How Long Have You Been Commuting Via Your Bike?



youcansellerz

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Jun 10, 2015
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As I was riding home yesterday, I realized I have been commuting by bike for 10 years. I took my first bike commute to a summer class at UND and it changed the way I viewed bikes. Prior to this ride, bikes were reserved for recreational use.

This got me thinking, how long have you been commuting on bike? Where did your first ride take you?
 
Only 2 to 3 months, lol.

I've had a couple bikes over the past several years but it was more of a situation where I road around the neighborhood once when the weather got nice and then went back to never riding. This past winter, my car broke down. It was never a decent car to begin with and it was nickel and diming me at the shop to get various things fixed so when it came time to drop a substantial amount of money all at once, I was done. I got a bike and decided to see how doing everything by bike was. I'm a big fan of all the savings I've had. I still plan on getting a new car around next fall/winter, but I've already decided that the bike is going to be my main mode of transportation.
 
It will be two years next month!
Working in the tech industry in silicon valley for the past ten years, traffic and commuting had always just been a given, luckily i found out it isn't. I've never been healthier or happier in my life.
 
I've been doing it in NYC for about 5 years now, but only about once or twice a week. When I lived in Seattle many years ago I tried commuting there a few times but always found it more trouble than it was worth. I would rather do one of my regular rides after work instead. The difference in Seattle was that I could be home in 10 minutes. In NY it takes an hour by subway (or by bike) and I'm exhausted when I get home. Maybe the fact that I was in my twenties in Seattle and I'm 60 now has something to do with this. If I don't ride to work, I don't ride.
 
Coming up on 10 years "almost every day." I'd been commuting occasionally for 2-3 years, but Hurricane Katrina did it for me. I remember riding home the night before it hit New Orleans and passing a gas station. I said to myself, "Gas prices are going to go up tomorrow morning, but I can ride my bike to work and I won't have to support the oil companies." That was all it took!
 
About 45 years! Paper route as , donut route on tricycle, sales (door to door) and commute in college, different bases I've been station at: Indiana, California, Michigan, Oklahoma and one oversea tour Honduras (didn't commute, but rode mountain bike). Had the blessing to take my bike to different parts of the world on 30-45 days deployments. Panama (several times) England, Iceland, Egypt, Bolivia, Alaska, Kenya and Saudy Arabia.

Looking back, God grace and protection was with me on all those places. I was to young and stupid to know how dangerous it was on some of those place,s but when your young, you think you're invinsable.
 
As an adult (excluding school and a paper route as a child) forty years. I've lived in 8 different cities or towns ranging from rural to downtown urban environments, worked in management positions with 4 major corporations, dressed in all manners of work attire and commuted by bike, at least part time, over all that time.
As time has gone by, I have found less and less use for my car within a 10-15 mile radius. We really don't need to use them very much.
 
For three years now. I gave up driving to work because of traffic jams.I like cycling as part of my exercise. I drive only when the whether is cold or very hot. I have been thinking of buying an electric bike which I will be using when I feel exhausted.
 
On and off for about 40 years. Since moving to Indiana from California the commuting thing doesn't happen during winter months which generally lasts from October to March sometimes April;.then rain puts a damper on commuting during the rest of the months. So I don't commute by bike anywhere near as much as I did in California.
 
I started commuting on a bicycle since I was in high school. That means that I've been cycling for around 22 years, but there was period in my twenties where I was using my motor vehicle exclusively. Nowadays, working as a freelancer and being mostly home-based there is not much need for my vehicle during the course of a week. Most of my nearby community is accomplished on my bike and only use the vehicle when I have to get groceries or visit folks in the evenings.
 
I have been doing it since high school. That would be about 5 years. I still do not have a car, and I vastly prefer riding my bike than taking the public transport. I might even prefer riding a bike over driving a car.
 
I've been commuting by bike since I was ten. That's when my parents allowed me to drive to school on my bike. My trusty bike accompanied me throughout my time at high school and at university. When I finished with my education, I went to work with my bike for nearly 10 years. Then I moved to a place of vast distances and had to get a car for a while, as there was no public transport. I moved on again, and these days I am again depending 80% on my bike to get to work, and basically everywhere where I need to go.
 
In the past five years, I've probably commuted to work a few dozen times. It's not something that comes up since I don't live very close to work, and I'd have to take a roundabout way to actually bike there. I did do it for Bike To Work Day a few times over the years, though. I prefer leisurely biking over commuting to work.
 
About three years. Used to travel to the library a lot two years ago, but suddenly stopped since I got a PC right at the comfort of my own home. I still do take my bike on long rides time to time though.
 
I don't have a commute anymore, but years ago I used to commute by bike. I think from about the age of 14 to about 25 a bike was my preferred method for going to work and back even after getting my license and a car. I'm pushing 40 now and am recovering from some leg surgeries, but if I were up to working out side of the home this would probably still be my preferred way to get to work.
 
Totalarmordestine said:
It will be two years next month!
Working in the tech industry in silicon valley for the past ten years, traffic and commuting had always just been a given, luckily i found out it isn't. I've never been healthier or happier in my life.
THIS is what a non-cycling person doesn't get. Not only does it keep one healthy from a wellness standpoint the reflexes, stamina, life value, sensory awareness and more are ALL heightened by the simple act of bicycling to and from work. There is a great deal of satisfaction gained to be freed from the tyranny of the internal combustion engine.
Whether one is 7 or 70 when riding a bike one is ageless. When I looked at the top ten machines developed in human history and the bicycle wasn't on it? I broke wind in it's general direction. It's virtually the PERFECT human transportation.
Congratulations to whom I've quoted on reaching the 2 year milestone! It's an accomplishment that rewards internally and shows it's benefits externally.
 

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