My commutes about 5 miles each way, depending on whether I take the scenic route on bike paths along a creek, or direct on city streets.
I'm a partner at a law firm, which (partly at my urging) installed locker rooms and showers during a renovation of our offices a few years ago. I and a couple of other partners who like to run at lunch thought it would be a good perk for employees to be able to bike to work and/or work out during the day w/o having to travel to the Y or a gym. I'm almost the only one of maybe 150 folks who work here who uses the locker room consistently. I think two things mainly contribute to that: (i) intra-day "dress clothing required" appointments, of which lawyers have a bunch, and (ii) that bike commuting is uncommon here, and therefore people don't think of it, and therefore never get a chance to form the habit of doing it. Many of my colleagues see my bike in my office and comment how much they'd like to ride to work, but only one other lawyer ever does (out of 75 or so in this office). This is a disappointment to me, as we (as the employer) were trying to make bike commuting (and more generally exercise) more convenient for employees, but the added convenience hasn't had much positive impact. I would also note that it took me a while (more than a year) to view my bikes as my primary commute vehicles, with the car as a back-up when I can't figure out the logistics to allow it due to (i) above. But once I did, it's easy. And fun. And stress-releasing. And even exhilarating, from time to time. And in a buttoned-down world, just a little eccentric, which is fun in itself as well. ________________________________ From: rbw-owners-bunch@googlegroups.com [mailto:rbw-owners-bunch@googlegroups.com] On Behalf Of JimD Sent: Friday, January 21, 2011 9:20 AM To: rbw-owners-bunch@googlegroups.com Subject: Re: [RBW] Re: Do Employers Encourage Bike Commuting? (Was Rivbike Editorial) I work at a tech company (nvidia) and we have good support for bike commuters. Lockers and showers are available throughout the campus. I've been riding my bike to work extensively for the past several years. My commute is ~6 miles one way. I do it because I really like it and have a route that has low auto density. I keep extra clothes in my office. The whole deal is pretty ideal. When I have times when I can't ride and end up driving, I realize that biking to work is not convenient. Many of the folks on my team have circumstances (kids, long commutes, fear or danger, aversion to sweat) that preclude them from using bikes to get to work. I've been a bike commuter off and on for the past 20 years. I'm skeptical that it will become a pervasive mode of transportation. I'll keep doing it as the experience beats the socks off of commuting by car. -JImD On Jan 20, 2011, at 4:46 PM Jan 20, 2011, SFF wrote: I think it would be a great idea if on the Rivendell site they would add some pictures of new bikes in commuting mode - maybe some nice shots around SF - by a cable car, around FW etc...right now there are mainly off road pictures and camping pictures. While I am a bike camper, that is a very, very small market. If more commuting type pictures and maybe a section on commuting - what you need to commute to work etc..were added to the site it might influence a few more folks to try it out. Another aspect that should be addressed: If you commute to work by bike, you save money...easily $50-$100 a month. No other bike activity that I know of will actually payoff like that. If you are a regular commuter, you could pay off a Hillborne in a couple of years. Or, you could easily justify getting that new bag or rack. 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