Busy week here for our household and out-of-town (well, country actually) family en route, but I just had to link this video below. I have viewed it multiple times over the last couple of weeks and it always seems to get under my skin. I'm trying to pinpoint exactly why. Is it the creepy-fakey acting? Maybe. More than likely though, I think it's that I'm disturbed that the idea of commuting by bicycle is so laughable to these folks... and it's not even a car commercial. Perhaps it goes back to my thought from a prior post that there should be a bicycle commuting campaign to help the mass population understand that riding a bike to work is not laughable.
Maybe it's not as bad as it seems to me. I just don't like that an already highly accepted idea is being reinforced, but perhaps no one is reading into it that much? Your thoughts?
Showing posts with label commute. Show all posts
Showing posts with label commute. Show all posts
Tuesday, March 1, 2016
Wednesday, February 1, 2012
Bicycle Hypocrite
I'm not entirely sure how to go about admitting this, but I think I have discovered that I am a bicycle hypocrite. I am definitely sure I don't know what to do about it (if anything), but here is the tale. Hopefully, it will help me be a bit more rational to share some thoughts.
For quite some time, I rode my bicycle on a busy highway to and from work and to do pretty much anything I needed to get done on a given day in town. The route I rode was approximately 8-9 miles one way. The highway speeds (for cars) often reached 70-75mph (though the actual limit is 65 mph). I never wore a helmet, never worried about my safety, and arrived to all destinations without harm. Honestly, I never thought twice about the cars (unless they were honking at me or cutting me off) and merrily went on my way, singing songs, finding random objects on the side of the road, and just enjoying being outside. When we moved "into" town early last year, that route disappeared from my rides because everything was much closer (and because I wasn't working anymore, but instead had to travel to school - by car - ugh... the car).
Anyway, just before we moved Sam's job changed and had him traveling from an in-town job to a destination to the south of us. Obviously, this was an increase in mileage (instead of what would've been a 3 mile one-way quick ride, he now has a 17 mile one-way trip), and I assumed that he would no longer be riding his bike to work, but would rather drive. I was wrong. Instead, Sam decided that he still wanted to try to ride his bike, at least sometimes, to work. While I admire the goal of riding the 34 mile round trip, the path he takes is down a very busy highway for all but about 1 mile of the distance.
Although I know he can physically ride the distance in a decent time, I have found that I turn into one of the people I worked with who would always ask, "Are you sure you don't want a ride home tonight? It is raining after all." Every time he rides I repeatedly state that I am more than happy to come and pick him up in the car. Why am I doing this? My biggest concern is the traffic on the highway and knowing how people drive while on it, coupled with the fact that it really isn't very well lit (though he does have lights on his bike). It's dark while he travels in both directions (at least during this time of year), and I worry about his safety. Today, he was about 30 minutes later than I expected and I was preparing to go on a hunt just as he walked in the door. While I understand he is a "big boy" and can make his own decisions, I find that I worry far more about his safety than I did (do) about my own. Am I being a control freak, or is this a genuine concern? In general, I don't tend to feel the need to control what others do, and I do think that this is a legitimate concern, but I also think that I am over-worrying about the situation at times. As soon as he's more than 15 minutes late though, my mind starts wandering and I picture horrific scenes that I won't even bother to share here (let's just say I have a very vivid imagination).
While I can't necessarily control my concern for him, I am trying to give it a rest and let him do something that I know makes him happy. After all, even though my route was shorter and traversing a different highway, I have been in his shoes and survived just fine. Any thoughts on the matter are happily accepted. Maybe you've had a similar experience or can offer some thoughts on the matter.
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| Image found here |
Anyway, just before we moved Sam's job changed and had him traveling from an in-town job to a destination to the south of us. Obviously, this was an increase in mileage (instead of what would've been a 3 mile one-way quick ride, he now has a 17 mile one-way trip), and I assumed that he would no longer be riding his bike to work, but would rather drive. I was wrong. Instead, Sam decided that he still wanted to try to ride his bike, at least sometimes, to work. While I admire the goal of riding the 34 mile round trip, the path he takes is down a very busy highway for all but about 1 mile of the distance.
Although I know he can physically ride the distance in a decent time, I have found that I turn into one of the people I worked with who would always ask, "Are you sure you don't want a ride home tonight? It is raining after all." Every time he rides I repeatedly state that I am more than happy to come and pick him up in the car. Why am I doing this? My biggest concern is the traffic on the highway and knowing how people drive while on it, coupled with the fact that it really isn't very well lit (though he does have lights on his bike). It's dark while he travels in both directions (at least during this time of year), and I worry about his safety. Today, he was about 30 minutes later than I expected and I was preparing to go on a hunt just as he walked in the door. While I understand he is a "big boy" and can make his own decisions, I find that I worry far more about his safety than I did (do) about my own. Am I being a control freak, or is this a genuine concern? In general, I don't tend to feel the need to control what others do, and I do think that this is a legitimate concern, but I also think that I am over-worrying about the situation at times. As soon as he's more than 15 minutes late though, my mind starts wandering and I picture horrific scenes that I won't even bother to share here (let's just say I have a very vivid imagination).
While I can't necessarily control my concern for him, I am trying to give it a rest and let him do something that I know makes him happy. After all, even though my route was shorter and traversing a different highway, I have been in his shoes and survived just fine. Any thoughts on the matter are happily accepted. Maybe you've had a similar experience or can offer some thoughts on the matter.
Thursday, September 22, 2011
Bicycle vs Car: Potential Earning Power Discussion
Before I get into one of my rambling sessions, I'll pose my question here at the start: If given the option, would you rather make low wages and be able to walk or bike to work, or would you give up bike commuting to bring home a more reasonable income?
As some may know, I went back to school a few years ago because I wanted the opportunity to pursue something that was fairly discouraged, or at minimum I'll say was certainly not supported when I was going through my first round of college right after high school. My early pursuits, vocation-wise, surrounded things like public relations, insurance and human resources. Though I somewhat enjoyed a couple of the jobs I held, as a whole, I wasn't finding fulfillment. Art was not something I believed I could make a living doing, but I decided to go back to school anyway, if for no other reason than to prove to myself and the doubters that I could in fact be successful - at least in an educational setting.
My time in school is coming to and end, and as I realize that I don't have much longer to be on this somewhat freely-adjustable schedule, I've also become increasingly aware that I will have to go back to a job that I likely won't like - and soon. There are days when this makes me sad, as I had envisioned becoming a hippy artist, wearing my paint-stained clothing to conduct business about town, and adopting some sort of anything goes kind of attitude about life. The reality is that nothing is as simple as I would've imagined it.
For starters, I will have a fairly sizable school loan to repay at the end of this return-to-school journey, and while I'm aware that they can't get blood from a turnip (as my grandfather would've said), at some point, the government will expect me to begin repaying this debt. I knew this going into my education, but I also believed that I would have a new career avenue in front of me as payment for that time and money. As I've pursued this avenue, I've realized how unlikely it is that this will take place. There aren't a ton of options for fine art painters in the corporate world (not that I would want that anyway), which leaves me to the skills I gained prior to my return to college (which are, of course, now outdated). It's not quite so black and white and I do realize that there is always a possibility that something in between the two extremes exists, but something else has begun to enter my mind in regard to potential employment opportunities: transportation.
I've started asking myself what I am willing to give up when the time comes. Our city isn't exactly a roaring metropolis, and job prospects generally are minimum wage (or fairly low wage) jobs unless one works in technology, management, or perhaps construction. I've realized that in order to make a decent living, more than likely, I will be a good 20-30+ miles from my future employer - not likely a regular, bike-able commute. So, I've been asking myself the very question posed at the start of this: Would I rather make $7-8/hour and work locally, or would I be better off giving up the bike ride to work in exchange for a more budget-comfortable wage?
It's not an easy question to answer, but I think it's one that more people are thinking about. I know that I ponder being able to give up a car (and payment on that car, insurance, gas spent to fill it up constantly, repairs, etc) and realize what a cost savings it could be, but then find myself wondering if it's truly the most efficient choice. The decision is of course complicated further by the idea that locally there are simply fewer jobs available, and it could take significantly longer to find employment by narrowing the search to places within say, a 15-20 mile radius from home.
I realize that there are potentially other options (such as public transportation, car/van pooling/share-a-rides, etc), but I'm curious if anyone out there has had a similar decision to make and what you did. If you haven't had to make this decision, what do you think you would do? There are many aspects that could be debated here, such as how much money does a person really need, or living in a two-income household, is it necessary to make a ton of money, or any number of other possible questions that could be asked and debated. Ultimately though, I know I do have some time, and things could change significantly before I reach the end of this little section of life's journey. But, I would love to hear what others think about this potential dilemma and/or your own personal experiences.
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| Although I don't necessarily agree that riding a bike will make a person thin, it does require energy to move, unlike a car *Image source here |
My time in school is coming to and end, and as I realize that I don't have much longer to be on this somewhat freely-adjustable schedule, I've also become increasingly aware that I will have to go back to a job that I likely won't like - and soon. There are days when this makes me sad, as I had envisioned becoming a hippy artist, wearing my paint-stained clothing to conduct business about town, and adopting some sort of anything goes kind of attitude about life. The reality is that nothing is as simple as I would've imagined it.
For starters, I will have a fairly sizable school loan to repay at the end of this return-to-school journey, and while I'm aware that they can't get blood from a turnip (as my grandfather would've said), at some point, the government will expect me to begin repaying this debt. I knew this going into my education, but I also believed that I would have a new career avenue in front of me as payment for that time and money. As I've pursued this avenue, I've realized how unlikely it is that this will take place. There aren't a ton of options for fine art painters in the corporate world (not that I would want that anyway), which leaves me to the skills I gained prior to my return to college (which are, of course, now outdated). It's not quite so black and white and I do realize that there is always a possibility that something in between the two extremes exists, but something else has begun to enter my mind in regard to potential employment opportunities: transportation.
I've started asking myself what I am willing to give up when the time comes. Our city isn't exactly a roaring metropolis, and job prospects generally are minimum wage (or fairly low wage) jobs unless one works in technology, management, or perhaps construction. I've realized that in order to make a decent living, more than likely, I will be a good 20-30+ miles from my future employer - not likely a regular, bike-able commute. So, I've been asking myself the very question posed at the start of this: Would I rather make $7-8/hour and work locally, or would I be better off giving up the bike ride to work in exchange for a more budget-comfortable wage?
It's not an easy question to answer, but I think it's one that more people are thinking about. I know that I ponder being able to give up a car (and payment on that car, insurance, gas spent to fill it up constantly, repairs, etc) and realize what a cost savings it could be, but then find myself wondering if it's truly the most efficient choice. The decision is of course complicated further by the idea that locally there are simply fewer jobs available, and it could take significantly longer to find employment by narrowing the search to places within say, a 15-20 mile radius from home.
I realize that there are potentially other options (such as public transportation, car/van pooling/share-a-rides, etc), but I'm curious if anyone out there has had a similar decision to make and what you did. If you haven't had to make this decision, what do you think you would do? There are many aspects that could be debated here, such as how much money does a person really need, or living in a two-income household, is it necessary to make a ton of money, or any number of other possible questions that could be asked and debated. Ultimately though, I know I do have some time, and things could change significantly before I reach the end of this little section of life's journey. But, I would love to hear what others think about this potential dilemma and/or your own personal experiences.
Tuesday, November 24, 2009
'You Can't Do That' - Wanna Bet?
Why do people (as a whole, I'm not saying EVERY human on the planet) think that one cannot commute on a cruiser? I'm completely perplexed by this as Stuart and I "cruise" quite some distances together. Since we live five miles from the nearest real anything, I could easily travel 8-12 miles one way without even trying. It's funny to me. Maybe it's just what a person gets used to, but it doesn't seem to bother me to go 20-25 miles - and it's hilly. Yet another thing that I constantly hear people saying can't be done on a cruiser. Sure, it takes a little more time to get over the hills as it's not the easiest thing to climb steeper hills, but it can be done, and it's way more fun than being on a road bike or a mountain bike. Who wouldn't want to ride this fun little baby?
So, anyway, Stuart and I went to the grocery store this morning with a semi-hefty list, with the pannier for the Novara in tow. It was really interesting to be packed with groceries on the bike, still enjoying the ride, and knowing that I saved a gallon of gas and the wear and tear on my car. Pretty awesome! Now, If only I can figure out a way to get to school on the bike that won't take 3+ hours each way. I suppose that isn't going to happen, but a girl can dream.
So, anyway, Stuart and I went to the grocery store this morning with a semi-hefty list, with the pannier for the Novara in tow. It was really interesting to be packed with groceries on the bike, still enjoying the ride, and knowing that I saved a gallon of gas and the wear and tear on my car. Pretty awesome! Now, If only I can figure out a way to get to school on the bike that won't take 3+ hours each way. I suppose that isn't going to happen, but a girl can dream.
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