Real Commuters

lost_in_thought

DonDaddyD wrote:

The bottom line? To be a 'commuter' you need a bike, you need to ride it to work and you love it.

Absolutely. And you don't even need to love it. You just need a bike and a job.

DCowling

so what you are all saying is :-

A commuter is someone who travels to and from their place of work, in this case by bicycle , and the type of clothing, bike, wheels, tyres, pedals, gears, brakes, the speed they they travel, the route they take, the traffic they encounter and the changing facilities ( or lack thereof) does not distarct fromthe fact that they are in fact a commuter


Have I got that right :?

tailwindhome

lost_in_thought wrote:

DonDaddyD wrote:

The bottom line? To be a 'commuter' you need a bike, you need to ride it to work and you love it.

Absolutely. And you don't even need to love it. You just need a bike and a job.

You don't even need a job.

Commuting is just the journey


Deep.

lost_in_thought

TailWindHome wrote:

lost_in_thought wrote:

DonDaddyD wrote:

The bottom line? To be a 'commuter' you need a bike, you need to ride it to work and you love it.

Absolutely. And you don't even need to love it. You just need a bike and a job.

You don't even need a job.

Commuting is just the journey


Deep.

Ommmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm.

lost_in_thought

DCowling wrote:

so what you are all saying is :-

A commuter is someone who travels to and from their place of work, in this case by bicycle , and the type of clothing, bike, wheels, tyres, pedals, gears, brakes, the speed they they travel, the route they take, the traffic they encounter and the changing facilities ( or lack thereof) does not distarct fromthe fact that they are in fact a commuter


Have I got that right :?

Yep!

DCowling

lost_in_thought wrote:

DCowling wrote:

so what you are all saying is :-

A commuter is someone who travels to and from their place of work, in this case by bicycle , and the type of clothing, bike, wheels, tyres, pedals, gears, brakes, the speed they they travel, the route they take, the traffic they encounter and the changing facilities ( or lack thereof) does not distarct fromthe fact that they are in fact a commuter


Have I got that right :?

Yep!

WooHoooo!! English is back

wgwarburton

DCowling wrote:

so what you are all saying is :-

A commuter is someone who travels to and from their place of work, in this case by bicycle , and the type of clothing, bike, wheels, tyres, pedals, gears, brakes, the speed they they travel, the route they take, the traffic they encounter and the changing facilities ( or lack thereof) does not distarct fromthe fact that they are in fact a commuter


Have I got that right :?

Yes, however they may not be a Real Commuter (see definitions above)... in fact, they might even eat quiche!

Cheers,
W.

lost_in_thought

DCowling wrote:

lost_in_thought wrote:

DCowling wrote:

so what you are all saying is :-

A commuter is someone who travels to and from their place of work, in this case by bicycle , and the type of clothing, bike, wheels, tyres, pedals, gears, brakes, the speed they they travel, the route they take, the traffic they encounter and the changing facilities ( or lack thereof) does not distarct fromthe fact that they are in fact a commuter


Have I got that right :?

Yep!

WooHoooo!! English is back

You're a fine one to talk... Distarcted when you typed that, were you? :P

DonDaddyD

DCowling wrote:

so what you are all saying is :-

A commuter is someone who travels to and from their place of work, in this case by bicycle , and the type of clothing, bike, wheels, tyres, pedals, gears, brakes, the speed they they travel, the route they take, the traffic they encounter and the changing facilities ( or lack thereof) does not distarct fromthe fact that they are in fact a commuter


Have I got that right :?

A commuter is someone who rides a bike to work. IMO End of.

They are most likely to consider the following:

Can't live less than 15 and more than 20 miles away from where I work
The building i work in needs showers and towels or a disabled toilet for a whores bath.
A bike park, secured

The bike and clothes are irrespective. Road bike is my preferred personal choice and I tend not to mix with hybrids, I'm not a fan of interbreeding the bikes. Females on roadbikes will always be more attractive. But its the riders choice of what steed, what clothes etc. That choice doesn't stop them from being a commuter.

(I don't commute but then I took a senior position in a place where the average age is either 40 or 50. I didn't want to be initially dismissed as 'young' before my talent and intelligence is realised. They paid me enough to reconsider a lot. Now I've established myself I'll start to commute by bike).

DCowling

lost_in_thought wrote:

DCowling wrote:

lost_in_thought wrote:

DCowling wrote:

so what you are all saying is :-

A commuter is someone who travels to and from their place of work, in this case by bicycle , and the type of clothing, bike, wheels, tyres, pedals, gears, brakes, the speed they they travel, the route they take, the traffic they encounter and the changing facilities ( or lack thereof) does not distarct fromthe fact that they are in fact a commuter


Have I got that right :?

Yep!

WooHoooo!! English is back

You're a fine one to talk... Distarcted when you typed that, were you? :P

My English is fine ( if a little peppered with Mackem) it's my complete lack of typing skills combined with trying to do this in work time that gives up the problems
Oh and the dodgy keyboard that took some abuse when I first quit the smokes.

lost_in_thought

Excuses excuses...

DCowling

lost_in_thought wrote:

Excuses excuses...

:oops:

ndru

DonDaddyD - I agreed with "A commuter is someone who rides a bike to work".

As I said my previous post was a bit judgmental and patronizing. And it wasn't my point. And as I said I haven't got a problem with anyone cycling - I don't think any cycling apparel is inferior. I was only talking about potential appeal to the public. That's all.

Since bicycles have been a subcultural thing, not a mainstream for so long it has been fractionalized in lines with - who's the most real cyclist - which is sort of what the OP has said. Fortunately people see the bicycle as more and more utilitarian and don't associate it with any subculture, which is a positive thing.

DonDaddyD

Edit:

A real commuter is someone who wouldn't take a £**,*** increase to give up the commute.

A real commuter is someone who is prepared to leave an hour earlier than they would have to if they did the same journey by train.

A real commuter is someone who relishes riding in the rain and winter and sees it as a challenge to their dedication to the cause.

A real commuter can replace and pump up an inner tube in all weather conditions within 7mins.

A real commuter is someone who will turn up to business meeting by bike and take the bike into the meeting.

I can't say I'm all of those things....

DCowling

This is getting very serious,
there's only one way to settle it

Grow up

tailwindhome

DonDaddyD wrote:

I don't commute but then I took a senior position in a place where the average age is either 40 or 50. I didn't want to be initially dismissed as 'young' before my talent and intelligence is realised. They paid me enough to reconsider a lot. Now I've established myself I'll spend all day on BikeRadar).

Fixed

No charge

DonDaddyD

ndru wrote:

DonDaddyD - I agreed with "A commuter is someone who rides a bike to work".

As I said my previous post was a bit judgmental and patronizing. And it wasn't my point. And as I said I haven't got a problem with anyone cycling - I don't think any cycling apparel is inferior. I was only talking about potential appeal to the public. That's all.

Since bicycles have been a subcultural thing, not a mainstream for so long it has been fractionalized in lines with - who's the most real cyclist - which is sort of what the OP has said. Fortunately people see the bicycle as more and more utilitarian and don't associate it with any subculture, which is a positive thing.

Fair enough. I see a few people running to work in shorts and lycra. That's doesn't deter me from the idea.

Cycling is a physical activity, it's not unthinkable that you might have to wear clothing and use equipment to aid this. I don't think the public are put off by this. There are enough varities and options to suit everyone.

DCowling wrote:

This is getting very serious,
there's only one way to settle it

Grow up

Huh?

jedster

ndru,

I see your point but I think you are missing something pretty important.

We have a massive problem in this country with rising obesity (not to mention heart disease). Most people are too sedentry and could really do with fitting more cardiovascular exercise into their day. In my opinion, BRISK utility cycling is the single easiest way for most people to do this. It has to be brisk because otherwise you dont elevate your heart rate enough to have the desired effect. Utility cycling is so fantastic because it fits into your day - you really dont have to find time for it, it is low impact (you just dont pick up the niggling injuries that you get with running) and its cheap (net of car/PT costs).

Lots of people (me certainly) respond to any brisk exercise by getting sweaty (hence clothes, showers, etc). An important part of making cycle commuting work is routine and habit (so it helps to be equipped for all weathers).

I dont think there is anything wrong with your model of cycle commuting but it just doesnt have the full range of important benefits that more energetic commuting has.

Cheers,

J

Agent57

ndru wrote:

I just feel that you don't need SPD shoes to ride a bicycle to work - it's overkill

It's no more overkill that people who sit in traffic jams behind the wheel of their turbocharged hot hatches. O_o

simonaspinall

DonDaddyD wrote:

Edit:

A real commuter is someone who wouldn't take a £**,*** increase to give up the commute.

A real commuter is someone who is prepared to leave an hour earlier than they would have to if they did the same journey by train.

A real commuter is someone who relishes riding in the rain and winter and sees it as a challenge to their dedication to the cause.

A real commuter can replace and pump up an inner tube in all weather conditions within 7mins.

A real commuter is someone who will turn up to business meeting by bike and take the bike into the meeting.

I can't say I'm all of those things....

I can say I feel quite special now!

ndru

jedster Getting sweaty puts people off. That's one fact. The fitter you are, the less you sweat. That's fact too. People don't realize that you can build up to speed - it's either 20mph spitting your lungs out and dripping sweat and blood or nothing at all (because they don't see other examples). And I think we can agree that pootling along is better then driving/PT isn't it? I mean people actually drive to the gym to ride a stationary bike... it does tell you a lot.
The image of a cyclist is just a part of the problem, then there is the infrastructure. But I am noticing a good trend - cycle highways are just a first step, dipping your toe in the water, I would say, but it will encourage some to cycle, it will make cycle paths more visible to people, and with the BBs we'll have more people trying cycling out. Once enough people start cycling they will have to build infrastructure. I am just wondering if you don't have to start inconveniencing people who drive by shutting down roads, increasing parking charges and so on, to drive (sic!) them away from the city centre. If tfl makes it difficult (more difficult then it already is) to drive around london, people will start looking into bicycles. Hopefully. One street for cars, one for bikes? Would that work? But I am going completely OT now, apologies.

DonDaddyD

ndru wrote:

jedster Getting sweaty puts people off.

Prove this, its a common know fact that your likely to be more hot and sticky cycling in trousers and shirt than lycra. It's a common know fact that your more likely to be hot, sticky and sweaty on the train in a suit.

Lycra is designed to absorb sweat from the body. You dry quicker wearing lycra.

The fitter you are, the less you sweat. That's fact too.

No it's not. Sweating is the bodies way of cooling down. Natural fitness has nothing to do with this. How fit you are determines how hard you can exercise, when you exercise hard your body will attempt to cool itself down. That's when you sweat. One person could ride at 20mph and sweat just as much as another person riding at 10mph.

Remaining cool, lycra will help keep the body cool ergo reducing the potential for sweat. It's why we wear t-shirts in the summer.

People don't realize that you can build up to speed - it's either 20mph spitting your lungs out and dripping sweat and blood or nothing at all (because they don't see other examples).

And I think we can agree that pootling along is better then driving/PT isn't it? I mean people actually drive to the gym to ride a stationary bike... it does tell you a lot.

No that tells me nothing except a collection of words that form a sentence.

The image of a cyclist is just a part of the problem, then there is the infrastructure. But I am noticing a good trend - cycle highways are just a first step,

Hahaha, I've ridden the highways on a road I've ridden for the past 3yrs they achieve nothing if anyting more problems and more congestion. My thoughts are well documented.

I really think you have an odd view of the situation. It's like you're arguing that we must conform to your implied friendly image to make cycling more appealing... nonsense.

MonkeyMonster

ndru wrote:

The fitter you are, the less you sweat.

Can I ask where you picked up this bit of information?

I can give you a perfect example where the opposite is true - me.

AND I can offer a bit of biological evidence to support my counter claim - the fitter and more trained you are - the faster you will begin to sweat because your body is used to you working hard and starts to try stopping you overheating sooner than when you trained less - and likely were less fit.

That makes sense to me. Please can I get the source of you sweat less though...

rjsterry

ndru wrote:

...The fitter you are, the less you sweat. That's fact too...

I don't think it is actually. I'm probably fitter than I've ever been, but still sweat like a carthorse at anything more than a brisk walk.

I agree that seating is something that puts people off cycle commuting, I'm just not convinced it's got anything to do with how 'real' a commuter you are.

EDIT: MM, this is starting to get a bit freaky: the mask, the sweatiness, the Crumpler bag, etc. The question is, who is whose stunt double?

lost_in_thought

MonkeyMonster wrote:

ndru wrote:

The fitter you are, the less you sweat.

Can I ask where you picked up this bit of information?

I can give you a perfect example where the opposite is true - me.

AND I can offer a bit of biological evidence to support my counter claim - the fitter and more trained you are - the faster you will begin to sweat because your body is used to you working hard and starts to try stopping you overheating sooner than when you trained less - and likely were less fit.

That makes sense to me. Please can I get the source of you sweat less though...

Yeah, I've always been told that fitter people will start to sweat sooner, thereby cooling the body more effectively.

However, if you were to cycle at, say, 15mph on a flat route on teh same bike, an unfit person may well sweat a lot, whereas a super-fit person might barely sweat at all.

andyb78

MonkeyMonster wrote:

ndru wrote:

The fitter you are, the less you sweat.

Can I ask where you picked up this bit of information?

I can give you a perfect example where the opposite is true - me.

AND I can offer a bit of biological evidence to support my counter claim - the fitter and more trained you are - the faster you will begin to sweat because your body is used to you working hard and starts to try stopping you overheating sooner than when you trained less - and likely were less fit.

That makes sense to me. Please can I get the source of you sweat less though...

+1. Surely it's the intensity of training?

Cafewanda

Ndru, where's the evidence for this please?

"The fitter you are, the less you sweat. That's fact too".

I've not found that to be the case where I'm concerned.

Agent57

ndru wrote:

The fitter you are, the less you sweat. That's fact too.

This rather depends on what you mean. Fitter people will normally sweat more readily; their body will anticipate the exertion sooner, and start the cooling mechanism earlier.

However, for a given speed on the bike, it might be the case that the fit person sweats less than the unfit person purely because the fitter person isn't working their body as hard as the lard-arse.

Cafewanda

rjsterry wrote:

ndru wrote:

...The fitter you are, the less you sweat. That's fact too...

I don't think it is actually. I'm probably fitter than I've ever been, but still sweat like a carthorse at anything more than a brisk walk.

I agree that seating is something that puts people off cycle commuting, I'm just not convinced it's got anything to do with how 'real' a commuter you are.

EDIT: MM, this is starting to get a bit freaky: the mask, the sweatiness, the Crumpler bag, etc. The question is, who is whose stunt double?

Triplets on the sweatiness thing :shock:

MonkeyMonster

Hmmm, we might have to see who can drink more in the Morpeth... RJS