Cycling for a Sense of Wellbeing

drays

I moved house last year and now have a 10 mile commute. Childcare arrangements mean most of the week I need to drive so I can drop off and pick up the little one while Mrs drays is at work. I have started commuting by bike when I can earlier this year, and usually do so once a week.

There is a massive difference in my sense of wellbeing when I cycle to work compared to driving. Driving used to be quite enjoyable (many years ago when I passed my test!) but I find it just winds me up these days :evil: . By comparison, cycling starts my day off in a much better light, and I feel much better for it :P .

Is this a typical view, and does cycling have such a positive influence on any of you guys?

---

roger_merriman

Oh lord yes, I have a 30min ride though Bushy Park, etc or I can try my luck with the A316 in the car...

at the moment the deer are in rut so it's just lovely.

davis

Definitely feel much better on the bike. This morning I stopped just to look at a mist-cloaked hillside simply because it made me happier than a pair of kittens in a bucket.

I reckon half the reason we remember driving used to be good is 'cos when most of us passed our tests we were driving around at times of less traffic (students, y'see). Now we're all old and have got proper jobs* we get stuck in the commuter traffic. The other other reason is there actually were fewer cars.


*: Not necessarily true.

Kieran_Burns

roger merriman wrote:

Oh lord yes, I have a 30min ride though Bushy Park, etc or I can try my luck with the A316 in the car...

at the moment the deer are in rut so it's just lovely.

err..... :shock:

drays

davis wrote:

I reckon half the reason we remember driving used to be good is 'cos when most of us passed our tests we were driving around at times of less traffic (students, y'see). Now we're all old and have got proper jobs* we get stuck in the commuter traffic. The other other reason is there actually were fewer cars.


*: Not necessarily true.

This much is true. Being stuck in commuter traffic is very far removed from an enjoyable drive on the open road, lady by your side, with no particular place to go...... :P

ndru

You know you can drop off and pick up kids with a bike too?

drays

ndru wrote:

You know you can drop off and pick up kids with a bike too?

Very good point.i do have a Hamax child seat for the bike. However, 10 miles with my work bag plus 2 bags of essentials for the little'un might be pushing it!

roger_merriman

Kieran_Burns wrote:

roger merriman wrote:

Oh lord yes, I have a 30min ride though Bushy Park, etc or I can try my luck with the A316 in the car...

at the moment the deer are in rut so it's just lovely.

err..... :shock:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/8766162@N04/5086271135/ I Quite often have to stop to let them pass, and I'm really not going to bother a horny forty stone stag. Is lovely this time of year, I'm normally passing though before 7am so all foggy etc.

They don't half smell either....

UndercoverElephant

davis wrote:

This morning I stopped just to look at a mist-cloaked hillside simply because it made me happier than a pair of kittens in a bucket.

It makes you happy to drown kittens? :shock: Davis, I thought better of you.

MonkeyMonster

Its awesome to ride in the morning blowing the monday blues away as you put the power down and show the pootlers a quick flash of awesome that they can't help but admire, raising a smile and helping them feel better too

davis

UndercoverElephant wrote:

davis wrote:

This morning I stopped just to look at a mist-cloaked hillside simply because it made me happier than a pair of kittens in a bucket.

It makes you happy to drown kittens? :shock: Davis, I thought better of you.

I said nothing about water.

ndru

That'd definitely be a challenge at least at first, but just think about the respect you'd get from the community. You could even think about getting a bakfiets or a trailer.

Wrath Rob

I wake up and look forwards to my commute, even if it is through London. The ride home de-stresses me and helps ensure that I arrive home a more relaxed person. The other half can always tell the days that I take PT to get home and not just because I come home smelling of booze

surreyxc

its a drug, the more you do the less you can live without it, if I have to drive a week to work I am miserable. All the time I keep thinking why is everyone stressed, ill, and miserable, then I drive for a week, then I get it. driving everyday would change me beyond recognition, a little part of me would die.

ketsbaia

Wrath Rob wrote:

I wake up and look forwards to my commute, even if it is through London. The ride home de-stresses me and helps ensure that I arrive home a more relaxed person. The other half can always tell the days that I take PT to get home and not just because I come home smelling of booze

This. Usually a dead giveaway if I've been on PT.

lost_in_thought

ketsbaia wrote:

Wrath Rob wrote:

I wake up and look forwards to my commute, even if it is through London. The ride home de-stresses me and helps ensure that I arrive home a more relaxed person. The other half can always tell the days that I take PT to get home and not just because I come home smelling of booze

This. Usually a dead giveaway if I've been on PT.

Do you drink to forget your awful commute?

Wrath Rob

its the only reason I keep getting back on PT, I forget how bad it is

Paul E

I love it, I feel so much more awake after riding to work then the stinky train with all the brain dead morons that seem to use it at the same time as me.

ketsbaia

lost_in_thought wrote:

ketsbaia wrote:

Wrath Rob wrote:

I wake up and look forwards to my commute, even if it is through London. The ride home de-stresses me and helps ensure that I arrive home a more relaxed person. The other half can always tell the days that I take PT to get home and not just because I come home smelling of booze

This. Usually a dead giveaway if I've been on PT.

Do you drink to forget your awful commute?

No, I drink to forget my awful other half.

*runs*

shouldbeinbed

drays wrote:

I moved house last year and now have a 10 mile commute. Childcare arrangements mean most of the week I need to drive so I can drop off and pick up the little one while Mrs drays is at work. I have started commuting by bike when I can earlier this year, and usually do so once a week.

There is a massive difference in my sense of wellbeing when I cycle to work compared to driving. Driving used to be quite enjoyable (many years ago when I passed my test!) but I find it just winds me up these days :evil: . By comparison, cycling starts my day off in a much better light, and I feel much better for it :P .

Is this a typical view, and does cycling have such a positive influence on any of you guys?

---

concur

shouldbeinbed

drays wrote:

I moved house last year and now have a 10 mile commute. Childcare arrangements mean most of the week I need to drive so I can drop off and pick up the little one while Mrs drays is at work. I have started commuting by bike when I can earlier this year, and usually do so once a week.

There is a massive difference in my sense of wellbeing when I cycle to work compared to driving. Driving used to be quite enjoyable (many years ago when I passed my test!) but I find it just winds me up these days :evil: . By comparison, cycling starts my day off in a much better light, and I feel much better for it :P .

Is this a typical view, and does cycling have such a positive influence on any of you guys?

---

concur

jimmypippa

I have just come back from London, and the underground was more smelly and hot than I remembered. I had been enviously looking at the Boris bikes and wishing the causal user system had been sorted out, but instead walked where possible - central London isn't really very big.

simon_e

drays wrote:

Is this a typical view, and does cycling have such a positive influence on any of you guys?

I believe it is and yes it most definitely does!

I started cycling through Shrewsbury 4 years ago, when I got fed up of sitting in queues during a 4/5 mile commute. I'd not ridden much for years but it clicked straight away, and when the dark evenings came I just bought some lights and carried on.

It has become an essential part of my routine. Only a dream job would persuade me to give it up. The office has relocated 3 miles further out of town, which is great as I get to spend longer on my bike and ride round the country lanes. The odd days I have to take the car are tedious, even Radio 4 can't compensate for the uninvolving, zombie-like passive experience.

In the winter my colleagues arrive at work feeling sleepy and cold (even with A/C), they head for the kettle for caffeine before they can function. I'm always bright, even in the rain. On every ride I feel truly alive, I smell the air, watch the seasons change and greet any wildlife and walkers I meet. No two are ever the same.

I like my work but when 5 o'clock comes I'm looking forward to the best part of the day. When I leave the office I pull out onto a busy A-road but immediately turn off onto a tiny back lane lined by tall, unkempt hedges. I have escaped! Within a few yards I see the Breidden hills, my heart skips and anything work related is forgotten. I can that view now, and it never fails to cheer me.

Clever Pun

I love the freedom of the bike...

the fitness aspect and the competition for better faster times drives me on

Finlab6

I agree also. Cant remember who posted but the advice that caused me to enjoy it even more was "stop trying to beat your best time and just enjoy it"

W1

Simon E wrote:

drays wrote:

Is this a typical view, and does cycling have such a positive influence on any of you guys?

I believe it is and yes it most definitely does!

I started cycling through Shrewsbury 4 years ago, when I got fed up of sitting in queues during a 4/5 mile commute. I'd not ridden much for years but it clicked straight away, and when the dark evenings came I just bought some lights and carried on.

It has become an essential part of my routine. Only a dream job would persuade me to give it up. The office has relocated 3 miles further out of town, which is great as I get to spend longer on my bike and ride round the country lanes. The odd days I have to take the car are tedious, even Radio 4 can't compensate for the uninvolving, zombie-like passive experience.

In the winter my colleagues arrive at work feeling sleepy and cold (even with A/C), they head for the kettle for caffeine before they can function. I'm always bright, even in the rain. On every ride I feel truly alive, I smell the air, watch the seasons change and greet any wildlife and walkers I meet. No two are ever the same.

I like my work but when 5 o'clock comes I'm looking forward to the best part of the day. When I leave the office I pull out onto a busy A-road but immediately turn off onto a tiny back lane lined by tall, unkempt hedges. I have escaped! Within a few yards I see the Breidden hills, my heart skips and anything work related is forgotten. I can that view now, and it never fails to cheer me.

Very well put Simon, I agree.

wgwarburton

jimmypippa wrote:

... enviously looking at the Boris bikes and wishing the causal user system had been sorted out, ....

There's a good joke in there somewhere about causal users and effective users and which one's which... but I just can't find it! :-)

Cheers,
W.

R_T_A

Simon E wrote:

...
I like my work but when 5 o'clock comes I'm looking forward to the best part of the day....

And there you have it as my sound bite to colleagues: it turns the worst part of the day into the best part of the day.

Even though I spend a fortune on it :oops: