What Stops Commuters from cycling?

[kevin_cambs_uk]

Effort. You need to make the effort
Scary. Most motorists that I know think its dangerous.
Rain. Rains less than people think.
Lazy. People are lazy.

 

[kevin_cambs_uk]

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.

+1

 

[R600]

Wind! i didn't commute Tuesday or Wednesday as there was 50 mile an hour wind up here (far north Scotland). last night i commuted as wind dropped but i started to panic half way through my shift as the wind got up again, but by midnight it dropped again and had a pleasant 15-20 mph headwind home. Rain never bothers me, i actualy like cycling in the rain (a bit hard on the bike though). My commute is 30 mile round trip country back roads and i didn't see a car all way home so no fear of traffic for me

 

[Becs]

I used to not commute by bike because I was scared of the traffic and worried my bike would get nicked . . .

. . . So I bought a better lock and manned the f**k up!!

However, I don't think the blanket "laziness" accusations are justified - before I cycled I was walking the 3 miles in, and most of the girls in my office go to the gym/run before work but won't cycle because they are scared of traffic.

 

[Sheffield_Tiger]

I can only speak from personal experience

Laziness

and a fear that they won't be able to do it and will look silly if they have to get off and push


I know when I got back on my bike after too many years off I rode in at night on a "trial run" to see if I could do it without being a comical wreck,

We're relocating soon and my 1.5 mile round trip to the "fast drop" post office in the lunch break is going to increase to a 5 mile round trip, which is not far and doesn't bother me in the slightest - but back then the thought of riding a bicycle laden with parcels "5 whole miles!!" at the allocated time for stuffing one's face would have seemed like asking me to climb Everest on a pogo stick

 

[tyred]

Speaking from personal experience, for me (and I suspect many others) it's a question of time. My commute is a 46 mile round trip and do it occasionally by bike but it's a hilly route in open countryside with little shelter and often mega headwinds so it's takes about 1.5hrs one way. I am not prepared to give 3 hours of my time up to travel to and from a job I don't really like in the first place. It's so much faster to drive as there simply is little or no traffic apart from maybe the last 300 or 400 yards when I arrive in town.

As petrol costs rise, I am considering asking at some of the houses at the half way point if they would mind if I parked outside their house during the day and left one of my many bikes there so I could cycle half of it to reduce fuel costs. There aren't any public car parks I could use.

 

[Sheepy1209]

I'm sure everyone has their own reasons, many being symptomatic of the image-obsessed country we live in.

For a start - there's just the fear of doing anything different; it's not just cycling, I despair at how many people will NEVER use a bus, they just see it as below them. I have a son who's just passed his test, goes everywhere on his bike but as soon as he can afford a car that'll be another one lost. To him it's part of a) growing up and b) being 'successful'. I was the same at his age (20).

The fear of public exertion is also strong; even now I usually avoid the only significant hill on my route because of the fear I won't get up it; and while it's a long drag, it's only a bump by national standards. Yet it's perfectly OK to get off and walk!
Of course when I started commuting getting up that hill was an impossibility; that first few weeks while your own fitness builds up; discovering what clothing works; getting the bike set up right (most non-cyclists will start with the saddle way too low); getting used to bike maintenance etc. You can just jump into a car and drive.

Now - as a cyclist and motorcyclist - on the odd occasion that I drive anywhere I find it tedious, and really hate the whole business of finding somewhere to park the thing. I don't complain that there's no parking; I find an alternative. I've seen the light, but most people would rather moan than do anything about it.

 

[rowan 46]

most of my friends claim that they would be afraid to commute by cycle. The women especially claim they would not feel safe as they like to have their doors locked while they drive and would feel vulnerable on a cycle. most of the men I know who don't cycle claim they can't be bothered or they don't have the time. And all those I know who have given up claim its because of the abuse they get from drivers. they tend to go to the gym or aerobics classes for their fitness regime now.

 

[Domeo]

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.

There was something similar in C+ many years ago. Along the lines that the average commuter only gets wet 12 times a year (in the southern half of the country). strangely, it was relatively true until the last couple of years.

 

[wiggydiggy]

Hmmm I can say what originally stopped me....

Cheap bus fare - my old bus journey was around £11 per week for a pass, later I reduced it to £38 a month through work. Hardly likely to break the bank.

Thats just me though.

 

[twowheelsgood]

Ultimately it is pretty much laziness and people don't want to admit it. Same on many issues, especially poor diet. It's easier and cheaper to live well than at any point in history with a few basic skills, yet many choose not to. We're handed so many opportunities to make good choice these days, trouble is we're handed any number of easier poor choices too.

However there is quite definitely a physical and psychological barrier to overcome and I think many here appreciate this having returned to cycling as adults. It's easy now I think "I'm going to the shops" and take the bike rather than when I first started "I'm going to the shops by bike". Let's face it, it is only once you build a certain base fitness and resistance to saddle-soreness then cycling actually becomes a pleasure. I remember well when even the slightest hill would make it feel like my heart was about to escape through my neck.

As an additional observation from a now foreign resident Brit there's also an extraordinarily unhealthy attitude to being "different" in the UK. In much of Europe, no one bats an eyelid at an old man in lycra enjoying his bike or even a middle aged woman on a micro scooter, unfortunately people seem so willing to express their views in Britain either verbally or with "really amusing" gestures. Britain has cultural issues which is why we are so pallid and potato shaped as a people compared to here in Switzerland.

 

[kevin_cambs_uk]

A lot of people see my when I am going home in all my lycra roadie gear, I just think they would be embarrassed to wear cycling gear etc.

 

[Phil Fly]

Rainlegs?
Hi Miss Tilly Flop, thanks for this useful suggestion, they look great and the price is sensible.
In yellow too!
Ref: other posts, - The wind can be cured with Alkaseltzer. Actually where I live there is very little open space,- mainly building or trees and wind is not a big problem even when I cycle into central London, - about 20miles.
http://www.amazon.co...19124778&sr=8-1

 

[Phil Fly]

Yes

I agree with you're comments but I've grown to ignore the "Can't be different" brigade.
I'm in up-state New York at present and I now believe all brits are stick-people compared to the locals here. More like melon-men than potato shaped.


Ultimately it is pretty much laziness and people don't want to admit it. Same on many issues, especially poor diet. It's easier and cheaper to live well than at any point in history with a few basic skills, yet many choose not to. We're handed so many opportunities to make good choice these days, trouble is we're handed any number of easier poor choices too.

However there is quite definitely a physical and psychological barrier to overcome and I think many here appreciate this having returned to cycling as adults. It's easy now I think "I'm going to the shops" and take the bike rather than when I first started "I'm going to the shops by bike". Let's face it, it is only once you build a certain base fitness and resistance to saddle-soreness then cycling actually becomes a pleasure. I remember well when even the slightest hill would make it feel like my heart was about to escape through my neck.

As an additional observation from a now foreign resident Brit there's also an extraordinarily unhealthy attitude to being "different" in the UK. In much of Europe, no one bats an eyelid at an old man in lycra enjoying his bike or even a middle aged woman on a micro scooter, unfortunately people seem so willing to express their views in Britain either verbally or with "really amusing" gestures. Britain has cultural issues which is why we are so pallid and potato shaped as a people compared to here in Switzerland.

 

[MickL]

I think also its a mind set thing, judging time and distances, in a car you go 4 miles 20min tops, when they look at some on the bike doing the same route they say 4miles in 20min more like an hour..... driving gives you no sense of distances only how long its going to take.
I swapped jobs so my daily 8-12mile commute has now upped to 20miles per day, Im trying to build me self up to do it 5 days a week, at work people say "How far is it ?" me "10miles" "wow that must take you what hour and half" me "No about 55 min depending on the traffic" but aim to be quicker now Ive got a roadie