Volt, Schmolt; Get a Bike Instead

I don't recall saying I didn't care, nor am I trying to be snobbish or utopian. It's not about wealth, it's about choices. I'd rather live in a nicer part of town, as I imagine most people would, but I choose to live where I do because of the proximity to schools, public transportation, and convenient shopping. I could make a lot more money working downtown with the big boys, and afford that nicer neighbourhood, but that would mean a far stricter schedule, hours of daily commuting, and I'd only see my kids on the occasional evening and weekend.

Of all the people I've talked to about what they would have done differently in their lives, most of them wished they'd had more time. Very few said the fancier car or the bigger house with a better view were what mattered most. They wish they'd spent more time with their kids, or friends, or gardening, or just not being in such a damn hurry their whole lives. We all have about the same amount of time - it's how we choose to spend it that counts.

 

You're exclusively talking about people with money and high paying jobs, who have the option to live in a nice secluded neighborhood. I agree with you here.

What you still haven't considered is the 80% of everybody else. Consider a worker in manufacturing who holds a job in an relatively expensive city, but the only place he can afford to live is 30 miles out. You're right, he wants to spend more time with his kids. So he drives. You kinda proved my point.

 

I don't have a high-paying job, or gobs of cash in the bank, or live in a nice secluded neighbourhood. But I have more time than most people who do, and a better relationship with my children. That's my choice. I respect the fact that yours may be different.

Manufacturing jobs tend to be more common than others. Are you saying it's totally impossible for this mythical worker to find another job doing something similar for about the same pay within a 30 mile radius?

 

Yes! Exactly! It can be! On top of a shortage of job openings, finding another job can be considered a full time job. It can be enervating and take even more time away.

Now we're getting somewhere...

(Please keep in mind that my comments do not necessarily reflect my personal situation)

 

Yes. In your particular case, in that particular scenario, gasoline was not saved. Are you happy now?

In general, cycling saves gasoline. In general people aren't stacked up behind a lone cyclist for miles, waiting to gun the engine. You're focusing on the worst-case scenario, which happens more rarely than you might think. Most of my commuting time on a bicycle I have nobody behind me. There's one hill in particular where occasionally cars can't pass and I might have a car or two waiting for the top of the hill. They have to wait all of 15 seconds, maybe 20 sometimes, but to hear people talk about it, it was 20 minutes!

And what is really needed here is a dedicated cycling lane or path. The cyclists would be the first to agree with you that they should be off the roads that are used by cars - but they shouldn't be prohibited from travel either, so then you run into this problem.

 

Wow, whatever your line of work is, it must be really, really, bad.

I chose to live in the Chicago area. Didn't have to, I've lived in mutliple states. I'd like to live where I grew up, but there's no jobs in my field there. So this is a good place with plenty of jobs in my profession. I chose to live in somewhat-nearer suburbs, because I knew jobs were in the area and houses with a yard were affordable. I could live in the city, but with a small yard or no yard. There are affordable houses there too, many of them are even cheaper. I'd really like to have several acres of land, but some things just aren't feasible with my career. This was my choice.

In 2003 I was laid off for 9 months following the telecom melt-down, and was forced to get a job 16 miles away. Not my choice, but not bad either. It wasn't a good job or the best pay and I knew there were closer jobs. (We had considered relocating when finding work was a problem). I had a bunch of companies in a 12-mile radius that I kept in my radar over time, and when a job came up many months later, I applied for one and got it. That was my choice. It was a better job, better pay, and 8 miles away. Now I have a co-worker who works 15 miles away and decided to sell her house (in the market free-fall) and buy another house 10 miles farther away. Then she tells me she's envious when I ride my bike to work. Hey, that was her choice to move farther away from work.

Life here in the U.S. is full of choices. If you chose a career with few jobs, you should know upfront you might need to make a sacrifice in what kind of house/apartment you want or what city you live in. Make do with a neighborhood park instead of your own yard. Changing jobs or houses is not easy, especially with a spouse and kids, but it can certainly be done. It's done every day. So don't expect me to ever believe that 80% of Americans are forced to work at jobs 30 miles away because they can't find a closer job and they can't afford a house any closer. Now that, in your words, is ridiculous.

 

Yeah...Biotech is awful. You lost all credibility after you said that. I already stated my personal life doesn't reflect my sentiments. I didn't even bother reading the rest of your post.

 

LOL, I'm in the same line of work. So obviously it's not the career that's the difference in perspectives.

Let me lay it out more simply: you say 80% of Americans cannot live within 30 miles of work, I say it's less than 2%. I personally know of no-one in this situation unless they have chosen to be.


Okay, :focus:

The point of the OP is that hybrids and (arguably) electric vehicles are a bit greener than gas vehicles, but both require significant amounts of pollution to create and use. If you really want to be green, use a bicycle instead. There are downsides of cycling, which you and GrumpyCabby are very willing to point out, but that's beside the matter. I don't think anybody's disagreeing with point, correct?

 

Awesome. The 80% and 30 mile example I threw out was just an extreme example for my argument.

I agree 100% with your last point. Of course bikes are greener than cars (EV, hybrid, or not).

 

I assume CalTrain is still in operation, and they still have bike cars.

You're pointing at your present situation and saying the whole discussion is pointless; I'm saying somehow you chose to live in the South Bay and work on the Peninsula. That didn't just happen, that is a result of choices you made.

Whether you see it like that or not, is up to you.

Also, it's not just about saving some gallons of gas—though I'd think that'd be a big deal for a Prius owner. It's much bigger than that.

Back to topic: Bikes are the best and have the potential to reshape our concept of distance and what is too far.

They also force us out of the isolation of our shiny metal boxes and into a situation where we have to interact with each other on a more civilized level.

I like riding. A lot. I also bike commuted in Los Angeles, of all places, for approximately five years. When work is done and I'm on my bike—boom!—I'm doing something I enjoy that also blows out the cobwebs of the day. When I have to climb into the metal cage and drive home, the commute still feels like part of the workday. That's what I like about riding a bike.

 

One thing I am seeing in the thread here is a major oversight, maybe one or two people mentioned it but that's about it from my reading the thread. The snow and cold factor. Now I wouldn't expect people who live in the southern states to understand what snow is or even feels like when it's on the road (when and if it snows then it's something like an inch or so and the whole state shuts down to me it's the funniest thing. White stuff falling from the sky, run!!! ).

Anyway, for about six months out of the year it's unrealistic to even consider biking due to the slush, black ice and many time sub zero temps that must be endured simply being outside (sometimes that's with wind chill sometimes not) yesterday for example it was iirc, a >high< of 5 degrees F. There are many times that snow can get to several feet in depth as well, so many times due to economics one can't simply choose to do something as their economic situation forces them to either keep up the status quo or fail to make ends meet even after cutting out fancy things.

 

Lol tell that to them. "Shouldve thought about that when you moved there!" or "You cam always move to the West Coast" they'll say.

I agree witcha though.

 

It sounds like someone needs to lobby to have the bike trails groomed for nordic skiing, both classic and skating.

 

Just a thought guys, but we have a diesel section so why not a bicycle section too?

That way you can all talk about your outdated, 19th century mode of transport to your hearts content. Why you find pleasure dressing in lycra and wobbling around in front of cars and trucks in the heat and rain is beyond me. Just use your car!

 

I think grumpy was half-kidding, or at least I'd like to think so, but even then the other half that's not kidding is still bothersome.

 

Mmmm.. cycling.. *drool*

 

It's what you make of it. I have friends who commute by bike year-round. That's here in Chicago (one friend in particular would go 17 miles each way), and back in college in Duluth MN. There's no such thing as weather too cold, just clothes that aren't warm enough.

So you dress warm and get studded bicycle tires and you can bike all winter. One of my professors did that, and he also had a cartoon on his office door "People who commute by bike in the winter should be removed from the gene pool". Maybe Grumpy drew that cartoon...?

I choose to ride my bicycle because I hate working out in the gym. (Getting sweaty for no purpose? It's okay occasionally but really boring otherwise). If I exercise and get something useful done (like commuting) then it's worthwhile. I do about 500 miles a year, and it all replaces miles I would otherwise have used a car for. I need the exercise for weight and cholesterol reasons. I found roads with lower speed limits that aren't too crowded and I commute outside the main rush hour. Unfortunately these roads don't have shoulders, which is barely acceptable in the summer, but definitely not acceptable in the winter with snow piles creeping in. I also don't ride at night - something like 5% of bike trips are done at night, but 50% of bike fatalities occur then. Which limits me to the Daylight Savings season, other people are okay with the risk, but that's my limit.

The other thing is, cars for all 6+ billion of us is not feasible. It physically cannot happen. Roads in most places are not big enough for both cars and bikes, particularly in North America roads are built only with cars in mind. So we have a bit of a conundrum. We can choose to live more lightly on this Earth, but only at some risk. How much money should be spent on bike paths and lanes (that can also be used by joggers, families out for a stroll, etc.), and does this really save oil in the long run? It's not an easy question, but if we had enough people commuting by bicycle, then it would make sense. Kind of a chicken-and-egg thing.

So for now, I'm an egg, hoping the chickens will come. Kind of like when I bought a Prius in early 2006, partly to show other manufacturers (and hopefully the American ones) there is a demand for a car of this type. Almost 5 years later, it's slowly happening, and there are more high-mileage choices today than there used to be. But we still need to push the envelope.

 

Here's why: The same emotion which causes certain non-Prius drivers to mock Prius owners also causes Prius owners to mock those who are transporting their bodies and belongings in an even more efficient manner.

It smacks of hypocrisy to me, and I think it speaks volumes about all of us as people. Even though we make "individual" choices, we often do so for exactly the same reasons.