It's FASTER to Travel by Bike Than CTA! (Chicago, Raleigh: sale, costs)

[long101]

Originally Posted by Jesse69

Today I went to Melrose Park to Arby's to get their FREE sample sandwich, but it no longer exists and was turned into a Home Run Inn Pizza restaurant. First time I ate this Sausage & Mushroom pizza fresh, and not from the freezer. Then I went to Triton College, then the HIP Mall, back down Fullerton stopping by Harbor Freight, a Flip store, then Milwaukee to Western then home. Total miles - 25.7 mi - an ok workout but to get significant weight loss from a bike workout you should do 30+ miles. So today's bike ride was worth $5.75 in gas!

Well you get around a lot. The only time I drive 5+ miles is when I go to the burbs, I sure as heck wouldnt travel further then my front door for Arbys. My car typically stays garaged 90% of the time and I'm able to show up for work without sweating. You might as well gone to the pizza hut on the corner, stuffed crust ftw.

[ChiNaan]

Originally Posted by long101

Well you get around a lot. The only time I drive 5+ miles is when I go to the burbs, I sure as heck wouldnt travel further then my front door for Arbys. My car typically stays garaged 90% of the time and I'm able to show up for work without sweating. You might as well gone to the pizza hut on the corner, stuffed crust ftw.

That pretty much sums up my reaction.

[It'sAutomatic]

Originally Posted by marothisu

That's all relative. Trains and actual door-to-door time..it depends on where you live. I live right near a train station and takes me exactly 2 minutes to get there. 2 minutes is not going to make or break this type of thing. Not only that, but there's things like Google and phone apps that let you know exactly when the next train is coming. I leave exactly 2-3 minutes earlier and almost never wait for a train near my place or even work because I know exactly how to time things so I barely wait.

Unless you're going a short distance, the train will be faster than a bike many, many times.

2 minutes isn't make-or-break, but if we're going to compare actual door to door times then I'm not rounding off. And how long is your walk from the train station to your places of work/play? Your situation is unusual also because you have the rare luxury of living within a block of a station. The bus and train tracker help to cut down wait times, but personally I've been burned so many times by them (train or bus doesn't come or comes way earlier and gets missed) that I don't bother.

You'd be surprised. I have a friend who lives right near the Wilson red line stop and works less than 1/4 mile from the Grand red line stop, and he has apparently found the trip to be faster by bike.

[jdiddy]

Originally Posted by marothisu

Possibly, but thanks to technology it's a lot easier to time things. My girlfriend lives 4 blocks away from an el station, but it's easy for me to just say "hey the ___ bus is coming in 5 minutes" and it barely takes any time to get to the el station versus walking.

There's a whole set of variables and it all depends on many things basically, and I love biking, but if you're going long distances...even if you have to walk for 2 blocks to get to the el station, if you're going 4 miles, you're still going to get to your destination faster than if you rode a bike. Most people cannot keep a 16 mph or more pace up for an entire 4 minutes, especially in a city with traffic.

I live about 7 miles from my office. I can ride my bike, shower (gym at office) and be at my desk in about 5 min less than ge typical door to door trip via the blue line.

But today I got a flat on the way to work, so there's that.

[ChicagoMeO]

This sounds either like an ad for a bike, or the guy is really excited about his bike.

Bike might be ok, except in winter when its cold, and snowy, and when it is rainy. Or a bike is not going to work when you have stuff to take/buy and maybe a bike basket could work, but not so good if you have to buy a tall kitchen garbage can from the store to your home.

Also, if you break your leg, there goes your bike idea. Cant pedal! Or,, what if you bike 20 miles and then find out your too tired to ride back? Now you are stuck. Or if you break the wheels, now you are stuck 20 miles from home, and if your out in the country, a taxi is not going to pick you up. You could call someone for help on your i-phone, but now you have to invest $$$ for a cell phone plus a contract, so well there goes the savings.

And bikes in general - whats up with people putting bikes on the front of the bus - if you are going to ride your bike, why are you taking the bus?

[Chi-town Native]

Originally Posted by long101

I sure as heck wouldnt travel further then my front door for Arbys.

Indeed.

Hard to fathom someone pitching the combo of the health benefits of biking and eating at Arby's.

[tomcho]

Originally Posted by jdiddy

I live about 7 miles from my office. I can ride my bike, shower (gym at office) and be at my desk in about 5 min less than ge typical door to door trip via the blue line.

But today I got a flat on the way to work, so there's that.

Similar here. I live in Jefferson Park but far enough from the Metra/Blue line stop that I can't walk and I work about 3 blocks from Ogilvie downtown. It's 10.8 miles door to door by bike and depending on wind and how fast I want to ride it's either the same time or quicker by bike. The ride home is always quicker as I use the 11 miles as nice cardio workout.

It's also saved me some money as I no longer need to buy a monthly pass since it's cheaper to use 10 rides the amount of time I actually take the train.

[Vlajos]

Originally Posted by Chi-town Native

Indeed.

Hard to fathom someone pitching the combo of the health benefits of biking and eating at Arby's.

Arby's is an abomination.

[Aleking]

jesse just wanted to tell you guys about his expensive bike

[jwaiter]

I used to commute by bike, I love, love, love the idea. In reality though it's only a matter of time before a car or truck lands you in the ER. It happened to me, that's when I stopped biking in the city. The car and truck drivers are total f'ing pr**cks and act like they own the road, even the bike lanes they use, f*ck that, it's not safe as long as the vehicle drivers act like they do. But I also hate the bikes who blow red lights, they should stop like everyone else.