Co-Workers, Geez.

[Meg McKilty]

My co-workers are in awe of me riding my bike to work.

Not because they wish to do it too, or because it is healthy.
They cannot believe I cycle 2 WHOLE MILES to work. I am astounded that they think it is like riding across America to get to here. I am amazed.

Anyone else's workplace like this?
Actual Shocker: I AM IN HEALTHCARE.

[OakLeaf]

Ha, ha

There are people at my gym who are amazed I ride there when the weather's chilly or rainy (this is Florida, okay, so a "chilly" morning is 50 F).

A mile and a half. To the gym.

[Geonz]

There are two of us in our department who don't have cars, tho' the other guy usually takes the bus (and we're both well over 40), so people aren't quite as shocked and amazed here - and we're going to be pushing that Two Mile Challenge (http://2milechallenge.com/home.html) (we'll even settle for one ;) ) . Here's hoping that say, next year at this time, it won't be culturally bizarre to cycle 2 miles!

[Melalvai]

I kind of liked the attention at first, but honestly, I'm getting tired of their attitude. I'm not crazy for wanting to stay out of a deadly machine, for wanting to get a bit of exercise without spending extra time doing it, for wanting to keep my money in the bank instead of pouring it into my car. They are crazy for driving the ONE mile across campus, whining about parking tickets and student pedestrian traffic. Or even better-not going to a talk because it is across campus and too difficult to get to!

I've been griping about this a lot lately. I should probably lighten up.

[Trek420]

Yeah, mine too. My commute is actually 20 miles or so but it's 2 whole miles to the train so I ride that. While most are amazed and awed I'm pleased that 2 coworkers on my floor now ride, a few others now walk the lake or just walk at lunch.

Keep riding :D

[sundial]

They cannot believe I cycle 2 WHOLE MILES to work.

LOL! I guess it's just not a traditional mode of transportation here in the south. Now if you were on your 4 wheeler.......

I get tickled when my neighbor brags about walking 2 miles--not that there's anything wrong with that. :p

[redrhodie]

That's just sad. They need to get off their butts.

[kat_h]

One of my co-workers is absolutely in awe of the fact that I ride. She's been a smoker for close to 40 years, lives on caffeine, and I've never seen her eat anything, so she has trouble just getting through the day.

I teach music for a living so I have a lot of contact with quite a few people, and get a lot of different reactions to my riding. One student has donated to the MS tour and is talking about buying a bike and joining me in it. Others act like I'm a complete idiot for biking.

One parent of another teacher's student was annoyed indirectly by my riding last week. The studio has a strict no-make-up policy, yet the mom was trying to argue with the owner and get a make-up lesson because she couldn't drive her kid to his lesson. The owner suggested that the kid could bike. (This kid is about 15, and lives right in the small town where the studio is.) The mom said that it would take him over an hour to bike there. The owner said it couldn't possibly take that long, because I had done a complete lap around the entire town last week and was back and ready to teach in 50 minutes. :)

[KathiCville]

I live in a university town, so you see more folks on bikes than you might in a place without a college population. Even so, some of my neighbors find it amazing/amusing that I'll ride my bike 2 whole lonnngggg miles to get to the library, LOL! Of course, they find it just as odd that I'll grab the bus or walk to the free trolley on bad weather days. :eek:

AND they think I'm positively quirky for taking my dog on almost-weekly hikes in the mountains a whole big huge half hour away, LOL! My town is close to the Blue Ridge Parkway and Skyline Drive---gorgeous!---and I can count on one hand the neighbors and friends who have driven up there even once in the past 10 years. I couldn't imagine living so close to such natural beauty and not take advantage of it! Even if all you do is drive there, park and watch the sun set over the Shenandoah Valley, it's well worth the little effort it takes!

I think a lot of people let their lives settle into such a set routine and comfort zone that anything a little out of the ordinary---even recreation---feels like too much 'work' or should be reserved for 'special occasions' only.

[Pax]

Lots of folks ride to work here, it's a University and parking costs a bunch so there's an incentive.

[Geonz]

And advocacy groups are trying to increase those incentives (right now you're paying for parking and then you've got it all year - and feel like at that price, you shoudl use it... and they *do* keep building parking garages...)

Oh! and remember mentioning the 'art' in front of I forget which buildings... it can be seen on this cam: http://128.174.122.42/home/homeJ.html

[indigoiis]

I can understand why people might not be able to conceptualize a two mile ride and see it as a short ride, if they rarely ride or don't use their bikes often. I only started riding regularly longer than five mile distances last year; at the time, I was wicked proud of myself and considered that "a lot."

People can't conceive of the extra steps it takes to commute as far as clothing choices, carry choices, time planning, etc. And if you are a Dad or Mom of a school-aged child, particularly if you are a single parent, it limits your commuting by bicycle options considerably. That's not to say it can't be done, only that given the choice between the ease of driving on a rainy day and getting your kid to daycare on time and riding with a trailer and a briefcase and a few hills and running a little late - the car usually wins.

Commuting by bicylce takes planning and commitment and understanding of all kinds of variables - weather, traffic, road conditions, and at least a vague idea of how a bicycle works. Your co-worker is not only marveling at the 2 miles - she or he is marveling at the fact that you are willing to make that planning and that commitment. Take it as a compliment.

Should more people do it? Sure. But I don't get mad when I hear that they don't, or won't. Who am I to judge? I just try to promote it.

[Geonz]

What I found was that driving also takes planning, though perhaps not as much, but it's routine so we don't notice it. When my commuting ritual became routine, it was when I drove that I needed extra time to figure out what to do. That was a total surprise so I agree that it's hard to conceptualize! About the only thing that would help people conceptualize it might be if there were just more people doing it.

[Pax]

And advocacy groups are trying to increase those incentives (right now you're paying for parking and then you've got it all year - and feel like at that price, you shoudl use it... and they *do* keep building parking garages...)
That's exactly right, if you have to pay all year for a parking space then why bother riding. Campus Parking is just ridiculous. :rolleyes:


Oh! and remember mentioning the 'art' in front of I forget which buildings... it can be seen on this cam: http://128.174.122.42/home/homeJ.html
That's them!! The "giant paper wad" sculptures...they crack me up every time I ride past.

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

Half of America would drive their cars back and forth between their couch and their refrigerator if they had the parking spaces available for it.

I see people 10 and 20 years younger than me every day who can barely haul themselves up out of their driver's seat...and many of these people are not even overweight! They just can't move much anymore. They waddle, they groan when getting in and out of chairs. They have no muscle and get out of breath with any exertion. The only daily physical activity they do is the monumental effort of moving between one seat and another. As a whole, Americans are totally out of shape. :(

[Jolt]

That is pretty ridiculous--heck, 2 miles can still be considered reasonable WALKING distance depending on the area. I walk one mile to work unless it's a late shift or the weather is really abysmal (which doesn't include cold--more like pouring rain or the sidewalks are a skating rink) and sometimes people act like that's a little crazy. And I'm in healthcare too--working on a cardiac floor no less!

[Di bear]

I live in a remote area with a bunch of little odd towns. It's heaven! Our little peninsula borders Lake Superior. There is a HUGE cycling population here. Many of us have lived and worked in other areas, areas where driving 30 minutes each way to work was the norm. Now, work is usually 10 or 15 minutes away.

A friend of mine and his wife moved to the town north of mine last year. We picked on him for moving so far away. ;) lol...he lives probably 20 minutes from the "city".

Ok, keeping in mind what I just said, a 30 mile ride for many of us is moderate. Yet, a 30 miles drive is far. We are strange folk.

I started commuting by bike, today. So, with the wind, it felt like 9 this morning. It felt much nicer coming home this evening. I got 22 miles in. :) I'm doing it again tomorrow.

[cyclinnewbie]

HI there...new joiner here. And I am actually considering a 13 mile one-way commute to work. Am I crazy? My husband commutes 12 miles one-way, and loves it, although he only does it during the spring and summer...washington winters are WAY too cold and rainy to commute that far! I figure I get my cardio done, so won't have to stop by the gym so often; it's a no-lose situation! Or a big lose situation for my thighs...however you want to look at it!

[shootingstar]

I'm not sure how to read my current workplace.

It is 80% male workforce where I am. (construction engineering firm) I am 1 of 2 female managers among 10 other managers.

I have to park my bike halfway during my bike commute...so I have to walk part way to my worksite. So my cycling attire...plus by now, some folks do know I genuinely bike...the guys who do initiate any chat on sport with me..do backcountry hiking/skiing, rockclimbing, snowboarding and a few jog. But not all. But these guys I speak with are alright...they are appropriately "impressed" with my cycling. 30 kms. sounds real long to them...

When i sent an organizational-wide email to all employees (160 at that time) last year with me offering free local bike route maps, I got 10 employees interested. Which surprised me.

There are approx. 2-3 employees who cycle directly to our worksite..not exactly a joyous, safe place... thick with multiple backhoe machines, crawling cranelift machines, transport trucks galore and roads under reconstruction/realignment...potholes, etc. I mean, an employee did get accidentally hit by one of the machine drivers...just 400 ft. away from my office window. Most employees drive to work. I am the very rare employee that walks from bus stop to construction site. In a cycling outfit. Damned wierd site! :D

Other workplaces there have been the minority group of cycle-commuters that I was part of. We shared caged bike lockers, etc. Another workplace had a fantastic workplace fitness and health program in place....which some employees lost weight ...and some returned to cycling regularily several times / wk.!

[Crankin]

When I first started commuting, about 3 years ago, most of my co workers thought I was nuts. Not so many think so now (the teaching staff is now around the age of my kids), though only one other person rides in once in awhile (and he is older than me). It's the kids who think I am nuts. They could picture it when I lived 6 miles away, but not now, when it's almost 15. There is a new bike path in their town, so they can visualize what 5 miles is. Most of them say, "it's really far!"

[susiej]

A few co-workers live within a few miles in West Philly, and bike. Another lives just outside the city, and it is faster for him to bike than take the trolley and subway, but not drive. Everyone else in the office takes public transportation because parking passes are hard to get. They view my biking to the train then walking the mile from the station as perfectly normal, as most of them do the same thing. :D

[Andrea]

I can't believe how many people freaked out that I walked 10 miles home then rode 20 miles back one day after work because I'd locked my keys in my car.

I'd love to commute, but even on the safer route, the rush hour traffic is dangerous and verges on violent towards cyclists. I had one guy take the time to u-turn after he passed me and make a 2nd U turn to get behind me just so he could drive up behind me & start honking his horn and yelling. I've also had a couple of instances where people swerve towards me as they pass me. Riding in the city of Memphis (rather than the suburbs that I normally stick to) is a virtual war zone. I'll be very happy once they get the rails-to-trails project started here, because it will be like a bike-highway for me to get to work!

[IFjane]

I plan to commute in just a couple weeks - I only have one bike, and I do not have night-riding gear and can't afford it at this time (spent too much on our bikes already this year!), so I will commute when it is light enough for me to take off at 6:30 a.m.

My commute will be 20 miles one way - almost all on back, country roads, with just a little on Rt. 15 (you C&O Canal ladies will know what I am talking about - same Rt. 15 that goes through Leesburg, VA). I can't wait to start! Regarding my co-workers - EVERYONE will think I'm nuts. My director, the Health Manager, and I discussed our staff not long ago - about 70% would be considered overweight, with a full 40% considered obese. Sad, very sad.

[tulip]

HI there...new joiner here. And I am actually considering a 13 mile one-way commute to work. Am I crazy? My husband commutes 12 miles one-way, and loves it, although he only does it during the spring and summer...washington winters are WAY too cold and rainy to commute that far! I figure I get my cardio done, so won't have to stop by the gym so often; it's a no-lose situation! Or a big lose situation for my thighs...however you want to look at it!

13 miles is definitely doable. Keep in mind that the best bike routes probably are not the same route that you drive. Go explore! Your hubby will likely have lots of experience and good advice to share. It's the ultimate multi-task: work out and get to work at the same time.

[tulip]

I plan to commute in just a couple weeks - I only have one bike, and I do not have night-riding gear and can't afford it at this time (spent too much on our bikes already this year!), so I will commute when it is light enough for me to take off at 6:30 a.m.

I hope you can bring your bike in and keep it safe and close by! With such a nice bike for a commuter, you definitely don't want to risk it getting stolen or rained on.

Congrats on the commute! Lovely roads out your way.

PS, I forgot to tell you that I rode Skyline drive last year from Front Royal to Big Meadow and back. Awesome!

[Deborajen]

After I made my first 4-mile commute to work, a coworker's response was "Four miles?? You athlete, you!" Four mile bike ride? Athlete?

But I can also remember - once upon a time, a long time ago (well, kind of - ) - I was a couch potato, no bike, and the thought of riding a mile was intimidating.:o

They don't know what they're missing.

Deb

[Meg McKilty]

My first ride ever, "The Llama Farm Route", was about 17 miles round trip. I was so excited, and couldn't believe I did that many miles, but wasn't surprised either.

Many people think of you doing 10 miles walking or running and see it as a big deal. When you're on two wheels, it can be much quicker!

[SouthernBelle]

Ah, the Llama Farm Route. Still one of my favorites.

[Tri Girl]

That's funny. Coworkers used to be amazed when I used to work 2.5 miles from home (sadly, I wasn't as into biking then as I am now that I live 25 miles from work). Now I've commuted the 25 mile route to work and back a few times. They really think I'm nuts- and make silly/snide comments some days. I don't mind- I hope it motivates some of them to bike or walk to work some day. My students think it's cool- and they are the ones that I hope to inspire, as my coworkers are a "lost cause" (three of my teaching partners in my hallway live less than a half mile from school and drive everyday). ;)

Keep on riding- maybe someone will be inspired enough to give their commute a try.

On a side note, I've been much "greener" lately about my lifestyle. We walk or bike to the movie rental box, and I've ridden my bike to the grocery store and library a couple times. I even built a trailer to haul things on and I'm hoping to try big grocery shopping and errands soon with it. When I looked at my "two mile radius" it really IS amazing how many things are in that circle (too bad work is so far away :().

[invsblwmn]

Half of America would drive their cars back and forth between their couch and their refrigerator if they had the parking spaces available for it.

That made me laugh out loud. I used to commute 9 miles each way to my work, also a hospital, and I am the ONLY one that was known to ride in. I got hit in September while on the job by a dude than ran a red light, and now people say, "You've learned your lesson?" Like it was a crime to ride, to do right by the environment, my health, and my wallet. I cannot wait until I am well enough to ride in again.
Beside all that, last year I only filled my 4 runner's tank once every 2-3 months. And filling it twice a month at $50 a pop is painful. UGH!!

[Crankin]

IF Jane, I commute on my road bike, too. It has carbon bars that are ergonomically shaped and they cannot hold a light, so I also have to wait a few weeks to ride in. I like to get there early,with plenty of time to change before the students get there. I leave at 5:45 and get to school in about an hour. It's often still getting light when I leave, so I use a couple of blinkies and reflective strips on my arms.
You will love it!

[Grog]

I got hit in September while on the job by a dude than ran a red light, and now people say, "You've learned your lesson?" Like it was a crime to ride, to do right by the environment, my health, and my wallet. I cannot wait until I am well enough to ride in again.

This must be one of the stupidest things I've heard this year. I'm glad you're not letting their silly comments discourage you!!! How ridiculous.

[IFjane]

I hope you can bring your bike in and keep it safe and close by! With such a nice bike for a commuter, you definitely don't want to risk it getting stolen or rained on.

Congrats on the commute! Lovely roads out your way.

PS, I forgot to tell you that I rode Skyline drive last year from Front Royal to Big Meadow and back. Awesome!

Tulip - I can take my bike into the office with me so that will not be a problem. I DARE anyone to touch the bike! ;)

How far is the ride from Front Royal to Big Meadows? We have a century route we ride up there that takes us north to Thornton Gap (we park at Swift Run Gap, ride south to just past Loft Mtn, then head north, then back to the car) - never been north (on a bike) to FR. How did you like the tunnel at Thornton Gap? I thought I would get bounced off the bike! The NPS is repaving up there now - I sure hope they work on that tunnel.

[IFjane]

IF Jane, I commute on my road bike, too. It has carbon bars that are ergonomically shaped and they cannot hold a light, so I also have to wait a few weeks to ride in. I like to get there early,with plenty of time to change before the students get there. I leave at 5:45 and get to school in about an hour. It's often still getting light when I leave, so I use a couple of blinkies and reflective strips on my arms.
You will love it!


Great ideas, Crankin. I also plan to wear screaming neon yellow. Riding home won't be such a problem because there are cyclists out in the afternoons. It will be the early morning when drivers are not expecting someone on a bike.

[tulip]

I'll repost here for you commuters: www.alertshirt.com I got the t-shirts in hi-viz and they were great for my commutes. No back pockets, though, although if I were more motivated, I could sew a pocket on. Cheap, though, like $8 a few years ago.

Front Royal to Big Meadows is 50 miles. There's a lodge at Big Meadows, and we stayed there overnight back in September and then rode back "down" the next day. Down was nearly as much climbing as up, however. The tunnel was fine going up, but I just had to let the Force Be With Me on the way down. I couldn't see a thing and there was a roaring F-250 breathing down my back. It's amazing I didn't spill.

I miss my commute!

[yellow]

They waddle, they groan when getting in and out of chairs.
Hey, that's me!!! :p

Many, many people can't even walk a mile. As people who exercise regularly, we forget that and then are amazed when someone thinks 2 miles on a bike is a big deal. Well, it IS to most people!

When I started working where I do, no one rode their bikes. Now 3 others do regularly during good weather, and they are all very happy about it. I think I just pushed them closer to doing it; they'd probably all thought about it and when they saw someone actually doing it, well...why not? I even helped one gal figure out good routes.

If this is the only thing of consequence I ever contribute to the office, that's good enough for me. Even the office manager has asked me about making fitness a priority, etc. Mind you I don't normally say ANYTHING about what I do--riding, running, skiing...but somehow, they know. The conversation always happens in some corner of the office, with no one around, and generally starts with, "So, how do you fit it in?"

We lead by example. Some people will see the positive in it, and others won't.

[Meg McKilty]

That made me laugh out loud. I used to commute 9 miles each way to my work, also a hospital, and I am the ONLY one that was known to ride in. I got hit in September while on the job by a dude than ran a red light, and now people say, "You've learned your lesson?" Like it was a crime to ride, to do right by the environment, my health, and my wallet. I cannot wait until I am well enough to ride in again.
Beside all that, last year I only filled my 4 runner's tank once every 2-3 months. And filling it twice a month at $50 a pop is painful. UGH!!

I can't believe they said, "You've learned your lesson?" MY WORD! I would never say that to someone who got hit by a vehicle.

Also, I own a Jeep Wrangler I love dearly, but it is a pain to load up $45-$50 in gas a pop. Ouch!

[Zen]

"You've learned your lesson?"
people are absolute idiots at times.

If someone was walking and got hit by a car would they say the same thing?
Of course not.
Idiots.

[7rider]

I DARE anyone to touch the bike! ;)


I'd dare!
But only in the most loving, respectful way!
I don't think I'd ride my Seven to work - even my old Seven. But maybe now with the bike locker, it'd be more conceivable. Several co-workers who ride and know what I ride (outside of the commuter) have already asked me "Do you ride your Seven??".

And as for ding-dongs who ask "have you learned your lesson?" after a bike accident....Well, I suppose you could turn that around and ask them that next time they're in a car crash. I know....2 wrongs don't make a right, but geez, people.

[Crankin]

Well, my bike (a Kuota) is as nice as a 7 and I ride it to work...
I bring it right up the stairs, and leave it in my classroom next to my desk.
There's always some boy who wants to "touch" it and I always say NO!
They are very intrigued by how my shoes attach to the pedals and how I can get out of the pedals. So, I leave the shoes by the bike and show them how they attach. This has earned me brownie points with some "bad boys" (12-13 year olds) who think this proves how tough I am.
A couple of years ago, I had the son of the president of a local bike club. When we did free writing, he often wrote about his rides with his dad. It was so much fun, talking to him in his journal, about his rides, his speed, etc. I wish more kids were into cycling!

[Trigress]

At my old workplace I was the extreme sports chick. After all I used to walk to the grocery store, and that must've been around 1K. :rolleyes: But in the north of Norway people take their car out to move 150m, even if they have to dig the car out first. I just couldn't get myself to understand the priority: spend 20 minutes to dig out the car, or walk 10 minutes each way to the store? On mad days I would even go skiing before going shopping (snowy mountain side a four minute walk away)... :eek:

I didn't mind the extreme sports label, what pissed me off was my colleagues' tendency to place extra work on me - after all I couldn't have enough work to do when I had the time to walk to the village centre or even go skiing in the afternoon. :mad:

[Andrea]

I still need to get the jersey I blogged about a while back...
Pictures & Link to Purchase... (http://blog.brickhouseracing.com/archives/27#respond)

That could be the solution to some of my Memphis driver problems :D

[invsblwmn]

What really drove me nuts with my coworkers was that they liked to do "practical jokes" on my bike, like scotch tape up the mirror. When I explained it was my car they were messing with and how would they like it if their driver's side mirror suddenly disappeared one day, people left it alone. Most of my coworkers were supportive, I do have to say. Even when the Dept. of Health came for a visit, my boss let me put my clothes (hang up ones) in her office. They call my cubee "the closet.":)

[IFjane]

I'd dare!
But only in the most loving, respectful way!



And I know you would be kind to Godiva, 7rider! ;)

[Zen]

I don't think I'd ride my Seven to work - even my old Seven.

pardon me, do you have any Grey Poupon?;)

[Bron]

We´re lucky that our office is very cycling-friendly. In fact every so often they run out of bike rack space. One of the big health insurance companies even did a bike to work promotion last summer. You had to log your rides in teams of four and they they gave out prizes at the end of the summer for teams who had ridden a minimum number of days.

My race numers go up on the wall of my office, so all of my co-workers know what I have been up to.

[tulip]

We´re lucky that our office is very cycling-friendly. In fact every so often they run out of bike rack space. One of the big health insurance companies even did a bike to work promotion last summer. You had to log your rides in teams of four and they they gave out prizes at the end of the summer for teams who had ridden a minimum number of days.

Reason #65 that I want to live in Europe!

[Bron]

Not everywhere in Europe is cycle-friendly, alas, and there are still plenty of Germans who are in love with their cars (after all, I live about a mile from BMW headquarters). Still, it is definately seen as a valid mode of transport here.
I have a colleague who hates sport, but he cycles to work - he probably does more exercise that way than many people who go to the gym four times a week.