NYT: The Entitled Cyclist

[Tony T]

“Tom Morash, also known as the Entitled Cyclist, is on a mission to show that biking can be possible, even pleasant, in places that seem to be designed only for cars.

The name is his ironic response to that small group of angry drivers who complain that bikes are taking over the roads. He uses Twitter, Instagram and YouTube to document his daily adventures. I wanted to talk to him because, like many of you, he lives in a city where public transportation is often inadequate.”

https://www.nytimes.com/2023/05/30/c...d-cyclist.html

“After talking to a co-worker who cycled to work, he decided to try it. He never looked back. Now he always cycles the 12 miles or so that take him to most of his jobs.”

12 miles, how does he do it?
.
(Edit: 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.)

[tv_vt]

I think you're mocking his mileage, is that it? Twelve miles of LA (or any other big city) cycling takes a whole lot more courage than I have. He probably encounters more cars, buses, trucks and taxis than I encounter in Vermont in a year.

Urban cycling is a whole different animal, and kudos to those who do it.

That's all I got.

[benb]

It's really a question of how often you actually commute by bike.

So it's 12 miles. That's a pretty decent commute for one way, or even both ways. If he does it all year round and basically never takes his car he probably puts in pretty substantial yearly miles and has a lot of dedication. (edit: It's 12-13 miles each way, so he probably rides more than a lot of us.)

Riding in traffic is no joke. But it's strangely strangely satisfying to ride to work and be in heavy traffic and no that you're easily keeping up with or beating the time it would take to drive it in a car.

[paredown]

He's got cred--clipped by a truck mirror (police declined to investigate despite the fact he had video), broken arm and a six week recovery, and he went back to commuting by bike.

Commuting by bike could be so much more pleasant if we planned for it--safe bike lock ups/lockers, showers at work etc--and I agree 12 miles in heavy traffic is always a challenge. When I was doing it, i counted on at least one close call per trip--a right hook when people misjudge your speed, the left turn right in front of you when you are at speed, the parked car door flung open,

Gotta have reflexes and assume everyone is out to kill you.

[benb]

Right.. my work has most of the conveniences. Private security and no one sketchy walking around, a bike rack that is covered and I can leave a substantial lock & cable there so I don't have to carry it. Showers on site, cafe in the building to get lunch, etc..

But everything is still setup to maximize convenience for cars and make it more of a pain to ride around here. Convenience for drivers is just so heavily baked into everything.

The street my office is on is signed 15mph and only about 1/3 mile with a stop sign halfway and you better believe I still get aggressive drivers pushing past me in that last 1/3 of a mile.

[AngryScientist]

12 miles one way is what i would consider a long commute for cycling, IMO.

Moving through city traffic with lights, stop signs and congestion, I figure 12mph is probably an optimistic average speed. Doing this commute in LA generally means it's hot, so you're going to sweat, that means a post commute shower. all told that's likely an hour and a half at both ends of the work day or 3 hours a day, that's a lot of sunk time.

[thwart]

Originally Posted by tv_vt

Urban cycling is a whole different animal, and kudos to those who do it.

Originally Posted by paredown

Gotta have reflexes and assume everyone is out to kill you.

Sad but true. That’s why a lot of sensible people have decided it’s not worth the risk/added time/etc.

Such a dramatic contrast to Amsterdam, for example.

[Elefantino]

I wear mine, proudly.

[rain dogs]

Originally Posted by AngryScientist

12 miles one way is what i would consider a long commute for cycling, IMO.

Moving through city traffic with lights, stop signs and congestion, I figure 12mph is probably an optimistic average speed. Doing this commute in LA generally means it's hot, so you're going to sweat, that means a post commute shower. all told that's likely an hour and a half at both ends of the work day or 3 hours a day, that's a lot of sunk time.

Sunk time usually refers to, or is synonomous with time you cannot get back, is lost or is unproductive part of doing something.

Commuting by bicycle is a time win in every sense.
- You save 100% of the automobile commute time.
- You get your exercise/recovery ride/endurance time without then having to do it later.
- You save the work time to pay for associated costs of the commute (parking fees, gas, maintenance etc)

Also, studies have shown that if you exercise in the morning you're more productive at work. lmgtfy, so you stand to either earn more, or work less vs not exercising.

In every way commuting by bicycle is a win and the best use of ones time.

[AngryScientist]

Originally Posted by rain dogs

In every way commuting by bicycle is a win and the best use of ones time.

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.

[rain dogs]

Originally Posted by AngryScientist

I do not agree.

ok. cool.

[Turkle]

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.

Yeah, I'm on board with this. It's amazing how productive you can be when on a subway or train. Biking is great but you're limited to just biking, can't do homework or paid work. Driving is the worst of all possible worlds, totally unproductive in any way and you have to sit in traffic and park the stupid thing.

I don't miss commuting one bit, but I do miss having that little time on the subway to get things done every day!

[benb]

Totally agree with Rain dog here.

You're going to take 2 showers a day if you go workout or do a "recreational ride" as well unless you always can ride first thing in the morning.

It's pretty much free exercise time, reduced $$$ on gas and car maintenance, and good for your mental state both from the exercise and realizing you are being very green even compared to the guy in the Tesla who tries to block you as you filter through traffic. That happened to me this morning.

Not everybody can work on the subway or bus. For me the subway/bus when I did/could take it took 2-3x longer than biking to work as well. The car on a good day would get me there as fast as bicycling. You gotta pretty much be a computer user who doesn't need access to corporate infrastructure and has minimal information security concerns to work on a subway or bus.

[paredown]

Originally Posted by rain dogs

Sunk time usually refers to, or is synonomous with time you cannot get back, is lost or is unproductive part of doing something.

Commuting by bicycle is a time win in every sense.
- You save 100% of the automobile commute time.
- You get your exercise/recovery ride/endurance time without then having to do it later.
- You save the work time to pay for associated costs of the commute (parking fees, gas, maintenance etc)

Also, studies have shown that if you exercise in the morning you're more productive at work. lmgtfy, so you stand to either earn more, or work less vs not exercising.

In every way commuting by bicycle is a win and the best use of ones time.

The best I had it was when we were in Seattle and I worked at UW. We lived up above the Burke-Gilman trail, so I had a quick zip down the hill, hop on the trail and 15/20 mins on the trail. Used to ride my old MTB with clips and sneaks, and made a point to not work up too much of a sweat.

I was doing computer support, so needless to say the dress expectations were pretty low anyways, so I'd sit for a bit of a cool down, splash some water on my face and go to work. Days when the weather was bad, my wife would drop me on her way into downtown, and I would catch the local bus home...

[callmeishmael]

I commute on average 2-3 days/week in summer. If I take the scenic route, which I usually do, it's 34km/21 miles, with c.350m/1150ft climbing each way.

I live in south east England, and I'm lucky enough to live somewhere semi-rural, so the first 15 miles of the route is fairly quiet. The last 6 miles is down a busy road, obviously at peak time, to a large-ish town, and it's not fun.

The particular bugbear I have is turning right (across the traffic in the UK) and having cars attempt to overtake me anyway. I had quite a near miss today in fact.

Anyone who commutes by bike in LA (or most major cities that aren't very bike friendly) has my respect.

Nb - we have secure bike racks and showers at work. There aren't enough lockers to go around, sadly, though it's pleasing that this is because probably 25% of the staff cycle in, partly thanks to generous incentives like cyclescheme and GCI (your employer pays for your bike and you pay them back over 1-3 years at 0% interest, and the cost is treated as a tax deductible)