryScientist

I do not agree. There are various valid reasons why commuting by bicycle is not the best use of one's time for many people, particularly if good efficient public transportation is available.

Wait, this is a completely different scenario from the original debate of cycling in LA. There's seriously less than 10 cities in American with efficient public transit.

Even in SF, I choose to bike to the office over riding the bus. And in New York, you most likely won't have a seat during rush hour to do work.

[AngryScientist]

Originally Posted by slowpoke

Wait, this is a completely different scenario from the original debate of cycling in LA. There's seriously less than 10 cities in American with efficient public transit.

Even in SF, I choose to bike to the office over riding the bus. And in New York, you most likely won't have a seat during rush hour to do work.

I dont disagree. I think they guy i was refuting lives in europe somewhere. I was talking in general.

[tomato coupe]

Originally Posted by slowpoke

There's seriously less than 10 cities in American with efficient public transit.

Gonna have to call BS on that claim. Every U.S. city I've lived in has had reliable and convenient bus systems.

[cgolvin]

His work location, and the location of the first picture in the article, are pretty close to me, so even though I don't know his route I know the roads he must ride quite well. He has my admiration. I know that at certain times of day my 20 minute ride to the doctor or dentist might take me three times that long in a car.

But this quote from the article makes my blood boil:

The driver never stopped, and he said the police declined to pursue an investigation, even though he had video

We are naked warriors out there.

[mstateglfr]

My old job meant a 16mi commute each way. I only rode a handful of times a year due to time and family obligations after work each day. It was a mix of suburban roads and MUPs and quite pleasant. I would arrive pretty sweaty though and luckily there were showers.
But yeah, that distance was enough to keep me from choosing to do it more than probably 5 times a year. It was great when I could do it though- 2 hours of ride time and my exercise was knocked out for the day by about 515pm.

The current job is 7mi away and a mix of residential city streets and MUP. No shower, but its shorter. I ride into work probably 4 times more often- part because its shorter and part because where I am in life allows me to, now that our oldest has a car.
Its really satisfying to ride into work. Not from a smug point of view, just cool because I can listen to music for 30min, get some energy out, feel like I did something good for me, and it isnt too much time taken away.
The drive is 12min and the ride is 30min, so it isnt a huge time loss.



I cant imagine riding 12mi each way in LA every single day. The weather is better, but my gosh the congestion. Same goes for NYC, Chicago, MPLS, Houston, and more.

[benb]

Originally Posted by tomato coupe

Gonna have to call BS on that claim. Every U.S. city I've lived in has had reliable and convenient bus systems.

Do you include actually getting there in a reasonable amount of time as part of "reliable and convenient"?

Cause there are a lot of times public transport takes 3x, 5x, or 10x what it takes to drive in a car. The public transport will reliably show up at the stated time and it will reliably always take the same amount of time, but it's a ridiculous amount of time.

There have been times in my life where a car could get you there in 15 minutes and the bus took hours.. the car was hopping on the highway, the bus took 3 different bus lines and transfers and the bus was going on surface streets and constantly stopping. (No train/subway in that area)

[jimcav]

They are nice but not truly essential. I made do with paper towels and a bottle of isopropyl alcohol many, many times. Even when a shower was on base, it was often just easier & faster to use the restroom or my own office. Biggest issue was allotting time to cool down and stop sweating

[Tony T]

I was too quick with the snarky remark regarding the 12 mile commute.
A commute in city traffic is something that he should be commended for.

[ripvanrando]

Originally Posted by jimcav

but you do get used to it. I commuted by bike from 2001 until I retired from active duty in 2016.

6 of those years the commute was 25-27 miles one way depending on the route. It kept me in good shape, but it was too much hard but not great training doing those miles/hills--not the best structure for peak cycling fitness.

I had 3 years of riding into the DC area--Walter Reed, OSHA, Headquarters Marine Corps. Crossing the GW Parkway was no joke. Riding down Constitution Ave and such in DC is quite different than suburban roads and MUTs.

I will say, while I worried more about the congested urban areas, my closest calls with injury were actually on the Capital Crescent Trail (a MUT) and the C&O Canal towpath, just clueless walkers/dog walkers who'd abruptly move into my path or create a leash-clothesline etc.

I was run off the road near the National Zoo by a guy in an SUV screaming to me to get off the road-just into the grass, no fall.
And I did a slow-mo sideways/over the bars to avoid hitting the rear of another SUV that abruptly stopped in a roundabout (I think on MacArthur Blvd) in a way that cut off my right-side access, and I just lacked the skill to deal with that at my slowing speed, the rear of the SUV, and large curb to my right.

I miss those long rides to work, especially the dark early am rides. I miss 4 hour weekend rides. I don't miss the erratic drivers, and if not for my Varia, I'd likely not even be trying to get some road cycling fitness back

My experience as well. Dogs, joggers, walkers, rollerbladers, Freds in full force, poorly maintained surfaces, frequent stop signs with motor vehicle stantions all make for a very dangerous situation. The randonneuring community loves to take us down these paths even when perfectly good roads are adjacent.

When I used to commute to work or school, there were always a couple of hairy unavoidable stretches but I cannot imagine intentionally taking one if an alternative is available.

I've been intentionally run off the road more times than I can count, have had beer bottles thrown at me, a full six pack of empties at 1 am once. I reported one vehicle with license and driver description, the local cops thought it was funny and laughed me out of the station.