I am currently in the serious consideration phase of becoming a bike commuter. The weather is starting to get really nice here in San Diego and I would love to spend a few hours each day enjoying the open skies and brown (but temporarily green) countryside. Here is a quick little list of some of the pros and cons of that I have thought of that are currently influencing my thought process.
The Pros
- Good exercise – the extent of my current exercise regimen is 3 miles of walking per work day coupled with some light calisthenics thrown in to keep me alert as I sit at my desk. If I switched to biking my total mileage traveled under my own power would increase 633% per week and I would be spending 1400% more time exercising. That’s a lot of nuts.
- Same approximate commute time – right now taking the bus gets me from door to door in about an hour and 10 minutes each way. In order to duplicate that with a bike commute I would only have to average 10 mph, which seems doable to me even though I haven’t commuted on a bike ever. Who knows, I may get faster once I start doing it regularly and beat the bus to work.
- I wouldn’t have to buy a bus pass – $64 saved each month. Well probably not saved, just shifted towards bike maintenance – but by maintaining my own bike each month I will gain some skills that I could one day sell to others. That way that $64 will go to making me more useful to myself and to others instead of going to “the man” who runs the San Diego public transit system.
- I wouldn’t have to worry about a car – I really don’t worry about a car for me right now anyway since we only have one car that my wife uses, but I could continue in this state of abnormality for longer still. No insurance premiums, no maintenance costs, no gasoline, no car washing – talk about money saving. I haven’t crunched all those numbers yet, but I probably will soon as I weigh out this idea in more detail.
The Cons
- I don’t already own a bike – that means I have to go out and buy a new product that I have no experience in. Buying stuff is not something I am good at. In fact, I suck at shopping – especially when it is something that is needed. So not only will I have to research something new, I will have to go to a store and ask questions and try things out and weigh different options, all the while hoping I am not going to waste hundreds of dollars on something that doesn’t really meet my needs. Why does shopping have to have risks?
- I have never cycled such a long distance before – 11 miles one way turns into 22 miles round trip. I would be logging 110 miles a week. That is a lot of miles. To mitigate the immediate impact on my body I would probably just bike one way until my legs can get adjusted to the strain, but that is still a lot of miles. Most people I have seen on this internet thingy say they ride about 12-15 miles for their whole commute. I would be doing twice as much. Is that doable?
- I would have to use a very busy road that over one stretch has high speed traffic – here my inexperience coupled with an idiot driver could result in serious injury or death. Accidents are relatively rare, but they still do happen.
- I would have to shower and change once I got to work (or stay stinky all day because I sweat like pig) – really, I sweat like a pig. When I was still wresting in college I would drink about 5 pounds of water during a practice and still loose 3 pounds of water weight by the end. That means I would seep about 1 gallon of liquid from my skin over the course of a 3 hour practice. Of course that was seriously rigorous physical activity, but I think it might be carried over to a bike commute.
- I would need to carry my lunch and clothes on my back or bike – this could be awkward, dangerous, or both. I’d much rather have a nice warm breakfast and fresh change of clothes magically appear at work than have to lug it around. Genies are expensive so I don’t expect on hiring one anytime soon.
- I’d have to bike even if I didn’t “feel” like it
I’m not sure which side will win, but I am hoping that the pros do. Bike commuting just sounds like it could be more fun than riding the bus and I like the idea of having a rock hard, functional body. I may even get my butt back! Hurrah for abnormally large butts!
This definitely needs a thorough financial analysis as well, but I just wanted to get some of my other considerations down since not everything is about money. I plan on going to a bike shop soon to see what type of bike I’d be looking for and just how much it might cost. I am not looking forward to it, but it must be done.
My vote is buy the $64 bus pass and buy a bike for exercise only
I would hate to hear about some guy being squished on the freeway while riding a bike to work.
Since last summer I’ve moved from 4 mile commute to work to 11 mile commute from work. I’m pysching myself up to do it. The 4 mile commute was ideal, the 11 mile commute is doable.
I probably won’t do it every day but maybe 3 times a week. Main drawback for me is that it will take time away from my already hectic schedule. There are ALOT of hills on my new route so I expect it to take me close to an hour each way.
If you end up investing in a genie, please consider sending my clothes to work too, because carrying a back it a bit uncomfortable…
@Kimberly – I agree, getting squished would be a terrible way to go. I’m not too worried about it since I’ve never seen it happen or even heard about something like it. I also gain some courage from my wife who isn’t too concerned about it either. What she is concerned about though is where we would put the bike since we have no storage space, balcony, or bike rack at our apartment. She simply won’t have it in our living room!
@ Amanda – Four miles does sound a whole lot easier than eleven. I think I could live four miles from work. Heck, I could run to work if it was only four miles away. But then I would have to buy running shoes – which would be just as bad as buying a bike if you ask me. One of my buddies tells me that 4 miles is also the perfect distance for a magic carpet ride, but he refuses to share with me because he says that I have small hands and might take his carpet forever. Anyway, if I find a genie I will be sure to make him do some magic thing where he will have to magically clothe and clean all those who commute under their own power. It will save water and make the world a more fragrant place – Miss America pageant here I come!
I was dricing with my husband the other day and we happened to be going towards his office. We passed a cyclist and he said ‘I could cycle to work’ it took him about 3 seconds to talk himself out of it! Good for you for really thinking about it and giving it a chance.