What stops you from riding?

I know there are those among us who ride their bikes no matter what. The rest of us have doubts. At least once in a while. What are your stumbling blocks to cycling?And, if you are able to overcome them, how do you do it?

For me personally, the biggest block to riding is my kids. And my kids are easy. They're not babies, and they actually enjoy biking. And we have great vehicles for family biking. I bike with them locally in our own neighborhood: to their various activities, friends' homes, library and ice cream shop.  But I am absolutely paranoid about biking with them on larger streets, such as Elston or Milwaukee. So, when going on a longer trip around Chicago with them, I often choose the perceived safety of the automobile.

Traffic safety, when I bike alone, is also a concern, but it never stops me from riding. I have many years of urban riding experience, and I choose my route and biking strategy based on my skills and energy level. But it is something we all have to think about when we roll our bike onto a city street. Are you ever so concerned about safety that you choose not to ride?

Unlike those of us who work in the bike industry, most folks can't show up for work wearing cycling gear. How do you reconcile having to adhere to a strict dress code and grooming standards with a strenuous commute? Does that stop you, or do you find a way around it?

I am fortunate that my neighborhood has a designated bike route running through it, and is close to convenient diagonal thoroughfares. Although those are not the most pleasant streets to bike on, they are fast and efficient routes. The areas I generally have to travel through don't cause me to be concerned for my personal security. Is your location and/or route an obstacle to cycling?

Although I can easily manage the distance from my house to the store, it is definitely more than what I would consider a "hop". I'm not sure if I would call this obstacle "distance" or "laziness", but it does sometimes stop me from riding. (I know for sure I wouldn't call it "time savings", because whenever I've opted to go by car, I usually end up stuck in traffic.) Do you consider your bike commute impractical because of the distance you have to travel? Or, like me, are you sometimes just lazy? How do you give yourself a kick?

Looking out the window this early morning, I know the violent rain would stop me. Does it ever stop you?
How about your fitness level?
Your cycling equipment?
Always running late?
Or are you unstoppable?

Comments

[Cezar]

I ride pretty much no matter what, unless my fiancée and I are going somewhere over 5 miles (she doesn't ride yet), then I'll ride in her car. If I were you, I would not be concerned about the safety of your children on Elston. If you ride defensively, the biggest safety issue you would face is getting doored. That is almost moot on Elston as there is so much room to maneuver and it's devoid of people entering and exiting their vehicles most of the time.

Many times the safeness of the automobile is mostly perceived. IIRC, one is twice as likely to get seriously injured on a bike than in an SUV. But one is much more likely (I can't remember the figure, I think it's 5 times as likely) to be seriously injured as a pedestrian by an automobile. Therefore, by walking with one's children, there is a bigger risk of injury.

In the end there is risk with everything one does, but by driving when one could bike, one risks the live of those around then more. Basically shifting the risk from one and his/her passengers to those outside the vehicle.

[Matthew K.]

Rain or cold is what usually stops me the most - I have about a 30 minute ride to work from my apartment that's mostly a straight shot down Milwaukee but when it's raining it can be pretty miserable. I usually change into more appropriate clothes when I get to my office, but when you're soaking wet it can lead to a pretty lousy day.

When it's really cold and windy that also really makes me want to take the train - so basically my time to ride to work is quickly coming to an end for the year, I'll miss it

[Cat]

The rain and snow always stop me. I will ride in the cold and in the heat but once it gets messy out - forget it - I am taking the University Shuttle into work or relying on the train or bus.

Cat

[SarahA]

My biggest issue for biking as transportation is distance. I live either too close or too far away from most things like friends, grocery store, hairdresser, etc. I actually live too close to work to bike. The hassle of getting my bike down the elevator and lock it up at the end, plus changing into work clothes, would actually take longer than just walking the mile.

[Charlotte]

Ice. Slippery icy conditions will stop me.

Torrential rain will stop me (flash-flooding style rain, my English bike can handle most rain).

Distance - near or far. Nothing wrong with taking a stroll to the things I need in my neighborhood. If we have to get somewhere far away (the in-laws live 180 miles away) we'll drive. All in all we use the shared car about once a month, and I bike all errands between 2 and 20 miles.

Friends - going out with non-cyclists will often cause me to resign myself to walking or cabbing.

[Jim]

I've been taking my 7 year old grand daughter riding every other weekend this past summer. I've been keeping her on multi-use paths so far. She keeps to the right, passes on the left and uses her bell and has been doing a great job, but I don't feel she can stay on a straight line long enough without weaving to go in any sort of traffic yet.

[scott]

At present, it's either not having anywhere to go (I work from home and rarely have much in the way of errands to run) or else not having good routes when I do want to go places by bike (which is most often a concern when I'm riding with my daughter in a pull-behind carrier; its not as much of an issue when it's just me on my own).

I currently live in a fairly large city with great recreational bike trails. Unfortunately, since they are designed for recreational use, they're of little value when it comes to any sort of commuting. I loathe the thought of driving my car to a trailside parking lot where I then get on the bike to ride.

Sometime in the coming months our family will be moving so I can take a job in another state. The town in which we'll be living is much smaller. It has little in the way of paved bike paths, but I suspect the city itself will be much more bike friendly, even despite having no bike lanes. I bought my bike with the intention of bike commuting to work at the new job, even though it will probably only be two or three miles each direction. My wife does not yet ride, but I'm hoping she warms to the idea once we're living within five miles of virtually everything we ever need or want. I also intend to use the pull-behind carrier to schlep my daughter (and eventually her younger sister) around to wherever they need to go.

So, when it's no longer having no place to go and/or bad route options keeping me from going, I'll be waiting to see if weather is the greatest obstacle. I hope it won't be.

[Justyna]

It's amazing how many of these responses resonate with me. Of course, nasty weather, especially ice, is a huge obstacle. I don't mind the cold, even serious cold, as much as snow and slush, whether falling or already accumulated.
The one that surprised me is distance. Long distance, yes, that's an obvious challenge, but, I too, am reluctant to bike if the distance is doable by foot. I love walking, and it's so easy to just head out the door.
But it's the problem of biking with kids that I keep coming back to. I think it's because for me it's more than just a matter of skill or strategy, or knowing the statistics. My anxiety is probably not rational, and that it the very reason that it is difficult to overcome.
I wonder how many people out there avoid biking altogether out of the same irrational fear. Quite a few, I bet.

[ridon]

well i'm new to this. i got the bike so i would get out more and not be such a hermit on the weekends. i putz around my neighborhood on my cruiser. i've tried going longer distances to the grocery store and couldn't make it over the crests (like canal st). i had to get off my bike and walk the rest of the way. i'm in the lowest gear, too! guess i better build up that fitness level.

[Cortney]

I'm with Cat; rain and snow are pretty unbearable on bike. I opt for public transit on those days.

After I was hit by a bus on Damen I was also pretty hesitant about biking on those busy streets again but it certainly made me think twice about not wearing my helmet.

[Greg]

Nothing!

My wife and I ride our 10 mile round trip commute year round, we love the chance to ride in the snow, driving rain, nasty winds, and whatever else happens. To be honest, some of the most fun we have on our commutes is when the weather is absolutely disgusting and we get challenged on the bikes. A little bit of suffering while turning the pedals turns into a good story and some experience to rely on down the road.

We both work white collar jobs and change out of our bike clothes into our work clothes five days a week. We have cold weather shells, rain jackets, wet weather pants, and some thick gloves. We have a few bikes depending on the season so if we get a few too many flats or mechanicals we switch things up.

We haven't figured out what we are going to do when we have kids, but for now we are car-free and rapid transit-free and loving every second of it.

[Maria B.]

In the mornings I feel lazy and would rather take the train, but the bike ride is actually a little faster (or at least a little more predictable, with Belmont being all messed up). I used to not ride if I had an important meeting to attend because my helmet hair is just horrific. One beautiful spring morning I was meeting out-of-town clients at the Lakeshore W and decided to bike despite the helmet hair issue because the weather was too nice and I couldn't resist. At a break, one of my clients came up to me and said she loves biking to work too - in rural Ohio. Since then, I've always been surprised by how many people appreciate that I bike to work - if more of a genuine curiosity than anything else.