The jinx

[mstone]

@rcannon100 28135 wrote:

I would say we are at the “Build it and they will come” phase. The supporting infrastructure is fully there – so what is the catalyst to push people over the cliff and more people bike commuting?

I think you overstate the infrastructure, which affects the answer to the question. There are still a lot of disconnected islands in the area.

[rcannon100]

@mstone 28142 wrote:

I think you overstate the infrastructure, .

Ah… no. We are talking about at my agency, we have the infrastructure, now what is it going to take to get the N+1 employee to bike to work.

[GuyContinental]

@Dickie 28141 wrote:

For what it is worth I switched to a Banjo Brothers wedge a while back and really like it . Depending on how long you had the 50 spot in there it could be worth as much $52.37 by now… better investment than a bank, although I don’t think banks distribute your cash along a bike path, so there’s that.

Trying to sneak a name change through are we Tricky Dickie Sewell?

[Dickie]

@rcannon100 28144 wrote:

Ah… no. We are talking about at my agency, we have the infrastructure, now what is it going to take to get the N+1 employee to bike to work.

Bribes, or a “best legs” competition, or knock out the power to the elevators for a few days.

[Dickie]

@GuyContinental 28145 wrote:

Trying to sneak a name change through are we Tricky Dickie Sewell?

Nice spot. Yeah, I figured if my wife calls me that, why not you folks?

[rcannon100]

Yeah, the idea on the table is bribes. Some nice swag for trying out biking to work.

Congratulations on solving the insurmountable technical obstacle you confronted. :p

[TwoWheelsDC]

@Dickie 28148 wrote:

Nice spot. Yeah, I figured if my wife calls me that, why not you folks?

Sorry, but this is the only person I think of when I hear “dickie”….

[ShawnoftheDread]

@TwoWheelsDC 28150 wrote:

Sorry, but this is the only person I think of when I hear “dickie”….

I think of this guy:
[ATTACH=CONFIG]1530[/ATTACH]

[Amalitza]

I would like to start commuting by bike because I recognize the utter ridiculousness of getting off work, riding 20-30 miles for fun and exercise, then getting in my car and driving 25 miles home. In theory, getting off work, riding 30 miles for fun and exercise, and ending up at home rather than back at the office would save me the time, money, and aggravation of the 25 mile drive. I might yet do it someday, at least on occasion.

You have a fitness center? Find some genius software dude to hook up your stationary bikes to google maps bike routes. Let people input their address, pedal ‘til they get to their virtual home, then still have to get in their cars/ trains/buses and get for-real home. (yes, I know that’s not very realistic, but maybe some low-tech version of a similar concept. If you were getting your exercise while commuting by bike, you could be home right now).

[txgoonie]

@GuyContinental 28131 wrote:

Not impressed with the TimBuk2 seat bags…

Agreed. Buyer beware: those things suck.

[consularrider]

Hmmm…why did I start commuting by bike? Which time?

From the time I got my first three speed (6th grade), my bicycles have been an element of transportation for me. First for school and later for my part-time jobs. When I got my first full-time job, I had no car and spent the first couple months riding a couple miles to work until I bought my first car. After that, I still occasionally rode the bike. Since I have been married (both the first and second times), we have mostly been car light (one car for the family). Again, even when I could drive there were periods when I preferred to ride. I’ve been a bike commuter in Indiana, Georgia (the state), England, Mexico, and now Virginia. In our move to Virginia, in addition to housing costs, we had two other concerns, a good secondary school system for our son and ease of commuting. Ease of commuting to us meant being able to use Metro or bike commute. When we were looking to buy a house, I factored in what I thought would be a reasonable daily distance to ride year round.

For me using the bike has been a combination of convenience, cost, and built in exercise.

[eminva]

@rcannon100 28135 wrote:

We have a fitness center with a shower rate of $80 per year. Yes, that is key.

I would say we are at the “Build it and they will come” phase. The supporting infrastructure is fully there – so what is the catalyst to push people over the cliff and more people bike commuting? We are thinking of a small “bike to work day” thing in October – but in line with this thread – what I dont want is just another swag-surfing event. I want converts to our religion!

Have you already had a brown bag lunch with WABA? Have you promoted the Confident City Cycling classes? Create a buddy system for new commuters? I think the intimidation factor is still an obstacle for many people, even with so many more bike commuters than a few years ago.

How about a PSA featuring different bike commuters from the agency? Be sure to include those who aren’t obvious candidates for bike commuting (e.g., working moms) so others who are similarly situated can see someone like themselves doing it.

Liz

[mstone]

@rcannon100 28144 wrote:

Ah… no. We are talking about at my agency, we have the infrastructure, now what is it going to take to get the N+1 employee to bike to work.

Unless the employees live at the agency, you need infrastructure between home & work. Most important thing is to stay involved in trying to get safer streets. Next biggest obstacle is family time commitments, which tend to be fairly non-negotiable. Assuming those things are non-issues, I’d say the best approach is to keep the biking option visible and normalize it. Make sure there are guide signs like “bike parking” and “showers” in the garage, so people pass them every day.

For myself, I started bike commuting when I switched jobs to something which was achievable. (19 traffic-light miles without having to cross the potomac & a shower & parking, vs 25 miles including city traffic with a river crossing & no shower & no parking). I don’t bike commute daily because there is no way to fulfill kid-pick-up duties on biking days.

[rcannon100]

These are good suggestions. Consistent with what a lot of people are saying, seems like the big concept is making it seem viable – marketing. Helping me reformulate some plans for the fall.

[KLizotte]

For me it all started with CaBi. I’d seen the same sort of system in Paris and thought it was really cool so I was beyond excited when a CaBi station opened up across the street from where I work and live within a month of the program opening. Since it was autumn, getting hot and sweaty was less of an issue so I started riding home in my work clothes and was rather pleasantly surprised to find out that it only took about 10 minutes longer than metro and that it was fun. So I tried riding in a few mornings too. Then I started using a CaBi just for exercise, errands, and so on. I liked riding so much that I went out and bought a bike on Jan 2 and rode it all over town with my big heavy wool coat and street clothes (we had snow that year). I couldn’t wait for spring.

Finding this forum then made the next big leap possible: commuting during the winter months. Advice on what lights and clothes to buy made a world of difference as well as finding out that MVT is not a scary dangerous place to be after the sun goes down (a big concern for women). Getting a copy of the Arlington bike map made a world of difference too since I could see for the first time how I could use my bike instead of my car to get around.

CaBi was the push I needed to get off my butt and start biking again after a very long absence, especially since they are so easy to ride and less intimidating than a road bike. It also helped to remove a psychological barrier against riding in urban traffic. I figured if everyone else could do it, so could I. The addition of bike lanes and finding a safe route to work helped a lot too.

Lastly, the knowledge and camraderie on this forum has been priceless. I recommend it to everyone I meet who expresses the slightest interest in biking.

[Author]

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