Extreme Bicycle Commuting in New York City
by Lloyd Alter, Toronto on 07.28.08
Commuter on George Washington Bridge; Douglas Healey for NY Times
J. David Goodman writes in The New York Times about extreme bike commuting: "Once limited to dense urban environments, bike commuting has found a small but devoted following in the New York City suburbs. While there have been no formal studies of the trend, transportation experts and cycling advocates say the number of suburban bike commuters is growing. "
It's not just young people, either; "Henry Minnerop, a partner in a Manhattan law firm and “70-plus” years old, said he drives each day — year round — to Englewood Cliffs, and then bikes about 12 miles into Midtown. “I park my bike in the garage I used to use when I drove in,” he said before riding off. “There’s a gym in my office. I shower and come out looking like a lawyer.”
Some travel a very long way; One of the longest bike commutes belongs to Phil Riggio of Darien, Conn., who rides to and from his Midtown office three times a week. Mr. Riggio, a technology trader at Cantor Fitzgerald, began making the 40-mile, two-hour trip in March, shortly after his office moved to Manhattan from Darien.
Taking the train left “no time to exercise,” he said. “I just thought I’d combine the workout time and the commuting time.” ::New York Times
More on Bike Commuting in TreeHugger
Lance Armstrong Says: Commute by Bike!
20 Cents Per Mile For Bike Commuters in Florida
Cycle Commuting , Bike Buses and SUV accidents
Bike Commuting on Planet Green:
Commute to Work by Bike
Find Safe, Easy Routes to Travel by Bike
This is only news because lawyers are doing it. When I was 18 and poor as dirt, I used to bike 11 miles to work every morning (and 11 miles back, unless somebody offered me a ride). I didn't do it for exercise or to save gas; I did it because I didn't have a car and the bus wouldn't get me where I was going.
Now all we need is 1/4% of suburban property taxes actually going to making roads bikeable.
ben, you have a point. However, it is news when lawyers start biking to work. It's not some conspiracy either. It's just not part of the "plan" as the Joker would say. When people without cars ride their bikes to work, it's hardly news. When people switch from years of commuting in their cars to commuting on bikes, it's news because it's not what's expected.
The worst part about commuting on a bike is the rain. Now if only we had rain gear that would turn water into energy that we could use to help power the bike, that would be amazing. Get on that treehugger.
Same here, there's not going to be news with stories like "High school kid rides bike to school" because it's not notable. What is notable is when people who can afford gas and a car choose not to voluntarily to ride more than a mile or two to work.
True, but the world still has a lot more people in destitute than it does lawyers. Obviously, anybody making the choice to drive less is fantastic news, but it will always be a drop in the bucket. The best way to reduce transportation emissions is still with more effective mass transit.
I'm afraid I'm going to have to call B.S. on Mr. Riggio. I don't know how one bikes from Manhattan to Darien, CT by bicycle without getting blown off of the Deegan Expressway. I can see if he bikes to and from the Metro North Railroad... but if he does indeed bike the entire way, he needs to do us all a favor and provide maps! I would love to know how this is done.
I actually think it is rather notable for a high schooler such as myself to choose to bike to school rather than accepting a ride from my parents or taking the bus. The bike rack at my school never has more than 3 bikes at it. Not to mention its not especially cool to ride your bike to school.
Well, I'm a lawyer now, but when I was in lawschool, I biked about 12 miles round trip to my job as a clerk at a lawfirm, again, because I was poor and couldn't afford the bus - although the bus would have taken me right there. I figured I must have saved th entire $300 cost of the bike and a few hundred extra besides by doing this.
Then, by the time I was studying for the bar exam, I had moved, and was biking 22 miles a day round trip - also, for monetary reasons, and to lose some of the weight I had put on studying for finals.
But the other posters here are right - once I became a lawyer, my days of biking to work stopped. This only becomes a significant story when lawyers continue to bike once they've become lawyers.
The bike from Connecticut isnt that long. From the Brooklyn Bridge (brooklyn side) to The musuem of natural history(81st) is 10 miles. It totally possible to bike the 11 from connecticut. There are tons of people who bike from home to work, a lawyer should not be news. I personally bike from Staten Island to Brooklyn each day.
If only it was a safe, viable option for everyone to bike to work. I wouldn't mind doing it if I could get some flexibility with my hours at work, and if we had a place to shower...I would consider myself lucky to be able to do that.
Margaret, way to go! I think you're way beyond cool for riding to school.