Add a Comment
Email This
Statistics
RE: Bicycling To Work
I actually have a much different problem in bicycling to work. Even though it’s only just under 7 miles of pleasant country roads to travel on, it’s a serious climb from 1100 ft above sea level to 1700 ft. One cannot just jump on their bike and do this on a realistic daily basis, especially after a lazy winter. It takes (me) 50 grueling minutes or so to get there and about 15 fun filled minutes to get home once I’m able to make it at all. There is no public transportation that way at all. No reason whatsoever to actually lock the bike up though…
In the summer I sometimes do it once or twice a week, mostly for the exercise, but also it tends to stretch gas buying out just that much more.
On another rant, like many cities and towns, the city I live near has almost no allowance in certain sections for anyone who wants to walk or bike from one place to another unless they take their life in their hands. One section which goes between shopping areas gives you several choices. 1. Drive 2. Walk a busy road along a guardrail with a 2 inch wide lane between yourself and traffic. 3. Walk on the other side of the guardrail with a 1 foot wide dirt path between you and a fairly deep rushing river 10 feet below. People do all 3, but mostly they drive. Or, try crossing a 5 way 2-3 lane intersection with no crosswalks or islands…
RSS
Bicycling To Work
I'm actually quite irritated that I can't ride my bike to work. When I'm in the Manhattan office, work is only 13 miles away and that ride could easily replace my morning workout saving me time and money. However, as the office is in the heart of Times Square ... they don't have any external (secure) locations to lock bikes nor do the building owners allow bikes inside. So I'm stuck riding the bus - which is, of course, still better than driving in myself.
I used to ride to work in Korea. On my two assignments there one was a 1.5 mile ride through a small town and the other was a 3 mile ride through Seoul. The gas savings were significant for both rides but most notably was the time savings riding through Seoul - that same 3 mile drive home equated to a 45 minute traffic headache. The added bonus was during field exercises, it was annoying to get to and from places without an official vehicle because you were not allowed to take your weapon (M16) in a personal vehicle. There was no rule about not riding a mountain bike with an M16 strapped to your back. :-)
Anyway, NYC ought to take a cue from European cities and get better about secure, protected areas for "parking" bikes. It would certainly cut down on a lot of the urban traffic.
View Full Discussion