Goal: Cover the common challenges and excuses that prevent most of us from biking to work and suggest some solutions (that I have experimented with.)
Common challenges/excuses that keep us from biking to work:
- I don’t like getting to work all sweaty. I don’t have access to showers
- I don’t have a bike
- I don’t have a good bike
- I’m not in shape. I live too far from work
- It’s not safe to bike to work, I’m not comfortable biking next to cars
- I don’t have time
- I’m already environmentally aware and recycle. I don’t need to bike to work
If you haven’t read my post on why I started biking to work, and my observations on the benefits I saw first hand, I recommend taking a look at it here (I even made an infographic with a summary if you don’t have time to read it all). Hopefully, by now you’re convinced to start biking to work but aren’t sure where to start. Here are a few tips and strategies that I experimented with and found useful. Before getting into details, let me tell you a little bit about my background in biking first:
I had a bike as a kid, but was never serious about biking. I didn’t use a bike to get around in college (I wish I had), and picked it back up when I was in grad school in Hawaii mostly because there was no parking on campus, parking permit was too expensive for me, and biking saved me time and made sense (otherwise, I had to loop around 10 blocks away from campus looking for parking). Clearly, I wasn’t born a natural biker and was late to the party.
If someone asked me 2 years ago if I’d consider biking to work, I would tell them that they’re crazy and I’d have a dozen excuses about why it doesn’t work for me, even though I would agree that biking is a great mode of transportation because of its economical, environmental and health benefits. Now, I like to think of myself as a logical person who cares about our ecomoney. So, if we are logical beings (as I’m sure you are too) wouldn’t we naturally want to adopt positive behaviors that improve our lives? The assumption that us humans are logical and rational in our decisions- which is the basics of classical economics theory – has been proven wrong thanks to behavioral economics. The Noble Prize in Economic Sciences was given to behavioral economists, Daniel Kahneman in 2002 and Richard Thaler in 2017, highlighting their amazing work that shed light on our irrational behaviors.
You’re probably thinking “I thought we were talking about biking to work. What does behavioral economics have to do with it?” Well, my fellow ecomonks, I’m telling you this because it’s a powerful methodology that has helped me understand my habits and how to change them, and I’m hoping with some of these suggestions you will be able to change your less desirable habits as well. Driving to work is a strong and convenient habit and changing a human behavior/habit is one of the hardest things one can do. Behavioral economics provides great insights and tools that make behavior changes like adopting more savings, exercise, healthy eating, etc easier. So, let’s look at this problem from a behavioral economics standpoint: instead of asking “How can I get myself to do it?” let’s focus on “Why am I not already doing it?“. This helped me find out what obstacles (read: excuses) were in the way, so I focused on eliminating those and therefore making it easier to bike. This approach is similar to Design Thinking – another one of my favorite tools- where your solution starts with sympathy and understanding your customer’s behavior and needs (see this post for more info).
Why am I not already biking to work?
1) I don’t have a bike.
Suggested solution: Ask your friends and coworkers if you can borrow their extra bike for a couple weeks (one that fits you, obviously). Based on my experience, most cyclists have more than one bike and will be happy to let you borrow them. This is a great way to learn about bikes, do a quick experiment to see if it’s the right type of bike for you and what to look for when you buy a bike, learn about what accessories you need, and more importantly get started ASAP (before your motivation and excitement dissipates).
Similarly, ask friends if they know someone who wants to sell a used bike or check out Craigslist. There are a lot of great deals on Craigslist, but you need to be careful too. Make sure you take someone with you who knows bikes, and that the bike is not stolen. The other benefit of getting a used bike is that you can sell it later for almost a similar price. Back when I used to live in Honolulu, I bought a regular mountain bike for $80 that I used for 4 years and sold it for $75. Once, you get started you can upgrade to a better one if you feel the need and you’ll be able to do that with the knowledge and experience you’ve attained.
2) I don’t have a good bike.
This is a tricky one for someone who’s a perfectionist like me. I spent months researching and learning about bikes, in hopes of finding that perfect bike for me. The end result was satisfying, but I missed out on months of biking benefits because of my bias to action. You don’t need a fancy brand new road bike with a carbon fiber frame that costs over $2000. As one of my friends says: “It’s a lot easier and cheaper to lose a pound of your body weight than a pound of your bike weight“.
If your commute is less than 4 miles each way, a regular used (mountain) bike is sufficient which is usually under $100 – I’d get a used hybrid. For distances longer than that, a more efficient bike makes a difference. You can get a decent used hybrid for under $250 on craigslist. If you’re buying a new bike, bikesdirect and performancebikes are great websites. REI garage sales have good deals too. Folks at Wirecutter spent 30 hours looking at 50 bikes, and offered their suggestions on what bikes you should buy. Also, you don’t need a bike from a famous brand (FELT, Specialized, etc). My coworker has been riding the bike he bought from bikesdirect (not a famous brand) for the past 7 years and has put thousands of miles on it. To make sure you get the proper size, you can go to an REI or Performance bike store and have them get your measurements and recommend the frame size that fits you best. You don’t have to buy a bike there (after getting your measurements), and instead shop online for a better deal but it may not be a nice thing to do.
I bought my bike online from Raleigh. I found out that Raleigh was just bought out by Diamondback and a lot of the existing models had big sales esp. through the corporate discounts that included my company. See my post for specifics on my bike and accessories.
3) I’m not in shape. I live too far from work.
My idea of what’s considered “too far to bike” changed soon after biking to places. My commute is 6.5 miles each way (on the bike), and I used to think that was very long and one had to be in great shape to do that. It was surprising to discover how quickly my endurance and cardio improved once I started my bike commute. The key was taking my time and pacing myself. I started with biking to work once a week. It was tiring at first, and I had to have more coffee throughout the day but after a few weeks I wasn’t feeling tired anymore. So, I increased it to twice a week, 3 times a week and finally biking to work everyday. Not only do I not get tired from biking to work anymore, I actually have more energy throughout the day and don’t feel sluggish like I used to (benefits of starting your day with exercise.) That’s similar to other early retirement strategies: you need to pace yourself and gradually increase savings/biking days, etc. My back pain is almost gone since I started biking.
“What’s far” went from 1-2 miles to 10-15 miles (one way). That was a mindset and mentality that I had to change (like the possibility of FIRE: the more you learn about it and surround yourself with people of that mindset, the easier and more doable it gets). A great way to help me change my mentality was to surround myself with people who already bike to work and used that as a reference point for my case. I started talking to coworkers who commuted on bike, and asked them about the length of their commute, type of bike, etc. I realized people who are older and less physically in shape than I am with longer commutes, bike to work with no problem. And I started thinking maybe I can too. I started biking after work and on weekends to get in shape and soon after I was riding 10-15 miles with no problem. Next step was biking to work. I’m confident you’ll be able to shift your mindset too.
Electric bikes are awesome and if you think that’ll motivate you to bike to work, then you should definitely get one. Different settings of electric pedal assist let you choose how much effort you exert depending on your route and they have long ranges on the battery too. One of my coworkers, in his 50s and slightly overweight, decided to commute to work on metro and an electric bike instead of driving. He told me that takes him the same amount of time as driving to work but lets him save money, gives him time to read on the metro and exercise on his bike instead of sitting in traffic. It’s never too late to start biking. I have seen people of all ages on my daily commute that put in way less effort and energy than me esp. going uphill or accelerating after a stop using electric bikes. Fortunately, e-bikes are becoming more affordable and come in different options: conversion kits, some newly established brands thru kickstarter and similar platforms, and even main bike brands like Specialized and FELT are getting in that market as well.
4) It’s not safe to bike to work, are you crazy? There are no bike paths between my home and work. I’m not comfortable biking on the street next to cars.
I live in Southern California, where drivers have a terrible reputation and most people consider biking unsafe. If I can do it here, you can do it too. Biking on the street next to cars was something I had to learn as well. This was my approach: I started with talking to my cyclist friends and reading up on rules and know-hows of riding on the streets. You can view this like a fun science experiment, where you collect data, plan tests and refine your solution as you gather more info and test out your ideas (I used Design Thinking here).
To find a safe route, I started with Google Maps. It’s not perfect, but a great starting point: go to google maps and choose bicycling from the drop-down menu on the top left corner (3 lines) next to the search bar and explore bike-friendly routes on your commute. You can also put in your destination and starting point and use cycling in the directions section of Google maps. I identified the 3 recommended routes, did test rides on each route on weekends and rated them based on how safe, comfortable and fun they were (you’re more likely to stick to your plans if you enjoy them). It’s important to note that bike-friendly routes recommended by Google are usually in residential areas where speed limits are lower, and there are plenty of stops and traffic lights where drivers are more careful (closer to their own homes, maybe?).
After testing the different routes, I chose my favorite one and started biking to work once a week and then increased the frequency slowly. I ended up modifying my route after talking to some cyclist coworkers and followed their recommendations and my observations about the neighborhood I rode through. Local knowledge beats google algorithms (sometimes).
If you’re new to cycling, talk to experienced coworkers and friends, go on rides with them and ask them to show you how to ride safely on the street, ask them if you can ride to work together, ask for their recommended safety accessories, and join group rides in your area (your local Performancebikes shop usually hosts workshops on bicycle safety and repair plus group rides in all skill levels). Find a bike train if you live in LA area using site . The league of American Bicycles has great material on cycling safety, check out their site. NY Times has a good beginner’s guide to biking to work article and some other related articles. Ride around your neighborhood and get comfortable.
General safety tips include: wear a helmet and reflective clothes, use multiple (blinking) rechargeable lights and stay off the sidewalk. Imagine what a driver making a left turn has to do: find an opening between the fast incoming cars while looking for pedestrians. If you’re riding in the sidewalk, you’re going faster than the human eye peripheral vision can cover and won’t be seen by the driver. That’s why more than half of bike accidents include sidewalk bikers. Ride like you drive: follow traffic signs, be predictable, don’t ride against the traffic, wear high visibility clothing, use a bike bell/horn and signal when you turn. See this post for specifics on my bike safety accessories.
5) I don’t like getting to work all sweaty. I don’t have access to showers at work.
Those were my excuses, and by far the most common excuses I’ve heard from other people. If your commute is under 3 miles, you don’t have to worry about that. I have a few coworkers with a similar commute who don’t even break a sweat and don’t need a change of clothes, so your excuse is invalid. If your commute is longer and you sweat a little (as in my case), then you can use wipes and bring a change of clothes. Get a big package of biodegradable wipes (ecomoney savings) that are not individually wrapped (minimize plastic waste), and it will last you a long time. I usually stretch and dry off a bit as I log into my work computer and check my emails. So, wipes are not even needed most of the time. I also noticed that as my endurance and cardio level improved I started sweating less. As far as shoes go, you can always leave a couple pairs of dress shoes at your desk so you won’t have to carry them with you. If you’re not planning on changing your shoes, you can use a disinfectant spray to avoid having smelly shoes (a solution used by most rock climbing gyms and bowling allies). I normally wear sneakers to work, same ones that I wear on my ride.
This is another area electric bikes can also help you: you can cover long distances without breaking a sweat and still be environmentally friendly. This article has some good arguments on that: “Studies have shown the prospect of arriving at work sweaty is one of the biggest impediments to getting would-be bike commuters out of their cars. That’s especially true in a city like Los Angeles, where cyclists may face long routes, hills or hot streets with a lack of shade…pedal electric-assisted bikes like the one I rode, can end that worry…One study pegged the carbon emissions of an e-bike about equal to those of a regular bicycle.”
6) I don’t have time
I hear this one a lot. Heck, that was one of my excuses too. One of my coworkers lives 1.5 miles from work and he says he doesn’t have time to bike to work?! He also says he doesn’t have time to fit exercise into his busy schedule everyday as a parent. What if I tell you that you can kill two birds with one stone: commute and exercise. Biking to work has actually saved me time that I can use to relax or focus on my hobbies. See my post for details. What behaviors were strengthening this excuse in my case?
It took me 5 min to start the coffee in the morning. Solution: prep the coffee maker the night before and set the timer for morning so the coffee will be ready by the time I get up.
What to wear to work (choosing clothes is a real struggle, plus it takes one too long to choose an outfit pre-coffee): Choose and prep what I would wear and fold and pack them the night before.
Same goes to lunch: pack my lunch bag the night before so it’ll be ready to grab. Also prep your bike the night before and check the air in the tires. Showering the night before helps you get going faster.
By taking all the excuses/obstacles I was able to get on the bike and leave the house 5-10 min after I woke up.
7) I’m already environmentally aware. I don’t eat red meat so I don’t have to bike to work
You might think this is a lame excuse, and I agree with you. But I have heard this from a friend, so I had to put it here. If you are truly care about the planet and our ecomoney, there shouldn’t be any excuses preventing you from biking to work. Every 2.5 gallons of gas burned produces enough CO2 emissions that it takes a poor (average) tree a whole year to offset and absorb. You probably burn that much gas in less than a week of driving to work. Making eco-friendly choices is wonderful, but I wouldn’t try to offset it in other ways. If penny pinching works in one thing, that’s our carbon footprint.
Alright, so hopefully you’re out of excuses by now (please let me know if you have any remaining excuses and I’ll try to give you a suggestion). Few general notes on motivation: once you start understanding why you aren’t already doing what you want to do and focus on eliminating the obstacles and excuses you can move on to making sure you stick to the good new behavior. Surround yourself with like-minded people share your enthusiasm, and occasionally self-righteous brags about how you are helping the planet.
Listen to this episode of Freakonomics where some folks at Behavioral Insights Team, a quasi-government unit in the UK, share their formulas on making small changes easier. My takeaway and favorite part: After you set a goal and make a plan that’s clear and has specific rules, make your commitment public (share it with your friends) and have a few friends become your “commitment referees” that hold you to your goal and won’t hesitate to call you out on your BS excuses. You’ll need to set rewards or punishments (depending on your knowledge of self) that you’ll be subject to if you don’t meet your goal or do meet it.
How do you motivate yourself to commute to work on your bike?