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Here's something of a lifestyle survey, how many people ride their bikes to work every day that it's not raining?
I find that there is a very big difference in riders I run into, based on whether they ride every day or not. People who only get to ride on the weekend have a very hard time finding time to ride enough, they always seem in a tizzy to create a worthwhile weekend trip, because they are ride-deprived and frustrated.
The lady checking me out at Home Depot, says she wishes she had a chance to ride, she bought her Sporty a year ago, part of the reason she's working 2 jobs is to pay for it, and she never finds time to ride. I tell her, she could ride at least 3 times a day, to workA, then to workB, and then home. At least. And her daily grind would be diminished some, because for part of her day she'd still be buzzing from the ride in, and for part of the day she'd be buzzing about the ride home.
We don't get any snow or much ice in Dallas, it doesn't rain much, and when it's cold, it is rarely under 30, years between the teens and never ever below 0.
If the forecast says rain, I compare several online sources that do hourly forecasts, if I find that both commute times are 30-40% or less, I ride. I leave a cheap rain suit at work, in case I don't see it coming, and I carry one in a shoulder bag fairly often. I don't leave the house on 2 wheels if the roads are wet, because of the muddy splash. As much construction, and as many dirt and gravel haulers as there are on Dallas roads, I'd look like one of those Chinese terra-cotta warriors statues before I got to work.
I can't say riding in traffic is the best riding, but I can say the ride to work and the ride back home becomes the highlight of my day. I joke the the best reason to go to work, is getting to ride there and back.
Fact is, when the weekend comes, I don't have an overwhelming need to go riding, hell, I've already spent nearly 10 hours and ridden over 600 miles this week.
I find that there is a very big difference in riders I run into, based on whether they ride every day or not. People who only get to ride on the weekend have a very hard time finding time to ride enough, they always seem in a tizzy to create a worthwhile weekend trip, because they are ride-deprived and frustrated.
The lady checking me out at Home Depot, says she wishes she had a chance to ride, she bought her Sporty a year ago, part of the reason she's working 2 jobs is to pay for it, and she never finds time to ride. I tell her, she could ride at least 3 times a day, to workA, then to workB, and then home. At least. And her daily grind would be diminished some, because for part of her day she'd still be buzzing from the ride in, and for part of the day she'd be buzzing about the ride home.
We don't get any snow or much ice in Dallas, it doesn't rain much, and when it's cold, it is rarely under 30, years between the teens and never ever below 0.
If the forecast says rain, I compare several online sources that do hourly forecasts, if I find that both commute times are 30-40% or less, I ride. I leave a cheap rain suit at work, in case I don't see it coming, and I carry one in a shoulder bag fairly often. I don't leave the house on 2 wheels if the roads are wet, because of the muddy splash. As much construction, and as many dirt and gravel haulers as there are on Dallas roads, I'd look like one of those Chinese terra-cotta warriors statues before I got to work.
I can't say riding in traffic is the best riding, but I can say the ride to work and the ride back home becomes the highlight of my day. I joke the the best reason to go to work, is getting to ride there and back.
Fact is, when the weekend comes, I don't have an overwhelming need to go riding, hell, I've already spent nearly 10 hours and ridden over 600 miles this week.