Erik
I commute by bike for several reasons (and I find that most people have them in common)
* My daily destinations are less than 3 miles from home.
* Gas is over $4 per gallon, and the annual insurance, maintenance & payments for a car I could rely on for city driving (the most abusive driving most people can do) could buy me 2 decent bikes every year - or an annual vacation, take your pick.
* I can skip a health club membership and feel good about it.
* I don't have to search for a parking space (usually).
* I'm not a p@@sy. I'm perfectly capable of putting forth a little effort to reach my destination.
Please note that I don't mention "the environment". When we tell non-cyclists that cycling is good for the environment, they stop listening. I've worked in the bicycle industry for most of my life because I love bikes and cycling and even I roll my eyes when someone starts talking about how good cycling is for the Earth. It's too obvious, give it more thought.
I think Bikesnobnyc said it best:
"Yes, cycling for transportation is much better for the environment than
driving, or flying, or piloting some kind of contraption that burns
endangered marine life for fuel. And yes, this is a good thing. For the
environment. But what does it
say about your commitment to cycling? Not a lot. I suspect many people
who cycle primarily because they're concerned about the environment
will bail on us as soon as some other clean way of getting around comes
along. If SUVs were completely emission-free and ran on smugness
instead of fossil fuels these people would flock to the dealerships and
proceed to run the rest of us off the road as they root around in their
glove compartments looking for their "Live Earth" CDs."
- The Bikesnob
Thank you and Goodnight.
> Date: Sun, 10 Aug 2008 10:50:51 -0700
> From: e_provost@hotmail.com
> To: obra@list.obra.org
> Subject: [OBRA Chat] Why do you commute by bike?
>
> Hi OBRA land. I am doing a research project for my masters program on why people commute by bike. What I am trying to find out is if there is a common reason why people commute; exercise, money, environment, etc. If you wouldn't mind, could you please take a minute to shoot me an email about why you commute by bike. It doesn't have to be anything long and drawn out, but that works too. Thank you all very much. e_provost@hotmail.com
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