What Stops Commuters from cycling?

[Thomk]

Fat, lazy, ignorant and scared.

 

[Night Train]

I don't know about other people's reasons but here are/were mine.

Distance - I can't ride 30 miles each way quickly enough over hills and still be able to do a full day's work (sometimes 8am-9pm days) and have time at the end of the day for myself.
Weather - Just don't like being in the cold and wet, either is ok but both is horrible.
Carrying loads - I carried around 25kg of stuff back and forth and often loads too big or heavy for a cargo bike.
Ease of use - a car means I can just get in and go, a motorbike or cycle would require a change of clothes and some advance planning.
Laziness (?) - I put a lot of effort into working and so I am too lazy to put a lot of physical effort into it before I even get there.
The type of work I do - Not easy to carry a ladder, tools and a load of timber, cale and plumbing stuff on a bike.
Security - the places I can cycle to for work are not places I would leave a cargo bike outside.
Stupid drivers - I value my life and some of the areas I would cycle are full of brain dead numpties.

I cycle for the fun and pleasure of riding alone or with friends, to see the sights and smell the roses, to stop for tea and cake at every opportunity.

I do cycle to some jobs (as and when I am well enough to), now I have changed my work and routines. With further work changes planned I may well be able to cycle to, and for, work more then I have done. I just need to sort out some sort of large volume cargo bike/trike/quad that can do a reasonable turn of speed, maybe with electric assist.

 

[Alun]

50 miles at the begining and end of the day would prove too much for me.

+1

 

[Deleted member 1258]

I agree with ianrauk. I don't care what people say in surveys, the truth is that most people don't cycle, because it's hard and takes effort. (At least a first!)

+1 on that, plus a fear of traffic and the common misconception that cycling is very dangerous, I know theres an element of risk, and that those of us that have been cycling for a long time will try to manage that risk, but a lot of people just see it as very dangerous.

 

[Cubist]

Cycling saves me 20 quid a week in parking charges, about the same amount in diesel. I can only remember getting seriously wet five times this year, and two of them were on Monday

It's effort. People are inherently lazy. I often need to motivate myself to get on the bike. Once on it it's fine.... fu and good exercise, but imagine if you didn't know how good it feels? Non-cyclist commuters simply imagine how awful it must feel, and never experience the endorphin/adrenaline rush of a good fast run into work,.

 

[doog]

Cycling saves me 20 quid a week in parking charges, about the same amount in diesel. I can only remember getting seriously wet five times this year, and two of them were on Monday

It's effort. People are inherently lazy. I often need to motivate myself to get on the bike. Once on it it's fine.... fu and good exercise, but imagine if you didn't know how good it feels? Non-cyclist commuters simply imagine how awful it must feel, and never experience the endorphin/adrenaline rush of a good fast run into work,.

I took the Lexus this morning. Turned on the heated seat and coasted into work 15 minutes later. This saved me an 8 mile cycle ride down the hell that is the busiest road in Dorset, the A31.

I took the car because I am recovering from a serious back injury.

When I think about It, I am truely nuts for commuting that route on a bike. I fully accept that I am risking my life. I fully understand why other people dont do it and if they want to use laziness as an excuse fair do's.

its better to get there than not get there at all

 

[deptfordmarmoset]

I'm not sure about the ''pure laziness'' argument. It seems more like cycling is the very opposite of a constructed ''ideal'' notion of transport. You're outdoors, you don't have a roof or heating, you have the wind and road noise in your ears, you have the most minimal of protection against collisions. And of course - cue the laziness element - you have to make an effort to get anywhere and back. That exposure to the elements and the immediacy of other vehicles, the pure physicality of cycling and the sense of aliveness that it generates is almost the opposite of that ideal. Power steering, crumple zones, air conditioning, sound insulation, suspension, and a host of what I call ''elsewhere devices'' - gadgets designed to take ones immediate attention from where you actually are at any given moment - they're all part and parcel of the travel-in-luxury car culture.

The very idea of choosing to make your own way outdoors, exposed to the elements with minimal protection and actually enjoying it, is beyond the comprehension of much of our indoor or in-car culture.

(Clearly, not everybody can use personal, private cars for commuting but the car is nevertheless the ideal for the majority.)

 

[ferret fur]

Although weather is always cited and it depends a bit on where you are in the country I always remember-ish the Richards Bicycle Book statement that it only rains on six (or was it twelve) days a year during a typical commute. Which given we work about 220 days a year is not many.

I seem to recall that someone (on this or another forum) tried to test this & found that he was gettting rained on far more aften than this (over 30?)

 

[beastie]

Although weather is always cited and it depends a bit on where you are in the country I always remember-ish the Richards Bicycle Book statement that it only rains on six (or was it twelve) days a year during a typical commute. Which given we work about 220 days a year is not many.

I doubt he lived in Cumbria.6 -12 rainy days is about right here............... per month!

 

[PK99]

I think you are asking the wrong question,

a better one would be, why do commuting cyclists choose to cycle?

At least you would get personal responses, rather than supposition and guess work about the actions and views of third parties!

 

[Cubist]

But we can't slag off the fat idle bottle-less people that way

 

[Cosmicned]

Time is the key- everyone thinks that a cycle will be slower or they can't possibly afford to leave 5-10mins earlier in the morning- I actually regularly beat the Missus' car ride into work (we're both lecturers at the local College) over a 5-6 mile commute... I always take pretty much 20 - 25 mins to cover the distance regardless of traffic / weather etc... Etc... Plus I have the unbelievable satisfaction of seeing loads of grim faces stationary in traffic (invariably they're all alone in the car) whilst I sail past looking incredibly smug, healthier & richer - nuff said...

 

[Schneil]

This

and its correct. I dice with death every day on my commute. The fear of traffic should remain with us all.

I'd agree with the traffic argument.
I live in the Manchester area. According to TomTom Manchester is the 10th most congested city in Europe (the only British city that beats it is London at 3rd place). My 5 mile commute to work in rush hour takes 20 minutes on the bike no matter how bad the traffic as I can filter. This beats the bus and the car into touch.

Many people in the area most likely would have a similar commute distance and would also benefit from a faster means of transport. However until the roads are safer, frankly it's not going to happen. Many people who get a bike and intend on commuting, I'm sure after their first or second 'incident' will decide cycling is too dangerous and not for them. They'll tell all their friends and so on.

Here's a good example
View: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=13ElBLVNEoc

 

[Xiorell]

I cycle to work everyday, at various times. 6am, 8.30am, 10am and 12noon. I am consistantley faster on my bike than when I used to get a lift.
Direct, door to door, shortest route possible is only 1.6miles (I normally take an 8mile route if I've not cocked up and left the house to late) has been done in 3 mins on many occassions. Done it in sunshine, wind, rain - yet to tackle snow.
To me now, none of this puts me off getting on the bike every day.

However another lad got himself a bike, tried it once (about 2miles tops) and it nearly killed him. Never seen him try it again. Purely didn't have the will power to stick it out for the first week and get used to it. He'd have been fine if he kept it up

 

[Shut Up Legs]

According to most surveys, it's fear of traffic.
Most non-cycle commuters don't think much about the rain, they think raincoats work fine for that.

Agreed, fear of traffic is definitely one of the main reasons here in Melbourne, i.e. fear of the people with anti-cyclist attitudes, or simply lack of awareness of cyclists' safety, inside the metal boxes.

Another big reason here (which makes Australia a bit of an international laughing-stock) is the damned mandatory helmet law. You can't just hop on the nearest hire bike, or your own, at a moment's notice, unless you also have a helmet handy; tends to put non-cyclists off cycling before they even start.