(reprinted from the April 1991 WheelPeople)
This is not just another commuting article. This is a commuting expose. This article will give you the true facts about commuting. The skinny as they used to say on Miami Vice.
Commuting is not idyllic. Let me qualify that by saying commuting in Boston in not idyllic. It’s not exactly Bambi meets Godzilla either, but if I didn’t work there, you would never see me riding into downtown Boston. There are lots of cars, lots of dirt, lots of people, lots of potholes. All the commuting films I’ve seen seem to have Joe or Jane Commuter gliding effortlessly through relatively benign traffic, barely messing up his do in the process. Personally, it’s a rare morning that I don’t have a close encounter of the vehicular kind. Does get the blood flowing. Commuting involves danger. You are moving past moving vehicles and moving people in narrow spaces. When it rains, everything is slippery and you’re sole contact with terra firma is two skinny high pressure tires (I suppose a mountain bike does improve this some). Of course winter adds the pleasures of black ice, sand and snow. I can’t remember a winter in which I haven’t fallen at least once (usually in my driveway).
A commuter’s lot is one of constant vigilance. There’s so much going on in an urban commute, that there’s simply no time to smell the roses even if there were any roses to smell. You have to watch everything that moves, as well as anything that could move. I’m a firm believer in the spontaneous generation of pedestrians. You can check the street up and down, and then one will leap out at you from somewhere you know they couldn’t have been.
Commuting involves discomfort. Even if you’re a fair weather commuter, there will come the time when you’ll get caught in an unexpected shower. You will be completely soaked, everything you own will be soaked, and your shoes will be filling up with water. If it happens in fall or spring, you will probably be cold and wet as opposed to merely wet. If you commute in the winter, you can dress for the cold, but every once in a while you’ll need just one more layer, or will be facing a particularly stiff wind. You are invariably going to smell worse after your morning commute than before (I’m giving you the benefit of the doubt). How you deal with this when you get to work will vary greatly depending on your personal proclivities, and your workplace’s facilities. Some of the more right on places to work provide a mini health club, complete with showers, change rooms, everything but a juice bar. On the other end of the spectrum is the employer who treats you like pond scum when you show up with your sweaty Bikes not Bombs tee shirt and lycra shorts. At such a place you’re lucky if they let you share the men’s (person’s) room with members of the human race. Still, I’ve found that all you really need is a sink to wash up in to restore yourself to a reasonable state. A dash of Johnson’s baby powder, and you’re ready to rejoin the human race.
People are going to swear at you. Boston drivers, being the fine fellows they are, are likely to swear at you even if you drive, but somehow being surrounded by two tons of steel kind of deadens the effect. On a bike, drivers like to roll down their windows and discuss your parentage on a rather more intimate level. You, of course, are equally able to engage in clever repartee if you are so inclined. You can think of it as sort of on the road assertiveness training.
So, you ask, if commuting is so awful, why do I do it?
First, no matter how bad commuting by bike can get, commuting by car is ten times worse. If Dante lived in Boston, I think a relatively low level in Hell would be devoted to commuting in rush hour Boston traffic. For Boston, the bicycle is the epitome of personal convenience. I don’t have to slog through traffic just to pay a small fortune in protection money for my car, and then walk to work. I can ride directly into work, park next to the building, and it doesn’t cost anything. So why not take the T. I admit, from where I live, this is a possible alternative. But I’m lazy. I would have to walk to the T from my house, and from the T to work. In less time, I can get on my bike and ride all the way to work. The last time I took the T was when my bike was stolen. Even when the weather is really nasty, the bike is a more attractive alternative (also, there is the principle of maximization of discomfort - when the weather is the worst is usually when the T breaks down).
Biking is an immediate release after a day’s work. You walk out the door, hop on the bike, and it’s a different world. Instead of wasting commuting time sitting idly in a car or public transport, you can be active, getting aerobic exercise, while doing the commute. The economy of this particularly appeals to me. Even the discomfort can be turned into good. You really appreciate home and a nice hot bath when you finally make it. Anyone can commute to some extent. If you live in the boondocks, you can ride to the train station. You can always find some combination of public transport or car and bike.
But I realize that commuting is not for everyone. You need a thick skin, and a pretty high tolerance for grubbiness. If your job depends on you being a fashion plate, biking will make it harder, though still possible. Still, as far as I’m concerned, the benefits are well worth the effort, and if you are even slightly attracted by all this, you should definitely give it a try.
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