Statistics Canada has gone and let the cat out of the bag: bike commuters have the most fun getting to work.
In their General Social Survey of 2005
respondents were asked to identify, among all the activities in which they participated during the day, the one they liked best. As surprising as it may seem, some people (about 3% of all workers) said that the time they spent commuting between home and work was their favourite activity of the day. Who are these
eccentricpeople?Further analysis revealed that one of the only characteristics separating those who loved commuting from other workers (apart from travel time) was bicycling to work. That is, 19% of workers who rode their bicycles to work reported that their commute was the most pleasant activity of their day; in contrast, this was true of just 2% of workers who drove to work.
How true, how true: Work is just something I do while I'm out on a bike ride…
But bloody hell, Canada! Did you have to go and tell everyone?!? Now they'll all want to get in on it!
Comments
I was thinking along those lines the other day: Do I really want more people commuting by bike? I think I do ... unless they decide to use my route at the time I'm on it. [Kidding, of course (or am I?)]
In the California Bay Area, there actually is bike-induced bike congestion on the roads. It's not nearly as bad as car traffic, of course, but I'm far from the loan occupant of the bike lanes, and at lights we can stack up a dozen cyclists deep at some intersections.
That also happens a little bit in Melbourne, especially from now through until April when the cycling weather is good. I'm thinking of Swanston St where cyclists are boxed-in on the outside by trams—we can back up two or three wide and four deep at some traffic lights.
And then there are spots like this in Brunswick St:
But you can't really complain, can you?
If my commute was the most exciting part of my day -- it usually means I've had a pretty boring day. The only real reason I do it is because I have to get to work somehow, and the bike is the most practical option. Even passing all those gridlocked cars loses it's appeal after a while. While I don't dislike commuting, I can think of far more interesting places to ride.
As far as whether or not I'd like to see more bike commuters, I'm actually ambivalent about that. On the one hand, the greater "voting power" would be useful, but on the other hand, do we really want to see a "bike culture" that takes on some of the less desirable aspects of the "car culture"? I'm not certain that I do.
Yes, I've seen your site Chris—you do have plenty of interesting places to ride. To put it in perspective: how much less would you like it if you were gridlocked in a car? Or even on public transport? I daresay your working day would be considerably less enjoyable.
But I know what you mean. When I have a choice over where to ride, I tend to avoid the regular route. Even so, I'm usually disappointed that the ride is over when I arrive at the salt mines. And I'm often tempted to go the long way on a sunny, still morning…