jx3

For about 5 years in the mid 90s, I used to bike to work every day, rain or shine. Was starting to feel like a postal delivery worker, not even hail stopped me. One way trip was 12.5 miles, work was heavy lifting in an open warehouse. Then got to ride back the same 12.5 miles.

It actually took me about 10 minutes longer to bike the trip vs driving on the way to work (6:00 AM), and 30 minutes less riding than driving home (6:00 PM). I would even pass up co-workers who left 10 min before me.

I had been hit by mirrors on several occasions, was even cut off by a mini van pulling into a shopping center --- resulted in her insurance buying me a new bike. Nothing major until I was hit from behind --- while having one of them really annoying blinking lights. Ambulance trip to ER and the last time I was on a bike, was a week later, when I rode it to go pick up my new used JEEP.

Frozenspokes

I have to admit that I am very pleasently surprised by all of the positive responses. I have to admit that I have a habit of lumping "car people" into a stereotype of bike haters. This probably comes from the fact that as a cyclist, you tend to remember the 1% of negative interactions with motorists much better than the 99% of positive or nuetral ones. But I should have known better, HHR owners are cool

Some of you have expressed concerns over traffic conditions and inatentive drivers, and I do understand. When I lived in Wichita Falls, TX, I took my life into my hands every time I got on the road whether it be on the bike or in the car. But I was able to plot a route that got me from my apartment to the base with as little interaction with traffic as possible.

SandyBeach bemoaned the lack of sidewalks on a road with a 45 MPH speed limit. Beleive me, you wouldn't want to be on a "sidewalk" on that stretch of road on a bike. You are safer riding on the road than on a sidewalk. Drivers pay absolutely no attention to you on the sidewalk. You would be at risk of getting hit at every intersection, driveway, and parking lot entrance. I make it a point to ride on the road unless there is a designated bike path. Drivers just aren't looking for things moving as fast as a bike on the sidewalk.

Longhorn, Good for you I wish you all the best with your bike commuting efforts. Sometimes it can be hard to stick with it but if you do, it's very rewarding. here is a great place to get information on all things related to Road bikes . They even have a commuting forum. The folks there are pretty freindly most of the time, and I have learned a great deal from reading the forums there. Let me know how things go when you do ride to work

I also agree with going into the fast food places rather than sitting in the drive through. It is often faster!

Vivid

As someone who biked everywhere I could before I got a car, and many times even after I got my first car, I've always made a point of emphasizing bicycle safety. There is a lot of truth to the above statement about drivers not paying attention to what's up on the sidewalk - if the cyclist is on the road, they HAVE to see them (or at least they *should*).

It's been a little bit since I've done any bike riding on a regular basis, but here's a little flashback to when I was riding frequently - myself and several co-workers taking part in Missouri's annual commuter bike-to-work week a few years ago.

The "Cycling Celtics" on the 2004 MARC Bicycle Commuter Challenge

The link in that page for the team photos isn't working, try this one - Cycling Celtics team photos

jaydogg

i live about 2 miles from work and drive it everyday, why you might ask instead of walking or bike riding, well not only are the roads here being torn up to widen them, the 14 month old daughter and a diaper bag doesnt seem to be a combo that i want to try on a bike, i do get her every morning when i get off work, unless somebody watches her at my house. to me i just feel safer with my daughter in the car and not exposed people who cant drive, semis, dump trucks, back hoes, bull dozers, etc. I might be lazy in some ways, but my daughter safety comes before daddy trying to save a buck or two.

longhorn

Have you gotten your bike into the HHR yet? I haven't tried, but gonna see if I can and was looking for some advice

SandyBeach

I put one of those adjustable racks on the hatch to transport my son's bike down to college. It worked great.

Florida has a new law that you have to pass a bicyclist and leave 3 feet between your vehicle and them. That means waiting for oncoming traffic to pass them. Therefore, motorists are much happier if a bicycle rider is on the sidewalk.

Personally, I think it's about time more bike paths are built, especially in an area like ours with very few hills. The military allows their troops to take off 3 hours a week to exercise. Why not build bike paths on those major roads (on base property) and promote bicycling to work?

tleslie79072

Thats one reason I traded my Yukon for the HHR... Trying to do my parts... One thing I do understand but don't agree with is th Goverment will give you tax breaks for buying a SUV or large gvw truck to use in your business but In my opinion you should get the tax break for buying some thing a little for "green". Of course the gov does this to help bail out the automobile industry who over prodused trucks and the price of gas goes up and dealers are stuck with gas hog inventory.. So here come some good ole gov subsidy in the back door in a left handed kind of way... IMO

Dont get me wrong .. I took full advantage of the tax break... as business owner that is married to an accountant It didnt hurt my feeling when she said you need a write offf let go buy a truck... Now the breaks are over I dumped the truck and bought the HHR...

Oh and I have been thinking "green lately" ....

Frozenspokes

I won't argue with you on that point. As your daughter gets older, and you become less encumbered your situation will change and then bike commuting could be an option. What kills me are all of the people pulling up to my kids school on base to give their precious little ones a ride in the morning. I work with some of these people, and know that they are on the "fitness" program (they can't pass their PT test). But rather than walk the four blocks from the house to the school, they choose to drive. I asked one of them why they drove rather than walk or ride, and their excuse was that the traffic around the school was too crazy and they didn't feel "safe" with all of those people pulling in and out dropping off kids. I don't get it. I am not trying to call you out personally, your post just reminded me of that. But I do think that many people use the safety issue as an excuse to drive.

More than one person has sited "safety" concerns. I honestly do not know your situations. If you don't feel safe, then don't ride. All that I ask of you is that when you do see someone riding, try to treat them with respect. They are just trying to get to work too. I have been hit by cars on three seperate occasions. Twice as a kid (one my fault), and once as an adult. I have been fortunate to not have any serious injuries. But I will keep riding. It's part of who I am.

I know that I am fortunate. I live on base. The traffic is moderate even during the busy times. When I lived off base their were roads that I would make it a point to avoid because of traffic. That was the point of one of my earlier posts. People tend to get in a mindset where they think that the way they are taking is the only way to get somewhere. Most times that isn't the case. As JX3 pointed out, even on longer trips with traffic being what it is, you can sometimes make better time on a bike. When I road the bike to work in TX, it only took me about 5 more minutes to ride on the alternate "longer" route than it did for me to drive. Why? Traffic. My alternate route avoided it.

Frozenspokes

The bike fits in just fine if you take the trunk floor out of the back and put the seats down you can stand a bike in the back. Set the rear tire on a about a 4" chunk of wood in the storage bin. You have to take the front wheel off. I am getting some 9MM skewers that I will probably bolt to a 1X4 at least temporarily. But you can also just strap the frame of the bike to the loop on the C-pillar that the seat back hooks into.

If you don't want to pull the trunk floor out, you have to take the seat off of the bike to fit it in, or at least push it all the way down. I will get some pictures of my set-up as it stands right now. It is quick and dirty, but it does work.

Frozenspokes

Here's the dirty little secret about bike paths. Drivers pay NO ATTENTION to cyclists on bike paths. In some ways they are worse than sidewalks. The only reason that I use them is that I am obligated to by law. If there is an available bike path, cyclists MUST use it and not ride in the road. Most cyclists hate them because the rider on the bike path that parallels a main street is obligated to STOP at every intersection. This makes the bike path a really crappy way to get from point A to point B.

I will say that I do like the greenways that have sprung up in many cities. These are paths that get from one place to another without interuption and are usually isolated from traffic. That is a great concept and when well executed can really make traveling across town a pleasent experience.

The reason for the FL law is that too many cyclists have been hit from behind by people trying to "sneak by" Any time you pass a cyclist, you should give them the same space that you would any other vehicle. That's what the cyclist is. A person on a vehicle. You wouldn't try to pass somebody on a motorcycle without switching lanes, but people do it all the time to cyclists.