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Forms of Alternative Transportation to Work?
puargsss asks: "For many people a bicycle is not a viable form of transportation to work due to lack of storage space. Are there any products out there suitable for transportation to a working environment (the ability to store them inside is essential), or a detachable/retractable set of wheels similar to heelys that are built for a working environment? I normally rollerblade for sport/exercise, but it is fairly unprofessional to show up in my workplace with the rather large and clunky traditional equipment. Any ideas?"
It's that I'd have to ride on busy streets to get there, and I'm too young to die (or worse).
Attention zealots and haters: 00100 00100
The only such situation I can imagine is where you ride so far that you need a good road bike that you can't leave locked to a parking meter. But if that's so, wheelie shoes are hardly a workable alternative.
What I'm listening to now on Pandora...
So showing up to work in a giant 4,000lb gas guzzling, exhaust spewing, parking-space using hung of metal is professional, but a pair of wheels on your feet is not?
This makes about as much sense as those people who judge employees based on whether or not they're married and have kids.
Get to work however the hell you want. If your boss somehow insists that you use one method over another, the fat fucker can pay for it.
I've got a Vespa beat all to hell.
I ride a 1964 bright red Honda Super 90
Bought it as a basket case, spent 4 months rebuilding it. It gets 175 miles/gal, does 55 and parks like a bicycle.
It also is a great conversation starter "I had one of those in high school" is the most common.
"Eve of Destruction", it's not just for old hippies anymore...
Is it actually against the rules where you work to bring a bike inside? Ask around (your manager, or the HR dept) maybe there is a storage closet you can use or an unused cubicle somewhere.
If you work someplace with tedious people who are not accomodating, maybe transportation is not your number one problem.
Many companies have incentives from city or local governments to reduce the # of parking spots or automobile commuters arriving at the workplace. Talk to your Company and ask the tough questions: what is this company doing to support alternatives to driving to work? Every place I have ever worked I've contacted everyone I could think of to ask about showers, changing areas, lockers, and parking for bicycles. Many times the answer is "We dont have any" but unless people ask for these things, why would a company build them? A few times I was suprised and the company relocated (from somewhere they were unused) or erected outside bicycle-storage lockers which I could then use. Its up to you... Participate in building the workplace/world you want.
Well, for people like me at 42 degrees North latitude, late fall / all winter / early spring have two distinct problems:
It's pitch black during the morning and evening commutes
It's cold outside, with snow on the ground
I'm sorry, but when my body starts to freeze to a block of solid ice while cycling, it's time to put the bike away.
I live in SoCal now, but spent 6 years cycling to work year round in Minneapolis, and a year in Boston before that.
It's really not so bad biking in the cold (I still do it on vacation sometimes)-- you warm up faster on the bike than you do in a car that needs time for the heater to warm up. It's actually better in colder places, because dry snow and ice aren't as messy to ride in. When it's really cold (below 0 F) you just don't leave any exposed skin and it's alright.
There are also some really nice lights available these days-- 15-20 W is enough to see by up to ~25 mph, and if you're willing to spend some bucks there are the metal halide lights that can light up the road for a whole group of riders. Illuminite and Scotchlite are also not bad as supplemental reflectors-- they do wear out eventually, but they last a fairly long time and help your visibility.
If you just decide that it's normal to bike to work year round it's easy. It's generally more effort for me to drive to work (and not forget stuff that I'm supposed to bring) than it is to bike.
A "REAL" scooter as you put it isn't as practical in long distance commuting situations. Real Scooters cost money to run, and are just as expensive to part as cars. Do you want to spend upwards of $400 a month to part your "REAL" scooter? I would not recommend any one take a "REAL" scooter over a bridge or onto a busy highway or freeway.
A kick scooter is great for getting to and from local public transportation, or quickly (and effortlessly) to a destination within your major metropolitan area. But hey if that