That’s the most common response I get from people when I tell them I bike to work.
Here are the unofficial Top Ten reasons I’ve heard during my years as a bicycle commuter.
1) I work in an office so I have to dress up.
2) I’d look like a mess when I got to work.
3) I sweat too much and we don’t have showers at work.
4) I haven’t gotten on a bike since I was a kid.
5) The way people drive is too scary.
6) I got hurt riding a bike once.
7) Bikes are too fancy and expensive these days.
8) I don’t have anyplace to keep a bike at work.
9) I have too much to carry to work.
10) I have too much driving to do during the day.
I suspect the REAL NO. 1 reason, though, is this: “I’m too self-conscious about how I look when I ride a bike.”
Fact is, everybody falls somewhere in the range between looking as good on a bicycle as Lance Armstrong, and as dorky as Pee Wee Herman. I’m probably a lot closer to the P.W.H. end of the appearance scale, but I feel a helluva lot smarter than anyone sitting behind the wheel of a car.
--Wordsmith 1953
4 comments:
Vanity is a big inhibitor of bike commuting. Finding a shower at or near work and leaving a bag of toiletries/makeup/shave gear require planning ahead, also inhibitors.
When people try bike commuting JUST ONE DAY, they can discover the fun, the relaxation, the fitness, the scenery, the frugality of biking to work.
Once they discover that, bike commuting is addictive, and worth the price of rumpled clothes and helmet hair.
--Middle age frau who is vain but plans around it.
how about:
gas is still too cheap
or I think its OK to work a day a week to pay for my car so I can drive to work to pay for my car.
given the state of the average workers health, I bet a good 25% of those who could ride simply cannot due to health issues.
Very good point! And don't you find it fascinating to see how many people ride bicycles while smoking a cigarette. It's like a contrdiction on wheels!
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