Comments on: Q&A: Can you really ride faster than you drive?

By: Israel

Israel — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 02:32:48 +0000

Home to office is roughly 10km (~6mi). Driving, it takes me anywhere between 45 minutes to a ludicrous 2 hours (yes! my worst record yet! imagine that, 2 freakin’ hours to travel 10kms!!!).

Bike-commuting takes me, on the average, 35 minutes; 45-50 if I decide to take it slow.

I live in Metro Manila, the Philippines.

By: LosFelizRider

LosFelizRider — Tue, 08 Jul 2008 01:54:06 +0000

Jen Says:
July 5th, 2008 at 12:59 pm
@LosFelizRider – DUDE!! I want your commute! I’m jealous!

If you really mean that, Jen, you are way more hardcore than I am. I’ll take your commute over mine.

Ride on!

By: Adam Pieniazek

Adam Pieniazek — Mon, 07 Jul 2008 14:04:36 +0000

I don’t have a commute per se (successfully unemployed!) but I know for sure I can ride through the City of Boston faster than most cars. I routinely pass a lot of cars and never see them catch up to me.

It’s especially faster than public transportation too.

By: Tim

Tim — Sun, 06 Jul 2008 04:25:05 +0000

My ride is about 25 min, and the drive is about 15 min, with at least 10 or more minutes added to find parking and then walk. I am a student and do not wish to pay $100′s for a parking garage. The bus is free and is a 30-40 minute trip, but I get to read a book, which is a good use of the time if I’m not in a particular hurry.
All in all, it takes about the same amount of time to drive or bike, and the bus has its advantages, too.

By: Jen

Jen — Sat, 05 Jul 2008 17:59:18 +0000

@LosFelizRider – DUDE!! I want your commute! I’m jealous!

As for the post at hand…my commute is a seven-minute drive and a twenty-minute ride. I’m fine with that.

By: Tim

Tim — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 22:02:29 +0000

My bike ride in Phoenix is almost exactly the same length as my car drive (7.55 miles versus 7.51 miles, respectively). Both routes follow almost exactly the same path as a result of bike lanes along the streets I use in the car to get to the freeway, and a paved, multi-use path that parallels the freeway to the exit ramp just a few blocks from my office. The car drive includes about 4 miles of freeway. The ride to work is slightly uphill. With the ups and down, there is an increase in elevation of about 150 feet.

Bike ride to work is right at 45 minutes. The ride home averages around 40 minutes. The car drive to work, if I leave early enough to beat the traffic, is only about 15 minutes. If I leave the house late, then the car drive to work stretches to about 20 to 25 minutes. The car drive home at rush hour takes about 25 to 30 minutes.

On the mornings I take the bike, I shower at a gym which is in the same building as my office. My company pays part of the cost of the gym membership. On the days I drive the car, if I stayed after work to work out at the gym, I would have to add at least an hour to my “time away from home for the day.” When I ride my bike, my work out time is combined with my commute time so I get to factor in almost a whole extra hour of “time for myself” for the day.

By: spike003

spike003 — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 03:05:21 +0000

I don’t own a car and bike commute 6.5 miles each way(mostly hills) here in Austin. It’s not about time saved for me, but I exercise, I feel like I’m 11 yrs. old EVERY morning, I build community, say “Howdy” to lots of people, give the head nod to fellow cyclists, see and stop to look at things on my trips, ride critical mass and moonlight rides. In a car you just think about yourself and can’t be bothered to talk to people or help if need be.
I did a 12hr. day of hard work today, but I couldn’t wait to ride home!

By: jamesmallon

jamesmallon — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 02:33:30 +0000

Even when your bike commute is not quicker, you save yourself a trip to the gym or the doctor, so there is a net time savings.

By: LosFelizRider

LosFelizRider — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 00:11:18 +0000

I got y’all beat My commute is in Los Angeles and is 17 miles each way. Home = Los Feliz next to Griffith Park (for those who know LA). Work = 6th Street in Santa Monica, seven blocks from the Pacific Ocean. My route takes me through Hollywood, West Hollywood, Beverly Hills, West LA, and Santa Monica.

if you know LA, other than Santa Monica, that list of neighborhoods is daunting for a bicyclist. Hell, the route is daunting for a car driver! It’s some of the most congested, ill-surfaced, narrow-laned traffic in Los Angeles. Beverly Hills in particular is a nightmare.

Depending on traffic conditions, by car my commute to work takes one hour or more. Coming home after work is worse because the westsiders are going east to the Staples Center or Disney Concert Hall for the evening, so they join us eastsiders. Coming home, the drive can take two hours (yes, two hours for 17 miles). If this strikes you as absurd, you don’t live in Los Angeles.

By bicycle, this takes me 100 minutes. Reason: all the cars lining up at traffic lights and stop signs, waiting their turns. On bicycle, I “skip” to the front of the line at each intersection, then take my turn and head to the next intersection.

Honestly, it’s not a very pleasant ride because of all the [inattentive] traffic. But it’s often faster than driving. And, as every other poster has noted, it’s better for me and better for the planet.

Ride on!

By: anonymous

anonymous — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 16:38:13 +0000

See
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dj1Ifq9Tfas&feature=related

For a brave biker zooming by car after car.