Bike commute, day 2

[rebeccmeister]

The Villa Maria house was 3 miles from campus, which was just below my threshold for gearing up for a REAL bike commute, so in the summertime that has basically meant I have been showing up in work clothes, soaked in sweat, and marinate in that sweat throughout the day. The new homestead is about 5 miles out, which I deem long enough for a change in commuting strategy: put on spandex, cool down upon arrival for a few minutes, pack a change of clothes and a washcloth.

WAY more civilized.

The smooth pavement and straight-shot road are also WAY more civilized.

And now I've reached a level of Hobo Style where, if I had to pack for a trip, all I would need to do is add a couple more pairs of underwear and socks to my pannier, and I could then just grab the pannier and my backpack, and I'd be ready to go.

Froinlavin broke a fifth spoke last night on the ride home, so I had to fix the Jolly Roger's flat and reinstall the worn-out front tire. At least the debris levels are minimal on the new commute. Sections of the old commute are grimy.

The Jolly Roger is oddly quiet without the picnic basket. Also oddly aerodynamic and efficient. The CETMA rack by itself is hardly noticeable.

Comments

Re: Opinion question

[twoeleven.livejournal.com]

I can belive 20 minutes of cumulative time, but "added onto driving time"? Maybe for very short drives... We used to commute to one of French-named Company's research campuses at a distance of 18 miles. With a little care, that could be done in 25 mintues (~43 mph) and substantially longer in the worst parts of rush "hour". I'm having trouble imagining people willing to bike (etc) that long... but perhaps I underestimate y'all's dedication to the sport.

Re: Opinion question

[rebeccmeister.livejournal.com]

So, my total bike time estimate for a drive commute of that length would probably be around an hour and 15 minutes (I would tend to use a rough estimate of 12 mph to account for stops and traffic). That puts the total time well over randomdream's cutoff (which would be 45 minutes), and above the hour cutoff I would use. Ergo, not many people would switch to biking. Unless the predictability of time of the bike commute was greatly improved relative to the predictability of the rush "hour" drive, and the rush hour drive frequently wound up being closer to 55 minutes.

But overall, as distances increases, the probability of not biking goes up.

Re: Opinion question

[twoeleven.livejournal.com]

Ah, OK. You've given me something else I was looking for: cyclists' speed estimates for practical biking. And I didn't even have to ask. :)

I'd guesstimated a little faster than than that (15-20mph) from thinking in terms of the mechanical advantage bikes provide over walking. But you're right that I should have taken into account traffic delays. (Which, since I'm a naughty child, I tend to ignore while walking.)

Re: Opinion question

[twoeleven.livejournal.com]

Oh, and I use scare-quotes in "rush 'hour'" after some judgement. Around here, the morning rush... interval lasts a few hours, with peaks corresponding to 8:00, 8:30, and 9:00 work start times around here and in Philly.

Re: Opinion question

[rebeccmeister.livejournal.com]

I'd assumed that was your justification. ;-) Around here, I think there's basically just a 30-minute period in the morning and evening that gets busy, to judge by the traffic backed up at the light on Villa Maria right at 8 am, and the traffic backed up by the lights around campus right at 5 pm. Yet people still complain about it. I would, too, if I were stuck in a gas-powered wheelchair box!

Re: Opinion question

[randomdreams.livejournal.com]

When I was going to CSU, my door-to-seat time was five minutes faster by bike than by car, despite it being 20 miles of rural driving, because parking was so bad and the walk from parking to classroom was so long, and as a result I rode every day it wasn't snowing hard or raining. Likewise my brother, who had to pay $5 for parking every day, and drove maybe five times during ten years of working at that job -- and, similarly, had shorter ride than drive times to work. (Longer on the way home since his workplace was 800 feet lower than his home.) Almost any city traffic at all, and suddenly bikes look vastly more attractive, because even though stoplights still stop you, you get a block per stoplight, whereas cars often go through multiple cycles because of the traffic density.

Re: Opinion question

[rebeccmeister.livejournal.com]

That's the best, when biking is easier than driving. It angers me that driving to this campus is as convenient as it is. If the campus planners had built a more walkable campus and structured the parking differently, it would be way more pleasant to work here.