Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
The difference, of course, is that the person who spends 20-35 minutes each way on a bike 5x a week is probably in better shape than the person who spends that time in a car, unless they're also spending an additional 40-70 minutes a day at the gym. The cyclist is also saving a ton of money on gas, insurance and car maintenance, not to mention the cost of a gym membership, which can help mitigate the potentially higher cost of a more centrally located home in a more walkable neighborhood--and if they own rather than rent, they can write off the mortgage interest, while the commuter can't write off their extra transportation expense (or, I suppose, their gym membership.)
16 miles is the average commute distance in general, not average bike commute distance. Commuting 16 miles on a bike is doable, but rough if you are commuting to and from work. But if 16 miles is the average distance people commute to work, that means there are lots of people who have shorter commutes. Realistically it is easier to get people that commute less than 7.5 miles to work to bike with a bicycle infrastructure in place.
That is about 30 minutes biking at 15mph. Personally on my single speed bike I can easily get into the 20+ mph group due to the gearing on my bike, so I would be able to reduce the commute time if I had to commute 7.5 miles on my bike.
I have a slow (it is an upright dutch-like one) bike. 15mph would be very difficult. That wold require getting really sweaty. Or having a steep hill. More likely I am in the 12 mph range tops. With traffic lights and hills, it is more like 6-8 mph (there are a lot of lights and stop signs in my 'hood, lights aren't timed for bikes, so you can easily hit all of them). On the up note, pedaling slowly means you don't get sweaty! But my bike isn't a fast one. I have hit the "Wall" if you will.
Quote:
Originally Posted by wburg
The difference, of course, is that the person who spends 20-35 minutes each way on a bike 5x a week is probably in better shape than the person who spends that time in a car, unless they're also spending an additional 40-70 minutes a day at the gym. The cyclist is also saving a ton of money on gas, insurance and car maintenance, not to mention the cost of a gym membership, which can help mitigate the potentially higher cost of a more centrally located home in a more walkable neighborhood--and if they own rather than rent, they can write off the mortgage interest, while the commuter can't write off their extra transportation expense (or, I suppose, their gym membership.)
If I could bike to work, I'd keep my gym membership. Weights are important! There are lots of people where a 20-35 minute bike commute are feasible...and many who it isn't for a variety of reasons.
Maybe keep your gym membership, but don't bother with cardio then, or more intense cardio--it all adds up, and the same hour you spent commuting also counts as exercise. I got very irritated at a city-data poster who wanted the name of a gym with a big parking lot so she could drive there because she wasn't willing to walk or bike even in her own neighborhood. I have a weight bench and free weights in my basement--I figure it's cheaper to have weights I don't use than a gym membership I don't use. But cardio is redundant with all the walking and biking I do, and I live a few blocks from work.
Maybe keep your gym membership, but don't bother with cardio then, or more intense cardio--it all adds up, and the same hour you spent commuting also counts as exercise. I got very irritated at a city-data poster who wanted the name of a gym with a big parking lot so she could drive there because she wasn't willing to walk or bike even in her own neighborhood. I have a weight bench and free weights in my basement--I figure it's cheaper to have weights I don't use than a gym membership I don't use. But cardio is redundant with all the walking and biking I do, and I live a few blocks from work.
I live 30 mikes from work. I walk/bike/bus tom the gym. There is no lot.
One of these days I'll try transit to work. On a really trafficky day. It is pricy to take transit for me. And there are too many hops/transfers. If I bike to my train station, I still have 2 agencies.
Maybe keep your gym membership, but don't bother with cardio then, or more intense cardio--it all adds up, and the same hour you spent commuting also counts as exercise. I got very irritated at a city-data poster who wanted the name of a gym with a big parking lot so she could drive there because she wasn't willing to walk or bike even in her own neighborhood. I have a weight bench and free weights in my basement--I figure it's cheaper to have weights I don't use than a gym membership I don't use. But cardio is redundant with all the walking and biking I do, and I live a few blocks from work.
There are physical health benefits but also MENTAL health benefits. I enjoy bike riding, to me, it is play.
If I ride a half hour in the morning before work, I am in a much better mood than if I spend 15 minutes fighting traffic in a cage. And after a stressful day at work, I often find I ride the long way home to get more playtime
(aka stress reduction therapy).
I have a slow (it is an upright dutch-like one) bike. 15mph would be very difficult. That wold require getting really sweaty. Or having a steep hill. More likely I am in the 12 mph range tops. With traffic lights and hills, it is more like 6-8 mph (there are a lot of lights and stop signs in my 'hood, lights aren't timed for bikes, so you can easily hit all of them). On the up note, pedaling slowly means you don't get sweaty! But my bike isn't a fast one. I have hit the "Wall" if you will.
That is probably not the best bike to commute to and from work on daily unless you are the type of person that likes to take a leisurely bike ride to and from where you are going.
There are physical health benefits but also MENTAL health benefits. I enjoy bike riding, to me, it is play.
If I ride a half hour in the morning before work, I am in a much better mood than if I spend 15 minutes fighting traffic in a cage. And after a stressful day at work, I often find I ride the long way home to get more playtime
(aka stress reduction therapy).
I actually have to agree with this, biking to and from work was always a great stress relief for me, it gave me a chance to clear my head and just focus on pedaling. My return trips home were uphill so I always had the option of taking a slower route if I am exhausted or take one of the avenues when I wanted to really push myself and see how fast I could go uphill.
I used to drive to work about 2 miles (it was required for the job, which involved occasionally carrying stuff and transporting people in my car) and I'd get very grumpy about driving as even that short 2 miles was through the busiest part of downtown, so it took a while. I started walking or taking transit most days and only using the car when I knew I'd need it (or running home on transit to get it if I unexpectedly needed it) which greatly improved my mood, even though walking took longer and riding took about the same amount of time and was done during the busiest time of the day for transit riders. Biking or walking give a different perspective on the journey.
Average commute distance in the US, I have no idea what the average commute distance in Canada is.
Now that I look closer, the median distance for these Canadian metros is the straight line (as the crow flies) distance between place of work and residence, not whatever path the commuter takes. Do you know if the 16 miles is straight line or not? And the how the average compares to the median?
I used to drive to work about 2 miles (it was required for the job, which involved occasionally carrying stuff and transporting people in my car) and I'd get very grumpy about driving as even that short 2 miles was through the busiest part of downtown, so it took a while. I started walking or taking transit most days and only using the car when I knew I'd need it (or running home on transit to get it if I unexpectedly needed it) which greatly improved my mood, even though walking took longer and riding took about the same amount of time and was done during the busiest time of the day for transit riders. Biking or walking give a different perspective on the journey.
Must be nice to be able to take time out of your work day to hop a bus home and get the car. Not all of us have that flexibility. I can't usually leave my patients.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
