RE: [RBW] Re: Do Employers Encourage Bike Commuting? (Was Rivbike Editorial)
I work at a medium sized Art Museum and we get $20 a month for commuting to work on bicycle. I cummute year round so thats... $240 a year. My commute round trip is 8 miles. Kris in Portland Maine Date: Tue, 25 Jan 2011 02:32:30 -0800 Subject: [RBW] Re: Do Employers Encourage Bike Commuting? (Was Rivbike Editorial) From: angusle...@sbcglobal.net To: rbw-owners-bunch@googlegroups.com I work in Engineering at a large manufacturing plant. 7.5 miles each way. While bike commuting is actively encourage it is not discouraged either. I bring the bike into the offices and lean it against the bookcase next to my desk. One other person, that I see, rides in on ocasion. For me the limiting thing is transporting my daughter to / from her school which is near my work. I usually get a few, positive questions. Angus On Jan 25, 12:59 am, Brian Hanson stone...@gmail.com wrote: I have a 9-mile each way hilly ride to work in Seattle. The only thing that keeps me from riding every day is fatigue over time. During May, I typically do about 4-5 days a week, and by the month's end, I'm wiped. I usually do 3-4 days year-round. I've gotten to the point now where I dislike driving due to the following: - parking - can't put my vehicle in my office - traffic can make the commute longer than biking - sedentary - don't have the invigoration from exercising on the way in - too much stress/concentration with traffic and other nutso drivers - and, yes - I don't like paying for gas I work at a hi-tech branch of Comcast, and of the 130 employees, a good 30 of them ride to work during Bike to Work month. There are at least 10 full-time commuters, though most have a ride 3 or less miles. We have one shower that is shared. We used to have at least one female commuter, but it's mostly guys. While biking is not promoted, it is part of our company culture, and at least 2 execs bike including the CEO. Brian Seattle On Mon, Jan 24, 2011 at 12:14 PM, William tapebu...@gmail.com wrote: It's between 25 and 35 miles from my front door to the office (depending if I choose the safer, hillier, longer route or the flatter, sketchier, shorter route). The casual (high-tech startup) work environment permits bicycling to work, but there is essentially zero promoting it (although I'm told that when choosing between two sites, this one was chosen for proximity to BART). There's no shower, but there is space to park a bike inside and space to change clothes. I set the 2011 cycling goal for myself to do the one-way commute in to the office 50 times in the year. I've done it 6 times so far. I typically BART/bike home. On the other days, my wife and I carpool in (we work in the same office) with a bike on the roof. She leaves in the car early enough to shuttle the kids around after school. I then bike+BART back home. So, on the days I ride, I'm not really offsetting anything, because my wife is still driving in. We can't do the bike-commute together, since I have to leave when it's still dark and somebody has to take the kids in to school. I love the ride. I never was a morning cyclist and the light in the morning is great. I can't make much of an eco-argument for how I'm doing any good for the planet, but I'm OK with that. Doing that ride 3x a week and a long ride on the weekend makes it easy to rack up 200+mile weeks, which has notable benefits. Some of my other commute to work goals for 2011 are to do a 80% off- road route through the East Bay Hills to work, and to do an S24O at Lake Chabot on the way to work. Finally, in the summer, I want to do the ride both ways some of the time. On Jan 24, 11:57 am, Montclair BobbyB montclairbob...@gmail.com wrote: I work for JJ and commute to a big (central NJ) campus, where there are easily 3000+ employees. I am one of only a handful of irregular bike-commuters, and despite having showers, lockers and a well- protected bike rack, JJ does little to encourage bicycling to work. During National Bike to Work Week, it's amazing how FEW people will actually ride in to work. I have figured out a really nice (and safe route), and even made a cheesy video to promote B2W Week that aired on TV monitors throughout the campus in the weeks prior to B2W Week. I got lots of nice, supportive comments about the vid (and my route), yet I had zero success recruiting others to join me, even for a single day!! Our Environmental Health Safety folks have been the official champions of Bike to Work Week, and yet none of these people actually will ride during that week either... people just seem to think it's insane... they fear for their safety, and despite having established ride marshalls to ensure a safe route, we get very few takers... It's really sad. By contrast, whenever
Re: [RBW] Re: Do Employers Encourage Bike Commuting? (Was Rivbike Editorial)
I have a 9-mile each way hilly ride to work in Seattle. The only thing that keeps me from riding every day is fatigue over time. During May, I typically do about 4-5 days a week, and by the month's end, I'm wiped. I usually do 3-4 days year-round. I've gotten to the point now where I dislike driving due to the following: - parking - can't put my vehicle in my office - traffic can make the commute longer than biking - sedentary - don't have the invigoration from exercising on the way in - too much stress/concentration with traffic and other nutso drivers - and, yes - I don't like paying for gas I work at a hi-tech branch of Comcast, and of the 130 employees, a good 30 of them ride to work during Bike to Work month. There are at least 10 full-time commuters, though most have a ride 3 or less miles. We have one shower that is shared. We used to have at least one female commuter, but it's mostly guys. While biking is not promoted, it is part of our company culture, and at least 2 execs bike including the CEO. Brian Seattle On Mon, Jan 24, 2011 at 12:14 PM, William tapebu...@gmail.com wrote: It's between 25 and 35 miles from my front door to the office (depending if I choose the safer, hillier, longer route or the flatter, sketchier, shorter route). The casual (high-tech startup) work environment permits bicycling to work, but there is essentially zero promoting it (although I'm told that when choosing between two sites, this one was chosen for proximity to BART). There's no shower, but there is space to park a bike inside and space to change clothes. I set the 2011 cycling goal for myself to do the one-way commute in to the office 50 times in the year. I've done it 6 times so far. I typically BART/bike home. On the other days, my wife and I carpool in (we work in the same office) with a bike on the roof. She leaves in the car early enough to shuttle the kids around after school. I then bike+BART back home. So, on the days I ride, I'm not really offsetting anything, because my wife is still driving in. We can't do the bike-commute together, since I have to leave when it's still dark and somebody has to take the kids in to school. I love the ride. I never was a morning cyclist and the light in the morning is great. I can't make much of an eco-argument for how I'm doing any good for the planet, but I'm OK with that. Doing that ride 3x a week and a long ride on the weekend makes it easy to rack up 200+mile weeks, which has notable benefits. Some of my other commute to work goals for 2011 are to do a 80% off- road route through the East Bay Hills to work, and to do an S24O at Lake Chabot on the way to work. Finally, in the summer, I want to do the ride both ways some of the time. On Jan 24, 11:57 am, Montclair BobbyB montclairbob...@gmail.com wrote: I work for JJ and commute to a big (central NJ) campus, where there are easily 3000+ employees. I am one of only a handful of irregular bike-commuters, and despite having showers, lockers and a well- protected bike rack, JJ does little to encourage bicycling to work. During National Bike to Work Week, it's amazing how FEW people will actually ride in to work. I have figured out a really nice (and safe route), and even made a cheesy video to promote B2W Week that aired on TV monitors throughout the campus in the weeks prior to B2W Week. I got lots of nice, supportive comments about the vid (and my route), yet I had zero success recruiting others to join me, even for a single day!! Our Environmental Health Safety folks have been the official champions of Bike to Work Week, and yet none of these people actually will ride during that week either... people just seem to think it's insane... they fear for their safety, and despite having established ride marshalls to ensure a safe route, we get very few takers... It's really sad. By contrast, whenever I visit our Belgian facility I am blown away by the hundreds of bikes I see arriving and leaving the facility on a regular basis. It's just an entirely different mindset Our culture here in NJ is built on the automobile, and the roads in NJ are great for motorists. So while I'll continue to ride my bike to work whenever I can, simply because I so enjoy it, I will no longer lament at others' reluctance to share in the joy... That's their loss, as far as I'm concerned. (And in the minds of others here on campus) I am confident I have permanently secured my place, smack dab in the center of the lunatic fringe, which I am starting to accept as OK, too... Peace, BB On Jan 24, 1:35 am, PATRICK MOORE bertin...@gmail.com wrote: Not necessarily so. A few years ago I was talking to a retired Sandia Labs employee who used to bicycle to the base back in the 1970s. He remarked how many motorists exhibited bad feeling toward cyclists that, today, with so many more on the road here in
Re: [RBW] Re: Do Employers Encourage Bike Commuting? (Was Rivbike Editorial)
More bike commuting/public transportation commuting won't increase until gas prices increase even more... -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups RBW Owners Bunch group. To post to this group, send email to rbw-owners-bunch@googlegroups.com. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to rbw-owners-bunch+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/rbw-owners-bunch?hl=en.
Re: [RBW] Re: Do Employers Encourage Bike Commuting? (Was Rivbike Editorial)
Not necessarily so. A few years ago I was talking to a retired Sandia Labs employee who used to bicycle to the base back in the 1970s. He remarked how many motorists exhibited bad feeling toward cyclists that, today, with so many more on the road here in Albuquerque, you don't see as often. I think that in some cities, at least, commuting has become considerably more popular; tho' of course you are starting with a very small base so that even high % increases don't necessarily translate into high overall numbers. What's it like in LA and NY in 2001 compared to say 1990? On Sun, Jan 23, 2011 at 7:53 PM, Rene Sterental orthie...@gmail.com wrote: More bike commuting/public transportation commuting won't increase until gas prices increase even more... -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups RBW Owners Bunch group. To post to this group, send email to rbw-owners-bunch@googlegroups.com. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to rbw-owners-bunch+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/rbw-owners-bunch?hl=en. -- Patrick Moore Albuquerque, NM For professional resumes, contact Patrick Moore, ACRW at resumespecialt...@gmail.com -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups RBW Owners Bunch group. To post to this group, send email to rbw-owners-bunch@googlegroups.com. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to rbw-owners-bunch+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/rbw-owners-bunch?hl=en.
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. Joel -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups RBW Owners Bunch group. To post to this group, send email to rbw-owners- bu...@googlegroups.com. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to rbw-owners-bunch+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com . For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/rbw-owners-bunch?hl=en . -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups RBW Owners Bunch group. To post to this group, send email to rbw-owners-bunch@googlegroups.com. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to rbw-owners-bunch+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/rbw-owners-bunch?hl=en.
RE: [RBW] Re: Do Employers Encourage Bike Commuting? (Was Rivbike Editorial)
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. Joel -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups RBW Owners Bunch group. To post to this group, send email to rbw-owners-bunch@googlegroups.commailto:rbw-owners-bunch@googlegroups.com. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to rbw-owners-bunch+unsubscr...@googlegroups.commailto:rbw-owners-bunch+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/rbw-owners-bunch?hl=en. -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups RBW Owners Bunch group. To post to this group, send email to rbw-owners-bunch@googlegroups.com. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to rbw-owners-bunch+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/rbw-owners-bunch?hl=en. -- To ensure compliance with Treasury Department regulations, we advise you that, unless otherwise expressly indicated, any federal tax advice contained in this message was not intended or written to be used, and cannot be used, for the purpose of (i) avoiding tax-related penalties under the Internal Revenue Code or applicable
Re: [RBW] Re: Do Employers Encourage Bike Commuting? (Was Rivbike Editorial)
You're correct, Thomas, about the general community attitude toward bike commuting. If the community in which the employer is located also encourages biking and other public transit scenarios, more people would use those modes. Kudos to you and your fellow employers for leading the way in your community. I hope it catches on. From: Allingham II, Thomas J thomas.alling...@skadden.com To: rbw-owners-bunch@googlegroups.com rbw-owners-bunch@googlegroups.com Sent: Fri, January 21, 2011 6:45:26 AM Subject: RE: [RBW] Re: Do Employers Encourage Bike Commuting? (Was Rivbike Editorial) 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 theywould add some pictures of new bikes in commuting mode - maybe somenice shots around SF - by a cable car, around FW etc...right now thereare mainly off road pictures and camping pictures. While I am abike camper, that is a very, very small market. If more commutingtype pictures and maybe a section on commuting - what you need tocommute to work etc..were added to the site it might influence a fewmore 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. Ifyou are a regular commuter, you could pay off a Hillborne in a couple ofyears. Or, you could easily justify getting that new bag orrack. Joel -- You received this message because you aresubscribed to the Google Groups RBW Owners Bunch group. To post to thisgroup, send email to rbw-owners-bunch@googlegroups.com. Tounsubscribe from this group, send email to rbw-owners-bunch+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. Formore options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/rbw-owners-bunch?hl=en. -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups RBW Owners Bunch group. To post to this group, send email to rbw-owners-bunch@googlegroups.com
Re: [RBW] Re: Do Employers Encourage Bike Commuting? (Was Rivbike Editorial)
Very cool. From: Mike mjawn...@gmail.com To: RBW Owners Bunch rbw-owners-bunch@googlegroups.com Sent: Thu, January 20, 2011 7:24:38 AM Subject: [RBW] Re: Do Employers Encourage Bike Commuting? (Was Rivbike Editorial) I'm fortunate in that the hospital I work at offers lots of locations for bike parking. I use the enclosed bike parking space but there are plenty of other options and I haven't heard of any thefts or bikes being stripped. My coworker locks his up right outside the ER and has had no problems. The city of Portland has taken out parking spaces to make room for bikes in multiple locations. It's great. http://bikeportland.org/2008/09/16/first-photos-of-new-on-street-bike-corral-downtown-8707 http://bikeportland.org/2010/10/12/more-bike-parking-than-car-parking-at-new-new-seasons-market-41013 These bike corrals would be better with birds on them though: http://www.ifc.com/videos/portlandia-put-a-bird-on-it.php http://www.ifc.com/videos/portlandia-the-city-of-portland.php --mike -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups RBW Owners Bunch group. To post to this group, send email to rbw-owners-bunch@googlegroups.com. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to rbw-owners-bunch+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/rbw-owners-bunch?hl=en. -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups RBW Owners Bunch group. To post to this group, send email to rbw-owners-bunch@googlegroups.com. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to rbw-owners-bunch+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/rbw-owners-bunch?hl=en.
