Why do we do it?

Boomer2010

Hi, I have a small presentation to give and thought I would talk about commuting to work by cycle and why I do it. There are the obvious reasons ie Cost, Fitness, Environment etc but I was wondering what other reasons there may be out there as to why we do it and what we get out of it. Your thoughts would be most appreciated. Cheers

Kieran_Burns

It's something I've mentioned which seemed to strike a chord with a few people:

When I drive to/from work my work day starts when I leave home and ends when I get back.

When I cycle, my work day starts when I get to my desk and ends when I leave it. My cycle commute is MY time, not 'get to work time'. In effect this means my work day is shorter.

Also, I've been lucky in that I have been able to cycle through some great country views and you simply miss it all when you drive. I've cycled through some glorious mornings and revelled in the occasion.

Then there is the stress relief - I very very rarely get home stressed when I've cycled, but I can do when I drive. The exercise and time gives you an opporunity to wind down and/or work through what is bothering you.

Oh, and thene there is the fact that you can pig out and burn off the extra calories

joebatz

I started cycling to work daily in an effort to loose weight and so far ive lost a whopping 4 stone.

iPete

A combination of training for a 1200 miles tour, general cardio, long term training towards a move to triathlon, hate giving my money to the train company (£12.30 a day!), remove my need for car ownership....

will3

Because I can't work at home.

BikeyMikey1

For the challenge and independence, no need to rely on anyone but yourself. Arrive at work with a glow of health rather than glowing with road rage. Enjoying the moment, the commute not the arrival. Knowing that it's cost nothing to get there.

R_T_A

Kieran_Burns wrote:

It's something I've mentioned which seemed to strike a chord with a few people:

When I drive to/from work my work day starts when I leave home and ends when I get back.

When I cycle, my work day starts when I get to my desk and ends when I leave it. My cycle commute is MY time, not 'get to work time'. In effect this means my work day is shorter.

Also, I've been lucky in that I have been able to cycle through some great country views and you simply miss it all when you drive. I've cycled through some glorious mornings and revelled in the occasion.

Then there is the stress relief - I very very rarely get home stressed when I've cycled, but I can do when I drive. The exercise and time gives you an opporunity to wind down and/or work through what is bothering you.

Oh, and thene there is the fact that you can pig out and burn off the extra calories

+1 - wot he said.

In summary, it turns the worst part of the day into the best part of the day

Radioactiveman

When I get to work I feel more awake when I cycle than when I use the car, it also saves me £2-£2.50 per day.

The green slant is good as well, people think its cool to be green at the moment what with all the useless windmills popping up and solar panels etc.

anton1r

Radioactiveman wrote:

When I get to work I feel more awake when I cycle than when I use the car, it also saves me £2-£2.50 per day.

+1

I'm more productive in the mornings as a result of cycling in. It seems the exercise kick starts my mind and body in the morning. Also saves me 2.40 a day in bus fares, it's faster... i could continue! 8)

deptfordmarmoset

Well, apart from cost, fitness and environment...

You have an increased control over the time your journey takes. Even if you hit a major snarl-up you can usually filter between vehicles and if the worst comes to the worst you can dismount onto the pavement and walk your way past it. You can't do that with a car and most of us will have found themselves sitting in a train that seems to have forgotten all about timetables and its promised destination. Bikes are more flexible.

You can set your own targets - cycling for speed and fitness, cycling for pure relaxation. You go as fast or as slowly as you want. If you want to stop at the shops on the way home, you don't have to pay for parking - if there isn't a Sheffield stand nearby then there will be a railing or a post you can attach your bike to.

You're more alive to the world and your surroundings. You can cycle to hear your heart pumping in the knowledge that you're pushing yourself to your limit. Or you can take it easy and take in the scenery or wildlife. You know what season it is and which way the wind's blowing (at you) much more intimately than in an air-conditioned environment.

There's an unobtrusive camaraderie amongst cyclists that you won't get with your fellow train sufferer or car driver, whether it's a simple ''morning'' or another cyclist checking whether you've stopped because you've got a puncture.

el_presidente

Excuse to buy kit

glauciaregina9

Why do I do it?
In one sentence: It makes me feel good.

+1 for Kieran_Burns & deptfordmarmoset comments - sum things up pretty well to be honest

For me, the main reason is I just love riding my bike :-) , and the fitness/exercise & relaxation benefits

I have a sedentary job, sat in front of a PC all day, but I am an outdoors person at heart, so riding to work gives me my exercise fix and gets me out in the fresh air...

ince

Clocking up the miles is becoming an obsession, is this good or bad is your point of view.

I love impressing non cycling colleagues with just how far I went on a trip out at the weekend. The 'what did you do this weekend?' followed by 'oh i went to (insert destination)' and the comment of 'wow that's along way'.

Big +1 on the stress relief.

Not having to go to the gym, opting to have the snack of choice with out worry of not burning it off.

Buying bike related stuff.

Getting some time to my self while on the bike, no one asking questions or needing stuff done etc.

Good role model for my kids, my son loves his bike and getting out. I also have the fitness to keep up with him. I also think my enthusiasm rubs off on others, my father now rides on a daily basis and is getting fitter. He is even taking us over to see the start of the tour.

W1

Consistency and reliability of journey time.
Excuse to eat and drink to excess without worrying about getting fat.

iPete

the large portion of chips that just followed my original lunch of toasted sani and cake :twisted:

W1

Chips and beer with everything. Second breakfast at 11am, second lunch at 4pm.

il_principe

Radioactiveman wrote:

When I get to work I feel more awake when I cycle than when I use the car, it also saves me £2-£2.50 per day.

'nuff said really. Keeps the presentation short.

will3

I believe you're asking the wrong question.

Really, "why would you commute by car/train/bus/hovercraft"

Monkeypump

will3 wrote:

I believe you're asking the wrong question.

Really, "why would you commute by car/train/bus/hovercraft"

Hovercraft would be quite interesting! I'd like to commute by boat too...

Agent57

I'm not entirely on board with the stress relief angle; for the most part, I suppose it's fair enough, but there are many times when I get wound up and pissed off at the people I share the road with. On the other hand, sitting in traffic jams sucks, and it's great to whizz past all the stationary traffic.

I do broadly agree with the "bike time is my time" response though. I don't feel my commute is part of my working day. Particularly not on those days where I decide to go "the long way home", and take a scenic route.

Mostly, though, I cycle to work because cycling's my default mode of transport. I cycle as long as the distance isn't too great, or the journey impractical for some reason (such as time, luggage, other people etc.). Been doing it for 35 years, and I see no reason to stop now.

DonDaddyD

I do it because:

It makes me feel awesome
I like the alone time
I have an active imagination and often when cycling I lose myself withing yet another fantasy of what my life could have been

TheStone

... if I go to the pub after work, I tend to drink less.

nich

When I cycle, my work day starts when I get to my desk and ends when I leave it. My cycle commute is MY time, not 'get to work time'. In effect this means my work day is shorter.

I love this, its SO true!

Wallace1492

nich wrote:

When I cycle, my work day starts when I get to my desk and ends when I leave it. My cycle commute is MY time, not 'get to work time'. In effect this means my work day is shorter.

I love this, its SO true!

Almost true.... my working day starts when i get off my bike and ends when I get on it. Which will be in about 10 minutes from now....

Have a good weekend - Etape becons!!

Keiron Curtis

For the pure joy of it, to get away from the humdrum, to feel good and to have something to look foreward to twice a day.

jimmypippa

W1 wrote:

Chips and beer with everything. Second breakfast at 11am, second lunch at 4pm.

yes


Except that my second breakfast is at 8, and I need elevenses and afternoon tea as well

AndyManc

There's a number of reasons for me ..... , I despise the car culture we have created (resisting the temptation to get on my soap box), I caught the cycling bug as a kid and they were the best times of my life, I still love cycling home in the summer and getting caught in a thunder/rain storm ...... then it's also the fitness it provides.


I enjoy experiencing the seasons (instead of being sat in a climate controlled car), I believe we should cycle for environmental reasons , I believe less cars on our streets improves our quality of lives and makes communities more sociable.

It's also a rebellious thing, I'm not one of the sheep sat in traffic polluting the air, it's independence from the fuel companies, and insurance companies, the garages etc etc


Cycling you are living and experiencing, motorists are dead ... from the head down.


.

jonny_trousers

For me it began as a way to avoid the tedium of driving into work. I figured I could ride in just as quickly, push myself to the point where I got a decent cardio workout (thus allowing me to cut way back on time spent in the gym) and as a bonus, I would save a few quid in the process. That was when I bought my simple hybrid. Pretty quickly I discovered there was way more to it than that, however. I too enjoy that 'alone' time, I get a kick out of pushing my body hard and I love the concentration and control required to ride well in the city. I arrive at work buzzing and ready for what's to come and then at the end of the day, I look forward to winding down on my ride home. This last week I have had to drive in a few times, for one reason or another, and I have absolutely hated it. Don't get me wrong, I love cars and I love driving, but there is just no opportunity to enjoy driving in the city. And as for public transport... don't get me started!

Of course, I now find myself spending money on a faster, better bike.

shouldbeinbed

Kieran_Burns wrote:

It's something I've mentioned which seemed to strike a chord with a few people:

When I drive to/from work my work day starts when I leave home and ends when I get back.

When I cycle, my work day starts when I get to my desk and ends when I leave it. My cycle commute is MY time, not 'get to work time'. In effect this means my work day is shorter.

Also, I've been lucky in that I have been able to cycle through some great country views and you simply miss it all when you drive. I've cycled through some glorious mornings and revelled in the occasion.

Then there is the stress relief - I very very rarely get home stressed when I've cycled, but I can do when I drive. The exercise and time gives you an opporunity to wind down and/or work through what is bothering you.

Oh, and thene there is the fact that you can pig out and burn off the extra calories

spot on honourable mention to DM too.

I do it because I've come to hate driving with quite some passion and (when I have to) commute driving especially so. I find it stressful and antagonising.

cycling I've always loved and to have the opportunity to do it most days is a pleasure too good to miss, I see the sun come up over misty fields, and can dawdle over the sight, I can stop and take a photograph if i want without blocking the road, I can travel through parks and by water and green spaces that cars can't, I see and hear things I never would in a car, I can communicate with other human beings on the move, I never have to listen to adverts for plumbers on local radion or Chris Moyles, I get to work energised and ready to bounce into the day rather than slumping into my desk grabbing for an espresso just to get me going. I put the work world to bed on my ride home and am 100% there for the family and for me by the time I get there.

I can drink beer and eat what takes my fancy and I do not need to worry about the soulless abomination that is the average Gym or getting fat and unfit.

thistle_

AndyManc wrote:

It's also a rebellious thing, I'm not one of the sheep sat in traffic polluting the air, it's independence from the fuel companies, and insurance companies, the garages etc etc.

This, although I still have a car for things that bikes can't do (e.g. moving house) which means I pay a fortune in 'Road Tax', MOTs and repairs (despite hardly using my car it's always falling to bits).
I occasionally drive to work for a change. It's much quicker but more stressful and usually reminds me why I prefer the bike.

I used to live 2 miles from the office and cycled in. There were 3 people who lived closer than me who claimed they lived too far away to cycle (1 was converted but has since left). I now live 8 miles from work and still cycle - it's not that far really.

Also it keeps me fit and means I get 16 miles of convenient training for races etc.

MrChuck

AndyManc wrote:

There's a number of reasons for me ..... , I despise the car culture we have created (resisting the temptation to get on my soap box), I caught the cycling bug as a kid and they were the best times of my life, I still love cycling home in the summer and getting caught in a thunder/rain storm ...... then it's also the fitness it provides.


I enjoy experiencing the seasons (instead of being sat in a climate controlled car), I believe we should cycle for environmental reasons , I believe less cars on our streets improves our quality of lives and makes communities more sociable.

It's also a rebellious thing, I'm not one of the sheep sat in traffic polluting the air, it's independence from the fuel companies, and insurance companies, the garages etc etc


Cycling you are living and experiencing, motorists are dead ... from the head down.


.

I don't really think about being rebellious much but I sympathise pretty strongly with all this.
Occasionally I find myself in my girlfriend's car at rush hour (when circumstances mean I don't have my bike) and I get really depressed by it- it's utterly soul-destroying and I just can't understand why people do it.