Thursday, June 23, 2011

some bike commuting improvements

We like to commute to work on bike.

Well, not in winter (salty slush and bikes don't mix), and usually not when it rains in the morning, but at all other times we do it.

But lately we are arriving home more stressed than we want to be.

We have an precisely optimized and direct route between the paradise on earth that is our workplace and our home.

And that's the problem. There are lots of cars on this very direct route. And that doesn't relax us, because some of these car drivers exhibit less than completely responsible car-driving behavour.

So modifications to the route will be made. Parks will be added to the route. (Yes, difficult but not impossible)

And we will try to relax about the crazee car drivers and other bike riders on the road.

Our goal is to arrive home in a peaceful and happy state. This being one of the Dalai Lama's specialties, we think it's time for a useful quote:
In our daily life, tolerance and patience have great benefits: developing them will allow us to sustain and maintain our presence of mind.

OK, so that is the other essential modification to our bike ride home from work.

And now, a short plea to the Montreal weather: please stop raining!

2 Comments:

At 8:48 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Surveys continually show that the perception of unsafe road conditions is the #1 reason more people don't cycle.

While you just tweak your route, most people give up or never start cycling because of this.

What's the solution?

 
At 12:11 PM, Blogger LBJ said...

It always frustrates me when drivers don't respect cyclists on the road - especially passing at a safe distance. It's like they don't realize that a tap isn't going to be a fender bender, it's going to be a serious injury. And this is coming from someone who drives and bikes every day - I live too far from my work to ride the whole way in, so I drive the first part and then ride the second part on my folding bike. I see crazy things driving and riding, but they can be a lot more unnerving on the bike.

 

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