Does bike commuting alienate you from 'the rest'?

Alain Quay

Sometimes when I 'm commuting I thinlk WHY am I surrounded by thousands of cars
on the road? Do they all think they are all doing - of course - very important commutes which can't be done by any other mode? How does one avoid the conclusion about the
silent, gas guzzling majority?

Ma\ybe it's better not to think!

clanton

Agreed - when I drive in, usually cause I'm on duty that night or some such reason I am amazed at how frustarting it can be to sit in traffic and grind your way forwards.

misterben

For some people there really isn't a viable alternative, either because of distance, or because they have to carry work goods in their cars.

Some people are just lazy. But as the price of fuel increases, more and more people are looking to alternatives.

clanton

Absolutely. But I do think a major factor for many is pervieved lack of safety on the roads.

Matchstick Man

clanton wrote:

Absolutely. But I do think a major factor for many is pervieved lack of safety on the roads.

do you think these people think of the irony of their thinking?

"I would never cycle on the roads, too dangerous, too much traffic"
er....like you in your car then? :roll:

ChrisLS

...good question this one. I often think the same myself. Cycle commuters in my neck of the woods are few and far between. Sometimes I just feel out of place and something of an oddball on my bike as the majority of commuters are roaring past in their cars. But something keeps me going and has done for the past 25 years...

graeme_s-2

On the old CPlus forum someone used to have a signature that nicely sums up my feelings on this "Not like you, and proud of it"

DavidTQ

Hmm I dont know about alienating me from the rest, I can still empathise with their position I have been there. Naturally there is a us and them feeling, but to be honest I never felt "at one" with the crowd when driving, I was just trying to get home, and had no feeling of "belonging" to the car commute crowd. I didnt feel any brotherly bond with the HGV in front trying to get down a lane with a 7.5 tonne weight restriction...

I actually find cycling more social than car commuting...

I often chat to other cyclists I see the faces of far more of the car drivers etc, I think the way I feel "different" to the car commuters is that I feel less isolated from the world and humanity on the bike... quite possibly the reverse of feeling alienated.

A - W

Why does it alienate you?

I feel happier cycling in and far more ready for the day. 8)

nwallace

I woke up early this morning

I thought, could cycle

I stuck a toe out of bed and thought bit cold

30 mins pass

Time to get up I think, could cycle

Look outside and think too cold and icy

Better have shower I think (this is the point of no return)

Have shower, eat breakfast, clean teeth, head out for bus.

Look at car, frozen solid.... Couldn't be arsed with that

Bit cold I think, glad I didn't cycle

Commuter wizzes past on MTB

Could have taken the Zaskar, I think

Stand at bus stop

Sardar would have been fine, bit cold for standing at bus stop.

Not a single bus running to time today, bloody freezing, should have cycled.

I only drive If the day is likely to extend to after 1800 as that's when driving home no longer involves sitting in a huge queue.

Everyone I know seems to understand when I inform them why I rarely drive to work....... It's cheaper.

If you treat other road users in a similar fashion to a matador giving a talk on animal ethics at a Vegan Society convention then alienation is likely!

Bassjunkieuk

I don't know why other people choose to use their car to get to work, especially driving into central London! The only reason I used my car for work was when I had to as I did a field engineering role and had to carry tools and parts with me and I'm certain there aren't that many engineers out there for it to be the reason for everyone else :-)

I do feel worse when I have to use my car as I just sit there staring at the car in front and watching all the cyclist zip past the inside, knowing in the back of my head that I'd much rather be "out there" then "in here"! I've also found that when I ride in a feel more alert and ready for the day

I also agree with nwallace though, one of the reasons I cycle to work is for cost benefits, I did get re-imbursed for driving but I could only claim back in miles, so all the time I'm in traffic (even with my lovely Prius which switches itself off!) I am still using some petrol and can't get a steady enough speed to get a decent MPG figure! This along with the fact that it's usually a damn sight faster then car or PT and besides I don't have to worry about over-running engineering works or "leaves on the track causing friction issues"

MB Robster

I was thinking the same thing last week as I was cycling along Embankment out of town past a massive queue of traffic from just after Vauxhall all the way to Albert Bridge. All those people sat in their cars going nowhere as I was gliding along in the wake of a scooter.

mm1

I stopped commuting by bike about 10 years ago when I moved away from London (not my choice). I have recently had to go to Cambridge a couple of times for work (about 20 miles, mostly ok as the cars are all on the A14!) and have been astonished by the stationary queues of traffic on reaching the outskirts of the city (Histon). As a non-driver I had no idea about this madness, of course it's unsustainable and nonsense, but no one seems to be doing anything about it. BTW, all non cyclists think we are freaks!

ChrisLS

of course it's unsustainable and nonsense, but no one seems to be doing anything about it. BTW, all non cyclists think we are freaks![/quote]

...put that way it's the motorist commuters that are the odd balls...

ddraver

In london its great, quickest way to get around by far, meaning i could have an extra 10 mins lie in and then have no choice to cycle

However, in North wales where work is onl;y 10 mins drive away/15mins cycle, which is nt really enough, and i have to get up earlier, and its cold, and i have to get up earlier....

I have let standards slip