Driving distorts distance perception...

[magnatom]

..or so it would seem.

My commute is due to double in length from December. Obviously I am very pleased! However, that got me thinking. As cyclists, we generally (not always) get excited about increasing our commute distances. Cyclists are more likely to WANT to live that bit further away from work, so they can have more time on the bike (within reason of course).

However, car drivers and those who go on public transport generally want exactly the opposite. They (and I include myself when I have to drive) want as short a commute as possible and get excited about living closer to work (so long as wee Jonny can still get into that nice school...).

So what does all of this tell you. Cycle commuting is fun. Commuting by car/public transport isn't. Simples!

So where does the distance distortion come in. Well imagine a cyclist (very similar to me perhaps) telling his colleagues that he is excited about his commute distance increasing from 5 to 10 miles. Now imagine the look of sheer horror on their faces. Not only will said cyclist's commute be longer, but it will be 10 MILES EACH WAY!!! Drivers who drive in the urban environment seem to have lost a sense of what sort of distance 10 miles really is. Strange really, when you consider that modern transport like the car, is supposed to make the world seem smaller....

 

[marinyork]

Magnatom, that is so 1959 and the opening of the M1 and whatever it was the minister at the time said!

No, I agree completely that cars distort distance from childhood onwards where 3 or 4 miles seem superhuman journeys of which you might be able to do but will be lucky to emerge from the other side of this epic quest.

 

[John the Monkey]

10 miles is a jolly nice distance , I think.

I started off doing 8 1/2, which was do-able at first if I took two days off, then one day off... etc etc.

I started riding in because my Brother in Law was - I just figured if he could do it, I probably could too.

I don't think it's so much that driving distorts that perception, it's just that people have got out of the habit of using the "right" type of transport fro each distance. Unless you're physically infirm, or carrying something really heavy, walking one to two miles is eminently possible. Beyond that, ride a bike, beyond say, 5 to 8 miles, either tog up specifically for riding & ride, or take a car/bus/train.

Edit: Incidentally, it reminds me of reactions to Mrs Monkey and I's tour in August - our British friends were all amazed that we'd done 40 miles a day, whilst most of the Belgians we met over there thought it a bit lazy of us to potter along so!

 

[eldudino]

A colleague (who also cycles to work) and I were talking about a similar thing the other day. There are people in our office who drive 80 miles round trip each day then drive to the shop to get lunch, even though it's a 5 minute walk! They also think it's a long journey to cycle 8 miles home.

Driving long distances regularly completely distorts understanding of what is an acceptable journey to drive, I used to be guilty of the same thing pre-cycling (driving to the aforementioned shop) but now that I 'know better', it's hard to get in the car when you know you really shouldn't.

 

[addictfreak]

I live fairly close to work about 3 miles or so. This is by choice for those days when I have to go by car, as I hate long commutes. However cycling to work is a whole different ball game, I have a 14 mile circular route to get me to work and I love it!

Last night I had to work at a different location which is around 15 miles from my house, so bike out, warm gear on and off I went. It was great

 

[fay144]

Yeah, I agree with this. I used to have a 25-40 minute drive to work, depending on traffic. The time spent sitting in traffic jams completely distorted the fact that it was actually only 3 miles!

It was a life-changing discovery when I realised that I could walk it in a reasonable time, and actually jog it quicker than driving. I've never driven to work since, and can't believe I was thick enough to sit in those queues for so long. True, after moving house and doubling the distance I am cycling one way rather than running both ways. But still - totally doable on foot.

I was talking to my mum recently about one of her relatives used to walk a 20 mile round trip with a hoard of kids every week to visit family. This was back in the days when most people didn't have cars and there was just no choice. And we wonder why kids are fat.

 

[yenrod]

..or so it would seem.

My commute is due to double in length from December. Obviously I am very pleased! However, that got me thinking. As cyclists, we generally (not always) get excited about increasing our commute distances. Cyclists are more likely to WANT to live that bit further away from work, so they can have more time on the bike (within reason of course).

However, car drivers and those who go on public transport generally want exactly the opposite. They (and I include myself when I have to drive) want as short a commute as possible and get excited about living closer to work (so long as wee Jonny can still get into that nice school...).

So what does all of this tell you. Cycle commuting is fun. Commuting by car/public transport isn't. Simples!

So where does the distance distortion come in. Well imagine a cyclist (very similar to me perhaps) telling his colleagues that he is excited about his commute distance increasing from 5 to 10 miles. Now imagine the look of sheer horror on their faces. Not only will said cyclist's commute be longer, but it will be 10 MILES EACH WAY!!! Drivers who drive in the urban environment seem to have lost a sense of what sort of distance 10 miles really is. Strange really, when you consider that modern transport like the car, is supposed to make the world seem smaller....

Id cycle into work more if I could;

a - get up earlier

b - goto bed earlier

c - not mind riding 1st thing...

: And the gov. would have the arse to be far more pro.cycling than they are now !

 

[Archie_tect]

In the 70s I used to live 4.5 miles from school- near Wakefield- buses laid on for the run home often were cancelled or just didn't turn up so we'd have to walk which took us about an hour and a half... walking direct across rhubarb fields. Always got home with stomach aches!

Less than half an hour on our bikes but we were stopped as the Headmaster got worried about our safety especially in winter.

 

[upsidedown]

I think there's a general lack of appreciation that it's possible to get anywhere by any other means than the car.

If cars were shaped like mobility scooters people would think twice about getting in them to go to the shop at the end of the road, but because it's a 2 litre turbo-charged 4 wheel drive mobility scooter it's ok to do so.

 

[BentMikey]

It's a bit like people generally overestimate how long it takes to get anywhere by foot or bicycle, and underestimate the time by car.

 

[J4CKO]

Coupled with the fact a lot of people feel naked and impotent without their three tonne, fifty grand personality substitute/status symbol, if they ride a bike, others may think they are not actually rich and important, shock horror !!! they even may think they are poor, which wouldnt do, thats why the cycling demographic is as it is, the poorer end of society only cycle if they really cant afford a car.

And agreed, perception is weird, my seven miler seems less on the bike than the car nowadays, the car seems to make it like watching a film rather than being out in the action.

 

[upsidedown]

the car seems to make it like watching a film rather than being out in the action.

Well put.

 

[GrasB]

It's a bit like people generally overestimate how long it takes to get anywhere by foot or bicycle, and underestimate the time by car.

I agree, people seem to assume they can average the speed limit in a car, this usually isn't true. Basic rule of thumb for me is my average speed will be 2/3 to 3/4 of the speed limit, this usually means I'll arrive earlier than planned, job done .

 

[Lazy-Commuter]

Well put.

Agreed.

I think we've now got one, maybe two, generations with a large number of people that are not used to getting anywhere other than in a car. It always shocks Mrs-LC and I how few of our children's friends (primary school age) have got any concept of what it's like to walk, say, 2-3 miles; and many of their parents are the same.

Course, I'm talking from the moral high ground of a recent convert to cycling who - until two years ago - would quite happily walk 13+ miles for leisure but wouldn't walk 3-4 miles to the shops.

 

[John the Monkey]

... would quite happily walk 13+ miles for leisure but wouldn't walk 3-4 miles to the shops.

I wouldn't walk 3-4 miles to the shops, that's what my bike's for ;-)