It’s All In Your Head

Once you have a notion stuck in your head, it can be nearly impossible to change it - even when you prove it wrong every day. I’ve timed my seven mile commute in a car: 25 minutes on a light traffic day, 45 minutes on a bad day. Most days are bad days. I’ve timed it many many times. It is impossible to get across town, by any route, any faster than that. I’ve tried at least 5 different routes including freeways, arterials, backroads, and shortcuts - not including the many variations of each. My primary route on a bicycle takes exactly 33 minutes, regardless of traffic conditions. That means that powering myself, at a steady 18mph, gets me there faster at least 80% of the time. But everyone knows cars are faster than bikes! You know it. I know it. We’ve known it all our lives. It’s obvious and logical. I believe this is one of the biggest reasons 98% of our population remains planted firmly in their automobiles for most of their travels, even trips of 2 miles and less.

I’ve read the results of a few studies in books and on the internet that put the average speed of an automobile in a city at about 12 miles per hour, including traffic, stoplights, intersections, etc. My own estimates put my average in-city speed at about 14mph. Either way… wouldn’t you have said 30-40mph? That’s how fast cars go, right?

The same route takes 55 minutes on a bus, yet still, on days when I wake up a little late, and need to get to work on time, I still think “Oh, man - no time to bike today, I better take the bus!” It doesn’t matter that the bus takes twice as long as the bike. It’s stuck in my head - and probably many others’ - that a gasoline-powered vehicle must get you there faster.

Almost every day, on my ride home, I find myself thinking “Better hurry up. Pedal faster! Don’t want to get home too late...” The fact is that I get home sooner than I used to. But I have 30 years of pre-existing notions in my head to tell me you’ll never get anywhere on a bike, better drive. Something about grinding away on those pedals, one stroke at a time, makes me feel slow. I guess the scenery is just moving more slowly (but much more steadily). By the way, the difference between a casual ride and a sprint makes very little difference in terms of riding time over the course of seven miles. What’s the point? Note to self: Don’t worry. Go ahead and get on the bike. You’ll get there in the same amount of time. And take it easy and enjoy yourself along the way.