How do you commute to work??

[TheDeadFlagBlues]

I bike when it isn't below thirty degrees and drive otherwise.

[angus]

he bikes 6 miles back and forth to work every day, including the winter.  in f'ing Ithaca.

That's impressive.

[opebo]

And here I thought you were such a big fan of the Ancien Régime. 

Well, if we lived under that grand scheme, neither the aristocrat nor the serf need wash himself, but we live under something called bourgeois neo-liberalism, where every man is a rat running in a wheel, and if he stinks too much the other rats will kick him out of his little wheel.

How to people commute by bicycle? At work, one needs to be clean and tidy, not smelling like bleu cheese.

We're not trying to win the Tour de France; urban utility cycling isn't a particularly intense athletic activity.

Yeah...I sweat about as much from bicycling as I do from moderate walking...pretty much not at all.

You guys must live in very cool climates.  In Memphis, or St. Louis, or Thailand outside of Nov-Feb, you would sweat profusely just from sitting in the shade, much less walking or moving or god forbid riding a bicycle contraption.

[angus]

But many Thai men and women do cycle every day.  I think Al is on to something about living healthy.  I probably don't.  I never eat breakfast, but when I do eat I eat fairly healthy food.  I imagine that I exercise enough and I go to bed at a decent hour.  Nevertheless, I drink far too much alcohol so if it's warm then I sweat when I cycle, and my sweat always smells like booze.  I find that if I give the undercarriage a swipe or two with a dry towel immediately after arriving, there is no lingering odor problem.  It probably also helps that I shower daily.

I cycled to work today, in fact.  No pit stains.  No sticky underwear.  No foul odors.

I think I do have a skidmark on my whites, but I get that whether or not I cycle to work.  I should learn a better wiping technique.

[opebo]

But many Thai men and women do cycle every day.

That is very rare here - basically you only see either very old people (typically rich Chinese-Thais who prefer to bike around than get the Mercedes out of the garage) cycling on ancient classic bikes downtown, guys with tricked out $2,000 racing bikes and all kinds of fancy gear doing it for exercise in the suburbs, and once in a while a few pretty girl college students will ride bikes in shorts because they think it looks sexy.  But I never see anyone actually biking for a practical reason. 

I think Al is on to something about living healthy.  I probably don't.  I never eat breakfast, but when I do eat I eat fairly healthy food.  I imagine that I exercise enough and I go to bed at a decent hour.  Nevertheless, I drink far too much alcohol so if it's warm then I sweat when I cycle, and my sweat always smells like booze.  I find that if I give the undercarriage a swipe or two with a dry towel immediately after arriving, there is no lingering odor problem.  It probably also helps that I shower daily.

Al's full of nonsense, angus, people sweat when they get hot - its normal and the body's built in cooling system - and when they sweat bacteria grows and it stinks.  None of this is unhealthy or the result of ill-health - it is the normal result of hot and humid climes and exercise.  To bathe and not stink is in fact the unnatural thing, but I still prefer it (as I prefer avoiding all exercise outside an air-conditioned bedroom.

I cycled to work today, in fact.  No pit stains.  No sticky underwear.  No foul odors.

I think I do have a skidmark on my whites, but I get that whether or not I cycle to work.  I should learn a better wiping technique.

Christ buddy, you should wear dark plaid boxers if you have that problem.  Those tight-white underwear look retarded anyway.  Here in Thailand thankfully we have the sprayer next to the toilet, so we're all about ten times cleaner than americans:

[angus]

Christ buddy, you should wear dark plaid boxers if you have that problem.  

No way.  I tried on a pair of boxer shorts once.  Tried to walk around in them.  I kept racking myself with every step.  Slap.  Slap.  Slap.  It's so painful.  How can you stand that?  Also, it feels strange.  Normal underwear for me, thanks.  Jockey shorts.  White and tight.

As for the bidet, I have used them.  Got nothing against it, but tissue is fine for me as well, and it's more portable.  It's also generally what's on offer in most of the world, so it is advisable to familiarize oneself with its use.  Skidmarks are probably due more to my impatience than anything else.

Anyway, bicycling to work is great.  It's free, it's healthy, and there's really no odor problem.  On really hot days, it can get sticky, but that's just part of the charm.

[opebo]

No way.  I tried on a pair of boxer shorts once.  Tried to walk around in them.  I kept racking myself with every step.  Slap.  Slap.  Slap.  It's so painful.  How can you stand that?  Also, it feels strange.  Normal underwear for me, thanks.  Jockey shorts.  White and tight.

Haha, no, never had that problem.  I simply cannot understand your preference, any more than you can understand mine..  its like politics or perhaps even more so.  I find those tight things incredibly uncomfortable.  Free-balling is fine, but the perfect compromise is a good pair of boxers.  Then again, come to think of it, I do have a very wide stance.

[opebo]

Added a poll on the above controversial topic, boxers vs. briefs:

http://uselectionatlas.org/FORUM/index.php?topic=150353.0

[Gustaf]

I break a sweat quite often, whether I bike or walk, but that's more because I can't restrain my pace. I can't bike leisurely. During the spring I biked about 8 miles back and forth to the tennis court twice a week. It's quite good exercise!

[angus]

Today I got called an asshole, a cunt-hole (yes, you read that right), and had the finger lifted in my direction.  I drove the car, and I don't live in a particularly big city.  Man, drivers are aggressive.

Back to the bicycle tomorrow.  For sure.  This road rage is for the birds.

[opebo]

I break a sweat quite often, whether I bike or walk, but that's more because I can't restrain my pace. I can't bike leisurely.

Haha, weird fast-walking Europeans.  I find that when I walk with Brits or Euros I simply cannot keep up - I always have to call out to them 'hey where's the fire? what's the rush?'   I amble or perambulate, never walk with an directness of pace (happily this fits in reasonably well with Asians, particular Thais/Lao, etc).  To me it seems a sign of a bad character and/or some form of duping.

[Big DaddyTX]

I break a sweat quite often, whether I bike or walk, but that's more because I can't restrain my pace. I can't bike leisurely. During the spring I biked about 8 miles back and forth to the tennis court twice a week. It's quite good exercise!

I do the same thing. For me, it's the same when I'm jogging too. I can't go at a casual pace, I end up trying to stay as fast as I can.

[Hatman]

Bike.

I hate walking, even though it's only a 15 minute walk. I walk very rarely. The weather has been good enough this winter for me to be able to have biked throughout the season.

Can't afford a car, and busing would be a waste of money for such a short distance (same with driving I guess).

That's for my call centre job. I also do contract work for an MP, and that's a longer commute, but not that bad (15 minute bike ride). We're lucky enough to live in the central part of the city.

[angus]

Cycled again today.  I actually got up to 27mph according to the speedometer.  No serious odor problems as far as I can tell.  Even my pits are fairly dry.

It has been an unusually mild winter.  Today, for example, it was 29F by around 8:15 and the high temperature will be around 44.  And most of the snow and ice has already melted.  Most years it's difficult to ride till around April, but this year we could ride even in January, at least on some days.

My nose was very cold by the time I got to the office, though.  I'm very impressed with the guy that cycles every day during winter in Ithaca.

[Former Moderate]

I roll out of bed, walk over to my computer, and TELECOMMUTE.

(oooooooh)

(aaaaaaah)

[angus]

We perspired quite a bit today.  There were record-high temperatures of about 81 degrees!  Can you imagine that?  Winter not yet over officially for a week and we broke 80!  My son and left around 10AM when it was in the upper 50s, so I put him in a long-sleeve shirt, but by around 2 pm I had him topless.  He was so excited.  Everyone we came to got to hear him exclaim, "I'm riding my bicycle topless!"  I guess I never let him run around shirtless much.  We rode a total of 18.4 miles, according to my odometer.  We stopped for lunch, of course, then stopped in a local art gallery and I made him identify the surrealists, impressionists, expressionists, and cubists.  Couldn't pass up the chance for edification and erudition, and it was cool inside.  I guess we stayed there about two hours.  Still, 18.4 miles, even with a long break, is an impressive feat for a seven-year-old, I think.  He's exhausted, and I have to admit that I am as well.  And moist.

Summer's come early, boys!  Enjoy it.