I don't like bike commuting. I have biked 2 miles/3.2km each way to the office for the past 16 years, at least twice a week and usually all five days. I still don't like it. Maybe I'm just a fat, lazy son of a gun? Maybe I don't have an enjoyable bike?
The commute is pretty, safe, flat, and quiet. Birds, ponds, and trees, with very few cars and no hills. The weather here is tolerable and I don't sweat enough to require a shower. The only close calls I had were at the beginning when I wasn't being careful. (There is a small section mixed with heavy traffic.)
Every time I get to the office I'm glad the ride is over, and every time I must leave to go home I don't look forward to the ride. I don't arrive invigorated, and in fact the opposite. I've lost and gained weight seemingly unrelated to the number of miles ridden.
I've had several bikes in that time but none of them really seem to "fit", nor are they very fast. I want a nice silky commuter with fenders and panniers and thin wheels but that's always pretty far out of reach from budget, and I'm not 100% convinced it will make a big difference anyway. So I stick to a Craigslist special with a backpack, with upgrades to the ride as I get money.
I remember enjoying biking so much as a kid. I would ride all over the place, and hardly a year has passed since childhood that I don't put on a lot of miles on two wheels. But now as an adult it's just drudgery. Don't know why.
And it's not just the commute I don't like. Also tried to do some trails and longer rides for fun, but it turned into the same drudgery quickly.
I don't know what else I can do. But I'll continue to soldier on with the ride.
Hey, thanks for sharing your (unpopular, at least in this thread) opinion. Would you care going a bit more in details about what you hate about it?
In my experience, good gear makes a tremendous difference, and it's a logarithmic curve; the first few hundred dollars get you most of the way. Maintenance also goes a long way, you'd be surprised of the friction losses of severely under-inflated tires, or a rusty chain/cassette. Finally, having the right type of bike is a game-changer, I am always amazed at how many people commute in urban environments with a heavy, slow, double-suspension mountain bike when they could be zipping around on a road bike and having some fun! I've also found that having a GPS watch to record your commute helps a lot with gratification.
At the end of the day, I think commuting by bike in an enjoyable experience compared to the alternative most people have in an urban environment: packed/slow/expensive/unreliable public transport, or traffic jams. Maybe you should alternate between the two to remind you of why you commute by bike ;)
Thanks for asking. I can't say for sure what I hate about it. The grinding ride? It's not fast enough for my desires? The shoulder and sometimes wrist discomfort? The wind slowing me down? (Tail winds are fanTAStic! That really makes it fun.)
Yes I am careful with tire inflation and chain. (However, this morning I had a chain snap for the first time ever, so mayhaps I'm not as careful as I thought... hehe. Only about six months/300 miles on this chain. Had many chains with years and years of use, no problems.)
I have had road bikes but the handlebars were too low so I got sore shoulders. Had a couple old, beautiful Schwinns that had expensive parts with odd sizes, so I never bothered to upgrade the handlebars on those road rides for a better fit.
Current steed is almost decent. I'm probably going to drop some cash soon on taller handlebars. It's an old Walmart "mountain" bike (without shocks) and as parts wore out I've replaced them. By now I could have bought a nice new ride, but this is the first time I've had a bike where so many parts wore out, so I didn't anticipate that.
It is heavier than many rides, but because I'm not climbing hills that's not an issue. I've had heavier, and I've had lighter, with no noticeable difference in enjoyment.
And carrying around a heavy backpack, while it doesn't help, I don't notice much improvement in enjoyment when I am out on a joy ride without the pack.
But as you said I think I really would have a better experience on a $500+ commuter ride? Especially one that's a better fit. I'm 5'11"/155 cm and most everything seems to be made for people just /slightly/ smaller. The frame height seems to be alright, it's the shoulders.
Maybe I'm just fat and lazy. IDK. If I had a tail wind everywhere I'd love it.
Once had an electric motor, and /that/ was pretty fun. Perhaps I ought to get another one.
Am thinking that should my new business take off it'll be time to get a delta trike with a 1000W electric motor. Still requires pedaling, but would be like having a permanent tail wind :-)
The commute is pretty, safe, flat, and quiet. Birds, ponds, and trees, with very few cars and no hills. The weather here is tolerable and I don't sweat enough to require a shower. The only close calls I had were at the beginning when I wasn't being careful. (There is a small section mixed with heavy traffic.)
Every time I get to the office I'm glad the ride is over, and every time I must leave to go home I don't look forward to the ride. I don't arrive invigorated, and in fact the opposite. I've lost and gained weight seemingly unrelated to the number of miles ridden.
I've had several bikes in that time but none of them really seem to "fit", nor are they very fast. I want a nice silky commuter with fenders and panniers and thin wheels but that's always pretty far out of reach from budget, and I'm not 100% convinced it will make a big difference anyway. So I stick to a Craigslist special with a backpack, with upgrades to the ride as I get money.
I remember enjoying biking so much as a kid. I would ride all over the place, and hardly a year has passed since childhood that I don't put on a lot of miles on two wheels. But now as an adult it's just drudgery. Don't know why.
And it's not just the commute I don't like. Also tried to do some trails and longer rides for fun, but it turned into the same drudgery quickly.
I don't know what else I can do. But I'll continue to soldier on with the ride.