A Cycling & bikes forum. CycleBanter.com

Go Back   Home » CycleBanter.com forum » rec.bicycles » Rides
Site Map Home Register Authors List Search Today's Posts Mark Forums Read Web Partners

Divorce Your Car --and get into a relationship with a Bike!



 
 
Thread Tools Display Modes
  #11  
Old July 17th 06, 07:40 PM posted to rec.bicycles.misc,rec.autos.driving,alt.planning.urban,rec.bicycles.soc,rec.bicycles.rides
David Kerber
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 68
Default Divorce Your Car --and get into a relationship with a Bike!

In article ,
says...
On Mon, 17 Jul 2006 14:06:38 -0400, David Kerber
wrote:

In article om,
says...
An interesting but very incomplete analysis of the true costs of
commuting by bike.


Inaccurate, too. See below...


Take the average commuter that lives 20 miles from work. To make an
8-4 work schedule that commuter will have to get up at 4:00 to begin
riding at 5:00 to arrive at work by 8:00. The commuter then does the
same in reverse and arrives home at 7:00 The times assume he is able
to find a lot of flat and downhill both ways with few traffic and
stoplights.


3 hours for 20 miles? Even at a "no sweating allowed" speed, that would
only take me 2 hours. More typical speeds would be 90 - 100 minutes.


It takes me 1.5 hours to ride 17 miles, with tons of sweating and really
large hills. I only ride one way (17 miles) to work or from work, but I


I don't have much in the way of hills on my route; only 3 worthy of the
name.

don't ride in and then home -- I don't think I could do it right now. In
AZ, however, I could ride much faster because it was flat. 17 miles would
take me around an hour, depending on how many traffic lights I had to sit
through.


The rest of this was too funny to respond.


Yeah, he started off with some reasonable arguments (though with serious
exaggerations), but then got off into a fantasy world.


--
Remove the ns_ from if replying by e-mail (but keep posts in the
newsgroups if possible).
Ads
  #12  
Old July 17th 06, 09:49 PM posted to rec.bicycles.misc,rec.autos.driving,alt.planning.urban,rec.bicycles.soc,rec.bicycles.rides
george conklin
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 381
Default Divorce Your Car --and get into a relationship with a Bike!


"Pat" wrote in message
oups.com...


One last example for you to think about. What if you went hunting and
got a deer. How would you bring it back to your house on a bike?


He would cut it up into 132 pieces, eat 10, and bring the rest home 3 at
a time.


  #13  
Old July 17th 06, 09:50 PM posted to rec.bicycles.misc,rec.autos.driving,alt.planning.urban,rec.bicycles.soc,rec.bicycles.rides
george conklin
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 381
Default Divorce Your Car --and get into a relationship with a Bike!


"John S." wrote in message
ps.com...
An interesting but very incomplete analysis of the true costs of
commuting by bike.

Take the average commuter that lives 20 miles from work. To make an
8-4 work schedule that commuter will have to get up at 4:00 to begin
riding at 5:00 to arrive at work by 8:00. The commuter then does the
same in reverse and arrives home at 7:00 The times assume he is able
to find a lot of flat and downhill both ways with few traffic and
stoplights.

Incremental cost: New bike every year plus repairs $2,000; Medical
expenses from road injuries $2,000

When it snows, or rains the commuter is either off work and not paid
because he cant make it in, or he is forced to get a hotel room close
to work because he can't ride home in inclement weather.

Incremental cost: Lost wages $5,000; Hotel rooms $1,000

Tiring of those exceedingly long riding days and days missed with no
pay the commuter decides to shorten his commute by moving closer.
After some research he determines that to reduce his commuting distance
by half he will have to pay twice as much for the same house because he
is much closer to the big city now.

Incremental Cost: $200,000

The commuter works in sales and he is asked to make a presentation to
two potential clients, one located 90 miles south on the coast and the
other 45 miles west in the mountains. The commuter presents his boss
with the proposed 6 day ride to cover both potential customers and is
promptly fired.

Incremental cost: Annual salary $100,000

Before the commuter has a chance to shorten his ride, his wife sues for
divorce because he is gone so long from home that she became lonely and
had an affair with the cable tv repairman.

Incremental cost: Alimony and child support for the next 20 years.


Nah, just make your wife ride with you for her health!!!!


  #14  
Old July 17th 06, 10:03 PM posted to rec.bicycles.misc,rec.autos.driving,alt.planning.urban,rec.bicycles.soc,rec.bicycles.rides
Brent P
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 622
Default Divorce Your Car --and get into a relationship with a Bike!

In article .com, Pat wrote:

Oh, did I mention snow storms. I can't imaging a bike on 6" of
unplowed snow on a packed snow base when it's -20F and windy. Those
car heaters sure come in handy then.


In an urban environment, if there is 6 inches of snow on the ground you
have a better chance of getting where you are going with the bicycle or
with snow shoes for that matter..... Not because there aren't motor
vehicles that could handle those conditions, but because the roads would
be stop and stop gridlock with the drivers who cannot.


  #15  
Old July 17th 06, 11:14 PM posted to rec.bicycles.misc,rec.autos.driving,alt.planning.urban,rec.bicycles.soc,rec.bicycles.rides
Arif Khokar
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 3
Default Divorce Your Car --and get into a relationship with a Bike!

John S. wrote:
An interesting but very incomplete analysis of the true costs of
commuting by bike.

Take the average commuter that lives 20 miles from work. To make an
8-4 work schedule that commuter will have to get up at 4:00 to begin
riding at 5:00 to arrive at work by 8:00.


Are you saying you can only average 6 to 7 mph on a bike? I'm not very
fast, but I can average 15 mph on a bike. That means I can make the
commute in about 80 minutes give or take.

Incremental cost: New bike every year plus repairs $2,000


Properly maintaining a good quality bike will cost far less than $2000
per year. The bike will last quite a bit longer than a year as well.

  #16  
Old July 17th 06, 11:31 PM posted to rec.bicycles.misc,rec.autos.driving,alt.planning.urban,rec.bicycles.soc,rec.bicycles.rides
Dave Head
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 86
Default Divorce Your Car --and get into a relationship with a Bike!

On 17 Jul 2006 15:14:50 -0700, "Arif Khokar"
wrote:

John S. wrote:
An interesting but very incomplete analysis of the true costs of
commuting by bike.

Take the average commuter that lives 20 miles from work. To make an
8-4 work schedule that commuter will have to get up at 4:00 to begin
riding at 5:00 to arrive at work by 8:00.


Are you saying you can only average 6 to 7 mph on a bike? I'm not very
fast, but I can average 15 mph on a bike. That means I can make the
commute in about 80 minutes give or take.


Try 20 miles each way in Virginia today. 100 degrees out there.

Incremental cost: New bike every year plus repairs $2,000


Properly maintaining a good quality bike will cost far less than $2000
per year. The bike will last quite a bit longer than a year as well.


And maybe an expensive ride to the emergency room for heat exhaustion.

Dave Head
  #17  
Old July 17th 06, 11:42 PM posted to rec.bicycles.misc,rec.autos.driving,alt.planning.urban,rec.bicycles.soc,rec.bicycles.rides
Pat
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 671
Default Divorce Your Car --and get into a relationship with a Bike!


David Kerber wrote:
In article om,
says...
An interesting but very incomplete analysis of the true costs of
commuting by bike.


Inaccurate, too. See below...


Take the average commuter that lives 20 miles from work. To make an
8-4 work schedule that commuter will have to get up at 4:00 to begin
riding at 5:00 to arrive at work by 8:00. The commuter then does the
same in reverse and arrives home at 7:00 The times assume he is able
to find a lot of flat and downhill both ways with few traffic and
stoplights.


3 hours for 20 miles? Even at a "no sweating allowed" speed, that would
only take me 2 hours. More typical speeds would be 90 - 100 minutes.


Incremental cost: New bike every year plus repairs $2,000; Medical
expenses from road injuries $2,000


Why a new bike every year? I've put more miles that on my bike every
year for the last 3 years, and it still runs like new. Only needed 1
set of new tires, chain and cassette, for a total of about $200 over
that time. And medical expenses would likely go down, not up: I haven't
had a cold since I started riding all year around 3 years ago (I'm not
claiming it's cause-and-effect, but it's still true), and it didn't cost
much to buy band-aids for the 1 case of road-rash I got last year (and
that was in my one race I entered last year, not commuting or riding for
recreation).


When it snows, or rains the commuter is either off work and not paid
because he cant make it in, or he is forced to get a hotel room close
to work because he can't ride home in inclement weather.


How about just working from home? It's an option for many IT people.
Or keep a car around for just such emergencies. It doesn't cost much to
run, repair and insure a car which is only driven 3000 miles per year.


Incremental cost: Lost wages $5,000; Hotel rooms $1,000

Tiring of those exceedingly long riding days and days missed with no
pay the commuter decides to shorten his commute by moving closer.
After some research he determines that to reduce his commuting distance
by half he will have to pay twice as much for the same house because he
is much closer to the big city now.


What big city? The one I live in is bigger than the one I work in.


Incremental Cost: $200,000

The commuter works in sales and he is asked to make a presentation to
two potential clients, one located 90 miles south on the coast and the
other 45 miles west in the mountains. The commuter presents his boss
with the proposed 6 day ride to cover both potential customers and is
promptly fired.


Another good reason for an emergency car. Or rent one if the beater
you
drive in bad weather isn't appropriate for going to a sales
presentation

.... but the premise was "divorce your car", sort of like divorce your
wife. The problem with the comparision is that in most states, you
have an "emergency wife" or rent one if you need one. And while it's
always good to rent your car using a credit card, it's probably a bad
idea if you are renting a "wife" for the evening.



Incremental cost: Annual salary $100,000

Before the commuter has a chance to shorten his ride, his wife sues for
divorce because he is gone so long from home that she became lonely and
had an affair with the cable tv repairman.

Incremental cost: Alimony and child support for the next 20 years.


If it's the wife who has the affair, then the husband won't be paying
alimony.

...

--
Remove the ns_ from if replying by e-mail (but keep posts in the
newsgroups if possible).


  #18  
Old July 18th 06, 01:52 AM posted to rec.bicycles.misc,rec.autos.driving,alt.planning.urban,rec.bicycles.soc,rec.bicycles.rides
Tom Keats
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 3,193
Default Divorce Your Car --and get into a relationship with a Bike!

In article . com,
" writes:

John S. wrote:
An interesting but very incomplete analysis of the true costs of
commuting by bike.

Take the average commuter that lives 20 miles from work. To make an
8-4 work schedule that commuter will have to get up at 4:00 to begin
riding at 5:00 to arrive at work by 8:00. The commuter then does the
same in reverse and arrives home at 7:00 The times assume he is able
to find a lot of flat and downhill both ways with few traffic and
stoplights.


3 hours to go 20 miles??


When I ride to work (10 downhill & flat miles,) I like to give
myself an extra hour or so in case of flats or mechanicals
(haven't had anything like that happen yet, though,) and some
dilly-dally time for a pit stop at McD's if I feel like it.
I'm also that eager to ride. So I just get to work an hour early.
That gives me a chance for an extra cup of coffee, and to chum
around with my co-workers.


cheers,
Tom

--
-- Nothing is safe from me.
Above address is just a spam midden.
I'm really at: tkeats [curlicue] vcn [point] bc [point] ca
  #19  
Old July 18th 06, 02:28 AM posted to rec.bicycles.misc,rec.autos.driving,alt.planning.urban,rec.bicycles.soc,rec.bicycles.rides
Brent P
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 622
Default Divorce Your Car --and get into a relationship with a Bike!

In article om, John S. wrote:

Take the average commuter that lives 20 miles from work. To make an
8-4 work schedule that commuter will have to get up at 4:00 to begin
riding at 5:00 to arrive at work by 8:00. The commuter then does the
same in reverse and arrives home at 7:00 The times assume he is able
to find a lot of flat and downhill both ways with few traffic and
stoplights.


You're nuts. My last job was 6 miles away. Time by car or bicycle was
about equal. 17-20minutes by bicycle. 15-20 minutes by car. New job is 9
miles away, have to take a different route by bicycle. It takes
35minutes by bicycle, 25 minutes by car. About 5 minutes less for each
coming back. Even if I had to go 20miles, I would still make it there in
an hour if I faced stop lights every 1/2-3/4 of mile or so on average.
Fewer lights and stop signs means reduced travel time.

Incremental cost: New bike every year plus repairs $2,000; Medical
expenses from road injuries $2,000


I have been riding since I was about 5 years old. I've been riding for 30
years. I can count injuries that needed banages on one hand. I think I've
spent $5 on them if that. Since 1982 I have had 3 bicycles. They cost
$150, $380, and $1200 in that order. I have yet to spend $2000 in
repairs. In fact, if you added everything I've ever spent on bicycles
together in the last 24 years, it probably wouldn't make $2000. Hell, my
second bicycle, when it was worn out I ordered the one I ride now.
However I needed to make a repair to keep riding the old one. The new
parts cost me the huge sum of SIX dollars.

When it snows, or rains the commuter is either off work and not paid
because he cant make it in, or he is forced to get a hotel room close
to work because he can't ride home in inclement weather.


Who said one has to use a bicycle _every_ day?

The rest just goes off the deep end....


  #20  
Old July 18th 06, 02:32 AM posted to rec.bicycles.misc,rec.autos.driving,alt.planning.urban,rec.bicycles.soc,rec.bicycles.rides
Brent P
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 622
Default Divorce Your Car --and get into a relationship with a Bike!

In article , Dave Head wrote:

Try 20 miles each way in Virginia today. 100 degrees out there.


I just did 10 in chicago's similiar heat. I could probably do more. I
remember going out for a ride one hot afternoon and noticed nobody was
out. Nobody on the roads or on the bike trails... it was nice. I forget
how many miles I rode, probably 20 or so.... came back home, turned on
the TV and heard about people in the town droping over from the heat at a
little league game... The heat doesn't really bother me that much when I
ride. Now if I am sitting in a lot of traffic, then it gets irritating.
 




Thread Tools
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

vB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off
Forum Jump


All times are GMT +1. The time now is 10:43 PM.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.6.4
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd.
Copyright ©2004-2024 CycleBanter.com.
The comments are property of their posters.